TL1 Frisco RoughRiders

Riders Game Notes - 7:05 p.m. vs. Northwest Arkansas Naturals - April 16, 2016

Published on April 16, 2016 under Texas League (TL1)
Frisco RoughRiders News Release


Riders: RHP Sam Wolff (1-0, 1.50 ERA)

Naturals: RHP Jake Junis (0-0, 2.08 ERA)

Today's game can be heard on the RoughRiders Radio Network at Ridersbaseball.com/media, online and on mobile devices via TuneIn Radio, or on the MiLB First Pitch App. The Dr Pepper Pregame Show with Steve Goldberg begins at 6:30 p.m. prior to the first pitch at 7:05 p.m. with game coverage from Nathan Barnett and Ryan Rouillard. Today's Dr Pepper Pregame Show guest is Riders infielder Luis Marte.

You may access the 2016 Riders Media Guide online here.

LAST TIME OUT:

The RoughRiders picked up their seventh win in the team's eighth game of the season, beating the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 7-1 going away. The club posted three runs before the Naturals got on the board with a solo homer from Raul Mondesi in the fifth. It was the lone run that Northwest Arkansas would score and the lone blemish on the night for CONNOR SADZECK who looked sharp in his second start, allowing one run and scattering six hits and a walk in five innings. He fanned five...The Riders piled it on with a four-run fifth capped by a two-run triple by LUIS MARTE who went 3-for-4 with three extra-base hits and three RBI...REED GARRETT and MATT BUSH each tossed a pair of scoreless innings to finish off the Naturals bats...Frisco is now 5-0 against Northwest Arkansas this season.

RIDING HIGH:

The RoughRiders started the year 5-0, and now sit at a 7-1 record. That mark is tied with the 2008 squad for the best start in team history. That year, the RoughRiders finished with a 84-56 record and lost to Arkansas in the Texas League championship series. With a win tonight, the Riders would be off to the best nine-game start in team history. The 2008 squad dropped their ninth game after starting 7-1. In addition, the Riders are only one of six Minor-League teams to start 7-1 and enter the day tied for first with two other teams in the minors for the best winning percentage in MiLB (Visalia Rawhide and Akron RubberDucks).

DOUBLE THE BROOMS:

The RoughRiders are aiming for the second sweep of Northwest Arkansas in as many weeks tonight. If they can break out the brooms, it will mark the first time the Riders have swept the same team twice in the same half since the second half of 2009, when the RoughRiders swept Arkansas in both series.

MARTE MASHING:

Riders shortstop LUIS MARTE has had a fantastic series against Northwest Arkansas. After going 3-for-4 Friday with a trio of extra-base hits, he's 5-for-7 with 2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run and 5 RBI over the first two games of the series. On the year, six of Marte's eight hits are for extra bases, and he leads the team with a .739 slugging percentage.

THE 'PEN IS MIGHTIER:

While almost every facet of the RoughRiders team is clicking right now, the bullpen is in the midst of a particularly impressive stretch. Over the past four games, the pen has allowed just three runs (24.0 innings, 1.13 ERA). Over that stretch, relievers have allowed just 13 hits and 8 walks, while striking out 16.

GROOVIN' GUZMAN:

After an 0-for-6 start in the first two games of his Double-A career, Frisco 1B RONALD GUZMAN has found a groove on his current five-game hitting streak. He's 11-for-23 with 1 double, 1 home run and 4 RBI in that span. Four of the five games have been multi-hit games, including two three-hit performances.

ONCE ISN'T ENOUGH:

Early on, multi-hit games have been a trend throughout the Riders lineup. Nine different players have registered a multi-hit game in 2016, led by four from LEWIS BRINSON, RONALD GUZMAN AND JOE JACKSON.

WHEN OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS...:

Through five meetings between the RoughRiders and Naturals in 2016, one of the key difference-makers has been the ability to cash in on opportunity. Frisco is hitting 22-49 (.449) with runners in scoring position this season against Northwest Arkansas, while the Naturals are just 2-32 (.063) in those situations. Overall, Frisco leads the Texas League with a .405 average when runners are in scoring position.

CRANKING UP CROOKED NUMBERS:

Early in the season, the RoughRiders have shown an ability to not only score in bunches, but keep opponents from doing the same. The RoughRiders have tallied a four-run inning, two five-run frames and a six-spot (all against Northwest Arkansas). Meanwhile, opponents haven't put up more than two runs in an inning.

HOW SWEEP IT IS:

After taking all three games from Northwest Arkansas in the opening series, the Riders accomplished something that was done just once last year. Frisco only swept one series in 2015, and it was a rain-shortened two-game road set against Northwest Arkansas on July 10. The last time the Riders had swept a three-game series was August 15-17, 2014 at Tulsa.

RANGER DANGER:

The RoughRiders aren't the only Rangers affiliate off to a hot start. Class-A Hickory enters the day at 7-2, while the other two full-season affiliates (Triple-A Round Rock and Class-A Advanced High Desert) are 6-3. Round Rock was recently ranked the fifth-best team in the minor leagues by MLB.com's Jim Callis.

FAMILIAR FACES IN FRISCO:

The Riders Opening Day features 17 players who appeared in Frisco last season. Dallas-native PRESTON BECK is back home in the Metroplex once again after playing 93 games with the Riders last year. Despite the large number of returning players this year, only five were on the 2015 Opening Day roster.

SKIPPING INTO THE RECORD BOOKS:

JOE MIKULIK has returned for his second season with the RoughRiders. He is the eighth manager in RoughRiders history, and the fourth to return for a second consecutive year. The veteran skipper is in his 18th season as a Minor League manager and has 1,128 all-time wins. 938 of his victories were recorded with the Asheville Tourists of the South Atlantic League (Class A), setting both a team and league record.

TOP OF THE CLASS:

The RoughRiders enter the season with six players ranked in either Baseball America or MLBPipeline.com's Rangers Top 30 Prospects. LEWIS BRINSON, the No. 2 prospect in Rangers' farm system according to MLBPipeline.com and Baseball America, returns to Frisco. He appeared in 28 games for the Riders last season, hitting .291 with six home runs and 23 RBI before being promoted to Round Rock in August. Brinson is joined by five other players named in the lists-RYAN CORDELL (No. 15 in MLB, No. 11 in BA), RONALD GUZMAN (23, 29), JOSE LECLERC (25, 21), SAM WOLFF (26, NR), and CONNOR SADZECK (27, 26).

OPPOSING STARTER:

Junis signed with the Royals, via scout Scott Melvin, on the August 15 deadline after the club chose him in the 29th round in June, 2011 out of Rock Falls (Illinois) High School, where he starred in basketball and as a 3rd baseman. He got a bonus of $675,000 to keep him from accepting a baseball scholarship to North Carolina State (Wolfpack)...The Baseball America Prospect Handbook rated Jake as the 27th-best prospect in the Royals' organization in the spring of 2013; he has been unranked since then...Last season: Junis received a spot start assignment in Double-A, otherwise seeing all of his action with the Wilmington Blue Rocks (Class A-Advanced), going 5-11 but with 3.64 ERA...Repertoire: Junis works with a fastball in the 88-93 range, a power curveball, and a changeup.

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