PCL1 Round Rock Express

Round Rock Express - Game Notes at Albuquerque Isotopes

Published on June 13, 2012 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release


GAME 67 | 13 JUNE 2012 | 8:05 P.M. CDT | ISOTOPES PARK | ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.

ROUND ROCK EXPRESS (28-38) at ALBUQUERQUE ISOTOPES (37-29)

RADIO: 104.9 FM The Horn ESPN"ˆAustin | ONLINE"ˆAUDIO: www.espnaustin.com

EXPRESS: RHP Greg Reynolds (4-5, 4.76 ERA) | ISOTOPES: RHP Fernando Nieve (3-3, 7.19 ERA)

TONIGHT, TONIGHT

Round Rock concludes a seven-game road trip with the finale of a three-game series against division-rival Albuquerque Isotopes (Los Angeles Dodgers). First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. CDT at Isotopes Park. The Express snapped a seven-game losing streak with last night's 9-2 win. Round Rock is 13-25 on the road, dropping seven of its last nine. The Isotopes ended a four-game winning streak last night. Albuquerque is 22-12 at Isotopes Park. The Express are fourth in the PCL's American Southern Division, 11-and-a-half games back of Oklahoma City and five-and-a-half games back of third-place New Orleans. The Isotopes trail Oklahoma City by two-and-a-half games.

RADIO GA GA

Tonight's game airs on 104.9 FM The Horn ESPN"ˆAustin. Online audio also is available at www.espnaustin.com. Express Director of Broadcasting Mike Capps handles play-by-play duties.

US AND THEM

This is the second of four series between the two teams; they split a four-game series June 2-6 at The Dell Diamond with the Express taking the first two games. Round Rock returns to Isotopes Park for a five-game series July 4-8 immediately followed by the All-Star break. The Isotopes return to The Dell Diamond for a four-game series July 24-27, closing Round Rock's antepenultimate home stand. ... SERIES NOTES: Albuquerque leads the all-time series 62-56, but Round Rock has won seven of the last 10 meetings. The series has been dominated by the home team with the Express leading the series 36-24 at The Dell Diamond and the Isotopes leading 38-20 in Albuquerque. Round Rock won season series in 2006 (10-6) and 2008 (9-7). Albuquerque won series in 2005 (9-7), 2007 (10-6), 2009 (10-6) and 2010 (9-7). The Express swept four-game series at home in 2008 and last season, and a three-game home series in 2006. The Isotopes swept four-game series at home in 2005 and 2007. ... 2012 SERIES: The series is tied 3-3 with the home team winning three of the six games. The teams split a four-game series June 2-5 at The Dell Diamond. Round Rock is hitting .293 (60-for-205) with four homers (Mike Bianucci and Tommy Mendonca two each), 15 doubles, one triple and 25 runs scored (4.2 per game). Joey Butler is 6-for-18 (.333) with a double, one RBI and four runs scored in five games. Luis Hernandez is 8-for-24 (.333) with three RBI, two doubles and a triple in six games. Matt Kata is 7-for-20 (.350) in five games, and Ryan Spilborghs is 6-for-19 (.316) with a walk, three runs scored and Round Rock's lone stolen base in five games. Express pitchers have a 3.40 ERA (20 ER/53.0 IP) with 32 strikeouts against 15 walks. Albuquerque is hitting .266 (53-for-199) with three homers, 12 doubles, two triples and 26 runs scored (4.3 per game). Brian Cavazos-Galvez is 9-for-21 (.429) with a homer, three RBI, a double, two triples and five runs scored in six games. Josh Fields is 11-for-24 (.458) with a homer, five RBI, three doubles and four runs scored in six games.

SERIES"ˆINFORMATION

GAME"ˆ65 | MONDAY, JUNE 11

Isotopes 12, Express 5

WP: Ely (6-4). LP: Jackson (2-7). SV: None.

GAME"ˆ66 | TUESDAY, JUNE 12

Express 9, Isotopes 2

WP: Hankins (2-3). LP: Antonini (1-5). SV: None.

GAME"ˆ67 | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: RHP Greg Reynolds (4-5, 4.76 ERA)

Isotopes: RHP Fernando Nieve (3-3, 7.19 ERA)

START ME UP

RHP GREG REYNOLDS (4-5, 4.76 ERA, 30 K)

2012: Non-roster invite to Rangers spring training ... made two starts and two relief appearances, going 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA (5 ER/12.0 IP) ... logged eight strikeouts against one walk and held batters to a .205 average (9-for-44) ... started Express exhibition game vs. Rangers at The Dell Diamond (April 2) ... no-decision in season's first start April 8 at Iowa, a 6-5 Express loss; left game in line for win (5-2) ... earned wins April 23 at New Orleans, May 4 vs. Memphis, May 15 at Tacoma and June 1 at Memphis ... suffered losses April 13 vs. Iowa, April 18 vs. Omaha, April 29 at Oklahoma City, May 26 at Nashville and June 8 at Omaha ... averages 5.58 runs of support per start ... 1-4 with one no-decision (win) in starts following Express loss ... staff-best 11 double plays induced ... 24 strikeouts in 30.0 innings over last five starts after consecutive starts with no strikeouts ... staff-high 12 home runs surrendered ... eight of 12 homers allowed were solos ... staff-best 73.2 innings ... worked at least into the sixth inning in all but one start (June 8 at Omaha), completing at least six innings eight times ... allows a .431 average (31-for-72) when leading off an inning with five home runs ... holds opponents to a .205 average (16-for-78) with runners in scoring position, including a .172 mark (5-for-29) with runners in scoring position and two outs ... 3.75 ERA (5 ER/12.0 IP) in first inning ... 2.25 ERA (3 ER/12.0 IP) in second inning ... 1-2, 3.60 ERA (10 ER/25.0 IP) in four starts at The Dell Diamond with seven home runs surrendered.

LAST"ˆSTART: Lost June 8 start at Omaha, an 11-5 Storm Chasers win ... allowed seven runs on career-high 14 hits over 5.0 innings with no walks and three strikeouts ... surrendered Seratelli second-inning, two-run homer that erased 2-0 Express lead ... yielded at least one run in four consecutive innings after a scoreless first inning ... utilized one double play ... 80 pitches, 59 strikes.

CAREER vs. ALBUQUERQUE: Has never faced the Isotopes in 45 career PCL starts.

NOTABLE: Gregory Adam Reynolds ... drafted second overall by Colorado in 2006 ... went 13-10, 4.11 ERA"ˆover a three-year career for the Stanford Cardinal ... highest-draft pick in school history ... led team in wins, ERA, strikeouts, innings and starts in final season ... rated by Baseball America as the fourth-best pitcher and fifth-best draft prospect overall prior to 2006 draft ... tossed complete games in three consecutive starts ahead of the draft, besting Cal's Brandon Morrow (fifth overall, Seattle) and Washington's Tim Lincecum (10th overall, San Francisco) in that span ... aided in Stanford's win at Austin Regional, tossing complete-game victory in the Cardinal's 7-2 win June 2 over North Carolina State ... earned NCAA All-Regional honors for that effort ... was named All-Pac 10 honorable mention in 2006 ... took loss in championship game of 2005 NCAA"ˆWaco Regional, striking out 10 batters over 11.0-plus innings of 4-3 loss ... Prepped at Terra Nova [Calif.] High School ... 2003 Gatorade California Baseball Player and Bay Area Athlete of the Year after going 4-3 with a 0.91 ERA ... recruited by several D-I schools as a quarterback ... drafted by Philadelphia out of high school (41st round) but did not sign.

OVER NOW

The Express halted a seven-game losing streak last night. It was Round Rock's longest losing streak since an eight-game skid late in the 2010 season - the franchise's final season as a Houston Astros affiliate. It was the longest slide by the Rangers top affiliate since Oklahoma City dropped seven straight Aug. 25-31, 2007. The Rangers Triple-A squad has not lost eight straight since a nine-game skid April 29-May 7, 2006.

OFF HE GOES

Julio Borbon is riding a 21-game hitting streak (.435, 40-for-92), the longest of his career and Round Rock's fourth of at least 15 games in 2012. Borbon is one game shy of Yangervis Solarte's franchise-record, 22-game streak from earlier this season. Interestingly, Borbon's streak began the night Solarte's streak ended. Borbon has 13 multiple-hit games during the streak, including seven in his last 10 games. He has a sextet of three-hit games, 15 RBI and 18 runs scored during the streak. Ironically, Borbon has not walked since May 9 - three games before the streak began. Borbon has hit safely in 30 of his last 32 games (.396, 57-for-144) with 19 multiple-hit outings, seven three-hit games, five home runs, 22 RBI, 10 doubles, three triples, 24 runs scored and nine stolen bases. His average skyrocketed from .186 to .316 in that time. Borbon has hit safely in 15 consecutive home games, the PCL's longest active streak and tied for the league's longest this season. He also has hit safely in 13 straight road games, the PCL's second-longest active streak.

RAMBLIN' MAN

Brad Nelson hit safely in 25 of his last 26 road games, going 39-for-104 (.375) on the road since an 0-for-4 night April 21 at New Orleans. That stretch included a 21-game road hitting streak that is the PCL's longest this season. His lone hitless outing over the last 26 road games was June 8 at Omaha when he was hitless in a pinch-hit role. Nelson is hitting nearly than 100 points higher on the road (.333, 46-for-138) than at home (.235, 23-for-98). All seven of his homers and 27 of his 34 RBI were in road games, and his OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) is .969 on the road as opposed to .599 at The Dell Diamond. Nelson has not gone hitless in consecutive games regardless of location since a three-game spell April 19-21. He has hit safely in 39 of 44 games since, enjoying hitting streaks of 11, nine and eight games.

UNDER PRESSURE

Matt Kata is hitting .465 (20-for-43) with runners in scoring position, delivering 30 RBI. He is even more deadly with runners in scoring position and two outs, going 8-for-15 (.533) with 16 RBI. Kata's grand slam May 31 at Memphis was Round Rock's first this season. He is 4-for-6 with a double and 11 RBI with the bases loaded, going 3-for-3 since delivering a game-winning, three-run double May 24 vs. Sacramento. Furthermore, Kata gets better as the game goes along, hitting .378 (14-for-37) after the seventh inning with eight RBI. He has hit safely in 13 of his last 15 games (.397, 25-for-63) with two homers, 14 RBI, three doubles, eight multiple-hit outings and three multiple-RBI games.

HELP!

Zach Jackson tied the Express franchise record with 13 wins last season despite a 5.51 ERA. Round Rock supported Jackson to the tune of 6.17 runs per game in his 23 starts in 2011. This season, Jackson's ERA is lower (5.08) but his record is just 2-7. That largely is because the Express have averaged just 3.50 runs per game in Jackson's 12 starts, scoring three or fewer runs eight times and fewer than three runs five times. Round Rock scored a total of 17 runs in his seven losses. Jackson yielded three or fewer earned runs in six of eight starts since tossing six shutout innings in a win April 24 at New Orleans. However, he is 1-5 in those eight starts. Jackson surrendered one unearned run over six innings in his June 5 start vs. Albuquerque; the Express were shutout 2-0.

FORK IN THE ROAD

Round Rock is 11-22 since blowing a 9-5 lead in the ninth inning May 9 at Salt Lake. The Express were 17-16 prior to that loss, the only point at which they were over .500 this season. Round Rock has been outscored 219-176 over the last 33 games, surrendering double-digit runs seven times. Express pitchers have a 6.16 ERA (193 ER/282.0 IP) in that time. A closer look into the numbers shows the Express are hitting .188 (33-for-176) with runners in scoring position in the 22 losses and .398 (51-for-128) in the 11 wins. Conversely, opponents are hitting .348 (88-for-253) with runners in scoring position in the 22 Express losses and .144 (13-for-90) in Round Rock's 11 victories.

FIVE TO ONE

The Express are 21-4 when holding the opposition to fewer than five runs but 7-34 when allowing at least five runs. Round Rock surrendered at least five runs six times in the recent seven-game losing streak, also dropping a 2-0 decision June 5 vs. Albuquerque. Meanwhile, the Express are 5-20 when scoring fewer than five runs.

BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME

In stark contrast to last season, The Dell Diamond has not been a launching pad for the Express. Round Rock averages 0.64 homers per game through 28 home dates this season (18 homers). The Express have not homered in nine of their last 11 home games. Conversely, Round Rock averages 1.39 homers in 38 road games (53 homers), including a season-high five May 8 at Salt Lake. The Express clubbed at least two homers 13 times on the road. Meanwhile, the Express have four multiple-homer games at The Dell Diamond. Last season, Round Rock averaged 1.46 home runs per game at The Dell Diamond and 0.97 homers per game on the road. Teams have combined to score 9.29 runs per game at The Dell Diamond this season as opposed to the 11.90 average in 2011.

EVERYDAY PEOPLE

Mike Bianucci is hitting .313 (20-for-64) over his last 17 games with five multiple-hit outings, three home runs, 15 RBI, five doubles and eight runs scored. He has gone hitless in consecutive games twice this season (April 17-18, April 24-26). Bianucci leads the Express with 12 home runs; he has three homers in his last 114 at bats since homering in four of six games May 6-11. He also has not gone more than two consecutive games without a strikeout and has 10 strikeouts over his last seven games. Bianucci has one walk over his last 14 games (58 plate appearances) and none in his last 10 games (40 plate appearances). He is 4-for-11 (.364) with the bases loaded (two doubles, two walks, 10 RBI) and 16-for-33 (.485) in the fourth inning (three homers, seven RBI). ... Dusty Brown snapped an eight-game, 24-at-bat hitless skid with his third-inning single Sunday at Omaha. It was his first hit since a seventh-inning double in his last at bat May 22 vs. Sacramento. Brown is 2-for-46 (.043) since an eighth-inning double May 11 at Salt Lake; he has 18 strikeouts in that time and nine strikeouts over his last five games. He is 2-for-20 (.100) with runners in scoring position; both hits came with two outs. Brown owns a .500 on-base percentage when leading off an inning, hitting .333 (7-for-21) with one homer and seven walks against four strikeouts. He has three walks and two sacrifice flies in six bases-loaded plate appearances. ... Joey Butler leads the PCL with 43 walks, five more than any other player; however, he has not walked in his last six games. Butler is hitting .401 (69-for-172) when putting the ball in play. He is 11-for-22 (.500) in the fifth inning with four homers and eight RBI; he also has 10 eighth-inning RBI. Butler is 21-for-60 (.350) with runners in scoring position, producing four homers, 30 RBI and six doubles. However, he is 9-for-35 (.257) with runners in scoring position and two outs, producing no homers and 11 RBI. He is second on the team with 11 home runs, six of which were solo shots. ... Luis Hernandez is 10-for-27 (.370) over his last seven games with four multiple-hit outings (each of the last three games), one home run, four RBI, three doubles, a triple and five runs scored. He has not walked since May 19, a span of 22 games and 102 plate appearances, with 14 strikeouts in that time. Three of his four home runs were solo shots. Hernandez committed two errors in Monday night's series opener at Albuquerque, matching his season total entering the game. He had not committed an error in 11 straight games. ... Leonys Martin has at least one hit and at least one RBI in each of his last five games. He has hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games (.340, 17-for-50) with five multiple-hit games. His lone hitless outing in that time was his first game back from a five-week disabled-list stint (June 7 at Omaha). Martin owns a .441 on-base percentage when leading off an inning, going 12-for-31 (.387) with three homers and three walks against three strikeouts. ... Luis Martinez is 4-for-8 with five walks, a double, a triple and four runs scored over his last three games. He has not gone three straight games without a hit since April 15-18 - his longest hitless slide of the season. Martinez is 12-for-28 (.429) in the third and fourth innings but 16-for-83 (.193) the rest of the game, going 2-for-18 (.111) prior to the third inning. He is 2-for-21 (.095) with runners in scoring position and two outs, and he is 0-for-5 with the bases loaded (one walk, one hit-by-pitch, one sacrifice fly). ... Tommy Mendonca has at least one strikeout in 14 of his last 15 games, including eight strikeouts over his last three games. Mendonca has not gone more than two straight games without a strikeout this season. Meanwhile, he has homered in three of his last four games. He has not walked since May 2 vs. New Orleans, a span of 26 games and 102 plate appearances. Mendonca is 14-for-45 (.311) after the seventh inning. ... Yangervis Solarte leads the league with 13.05 plate appearances per strikeout. He has one strikeout in his last 14 games with no strikeouts in his last nine games. Solarte is hitting .214 (18-for-84) through the first three innings but .321 (52-for-162) thereafter with five of his six home runs and 25 of his 29 RBI. He is 13-for-34 (.382) when leading off an inning with one home run and three walks (.432 on-base percentage). Solarte is 4-for-36 (.111) with runners in scoring position and fewer than two outs. Five of his six home runs were solo shots. ... Ryan Spilborghs is 2-for-19 (.105) over his last five games and has one RBI in his last 12 games. He has not homered since May 26, a span of 14 games and 53 at bats. Spilborghs has reached safely in all but three of his 34 games with the Express and managed a sacrifice fly in one of those three games. He is 5-for-20 (.250) with runners in scoring position and two outs. Spilborghs has played 217 career PCL games, hitting .344 (282-for-820) with 24 homers, 117 RBI and 64 doubles.

BROTHERS IN ARMS

Neal Cotts, who has battled injuries over the past three seasons, made his Texas Rangers organizational debut last night at Albuquerque. It was his first outing since June 24, 2009, with the Iowa Cubs. ... Mark Hamburger recorded at least one strikeout in all but two of 19 outings. He surrendered 15 runs in 22.0 innings (6.14 ERA) over his last nine appearances after yielding only one run over his first 9.2 innings (0.93 ERA) as a reliever. He worked 3.0 scoreless innings Tuesday at Albuquerque, his longest scoreless outing this season. Opponents are hitting .417 (15-for-36) with runners in scoring position (two home runs, 23 RBI). He has stranded all three inherited runners. ... Derek Hankins has one walk in his last eight outings (15.1 innings) with seven strikeouts and a .167 opponents' average (10-for-60). Opposing batters are 0-for-18 with runners in scoring position and two outs, and 0-for-5 with the bases loaded. Hankins stranded 10 of 11 inherited runners. ... Aaron Heilman has a 2.61 ERA (3 ER/10.1 IP) over his last eight outings. He recorded at least one strikeout in 17 of 18 appearances since failing to do so in each of the season's first two outings, including a season-high three strikeouts June 3 vs. Albuquerque. He has 25 strikeouts in his last 20.2 innings. Four of 10 inherited runners scored, and opponents are hitting .361 (13-for-36) with runners in scoring position. ... Ben Snyder is 1-0 with a 0.69 ERA (1 ER/13.0 IP) in nine outings at The Dell Diamond but 0-2 with a 5.08 ERA (13 ER/23.0 IP) in 13 road games. He has at least one strikeout in each of his last seven appearances, recording 13 strikeouts over 12.0 innings with three walks. Opponents are hitting .333 (7-for-21) with runners in scoring position and two outs. Snyder stranded nine of 15 inherited runners. ... Johan Yan surrendered at least one run in four of six outings since joining the Express (May 25) and allowed an inherited runner to score in one of the other two outings. Opponents are 5-for-12 (.417) against him with runners on base.

FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH

Round Rock is hitting .338 (24-for-71) with the bases loaded, going 14-for-33 (.424) since May 21. Meanwhile, opposing batters are 27-for-65 (.415) with the bases loaded, including six grand slams. ... Round Rock is third in the PCL with 71 homers, 53 of which were on the road. ... Round Rock is 5-11 in series openers. ... Of Round Rock's 71 home runs, 38 were solo shots, including 19 to leadoff an inning. ... Round Rock leads the PCL with 77 double plays turned. ... The Express have at least one double in 62 of 66 games, including a 47-game streak after not getting a double in the season opener. Round Rock has at least one double in all 28 home games. ... Round Rock is 7-10 in one-run games. Seven of the 17 games were against Iowa. ... Round Rock is 1-29 when trailing after seven innings, posting their lone win May 2 with a six-run eighth to rally past New Orleans 10-5. Conversely, the Express have five losses in 31 games when leading after seven innings.

WHO'S NEXT

Round Rock begins a nine-day, eight-game home stand with a four-game series against the Oklahoma City RedHawks (Houston Astros). The series runs Thursday through Sunday with a 7:05 p.m. CDT first pitch each night.; the series is followed by the season's fourth of five off-days. This is the second of four series between Round Rock and Oklahoma City. The RedHawks won three of four at Oklahoma City in late April.

GAME"ˆ68 | THURSDAY, JUNE 14 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: RHP Neil Ramirez (6-6, 7.88 ERA)

RedHawks: LHP Dallas Keuchel (5-4, 4.26 ERA)

GAME"ˆ69 | FRIDAY, JUNE 15 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: LHP Martin Perez (3-5, 5.40 ERA)

RedHawks: RHP Brian Bass (1-0, 5.17 ERA)

GAME"ˆ70 | SATURDAY, JUNE 16 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: LHP Zach Jackson (2-7, 5.08 ERA)

RedHawks: RHP Armando Galarraga (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

GAME"ˆ71 | SUNDAY, JUNE 17 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: TBA

RedHawks: RHP Paul Clemens (8-4, 6.31 ERA)

Check out the Round Rock Express Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from June 13, 2012


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