PCL1 Round Rock Express

Round Rock Express - Game Notes at Nashville Sounds

Published on July 16, 2012 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release


GAME 95 | 15 JULY 2012 | 7:05 P.M. CDT | HERSCHEL GREER STADIUM | NASHVILLE, TENN.

ROUND ROCK EXPRESS (39-55) at NASHVILLE SOUNDS (41-53)

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

EXPRESS: LHP Ben Snyder (2-3, 3.78 ERA) | SOUNDS: RHP Mark Rogers (4-6, 5.18 ERA)

TONIGHT, TONIGHT

Round Rock begins a four-game road series against the Nashville Sounds (Milwaukee Brewers). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CDT at picturesque Herschel Greer Stadium. Round Rock most recently was swept by Memphis in a rain-shortened, three-game home series. The Express, who have dropped four straight and nine of 10, are 18-30 on the road and have lost four of five away from The Dell Diamond. Nashville most recently dropped two of three in a rain-shortened, three-game home series against Albuquerque; the teams split a doubleheader yesterday with the Sounds winning the opener 2-1 and losing the nightcap 8-5. The Sounds, who are 10-4 since June 29, are 22-21 at home. Round Rock is fourth in the PCL's American Southern Division, 15 games back of Albuquerque and nine-and-a-half games behind third-place New Orleans. Nashville is second in the American Northern Division but trails division-leading Omaha by 16-and-a-half games, the PCL's largest division lead.

RADIO GA GA

Tonight's game airs on The Horn 104.9 FM 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 third of four series between the two teams. The teams split a four-game series May 25-28 at Nashville, and the Sounds won two of three June 27-29 at The Dell Diamond. The Sounds revisit The Dell Diamond for a five-game series Aug. 22-26, Round Rock's final home series. ... SERIES NOTES: Nashville leads the all-time series 60-59, including a 34-26 edge at Herschel Greer Stadium. Round Rock claimed the season series in 2005 (9-7), 2006 (11-5) and 2011 (11-5). Nashville won the season series in 2007 (12-4), 2008 (9-7) and 2009 (10-6). The teams split the 2010 with the home team winning six times at each location. There have been three sweeps in the series, all by the home team - Nashville in 2007 and Round Rock twice last season. ... 2012 SERIES: Nashville leads the season series 4-3. Round Rock posted a 19-3 victory May 27 at Nashville, establishing franchise records for runs and hits (24). The Express also won the lone extra-inning meeting this season 8-5 in 10 innings the following day. Nashville limited the Express to four runs in the three-game series at The Dell Diamond, posting two shutouts. Round Rock is hitting .297 (74-for-249) with 10 homers, 12 doubles, 25 walks and 5.7 runs per game. Julio Borbon is 8-for-24 (.333) with two doubles and three stolen bases in six games. Matt Kata is 9-for-22 (.409) with one homer, two RBI and two runs score in five games. Ryan Spilborghs is 14-for-27 (.519) in seven games with two homers, six RBI, three doubles, eight runs scored and two stolen bases. Express pitchers boast a 3.63 ERA (25 ER/62.0 IP) with 42 strikeouts against 21 walks. Nashville is hitting .261 with eight homers, five doubles, six stolen bases and 4.3 runs per game. Sounds pitchers have 42 strikeouts against 25 walks with a 5.14 ERA (36 ER/63.0 IP).

SERIES"ˆINFORMATION

GAME"ˆ95 | MONDAY, JULY 16 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: LHP Ben Snyder (2-3, 3.78 ERA)

Sounds: RHP Mark Rogers (4-6, 5.18 ERA)

GAME"ˆ96 | TUESDAY, JULY 17 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: RHP Greg Reynolds (7-6, 5.01 ERA)

Sounds: RHP Brian Baker (2-3, 5.33 ERA)

GAME"ˆ97 | WEDNESDAY, JULY 18 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: LHP Chad Bell (2-2, 3.47 ERA)

Sounds: RHP Seth McClung (2-11, 5.60 ERA)

GAME"ˆ98 | THURSDAY, JULY 19 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: RHP Justin Grimm (0-0, 2.25 ERA)

Sounds: RHP Claudio Vargas (3-1, 4.89 ERA)

START ME UP

LHP BEN SNYDER (2-3, 3.78 ERA, 37 K)

2012: Received non-roster invite to Rangers spring training ... made five relief appearances with no record ... tied for Express lead with 29 appearances, second with 27 relief appearances ... made spot starts June 25 at Iowa (loss) and July 7 at Albuquerque (win) ... no earned runs (one unearned run) allowed in last three outings (8.0 innings) ... 1-3, 4.22 ERA (15 ER/32.0 IP) in two starts and 13 relief outings on the road ... 1-1, 2.00 ERA (2 ER/9.0 IP) in two starts ... opponents are 9-for-49 (.200) when leading off an inning with no homers, three walks and nine strikeouts (.250 on-base percentage) ... opponents hitting .296 (8-for-27) with runners in scoring position and two outs ... stranded 10 of 19 inherited runners ... enjoyed stretch of eight consecutive scoreless outings May 2-23.

LAST"ˆSTART: Won July 7 start at Albuquerque (6-3) ... worked 5.0 shutout innings on four hits and two walks with two strikeouts ... left game leading 3-0 ... 72 pitches, 45 strikes.

2012 vs. NASHVILLE: 0-1, 11.25 ERA (5 ER/4.0 IP) in three relief outings with one walk, two strikeouts ... suffered loss May 25 at Nashville by virtue of surrendering tiebreaking run in eighth inning of 7-6 loss ... allowed four runs on five hits, including Gindl's fourth-inning, two-run homer, over 2.0 innings with one walk and one strikeout in Round Rock's 10-inning, 8-5 win May 28 at Nashville ... worked a perfect inning of relief June 29 at The Dell Diamond.

CAREER vs. NASHVILLE: No career meetings prior to 2012.

NOTABLE: Benjamin David Snyder ... pitched two seasons at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. ... had a 16-10 career record with 196 strikeouts in 207.2 innings ... allowed one run over 8.0 innings to defeat Kentucky in the opening round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament ... was named to all-tournament team for the Lexington Regional ... was selected as the Mid-American Conference freshman of the year in 2005 ... graduated from Bellevue [Ohio] High School in 2003 ... signed by Steve Arnieri (Giants).

NEVER-ENDING MATH EQUATION

Round Rock scored seven-plus runs twice in its last 27 games - July 5 at Albuquerque (9-2), snapping a streak of 21-game stretch, and July 8 at Albuquerque (10-12). Furthermore, the Express eclipsed six runs only once in their last 24 home games - a 7-3 victory June 3 vs. Albuquerque. Round Rock has not scored more than four runs at The Dell Diamond since June 21, a 6-2 victory over Iowa. That is a stretch of 11 consecutive home games scoring four or fewer runs. The Express were 2-9 in that span, averaged 1.9 runs per game and were shutout four times. Brad Nelson's sixth-inning homer Saturday night snapped a stretch of 26.2 consecutive scoreless innings for Round Rock at home. The Express scored in four of their last 45 innings at The Dell Diamond. Saturday night's game also marked the first time Round Rock scored in multiple innings at home since a 4-0 win July 1 vs. New Orleans. The Express have not scored multiple runs in multiple innings at The Dell Diamond since a 6-2 win June 21 vs. Iowa (11 games).

FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH

Round Rock has lost four straight, nine of the last 10 and 11 of the last 13 games. ... The Express have lost five straight home games. ... Round Rock has not won consecutive home games since June 16-17; the Express have not won consecutive home games against the same team since June 2-3 (Albuquerque). ... The Express are 7-16 in series openers (5-7 at home). ... Of Round Rock's 90 home runs, 60 were on the road (1.25 per game). Meanwhile, Express batters average 0.65 homers per game at home (30 homers, 46 games). ... Round Rock leads the PCL with 119 double plays turned, 16 more than any other team (Las Vegas). Express pitchers induced at least one double play in 20 of the last 22 games (34 double plays). ... Round Rock is 7-12 in one-run games. Seven of the 19 games were against Iowa. ... The Express are 1-45 when trailing after seven innings, dropping 33 straight in that situation. Round Rock's lone win was May 2 thanks to a six-run eighth to rally past New Orleans 10-5. Conversely, the Express are 37-6 when leading after seven innings and 39-1 when out-scoring the opponent. ... Round Rock is 2-8 since Clint Musslewhite's departure.

EVERYDAY PEOPLE

JULIO BORBON: Snapped a six-game hitting streak (.391, 9-for-23) Saturday night, going 0-for-4 ... hit safely in 10 of his last 12 games (.333, 16-for-48) with six multiple-hit games and seven runs scored ... stretch comes on the heels of a 2-for-41 slump ... hitting .342 (67-for-196) since May 12 ... one RBI (July 7 at Albuquerque) since two-run homer June 16 vs. Oklahoma City ... two extra-base hits since that homer (double, June 28 vs. Nashville; double July 12 vs. Memphis).

DUSTY BROWN: Hitless in last seven at bats ... 1-for-19 over last five-plus games ... lone hit in that span was grand slam July 5 at Albuquerque ... each of last two hits were homers (June 28 vs. Nashville) ... one multiple-hit effort (June 23 at Iowa) since May 9 ... at least one strikeout in nine straight games (11 strikeouts, one walk) ... 3-for-31 (.097) with runners in scoring position; both hits came with two outs ... hitless in each of last seven leadoff at bats ... one grand slam, three walks and two sacrifice flies in nine bases-loaded plate appearances (nine RBI).

JOEY BUTLER: Riding a seven-game hitting streak (.296, 8-for-27) ... one multiple-hit effort (two hits, July 8 at Albuquerque) since three-hit night June 21 vs. Iowa ... three multiple-hit games since June 10 ... five RBI in last seven games after producing only seven RBI and no multiple-RBI outings over 32 games from May 30 through July 4 ... at least one strikeout in 15 of last 19 games (22 strikeouts) ... leads PCL with 58 walks, six more than any other player ... two homers in last 35 games, 127 at bats ... one homer at The Dell Diamond (July 1 vs. New Orleans) since May 17 (30 games) ... eight of 13 home runs were solo shots ... hitting .214 (28-for-131) when batting fifth or higher in the order, .319 (61-for-191) when batting sixth or lower.

LUIS HERNANDEZ: Hitless in last eight at bats ... no multiple-hit efforts since four-hit game June 29 vs. Nashville (11 games) ... one homer over last 30 games, 111 at bats (July 2 vs. New Orleans) ... seven RBI in first 10 July games after producing eight RBI in 26 June games ... eight walks over last 15 games after not walking in previous 28 games ... four of five home runs were solo shots ... 3-for-25 (.120) with runners in scoring position and two outs ... 12-for-63 (.190) when leading off an inning with one homer, five walks, six strikeouts ... leads all PCL shortstops with a .980 fielding percentage (eight errors, 398 total chances) ... four of eight errors were in last 14 games.

MATT KATA: Hitless in last 10 at bats ... hitting .433 (26-for-60) with runners in scoring position (36 RBI), going 11-for-23 (.478) with runners in scoring position and two outs (20 RBI) ... 43-for-199 (.216) without runners in scoring position ... 5-for-9 with the bases loaded (one homer, 12 RBI) ... 4-for-6 with the bases loaded since delivering a game-winning, three-run double May 24 vs. Sacramento ... one multiple-hit effort (two hits, July 7 at Albuquerque) since June 23 ... three walks in last 43 games, 176 plate appearances ... one homer (July 8 at Albuquerque) since May 31 grand slam at Memphis (33 games).

TOMMY MENDONCA: Activated from disabled list prior to Saturday night's game ... saw first action since June 16 vs. Oklahoma City ... walked in first plate appearance, first since May 2 vs. New Orleans (29 games, 112 plate appearances) ... at least one strikeout in 16 of his last 19 games (24 strikeouts) ... has not gone more than two straight games without a strikeout ... hitless in last nine at bats.

GREG MICLAT: Hit safely in six of last eight games (.435, 10-for-19) with four multiple-hit efforts ... nine of 19 hits were for extra bases (eight doubles, one homer) ... 6-for-20 (.300) with runners in scoring position ... 2-for-12 (.167) when leading off an inning with one homer, no walks and five strikeouts.

BRAD NELSON: Hit safely in seven of last eight games (.393, 11-for-28) with three multiple-hit games ... multiple-homer outing Saturday night was first since July 18, 2011, vs. New Orleans (also both solo shots) ... first homers since June 24 at Iowa (16 games, 59 at bats) ... hitting .350 (49-for-140) on the road since going 0-for-4 April 21 at New Orleans ... hits roughly 100 points better on the road (.322, 56-for-174) than at home (.231, 38-for-163) ... 6-for-7 since snapping 0-for-24 slump at The Dell Diamond in Thursday's second at bat ... nine of 13 homers, 36 of 51 RBI were in road games ... at least one strikeout in nine of last 14 games (13 strikeouts) ... at least one walk in each of last four games (five walks) and six of last eight games (seven walks) ... eight of 13 homers were solos, including four leadoff shots ... 4-for-7 with bases loaded (homer, 10 RBI).

GUILDER RODRIGUEZ: Hitless in first 12 at bats with Express after being promoted from Double-A Frisco ... 6-for-14 since, including three-hit game July 3 vs. New Orleans ... scored in three of last five games ... four of six hits were with bases empty ... 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position ... 0-for-2 with bases loaded.

ELIO SARMIENTO: Ninth-inning leadoff homer July 8 at Albuquerque snapped an 0-for-23 slump ... first hit since double May 11 at Salt Lake ... first homer since Aug. 11, 2011, with Double-A Frisco ... at least one strikeout in 10 of 12 games played, including each of last nine games (14 strikeouts).

YANGERVIS SOLARTE: No consecutive hitless games since June 9-10 ... hit safely in eight of last 10 games (.317, 13-for-41) with four multiple-hit efforts, including a three-hit night July 8 at Albuquerque ... Hitting .338 (27-for-80) over last 23 games with eight multiple-hit games (two three-hit outings) and seven RBI ... five of six home runs, 30 of 37 RBI came after the third inning ... no homers since May 14, a span of 50 games and 192 at bats ... five of six home runs were solo shots ... 7-for-48 (.146) with runners in scoring position and fewer than two outs ... second in PCL with 14.19 plate appearances per strikeout ... two strikeouts over last 17 games, 68 plate appearances (July 3 vs. New Orleans; July 12 vs. Memphis) ... hitting .369 (24-for-65) in bottom third of order, .268 (75-for-280) when batting sixth or higher.

RYAN SPILBORGHS: Hitless in last 11 at bats ... hit safely in eight of last 12 games (.300, 15-for-50) ... 11-for-68 (.162) over previous 17 games ... no homers since May 26, a span of 39 games and 152 at bats ... three RBI in last 24 games ... at least one strikeout in 13 of last 15 games (17 strikeouts) ... 5-for-36 (.139) with runners in scoring position and two outs ... hitless in each of his last 19 at bats with runners in scoring position and two outs ... 241 career PCL games, hitting .333 (306-for-919) with 24 homers, 122 RBI and 70 doubles.

BROTHERS IN ARMS

NEAL COTTS: Stranded five of seven inherited runners ... allowed eight runs over last two appearances after allowing only two runs in first nine Express outings ... opponents are 2-for-12 (.167) with runners on base and two outs ... opponents are 0-for-4 with bases loaded.

WILLIE EYRE: At least one run allowed in four of eight outings ... both inherited runners scored ... opponents are 2-for-13 (.154) when leading off an inning (no walks, three strikeouts) ... opponents are 4-for-7 (.571) with runners in scoring position and two outs.

AARON HEILMAN: Converted seven of last eight save chances ... Jerry Sands two-run homer July 5 at Albuquerque snapped 10.1-inning scoreless streak over seven-plus outings ... first run allowed since coughing up three runs June 9 at Omaha ... first home runs surrendered since May 23 vs. Sacramento ... two runs allowed in each of last two outings (18.00 ERA, 4 ER/2.0 IP) ... 1.40 ERA (3 ER/19.1 IP) over previous 15 outings ... opponents are 8-for-41 (.195) over last 10 appearances ... allowed more than one hit once in those 10 outings (two hits, July 7 at Albuquerque) ... 31 strikeouts in his last 31.0 innings ... stranded 10 of 14 inherited runners ... opponents hitting .366 (15-for-41) with runners in scoring position.

BEN SNYDER: 1-0, 3.00 ERA (6 ER/18.0 IP) in 14 outings at The Dell Diamond ... 1-3 with a 4.22 ERA (15 ER/32.0 IP) in 15 road games ... holds opponents to a .200 average (9-for-45) when leading off an inning with nine strikeouts against three walks ... opponents are 3-for-5 with bases loaded.

YOSHINORI TATEYAMA: Has not allowed an earned run in 15 of 16 outings with Express ... has not allowed an earned run with the Express since April 21 at New Orleans, a span of 16.1 innings over 12 appearances ... currently has a 9.1-inning scoreless streak over seven appearances ... allowed four runs (one earned), all of which scored in the eighth inning ... opponents are 1-for-14 (.071) with runners in scoring position and 6-for-42 (.143) when behind in the count.

JOHAN YAN: Allowed at least one run in nine of 14 outings ... four hits allowed over last six outings (6.0 innings, 24 at bats) ... entered game with bases loaded three times and stranded six of the nine runners ... stranded seven of 13 inherited runners on the season ... opponents are 5-for-22 (.227) with runners in scoring position.

WHO'S NEXT

Round Rock returns home for an eight-game home stand, starting with a four-game series against the Omaha Storm Chasers (Kansas City Royals). The series runs Friday through Monday with a 7:05 p.m. CDT first pitch each night. This is the last of four series between the two teams; Omaha leads the season series 10-2, winning all eight meetings in Papillion, Neb. The teams split four games at The Dell Diamond in mid-April. The Storm Chasers have won 13 of the last 16 meetings, dating back to last season's PCL American Conference Championship Series.

SERIES"ˆINFORMATION

GAME"ˆ99 | FRIDAY, JULY 20 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: RHP Neftali Feliz (0-0, 0.00 ERA ... rehab) / LHP Zack Jackson (3-11, 4.99 ERA)

Storm Chasers: RHP Nate Adcock (4-3, 5.40 ERA)

GAME"ˆ100 | SATURDAY, JULY 21 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: LHP Ben Snyder (2-3, 3.78 ERA; starts tonight)

Storm Chasers: LHP Chris Dwyer (0-0, 0.00 ERA ... first Triple-A start)

GAME"ˆ101 | SUNDAY, JULY 22 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: RHP Greg Reynolds (7-6, 5.01 ERA; starts tomorrow)

Storm Chasers: LHP Doug Davis (5-1, 3.48 ERA; starts tomorrow)

GAME"ˆ102 | MONDAY, JULY 23 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: LHP Chad Bell (2-2, 3.47 ERA; starts Wednesday)

Storm Chasers: LHP Will Smith (4-4, 3.61 ERA; starts Wednesday)

Check out the Round Rock Express Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 16, 2012


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