PCL1 Round Rock Express

Round Rock Express - Game Notes Vs. Iowa Cubs (Chicago Cubs)

April 15, 2012 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release


GAME 11 | 15 APRIL 2012 | 1:05 P.M. CDT | THE DELL DIAMOND | ROUND ROCK, TEXAS

ROUND ROCK EXPRESS (3-7) vs. IOWA CUBS (6-4)

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

EXPRESS: RHP Mark Hamburger (0-0, 11.25 ERA) | CUBS: RHP Randy Wells (1-0, 4.50 ERA)

TODAY'S"ˆGAME

Round Rock continues an eight-game home stand with the third of four games against the Iowa Cubs (Chicago Cubs). First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. CDT at The Dell Diamond. The Express snapped a six-game skid with last night's 6-5 victory, which ended the Cubs' three-game winning streak. This is the seventh of 16 meetings between the two teams this season.

BROADCAST"ˆINFORMATION

Today'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.

EXPRESS-CUBS SERIES

The season series is tied three games apiece. Five of the six games were decided by two or fewer runs, including four one-run games. Each of the last three games ended 6-5. The teams meet again for eight consecutive days in June with the Cubs visiting The Dell Diamond for four games June 19-22 and the Express following the Cubs to Des Moines for four games June 23-26. SERIES"ˆNOTES: The team that scored first is 4-2 in the series. ... Michael Biannuci is 8-for-23 (.348) with three homers, six RBI and five runs, hitting safely in all six games. Leonys Martin is 9-for-25 (.360) against Iowa, and Brad Nelson is 5-for-16 (.313). The rest of the Express squad is hitting .210 (29-for-138). ... Express pitchers have 36 strikeouts (6.19 per nine innings) against 15 walks (2.58 per nine innings). ... Iowa is hitting .311 as a team against the Express, compared to Round Rock's .252 team average in the series. ... Wellington Castillo is hitting .533 (8-for-15) against Express pitching. Brett Jackson is 10-for-26 (.385) with two homers and six RBI, Anthony Rizzo is 9-for-24 (.375) with three homers and nine RBI, and Tony Campana is 9-for-20 (.409). The rest of the Cubs are hitting .231 (28-for-121). ... Round Rock has not committed one error in the series, while Iowa has committed five.

SERIES"ˆINFORMATION

GAME"ˆ9 | FRIDAY, APRIL 13

Cubs 6, Express 5

WP: Jackson (1-0). LP: Reynolds (0-1). SV: Parker (1).

GAME"ˆ10 | SATURDAY, APRIL 14

Express 6, Cubs 5

WP: Tufts (2-0). LP: Robertson (0-1). SV: Scheppers (2).

GAME"ˆ11 | SUNDAY, APRIL 15 | 1:05 p.m. CDT

Express: RHP Mark Hamburger (0-0, 11.25 ERA)

Cubs: RHP"ˆRandy Wells (1-0, 5.25 ERA)

GAME"ˆ12 | MONDAY, APRIL 16 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: LHP"ˆMartin Perez (1-0, 3.09 ERA)

Cubs: RHP"ˆCasey Coleman (1-1, 4.50 ERA)

BOBBY JONES: MR. 3,000

Today's game is the 3,000th of Bobby Jones' managerial career "" a Texas Rangers organization record. Jones is in his 25th season as a manager in the Rangers system, also a record. He is 1,517-1,482 in his career; last night's win was his 800th at the Triple-A level.

ROSTER MOVES

Yoshinori Tateyama was taken off the disabled list by the Rangers prior to last night's game and optioned to Round Rock. ... Elio Sarmiento was placed on the seven-day disabled list. ... Yangervis Solarte changed his jersey number to 26.

EXPRESS STARTER

RHP"ˆMARK HAMBURGER (0-0, 11.25 ERA)

2012: Received non-roster invite to Rangers spring training ... pitched in five games with one start ... did not record a decision with a 4.50 ERA"ˆ(5 ER/10.0 ERA), six walks and one strikeout; opponents hit .229 (8-for-35) ... Express opening-day starter April 5 at Iowa; no-decision in a 5-3 Express loss, allowing three runs on eight hits over five innings with one walk and one strikeout.

LAST"ˆOUTING: No-decision in April 10 start at Omaha, a 9-8 Express loss in 16 innings (longest game in franchise history) ... chased from game after three innings ... allowed seven runs on six hits, including two homers, and five walks with one strikeout ... career highs in runs allowed and walks, tied career high in hits allowed ... also hit one batter ... used 77 pitches, 43 strikes.

2011: Express Pitcher of the Year ... 7-4 with a 3.88 ERA in four starts and 27 relief outings; 62.2 innings, 20 walks, 48 strikeouts, .233 opponents' average ... Made first start of professional career Aug. 12 at Sacramento; held River Cats scoreless on one hit, one walk and a hit batter over 4.0 innings with five strikeouts ... Did not allow a run in eight of season's final nine appearances, including a 24.2-inning scoreless streak from July 21 to Aug. 22 ... 7-1 with a 1.98 ERA"ˆ(11 ER, 50.0 IP) after June 3 ... Promoted to Rangers following Aug. 28 start ... Made five relief appearances for Rangers, going 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA; 8.0 innings, three walks, six strikeouts ... Made Major League debut Aug. 31 against Tampa Bay, retiring all three batters faced ... Earned first Major League win Sept. 26 in season's final outing; allowed one run on two hits and a walk with three strikeouts over 3.2 innings at Los Angeles (AL) ... Began season at Double-A Frisco ... 1-0 with a 1.83 ERA and four saves in 11 relief appearances; 19.2 innings, five walks, 22 strikeouts, .162 opponents' average.

2011 vs. IOWA: 1-1 with a 7.71 ERA in two relief outings; 4.2 innings, two walks, five strikeouts ... Took loss May 28 at The Dell Diamond, allowing three runs on four hits and no walks with two strikeouts over 1.1 innings; was charged with a blown save, surrendering a 4-2 Express lead ... Earned victory in relief June 9 at Iowa, holding Cubs to one run on two hits and two walks with three strikeouts over 3.1 innings.

NOTABLE: Writes left-handed ... signed in June 2007 by Minnesota Twins at an open tryout (only signee out of 110 participants) ... Posted 2-1 record with 1.20 ERA in eight games with Gulf Coast League Twins in 2007 ... 2008 Appalachian League All-Star with Elizabethton Twins ... Traded Aug. 25, 2008, to Texas Rangers for Eddie Guardado.

NOTES FROM LAST NIGHT'S GAME

All nine Round Rock batters hit safely as the Express produced 15 hits "" a season high for a non-extra-inning game (16 in 16 innings April 10 at Omaha). ... Michael Bianucci (10 games) and Brad Nelson (eight games) both extended hitting streaks. Bianucci has hit safely in all 10 Express games, while Nelson has reached safely in each of the nine games he has played. ... Julio Borbon (4-for-5) produced Round Rock's third four-hit game this season; it was his first. ... In snapping the six-game skid, the Express avoided the first seven-game losing streak by the Rangers Triple-A affiliate since Aug. 25-31, 2007. ... Eight of Round Rock's nine home runs this season came with no outs and five were to leadoff an inning, including both last night. ... The Express turned three double plays in last night's game, having turned four double plays in the season's first nine games.

PLAYER"ˆNOTES

Michael Bianucci has hit safely in all 10 games (.341, 15-for-44) with five multiple-hit games. He is second in the PCL"ˆin home runs (4), tied for fourth in RBI (12) and fourth in total bases (29). Bianucci joins Roger Kieschnick (Fresno), Derrick Robinson (Omaha) and Mike Trout (Salt Lake) as the only PCL players to hit safely in each of the season's first 10 games. ... Julio Borbon has reached safely in each of nine games played, hitting safely in seven. ... Dusty Brown has hit safely in each of his last three games and boasts a .412 on base percentage in four games played. ... Joey Butler is second in the PCL with nine walks, seven of which were in the last four games. He has hit safely in five straight games (all one-hit outings) and reached safely in eight of nine games played. ... Leonys Martin has reached safely in all nine games played, hitting safely in seven of the last eight. He is tied with Bianucci lead the Express with five multiple-hit games each. ... Tommy Mendonca has reached safely in seven straight after failing to do so in the season opener. He is hitting .368 (7-for-19) since starting the season 0-for-11. ... Brad Nelson has reached safely in all nine games played, hitting safely in each of the last eight. However, he has only one multiple-hit game in the streak (first game), hitting .257 (9-for-35) in that time. ... Tyler Tufts was credited with two of Round Rock's three wins. He owns a staff-best 1.35 ERA (1 ER/6.2 IP).

TEAM"ˆNOTES

Round Rock is 2-5 in one-run games, snapping a five-game skid in such games with last night's 6-5 win. That also put an end to a streak of four straight games all of which were one-run losses. The Express were 26-15 in one-run games last season. ... Round Rock is 18-for-73 (.247) with runners in scoring position over the last seven games, stranding 66 runners in that time (9.4 per game). ... The Express have lost as many one-run games (five) as any other PCL team has played (Salt Lake and Iowa have played five each). ... Round Rock batters are hitting .349 when leading off an inning but .250 with runners on base. By comparison, opposing batters are hitting .302 against the Express when leading off an inning and .318 with runners on base. ... Express pitchers have limited opposing batters to a .195 average (8-for-41) with runners in scoring position and two outs. ... Round Rock has committed four errors, the lowest total in the PCL. Round Rock's .990 fielding percentage is the league's best.

NEXT SERIES

Round Rock continues an eight-game home stand, hosting the Omaha Storm Chasers for a four-game series. The series runs Tuesday through Friday with a 7:05 p.m. first pitch each night.

GAME"ˆ13 | TUESDAY, APRIL 17 | 7:05 p.m. CDT | THE DELL DIAMOND

Express: RHP Neil Ramirez (0-1, 5.00 ERA)

Storm Chasers: RHP Nate Adcock (2-0, 0.00 ERA)

GAME"ˆ14 | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14 | 7:05 p.m. CDT | THE DELL DIAMOND

Express: RHP"ˆGreg Reynolds (0-1, 5.25 ERA)

Storm Chasers: LHP Ryan Verdugo (0-0, 9.00 ERA)

GAME"ˆ15 | THURSDAY, APRIL 15 | 1:05 p.m. CDT | THE DELL DIAMOND

Express: LHP"ˆZach Jackson (0-1, 6.35 ERA)

Storm Chasers: LHP Mike Montgomery (0-0, 8.22 ERA)

GAME"ˆ16 | FRIDAY, APRIL 16 | 7:05 p.m. CDT | THE DELL DIAMOND

Express: RHP Mark Hamburger (0-0, 11.25 ERA; starts today)

Storm Chasers: RHP Vin Mazzaro (0-0, 3.00 ERA; starts today)

Check out the Round Rock Express Statistics



Pacific Coast League Stories from April 15, 2012


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