PCL1 Round Rock Express

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

Published on June 22, 2012 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release


GAME 75 | 22 JUNE 2012 | 7:05 P.M. CDT | THE DELL DIAMOND | ROUND ROCK, TEXAS

ROUND ROCK EXPRESS (33-41) vs. IOWA CUBS (31-43)

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

EXPRESS: RHP Derek Hankins (2-3, 3.21 ERA) | CUBS: LHP Chris Rusin (5-5, 4.56 ERA)

TONIGHT, TONIGHT

Round Rock concludes a nine-day, eight-game home stand with the finale of a four-game series against the Iowa Cubs (Chicago Cubs). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CDT at The Dell Diamond. The Express have won six of their last nine games and lead the series two games to one after last night's 6-2 victory. Round Rock is 6-4 over its last 10 games and 19-16 at The Dell Diamond. The Cubs have lost eight of their last 10 and are 6-15 since June 1. Iowa is 15-20 on the road, dropping eight of their last nine road games. Round Rock is fourth in the PCL's American Southern Division, nine-and-a-half games back of Oklahoma City. Iowa is second in the American Northern Division but trails Omaha by 14 games - the league's largest first-place margin by five 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 third of four series between Round Rock and Iowa. The Express lead the season series 6-5. The teams split a four-game series to start the season April 5-8 at Des Moines and split a four-game series the following week (April 13-16) at The Dell Diamond. The Express will follow the Cubs back to Des Moines for a four-game series June 23-26. ... SERIES HISTORY: The Express hold a 62-61 edge in the all-time series, including a 35-28 advantage at The Dell Diamond. Round Rock won the season series in 2006 (12-4), 2008 (11-5) and 2011 (9-7), while Iowa claimed the season series in 2005 (10-5), 2007 (10-6), 2009 (9-7) and 2010 (11-5). The teams split a pair of series "" one at each location "" earlier this season. There have been five sweeps in the series: Iowa at home in 2005, Round Rock at Iowa in 2006, Round Rock at home in 2006, Round Rock at home in 2008 and Round Rock at home in 2009. The Express have not won a home series against the Cubs since the 2009 sweep, splitting three series and dropping three of four in the other two series. ... 2012 SERIES: Six of the 11 meetings this season were one-run affairs with each team winning three times. Only two of the 11 games were decided by more than three runs, both Express wins. The teams have played one extra-inning game "" an 11-10 Express victory 13-innings April 15 at The Dell Diamond. Round Rock is hitting .253 (96-for-380) with 11 homers, 20 doubles, a triple, seven stolen bases and 5.1 runs per game. Mike Bianucci is 14-for-37 (.378) in 10 games with five homers, 11 RBI and nine runs scored. Joey Butler is 13-for-42 (.310) with one homer, three RBI, five doubles and 11 runs scored in 11 games. Express pitchers have a 4.17 ERA (47 ER/101.1 IP) with 71 strikeouts against 36 walks. Martin Perez is 2-1 with a 1.74 ERA (4 ER/20.2 IP) in three starts against the Cubs. Iowa is hitting .285 (111-for-389) with 12 homers, 19 doubles, two triples, 11 stolen bases and 4.5 runs per game. Brett Jackson is 14-for-46 (.304) with two homers, six RBI, five doubles, a triple, eight runs scored and eight walks in 11 games; he also has 20 strikeouts. Anthony Rizzo is 13-for-43 (.302) with three homers, nine RBI, four runs scored and nine strikeouts in 10 games.

SERIES"ˆINFORMATION

GAME"ˆ72 | TUESDAY, JUNE 19

at Express 6, Cubs 3

WP: Reynolds (6-5). LP: Lopez (1-2). SV: Cotts (1).

GAME"ˆ73 | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20

Cubs 4, at Express 1

WP: Raley (3-2). LP: Ramirez (6-8). SV: Dolis (2).

GAME"ˆ74 | THURSDAY, JUNE 21

at Express 6, Cubs 2

WP: Perez (5-5). LP: De La Cruz (1-2). SV: None.

GAME"ˆ75 | FRIDAY, JUNE 22 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: RHP Derek Hankins (2-3, 3.21 ERA)

Cubs: LHP Chris Rusin (5-5, 4.56 ERA)

START ME UP

RHP DEREK HANKINS (1-3, 3.03 ERA, 15 K)

2012: Made two relief appearances for Rangers at spring training, going 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA"ˆ(1 ER/1.1 IP), one walk and one strikeout ... Round Rock's primary long-relief arm ... two spot starts "" May 12 at Tacoma, May 28 at Nashville ... snapped a 9.2-inning scoreless streak over his five outings June 7 at Omaha when he surrendered Irving Falu's two-run homer ... opponents are 6-for-37 (.162) over his last six outings with no walks and five strikeouts ... no walks since May 18 vs. Fresno (seven games, 45 batters faced) ... opposing batters are 0-for-16 with runners in scoring position and two outs, 0-for-5 with bases loaded ... stranded 10 of 11 inherited runners ... 0-1, 2.70 ERA (2 ER/6.2 IP) in two starts ... 0-3, 3.38 ERA (9 ER/24.0 IP) in two starts, 10 relief outings on the road.

LAST OUTING: Retired lone batter faced in relief role June 10 at Omaha ... entered game with Express trailing 8-6 and the bases loaded in the eighth inning ... four pitches, three strikes.

LAST START: No-decision in May 28 spot start at Nashville, an 8-5 Express victory ... worked 2.0 scoreless innings on one hit and no walks with one strikeout ... left game leading 1-0.

2012 vs. ALBUQUERQUE: Tossed 2.0 scoreless innings in relief June 4 at The Dell Diamond ... allowed one hit and no walks with one strikeout, facing one batter over the minimum.

CAREER"ˆvs. ALBUQUERQUE: 1-2, 5.94 ERA"ˆ(11 ER/16.2 IP) in three starts and two relief outings with 10 strikeouts against seven walks ... made three starts and one relief appearance in 2011 ... lost June 7 start at The Dell Diamond, allowing four runs on seven hits (three homers) and no walks with five strikeouts over 6.0 innings ... surrendered five runs (four earned)"ˆon five hits (one homer) and three walks with no strikeouts over 2.0 innings for loss in July 6 start at Albuquerque ... earned victory in Sept. 2 start at The Dell Diamond; yielded two runs on six hits (one homer) and three walks over 5.2 innings with three strikeouts.

NOTABLE: Was a second-team Conference USA selection as a junior ... led Conference USA with 114 strikeouts as a junior ... earned all-region and all-conference honors as a sophomore.

THINGS HAVE CHANGED

Pitchers Neil Ramirez and Ross Wolf were assigned to Double-A Frisco, the Rangers announced Friday. Meanwhile, left-handers Chad Bell and Joe Ortiz were assigned to Round Rock. Bell began the season with Class A-Advanced Myrtle Beach, going 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA (2 ER/11.1 IP) and 12 strikeouts against four walks in four relief outings. He made his first appearance with Frisco April 25 and moved into the RoughRiders rotation May 19. Bell was 2-2 with a 2.84 ERA (16 ER/50.2 IP) and 40 strikeouts against 13 walks in seven starts and six relief appearances with Frisco. He was the Rangers 14th-round pick out of Walters State [Tenn.] Community College in 2009. Ortiz made 27 relief appearances with Frisco, going 1-2 with a 2.35 ERA (8 ER/30.2 IP), four saves and 29 strikeouts against six walks. He left Frisco with a 6.2-inning scoreless streak over his last six outings. Ortiz signed with the Rangers as a non-drafted free agent Aug. 28, 2006, out of Venezuela.

HERE COMES THE SUN

After two of the coolest games of the season, the heat returned Thursday with a temperature of 91 degrees at first pitch. It was the fourth warmest first pitch of the season. It was 93 degrees at first pitch June 14 when the Express hosted Oklahoma City. Projected temperature for tonight's 7:05 p.m. game is 94 degrees. Temperatures are expected to be above 100 degrees when the Express return to The Dell Diamond next week.

GETTING BETTER

The Express won six of their last nine games, out-scoring the opponent 44-33 in those games. Round Rock held the opponent to three or fewer runs in all six wins and four runs in one of the three losses. Express pitchers have a 3.44 ERA (31 ER/81.0 IP), and Express batters are hitting .297 (93-for-313) with nine homers. Clutch hitting has been the difference in the losses; Round Rock was 4-for-22 (.182) with runners in scoring position, while opposing batters were 10-for-25 (.400).

YESTERDAY

Martin Perez logged Round Rock's first complete game since Zach Jackson's against Albuquerque in the 2011 regular-season finale. It was the first complete game of Perez's career and only the second time he worked past the seventh inning (7.2 innings May 16, 2011, with Double-A Frisco). Perez did not allow a hit until Josh Vitters' two-out solo homer in the fourth, ending a stretch of 8.2 consecutive hitless innings; opposing batters were 0-for-25 with two walks in that time. He retired each of the final seven batters he faced after Ty Wright's seventh-inning, two-out RBI double. Perez started six batters 0-2; those batters were 0-for-6 with three strikeouts. He was extremely economical, using only 90 pitches with 65 strikes. Perez eclipsed 11 pitches in an inning only twice, using 14 in the fourth and seventh innings, and he needed fewer than 10 pitches in the first, second, third and fifth innings.

WHAT'S GOING ON

Despite sitting nine-and-a-half games back (last place) in the division standings, Round Rock is 13-10 against division foes. In fact, Oklahoma City leads the division by one game over Albuquerque; however, the RedHawks are 11-16 against the division. The Isotopes are 16-13 against division foes but 3-4 against the Express. Round Rock's schedule is quite favorable in the season's second half (72 games). The Express play only 12 games against non-division teams with .500-or-better records "" four against Omaha (home), four against Las Vegas (home) and four against Reno (road).

COME AS YOU ARE

Round Rock leads the PCL in attendance by a substantial margin. Express fans have filled The Dell Diamond at a rate of 8,393 fans per game "" more than 1,000 fans per game more than second-place Sacramento (7,358). In fact, the gap between Round Rock and Sacramento (1,035) is larger than the gap between Sacramento and sixth-place Salt Lake (6,396). Round Rock led the PCL in attendance last season with 8,587 fans per game.

RAMBLIN' MAN

Brad Nelson hit safely in 26 of his last 27 road games, going 41-for-109 (.376) 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 27 road games was June 8 at Omaha when he was hitless in a pinch-hit role. Nelson is hitting more than 100 points better on the road (.336, 48-for-143) than at home (.234, 29-for-124). Seven of his nine homers and 28 of his 40 RBI were in road games; five of his 12 RBI at The Dell Diamond came during the current home stand. Nelson snapped an 0-for-8 skid with his fifth-inning leadoff homer last night. It was his sixth solo homer and fourth leadoff homer.

UNDER PRESSURE

Matt Kata is hitting .467 (21-for-45) with runners in scoring position, delivering 32 RBI. He is even more deadly with runners in scoring position and two outs, going 9-for-17 (.529) with 18 RBI. However, he is 35-for-142 (.246) without runners in scoring position. Kata owns Round Rock's lone grand slam (May 31 at Memphis) and is 4-for-6 with the bases loaded (11 RBI); he is 3-for-3 with the bases loaded since delivering a game-winning, three-run double May 24 vs. Sacramento. Furthermore, Kata is hitting .372 (16-for-43) after the seventh inning with 10 RBI. He is 28-for-77 (.346) over his last 20 games with two homers, 16 RBI, three doubles, a triple, nine multiple-hit outings and four multiple-RBI games. However, he is hitless in each of his last three games (0-for-10) "" his longest skid of the season both in terms of games and at bats.

COMING BACK TO LIFE

Mark Hamburger owns a 1.74 ERA (2 ER/10.1 IP) in five outings since the end of May, blanking the opponent in four of the five appearances. He has not allowed a home run since surrendering two May 22 in a four-inning save vs. Sacramento (18.0 innings, 77 batters faced). Hamburger worked 3.0 scoreless innings June 12 at Albuquerque, his longest scoreless outing this season. He recorded at least one strikeout in all but two of his 21 outings, and he has stranded all five inherited runners.

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 (5.33) but his record is just 2-8. That largely is because the Express have averaged just 3.62 runs per game in Jackson's 13 starts, scoring three or fewer runs eight times and fewer than three runs five times. Round Rock scored a total of 22 runs in his eight losses. Jackson yielded three or fewer earned runs in six of nine starts since tossing six shutout innings in a win April 24 at New Orleans. However, he is 1-6 in those nine starts. Jackson surrendered one unearned run over six innings in his June 5 start vs. Albuquerque; the Express were shutout 2-0.

WALK THIS WAY

Three Express players have gone at least 90 plate appearances without a walk: Luis Hernandez (May 19 "" 29 games, 131 plate appearances), Matt Kata (May 13 "" 23 games, 94 plate appearances) and Tommy Mendonca (May 2 "" 29 games, 112 plate appearances). Meanwhile, Joey Butler leads the PCL with 48 walks, four more than any other player.

FIVE TO ONE

The Express are 26-5 when holding the opposition to fewer than five runs but 7-36 when allowing at least five runs. Round Rock surrendered at least five runs eight times in the last 16 games and lost all eight games. Meanwhile, the Express are 7-21 when scoring fewer than five runs; three of the seven wins were shutouts.

BRING IT ON HOME

In stark contrast to last season, The Dell Diamond has not been a launching pad for the Express. Round Rock averages 0.69 homers per game through 35 home dates this season (24 homers). Conversely, Round Rock averages 1.36 homers in 39 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 but only six times 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 9.15 runs per game at The Dell Diamond this season as opposed to the 11.90 average in 2011. ... Round Rock is third in the PCL with 78 homers, 53 of which were on the road. Of Round Rock's 78 home runs, 42 were solo shots, including 23 to leadoff an inning.

EVERYDAY PEOPLE

Mike Bianucci is 9-for-21 (.429) over his last six games after going 5-for-33 (.152) in his previous eight games. He leads the team with 14 home runs, tied for fifth in the PCL. His two-homer game June 19 vs. Iowa was his first multiple-homer game since the 2011 season opener (April 7) with Double-A Frisco. The homers came in back-to-back bats after going 133 at bats with only three homers. Bianucci has one walk over his last 17 games (70 plate appearances). He is 4-for-11 (.364) with the bases loaded (two doubles, two walks, 10 RBI) and 18-for-37 (.486) in the fourth inning (four homers, eight RBI). ... Julio Borbon is hitless in his last 13 at bats since a third-inning single June 17 vs. Oklahoma City. It is his longest hitless stretch of the season and only the second time he has gone hitless in consecutive games (also had a three-game hitless stretch April 16-18). Borbon is 49-for-120 (.408) since May 12, a stretch that included a career-best, 21-game hitting streak. He is hitting .429 (33-for-77) in the middle innings with three homers, 17 RBI and six doubles. Borbon maintains a 13-game road hitting streak. ... Dusty Brown is 5-for-54 (.093) since an eighth-inning double May 11 at Salt Lake with 18 strikeouts in that time. However, he also has 15 walks in that time, including four games with two walks. Brown is 2-for-23 (.087) with runners in scoring position; both hits came with two outs. He owns a .483 on-base percentage when leading off an inning, hitting .318 (7-for-22) with one homer and seven walks against four strikeouts. Brown has three walks and two sacrifice flies in six bases-loaded plate appearances. ... Joey Butler is 6-for-12 (.500) over his last three games with two doubles and four runs scored. This comes on the heels of the least productive stretch in his Triple-A career, a seven-game span during which time he was 2-for-24 (.083) with no extra-base hits and one RBI. Butler's three-hit game last night was his seventh of the season and first since June 5. He is second on the team with 11 homers, six of which were solo shots. However, he has not homered since June 1 at Memphis, a span of 17 games and 63 at bats. Butler has not homered at The Dell Diamond since May 17 vs. Fresno (18 games). He is 13-for-27 (.481) in the fifth inning with four homers and eight RBI; he also has 10 eighth-inning RBI. ... Luis Hernandez is 14-for-43 (.326) over his last 10 games with six multiple-hit outings (one three-hit game), four doubles, five RBI and six runs scored. He has not walked since May 19, a span of 29 games and 131 plate appearances. Three of his four home runs were solo shots. Hernandez leads all PCL shortstops with a .987 fielding percentage (four errors, 300 chances). ... Luis Martinez is riding a seven-game hitting streak (.333, 8-for-24), his longest of the season; he has five walks, a double, a triple and six runs scored during that time. Martinez is 13-for-32 (.406) in the third and fourth innings but 19-for-95 (.200) the rest of the game, going 3-for-22 (.136) prior to the third inning. He is 2-for-22 (.091) 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). ... Yangervis Solarte's three-hit game last night was his fourth of the season and first since three consecutive three-hit games April 20-22 "" the second, third and fourth games of his franchise-record, 22-game hitting streak. Solarte is second in the PCL with 13.35 plate appearances per strikeout. He has two strikeouts in his last 17 games (70 plate appearances). Solarte has reached safely in each of his last five plate appearances (4-for-4, walk). He is 6-for-13 (.462) during a current four-game hitting streak. Solarte is hitting .231 (21-for-91) through the first three innings but .315 (58-for-184) thereafter with five of his six home runs and 26 of his 33 RBI. He has not homered since May 14, a span of 31 games and 122 at bats. Five of his six home runs were solo shots. Solarte is 16-for-44 (.364) when leading off an inning with one home run and three walks (.404 on-base percentage). He is 5-for-39 (.128) with runners in scoring position and fewer than two outs. ... Ryan Spilborghs has not homered since May 26, a span of 21 games and 81 at bats. He is 8-for-47 (.170) over his last 12 games, and three of the eight hits came June 13 at Albuquerque; his average dropped from .400 to .331 in that time. Spilborghs is 21-for-46 (.457) during the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. He is 5-for-27 (.185) with runners in scoring position and two outs; he is hitless in each of his last 10 such at bats. Spilborghs has played 224 career PCL games, hitting .340 (288-for-848) with 24 homers, 119 RBI and 64 doubles.

BROTHERS IN ARMS

Neal Cotts, who has battled injuries over the past three seasons, made his Texas Rangers organizational debut June 12 at Albuquerque. It was his first outing since June 24, 2009, with the Iowa Cubs. Cotts stranded four of six inherited runners and has not allowed a run in three outings at The Dell Diamond (2.2 innings). He walked one batter in each of his four appearances. ... Derek Hankins has one walk in his last nine outings (16.2 innings) with seven strikeouts and a .182 opponents' average (12-for-66). Opposing batters are 0-for-19 with runners in scoring position and two outs, and 0-for-5 with the bases loaded. Hankins stranded 11 of 12 inherited runners. ... Aaron Heilman has a 2.03 ERA (3 ER/13.1 IP) over his last 10 outings, going 1-0 with three saves. He recorded at least one strikeout in 19 of 20 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 27 strikeouts in his last 23.2 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 1.20 ERA (2 ER/15.0 IP) in 11 outings at The Dell Diamond but 0-2 with a 5.09 ERA (13 ER/23.0 IP) in 13 road games. He has 14 strikeouts over 14.0 innings with five walks in his last nine appearances. Opponents are hitting .348 (8-for-23) with runners in scoring position and two outs. Snyder stranded 10 of 17 inherited runners. ... Yoshinori Tateyama has not allowed an earned run in 12 of 13 outings. He has not allowed an earned run with the Express since April 21 at New Orleans, a span of 13.0 innings over nine appearances. Tateyama has allowed four runs (one earned), all of which scored in the eighth inning. Opponents are 1-for-12 (.083) with runners in scoring position and 3-for-30 (.100) when behind in the count. ... Johan Yan surrendered at least one run in five of seven outings since joining the Express (May 25) and allowed an inherited runner to score in one of the other two outings. Opponents are 7-for-14 (.500) against him with runners on base.

FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH

Round Rock is 6-12 in series openers. ... Round Rock is hitting .325 (25-for-77) with the bases loaded, going 15-for-39 (.385) since May 21. Meanwhile, opposing batters are 29-for-70 (.414) with the bases loaded, including six grand slams. Oklahoma City is 6-for-6 against Express pitching with the bases loaded. ... Round Rock leads the PCL with 84 double plays turned. ... The Express have at least one double in 69 of 74 games, including 34 of 35 home games. Round Rock enjoyed a 47-game streak with at least one double after failing to double in the season opener. ... Round Rock is 7-10 in one-run games. Six of the 17 games were against Iowa. ... Round Rock is 1-32 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 are 31-5 when leading after seven innings and 33-0 when out-scoring the opponent.

WHO'S NEXT

Round Rock follows Iowa back to Des Moines for a four-game series at Principle Park. The series begins Saturday with a 7:05 p.m. CDT first pitch and continues Sunday at 1:05 p.m., Monday at 12:05 p.m. and Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. The Express return home following the four-game series.

GAME"ˆ76 | SATURDAY, JUNE 23 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: LHP Zach Jackson (2-8, 5.33 ERA)

Cubs: RHP Chris Volstad (2-1, 4.78 ERA)

GAME"ˆ77 | SUNDAY, JUNE 24 | 1:05 p.m. CDT

Express: RHP Greg Reynolds (6-5, 4.57 ERA)

Cubs: RHP Rodrigo Lopez (1-2, 4.29 ERA)

GAME"ˆ78 | MONDAY, JUNE 25 | 12:05 p.m. CDT

Express: TBA

Cubs: LHP Brooks Raley (3-2, 4.72 ERA)

GAME"ˆ79 | TUESDAY, JUNE 26 | 12:05 p.m. CDT

Express: LHP Martin Perez (5-5, 4.59 ERA)

Cubs: RHP Frankie De La Cruz (1-2, 2.68 ERA)

Check out the Round Rock Express Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from June 22, 2012


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