PCL1 Round Rock Express

Round Rock Express - Game Notes vs. Nashville Sounds

Published on June 28, 2012 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release


GAME 81 | 28 JUNE 2012 | 7:05 P.M. CDT | THE DELL DIAMOND | ROUND ROCK, TEXAS

ROUND ROCK EXPRESS (36-44) vs. NASHVILLE SOUNDS (32-48)

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

EXPRESS: RHP Derek Hankins (2-4, 4.20 ERA) | SOUNDS: RHP Mark Rogers (3-4, 5.65 ERA)

TONIGHT, TONIGHT

Round Rock continues a seven-game home stand with the second of three games against the Nashville Sounds (Milwaukee Brewers). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CDT at The Dell Diamond. Nashville won last night's series opener 4-0, ending the Sounds' 11-game losing streak at The Dell Diamond. The Express, 6-4 over their last 10 games, are 19-18 at The Dell Diamond. The Sounds, 5-5 over their last 10 games, are 14-30 on the road and have not won consecutive road games since May 23-24 at Las Vegas. Round Rock is fourth in the PCL's American Southern Division, 10 games back of Albuquerque and five games behind third-place New Orleans. Nashville is third in the PCL's American Northern Division, 18 games behind division-leader Omaha and one game behind second-place Iowa.

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 second of four series between the two teams. The teams split a four-game series May 25-28 at Nashville. The Express return to Herschel Greer Stadium for a four-game series July 16-19, and the Sounds revisit The Dell Diamond for a five-game series Aug. 22-26. ... SERIES NOTES: Nashville leads the all-time series 59-58 with the Express holding a 32-25 advantage at The Dell Diamond. Nine of the last 21 meetings were one-run affairs. Nashville snapped an 11-game skid at The Dell Diamond with last night's win, the Sounds' first victory at Round Rock since June 5, 2010. The Sounds are 3-14 at The Dell Diamond since the beginning of the 2010 season. 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 3-2. The Sounds won the first two games 7-6 and 7-3, respectively. The Express responded with a 19-3 victory in the third game, establishing franchise records for runs and hits (24). Round Rock won the series finale 8-5 in 10 innings; Luis Hernandez's leadoff homer in the 10th proved to be the game-winning hit. Round Rock is hitting .321 (61-for-190) with nine homers, eight doubles, 20 walks and 7.2 runs per game. Mike Bianucci is 8-for-19 (.421) with one home run, 10 RBI and three doubles in five games. Julio Borbon is 7-for-16 (.438) with three stolen bases in four games. Matt Kata is 8-for-15 (.533) with one homer, two RBI and two runs score in three games. Brad Nelson is 8-for-22 (.364) with three homers, nine RBI and seven runs scored in five games. Ryan Spilborghs is 11-for-20 (.550) in five games with two homers, five RBI, one double and eight runs scored. Express pitchers have allowed 22 earned runs over 44.0 innings (4.50 ERA) with 32 strikeouts and 18 walks. Nashville is hitting .274 with seven homers, five doubles, 18 walks, 32 strikeouts, four stolen bases and 5.2 runs per game. Jeff Bianchi is 7-for-17 (.412) in four games with two stolen bases. Eric Farris is 7-for-19 (.368) with two doubles and three runs scored in five games.

SERIES"ˆINFORMATION

GAME"ˆ80 | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27

Sounds 4, at Express 0

WP: Peralta (3-8). LP: Holland (0-1). SV: None.

GAME"ˆ81 | THURSDAY, JUNE 28 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: RHP Derek Hankins (2-4, 4.20 ERA)

Sounds: RHP Mark Rogers (3-4, 5.65 ERA)

GAME"ˆ82 | FRIDAY, JUNE 29 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: LHP Zach Jackson (3-8, 5.09 ERA)

Sounds: RHP Brian Baker (1-3, 6.00 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 ... three spot starts "" May 12 at Tacoma, May 28 at Nashville, June 12 at Albuquerque ... moved to the rotation June 22 ... suffered losses April 5 at Iowa, April 8 at Iowa, May 12 at Tacoma and June 22 vs. Iowa ... wins April 20 vs. Omaha and June 12 at Albuquerque ... stranded 11 of 12 inherited runners ... two walks since May 18 vs. Fresno (10 games, 89 batters faced) ... opposing batters are 0-for-21 with runners in scoring position and two outs, 0-for-5 with bases loaded ... 1-2, 6.14 ERA (10 ER/14.2 IP) in four starts ... six of 10 earned runs allowed in last start ... 9.00 ERA (4 ER/4.0 IP) in the first inning ... 1-1, 5.63 ERA (10 ER/14.0 IP) in one start and seven relief outings at The Dell Diamond.

LAST START: Lost June 22 start vs. Iowa at The Dell Diamond (12-2) ... allowed six runs on nine hits and one walk over 3.0 innings with three strikeouts ... surrendered three first-inning runs ... faced three batters in the fourth inning before leaving game ... both bequeathed runners scored in eventual seven-run inning ... 63 pitches, 39 strikes.

2012 vs. NASHVILLE: 0-0, 0.00 ERA (4.0 IP) in one start, one relief outing with no walks and three strikeouts ... 2.0 scoreless innings on two hits with two strikeouts in relief May 25 at Nashville ... predetermined 2.0-inning spot start May 28 at Nashville; allowed one hit and no runs with one strikeout.

CAREER"ˆvs. NASHVILLE: 0-1, 3.71 ERA"ˆ(7 ER/17.0 IP) in three starts, three relief outings with 17 strikeouts and six walks ... six of seven runs allowed were in first career start vs. Nashville - May 7, 2011 at The Dell Diamond; two of three homers surrendered to Sounds were in that game ... other homer allowed was in lone loss - June 16, 2011 at Nashville; homer was Sounds' lone hit in a 1-0 game ... also tossed 3.0 scoreless innings in relief June 13, 2011, at Nashville and worked 3.1 scoreless innings in July 1, 2011, start at The Dell Diamond.

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.

BUFFALO SOLDIER

Joey Butler was selected to the 2012 PCL All-Star Team, the league office announced Monday. Butler, a 2011 PCL Postseason All-Star, is the lone Express representative on the 30-member team. The 25th-Annual Triple-A All-Star Game is July 11 at Coca-Cola Field in Buffalo, N.Y., and pits the PCL All-Stars against the International League All-Stars. The team consists of 13 elected players who received the most votes from ballots submitted by the league's field and general managers (one-third), media members (one-third) and online fan voting (one-third). The elected members are joined by 17 players selected by the league office. Each of the 16 PCL clubs will be represented in Buffalo.

BRING IT ON HOME

Round Rock is in the midst of a seven-game home stand tonight, and the Express have faired significantly better at The Dell Diamond than on the road. While Round Rock's bats have been more potent on the road (.284, 55 homers, 5.8 runs per game) than at home (.265, 25 homers, 4.3 runs per game), the Express pitching staff has been strikingly better at home (19-18, 4.15 ERA) than on the road (17-26, 5.57 ERA). Round Rock is 9-8 at The Dell Diamond since suffering its first home sweep in three years May 17-20 vs. Fresno.

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 8,368 fans per game "" nearly 900 fans per game more than second-place Sacramento (7,474). In fact, the gap between Round Rock and Sacramento (894) is larger than the gap between Sacramento and fifth-place Iowa (6,666). Round Rock led the PCL in attendance last season with 8,587 fans per game.

WHAT'S GOING ON

Despite sitting 10 games back (fourth place) in the division standings, Round Rock is 13-10 against division foes. Albuquerque, which leads the division by a half game, is 18-13 against the division but 3-4 against the Express (1-2 at home). Oklahoma City is second but 11-16 against the division (5-3 vs. Express, 3-1 at home), while New Orleans (five games behind Albuquerque) is 12-15 against division foes (3-5 vs. Express, 1-3 at home). Round Rock's schedule is quite favorable in the season's second half (72 games), playing only 12 games against non-division teams currently above .500 "" four against Omaha (home), four against Las Vegas (home) and four against Reno (road).

RAMBLIN' MAN

Brad Nelson hit safely in 29 of his last 31 road games, going 44-for-120 (.367) 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 outings over the last 31 road games were June 8 at Omaha (0-for-1 as pinch hitter) and June 26 at Iowa (0-for-2, two walks). Nelson is hitting nearly 100 points better on the road (.331, 51-for-154) than at home (.242, 32-for-132). Nine of his 11 homers and 34 of his 47 RBI were in road games; six of his 13 RBI at The Dell Diamond came in the most-recent home stand. Six of his 11 homers were solos, including four leadoff shots. Nelson snapped a five-game hitting streak Tuesday night; he was 5-for-17 (.294) with three homers (one grand slam) and nine RBI during the streak.

UNDER PRESSURE

Matt Kata is hitting .469 (23-for-49) with runners in scoring position (32 RBI), going 9-for-18 (.500) with runners in scoring position and two outs (18 RBI). However, he is 39-for-161 (.242) without runners in scoring position. Kata is 4-for-6 with the bases loaded (one homer, 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 .347 (17-for-49) after the seventh inning (10 RBI). He is 34-for-100 (.340) over his last 26 games with two homers, 17 RBI, four doubles, a triple, 10 multiple-hit outings and four multiple-RBI games.

WALK THIS WAY

Two Express players snapped lengthy streaks without walks in Tuesday's series finale at Iowa. Matt Kata walked for the first time since May 13 (27 games, 110 plate appearances), while Luis Hernandez walked for the first time since May 19 "" 33 games, 147 plate appearances). Tommy Mendonca (currently on the DL) last walked May 2, a span of 29 games and 112 plate appearances. Meanwhile, Joey Butler leads the PCL with 49 walks.

FIVE TO ONE

The Express are 29-7 when holding the opposition to fewer than five runs but 7-37 when allowing at least five runs, losing 11 straight in that situation. Conversely, Round Rock is 9-24 when scoring fewer than five runs; three of the nine wins were shutouts.

EVERYDAY PEOPLE

Mike Bianucci is riding a five-game hitting streak (.500, 9-for-18) with four two-hit outings. He is 18-for-43 (.419) over his last 12 games with six multiple-hit games. Bianucci's 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. He has gone eight games and 30 at bats since his last homer. Bianucci has two walks over his last 23 games (93 plate appearances). He is 4-for-12 (.333) with the bases loaded (two doubles, two walks, 10 RBI) and 21-for-41 (.512) in the fourth inning (four homers, nine RBI). ... Julio Borbon snapped an 0-for-29 skid with his first-inning single last night. It was his first hit since a third-inning single June 17 vs. Oklahoma City. It was his longest hitless stretch of the season both in terms of games (seven) and at bats. Despite the slump, Borbon is 50-for-140 (.357) since May 12, a stretch that included a career-best, 21-game hitting streak. He is hitting .407 (33-for-81) in the middle innings with three homers, 17 RBI and six doubles. ... Dusty Brown is 4-for-10 with a double over his last three games. He was 5-for-54 (.093) over his previous 20 games; however, he also had 15 walks in that time, including four games with two walks. Brown is 2-for-24 (.083) with runners in scoring position; both hits came with two outs. He owns a .469 on-base percentage when leading off an inning, hitting .320 (8-for-25) with one homer and seven walks against six strikeouts. Brown has three walks and two sacrifice flies in six bases-loaded plate appearances. ... Joey Butler is hitless in his last three games (0-for-9) and 2-for-16 (.125) over his last five games. Six of his 11 home runs were solo shots. He has not homered since June 1 at Memphis, a span of 22 games and 79 at bats. Butler has not homered at The Dell Diamond since May 17 vs. Fresno (20 games). He is 13-for-27 (.481) in the fifth inning with four homers and nine RBI; he also has 10 eighth-inning RBI. ... Luis Hernandez is hitless in his last three games (0-for-11) with one walk and three strikeouts. It is his longest hitless skid since a four-game stretch (0-for-13) May 17-20. Hernandez has one walk since May 19, a span of 34 games and 153 plate appearances. Three of his four home runs were solo shots. Hernandez leads all PCL shortstops with a .985 fielding percentage (five errors, 330 chances). His error last night was his first since a two-error game June 11 at Albuquerque (12 games). Hernandez is 2-for-5 with the bases loaded (eight RBI) but 3-for-21 (.143) with runners in scoring position and two outs. ... Luis Martinez snapped an eight-game hitting streak Sunday; it was his longest streak this season. He has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games (.294, 10-for-34) with seven walks and five runs scored. Martinez is 14-for-35 (.400) in the third and fourth innings but 20-for-102 (.196) the rest of the game. He is 3-for-24 (.125) 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 hit safely in seven of his last nine games (.344, 11-for-32) with three multiple-hit games (one three-hit outing) and four RBI. Five of his six home runs and 28 of his 35 RBI came after the third inning. Solarte has not homered since May 14, a span of 36 games and 141 at bats. Five of his six home runs were solo shots. He is 16-for-47 (.340) when leading off an inning with one home run and four walks (.392 on-base percentage). He is 6-for-43 (.140) with runners in scoring position and fewer than two outs. ... Ryan Spilborghs has not homered since May 26, a span of 27 games and 102 at bats. He is 11-for-68 (.162) over his last 18 games, and three of the 11 hits were in one game (June 13 at Albuquerque); his average dropped from .400 to .309 in that time. Spilborghs drew two walks last night, his fifth two-walk game and first since June 1 at Memphis. He is 21-for-52 (.404) during the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. He is 5-for-30 (.167) with runners in scoring position and two outs; he is hitless in each of his last 13 such at bats. Spilborghs has played 230 career PCL games, hitting .335 (291-for-869) with 24 homers, 119 RBI and 65 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 five of seven inherited runners and has not allowed a run in each of his last five appearances (4.0 innings). He walked one batter in each of his first four outings but none in his last two. ... Aaron Heilman has a 1.56 ERA (3 ER/17.1 IP) over his last 13 outings, going 1-0 with five saves (all of which came in his last eight appearances). He is riding an 8.0-inning scoreless streak over his last six outings. Heilman has 27 strikeouts in his last 27.2 innings. Four of 11 inherited runners scored, and opponents are hitting .361 (13-for-36) with runners in scoring position. ... Ben Snyder is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA (6 ER/15.0 IP) in 12 outings at The Dell Diamond but 0-3 with a 5.00 ERA (15 ER/27.0 IP) in 14 road games. He has 18 strikeouts over 18.0 innings with eight walks in his last 11 appearances. ... Yoshinori Tateyama has not allowed an earned run in 14 of 15 outings. He has not allowed an earned run with the Express since April 21 at New Orleans, a span of 15.1 innings over 11 appearances. He currently has an 8.1-inning scoreless streak over six appearances. Tateyama has 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-39 (.154) when behind in the count. ... Johan Yan tossed 1.1 scoreless innings June 26 at Iowa, his first scoreless outing since June 3 (vs. Albuquerque) and only his third in nine appearances with the Express. He stranded the bases loaded (all inherited runners) upon entering the game after stranding only two of five inherited runners in his first eight outings. Opponents are 2-for-5 with the bases loaded.

FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH

The Express are 7-13 in series openers, going 5-5 at The Dell Diamond. ... Of Round Rock's 80 home runs, 55 of which were on the road (1.28 per game). Meanwhile, Express batters average 0.65 homers per game at home (24 homers, 37 games). ... Round Rock is hitting .325 (26-for-80) with the bases loaded, including two grand slams, going 16-for-42 (.381) since May 21. Opponents are 30-for-75 (.400). ... Round Rock leads the PCL with 96 double plays turned, 10 more than any other team (Las Vegas). ... The Express failed to record an extra-base hit last night for the first time this season. ... Round Rock is 7-11 in one-run games. Seven of the 18 games were against Iowa. ... The Express are 1-35 when trailing after seven innings, dropping 23 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 34-5 when leading after seven innings and 36-1 when out-scoring the opponent.

WHO'S NEXT

The Express continue a seven-game home stand "" the final home stand before the All-Star Game break "" with a four-game series against the New Orleans Zephyrs (Miami Marlins). The series runs Saturday through Tuesday with a 7:05 p.m. CDT first pitch each night. Round Rock leads the season series 6-2. The Express won three of four April 21-24 at Metairie, La., and repeated the feat April 30-May 3 at The Dell Diamond. Round Rock returns to Zephyr Field for a four-game series Aug. 27-30.

GAME"ˆ83 | SATURDAY, JUNE 30 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: RHP Greg Reynolds (7-5, 4.39 ERA)

Zephyrs: LHP Brad Hand (5-4, 4.18 ERA)

GAME"ˆ84 | SUNDAY, JULY 1 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: LHP Chad Bell (1-0, 1.59 ERA)

Zephyrs: RHP Wade LeBalnc (5-5, 3.74 ERA)

GAME"ˆ85 | MONDAY, JULY 2 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: LHP Derek Holland (0-1, 3.00 ERA)

Zephyrs: RHP Tom Koehler (7-7, 3.79 ERA)

GAME"ˆ86 | TUESDAY, JULY 3 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: RHP Derek Hankins (2-4, 4.20 ERA; starts tonight)

Zephyrs: RHP Elih Villanueva (3-3, 4.50 ERA; starts tonight)

Check out the Round Rock Express Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from June 28, 2012


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