PCL1 Round Rock Express

Round Rock Express - Game Notes vs. New Orleans Zephyrs

Published on May 2, 2012 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release


*** PDF GAME NOTES ATTACHED ***

GAME 27 | 2 MAY 2012 | 7:05 P.M. CDT | THE DELL DIAMOND | ROUND ROCK, TEXAS

ROUND ROCK EXPRESS (11-15) vs. NEW ORLEANS ZEPHYRS (15-10)

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

EXPRESS: LHP Martin Perez (2-2, 4.13 ERA) | ZEPHYRS: RHP Alex Sanabia (3-0, 2.31 ERA)

TONIGHT'S"ˆGAME

Round Rock continues an eight-game home stand tonight with the third of four games against the New Orleans Zephyrs (Miami Marlins). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CDT at The Dell Diamond. The Express halted a three-game skid with last night's 6-3 victory and are 5-5 in their last 10 games. The Zephyrs are 4-6 in their last 10 games and have lost four of their last five against the Express. Round Rock is 5-5 at home, while New Orleans is 5-4 on the road. This is the seventh of 16 meetings between the Pacific Coast League American Southern Conference foes. The Zephyrs trail division-leading Oklahoma City by a half game, while the Express trail by five games.

BROADCAST"ˆINFORMATION

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.

EXPRESS-ZEPHYRS SERIES

Round Rock leads the season series 4-2, taking three of four at New Orleans last week. The Zephyrs won the series opener, but the Express rebounded for wins in each of the series' final three games. New Orleans also won the opener of the current series (5-3), but Round Rock rebounded for a 6-3 win last night. This is the second of four series between the teams this season. The Zephyrs return to The Dell Diamond June 30-July 3, and the Express return to Zephyr Field in the season's penultimate series Aug. 27-30. ... SERIES NOTES: Round Rock is hitting .312 as a team, averaging 11.3 hits per game. The Express have clubbed nine homers, including a season-high four in the series' second game. Meanwhile, Express pitchers have limited the Zephyrs to a .260 average and three home runs with a 3.06 ERA (18 ER/53.0 IP). Round Rock has out-scored New Orleans 34-10 over the last five games. ... Joey Butler is 10-for-22 (.455) with two homers, five RBI, two doubles, eight runs scored and five walks in six games. ... Matt Kata is 6-for-19 (.316) with two doubles, three RBI and six runs scored in five games. Kata, who is in his fourth season as a member of the Express, is 55-for-158 (348) in 42 games against New Orleans over the past four seasons with three homers, 23 RBI, 10 doubles, two triples and 25 runs scored. ... Brad Nelson is 9-for-23 (.391) with a home run, two RBI, a double and five runs scored in five games. ... Yangervis Solarte is 11-for-25 (.440) with two homers, three RBI, a double and five runs scored in six games. ... Greg Miclat is 3-for-10 (.300) with five RBI and a run scored in three games. All three hits were doubles. ... Chase Lambin is the only Zephyr hitting better than .333 against Round Rock pitching. He is 7-for-15 (.467) with a home run, two RBI and three runs scored in five games.

SERIES"ˆINFORMATION

GAME"ˆ25 | MONDAY, APRIL 30

Zephyrs 5, Express 3

WP: Koehler (1-3). LP: Jackson (1-3). SV: Rosario (9).

GAME"ˆ26 | TUESDAY, MAY 1

Express 6, Zephyrs 3

WP: Kirkman (1-1). LP: Martin (2-2). SV: Tateyama (1).

GAME"ˆ27 | WEDNESDAY, MAY 2 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: LHP Martin Perez (2-2, 4.13 ERA)

Zephyrs: RHP Alex Sanabia (3-0, 2.31 ERA)

GAME"ˆ28 | THURSDAY, MAY 3 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: RHP Neil Ramirez (2-2, 4.50 ERA)

Zephyrs: LHP Brad Hand (2-1, 3.18 ERA)

EXPRESS STARTER

LHP MARTIN PEREZ (2-2, 4.13 ERA)

2012: Non-roster invite to Rangers spring training ... started two games, working 4.0 innings with an 0-1 record and a 9.00 ERA"ˆ(4 ER/4.0 ERA) ... opponents hit .444 (8-for-18) ... walked five with three strikeouts ... Earned victory in April 6 start at Iowa, a 4-3 Express win ... no-decision in April 11 start at Omaha, a 6-5 Express loss ... suffered tough-luck loss in April 16 start vs. Iowa, a 3-2 Cubs win; allowed three runs "" one earned "" on three hits over 5.2 innings ... saddled with loss in April 21 start at New Orleans, an 8-5 Zephyrs win.

LAST"ˆSTART: Earned victory in April 27 start at Oklahoma City, an 8-3 Express win ... allowed three runs on four hits, including one homer, over six innings with four strikeouts and no walks ... surrendered two first-inning runs before retiring 13 straight, a stretch that ended with Carlos Corporan's sixth-inning leadoff homer ... used 84 pitched, 53 strikes.

2012 vs. NEW ORLEANS: Saddled with loss in April 21 start at New Orleans, an 8-5 Zephyrs win ... allowed five runs on six hits and five walks over five innings with three strikeouts ... season highs in runs allowed and walks; tied season high in hits allowed ... surrendered two runs in third inning and three in fourth ... left game trailing 5-4.

2011 vs. NEW ORLEANS: 0-2 with a 15.19 ERA (9 ER/5.1 IP) in two starts ... yielded six runs "" three earned "" on 11 hits and two walks over 3.1 innings with one strikeout July 21 at The Dell Diamond in second career Triple-A start ... lasted two innings in Aug. 21 start at The Dell Diamond; allowed six runs on eight hits and a walk with four strikeouts.

2011: Combined to go 8-6 with a 4.33 ERA (66 ER/137.1 IP) in 26 starts and one relief outing between Frisco (AA) and Round Rock (AAA) ... held opposition to a .284 average (152-for-536) with left-handed batters hitting .252 (34-for-135) and right-handed batters hitting .294 (118-for-401) ... logged career highs in both starts (26) and innings (137.1) ... surrendered just one of his 10 home runs to a lefty ... began the season with Frisco and tossed the second perfect game in RoughRiders history April 19 at Arkansas, retiring all 15 batters he faced in a 6.0-inning, rain-shortened contest ... was the winning pitcher in the 2011 Texas League All-Star Game and appeared in the All-Star Futures Game at Chase Field in July ... promoted to the Express July 15, becoming the youngest player in the Pacific Coast League ... went 4-4 with a 6.43 ERA (35 ER/49.0 IP) and 37 strikeouts against 20 walks in 10 games (all starts) ... earned the victory in debut July 16 at Memphis, holding the Redbirds to one run over 5.0 innings of work ... was 1-2 with a 10.13 ERA (15 ER/13.1 IP) over next three starts ... logged a quality start in two of next three outings, going 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA (5 ER/18.1 IP) to lower Triple-A ERA from 7.85 to 5.15 ... allowed at least four runs in each of his final three outings, posting a 10.22 ERA (14 ER/12.1 IP).

NOTABLE: Martin Jimenez Perez ... born July 4, 1991 ... youngest active player in Triple-A.

MARTIN PLACED ON DISABLED LIST

Leonys Martin was placed on the disabled list (left thumb) prior to tonight's game. He left last night's game after the fifth inning. The DL stint comes as Martin is riding a seven-game hitting streak (.379, 11-for-29) with four multiple-hit outings in that time. He leads the team with 12 multiple-hit games, four of which were three-hit outings. Martin was successful in four of his last five stolen-base attempts. Elio Sarmiento was activated from the disabled list, keeping the Express roster at 25 players.

SOLARTE STREAK CONTINUES

Yangervis Solarte is riding a 12-game hitting streak, Round Rock's fifth streak of at least 10 games this season. He is hitting .408 (20-for-49) during the streak with three homers, eight RBI, three doubles and eight runs scored. Last night's two-hit effort was his fifth multiple-hit outing during the streak. However, he has produced an RBI in only one of the last seven games "" a three-RBI night April 27 at Oklahoma City. Solarte has reached safely in 15 straight games, and he has gone hitless in consecutive games only twice this season with no three-game skids.

BUTLER BREAKS OUT OF RARE "SLUMP"

Joey Butler was 3-for-4 last night, snapping a two-game skid without a hit. It was the first time he had gone hitless in consecutive games since June 16-17, 2011, a 94-game stretch. The only other time he was held hitless in consecutive games during his Triple-A career was in his fourth and fifth games at the level (April 17-18, 2011). Butler has gone hitless in three consecutive games only five times in his professional career, and only once has he gone four straight games without a hit "" June 4-9, 2009, with Class A-Advanced Bakersfield.

PITCHER'S BEST FRIEND

Round Rock has turned 32 double plays, two more than any other PCL team (Tucson). The Express rank fifth in the PCL with a .978 fielding percentage and were error-free in five of their last six games with two errors in the other game. That comes on the heels of a nine-game stretch in which Round Rock committed 15 errors with at least one defensive miscue in seven of the nine games.

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE

Round Rock has at least one double in every game since the season opener "" a 25-game run. The Express clubbed at least two doubles in 17 of those games, collecting three or more seven times, four or more five times and a season-best five doubles April 22 at New Orleans. Round Rock is fifth in the PCL with 53 doubles.

"HOME" RUNS SCARCE

In stark contrast to last season, The Dell Diamond has not been a launching pad for the Express. Round Rock is averaging 0.50 homers per game through 10 home dates this season while averaging 1.25 homers in 16 road games. Last season, the Express averaged 1.46 home runs per game at The Dell Diamond and 0.97 homers per game on the road. No Round Rock player has homered more than once at home this season. Teams have combined to score 8.70 runs per game at The Dell Diamond this season as opposed to the 11.90 average in 2011.

BULLPEN STEADY

Express relievers boast a 3.43 ERA (39 ER/102.1 IP). The bullpen has allowed 23 earned runs in 74.2 innings (2.77 ERA) over the last 19 games since a ninth-inning blown save April 11 at Omaha. Round Rock relievers have allowed more than one earned run in a game only four times in that span, including a 13-inning game and a five-run, seven-inning night April 28 at Oklahoma City.

NO MORE CLOSE CALLS

Round Rock has not played a one-run game since a 2-1 victory April 20 against Omaha. The Express are 4-6 in one-run games, seven of which were against Iowa. Round Rock played eight one-run games in the season's first 12 contests, capped by a franchise-record seven consecutive one-run affairs April 10-16; however, the Express have played only one such game since that seven-game stretch.

BASES-LOADED WOES SUBSIDE

Tommy Mendonca's bases-loaded single in the seventh inning last night snapped an 0-for-11 slump in bases-loaded situations for the Express. Round Rock batters are 5-for-21 (.238) with the bases loaded, drawing more walks (six) than hits in that situation. Only one of the five hits went for extra bases "" a Yangervis Solarte three-run double April 8 at Iowa. Meanwhile, opposing batters are 11-for-21 (.524) with the bases loaded, including a pair of grand slams. Oklahoma City was 5-for-5 in last week's series.

TEAM"ˆNOTES

Round Rock is 9-3 when holding the opposition to fewer than five runs but 2-12 when allowing at least five runs, losing six straight since a 13-inning, 11-10 victory April 15 vs. Iowa. ... The Express are 1-6 in series openers. The lone win was April 17 vs. Omaha (4-2). ... Of Round Rock's 25 home runs, 14 have been solo shots, including seven to leadoff an inning; 13 came with no outs. ... Round Rock is 0-12 when trailing after seven innings, one of six PCL teams winless in that situation.

PLAYER"ˆNOTES

Mike Bianucci is 6-for-16 (.375) over his last four games after going 4-for-33 (.121) in his previous eight games. He has two extra-base hits (one double, one homer) since April 11, a 16-game span. Bianucci has one homer over his last 75 at bats after hitting four in his first 21 at bats. He has nine multiple-hit games, all two-hit efforts. Bianucci has not produced an RBI since April 23 (six games), his longest dry spell of the season. He has struck out at least once in nine of his last 11 games with 13 in that span. ... Julio Borbon produced two hits in each of his last three games after going 12 straight games without a multiple-hit outing. He is 6-for-14 (.429) over his last three games after going 4-for-39 (.103) in his previous 11 outings. Borbon has four RBI over his last 15 games, all of which came in the last five games. He has not produced an extra-base hit since an April 14 double, a 15-game stretch. ... Dusty Brown is riding a four-game hitting streak, going 6-for-14 (.429) in that time with a home run, four RBI, two doubles, two runs scored and three walks in that time. It is his second four-game run of the season (April 8-15). ... Joey Butler has reached safely in 23 of 25 games played. He snapped an 18-game on-base streak in Sunday's series finale at Oklahoma City, going 0-for-4. Six of his 11 RBI this season came via home runs. He is tied with Justin Christian (Fresno) and Roger Kieschnick (Fresno) for the PCL lead with 24 runs scored "" four more than any other American Conference player (Johnny Giavotella, Omaha). Butler is hitting .420 (29-for-69) when putting the ball in play. However, he has struck out at least once in six of his last seven games, fanning nine times against three walks in that time. Butler has seven multiple-hit outings, five of which came in his last nine games. ... Luis Hernandez snapped a seven-game hitting streak (.353, 12-for-34) Monday night, going 0-for-5 with four strikeouts. His four whiffs last night came on the heels of a 14-game stretch in which he struck out only five times over a span of 58 at bats. ... Matt Kata snapped a six-game hitting streak (.308, 8-for-26) last night, going 0-for-2 after entering the game in the sixth inning. He also snapped a streak of four straight games with at least one RBI. Kata has reached safely in 13 of 14 games started. ... Tommy Mendonca walked twice last night, ending a 13-game spell with his first free passes since April 12. He is 9-for-56 (.161) since a four-hit outing April 10 at Omaha. Mendonca is 4-for-8 with RISP and two outs, but 0-for-10 with RISP and fewer than two outs. ... Greg Miclat has hit safely in five of his last six games with at least one plate appearance. He tallied four RBI last night, his first game with more than two RBI since a four-RBI outing June 19, 2010, as a member of Class A-Advanced Frederick in the Baltimore Orioles system. All of his last four hits were doubles. ... Brad Nelson has hit safely in eight straight games since snapping a 1-for-18 skid. He is hitting .441 (15-for-34) during the current hitting streak with one home run, four RBI, two doubles and 10 runs scored, crossing the plate at least once in six of the eight games. Nelson also has produced multiple hits in six of the eight games, including a three-hit outing April 24 at New Orleans. He has not produced an RBI in five straight games, tying his longest dry spell of the season. ... Sean Green surrendered multiple runs (two) for the first time in his nine outings Monday night. Opposing batters are 1-for-9 (.111) with RISP and two outs but 6-for-13 (.462) when leading off an inning. ... Mark Hamburger has allowed one run over 7.2 innings as a reliever (1.17 ERA) after yielding 17 ER over 10.1 innings (14.81 ERA) in three starts. He is holding opponents to a .214 average (6-for-28) with one walk and nine strikeouts as a reliever. ... Opposing batters are 0-for-9 with RISP and two outs against Derek Hankins. He has not allowed multiple runs in any of his last seven outings since surrendering two in his first appearance of the season. ... Aaron Heilman owns a 2.00 ERA (2 ER/9.0 IP) over his last four outings with seven strikeouts against three walks. Three of the four earned runs Heilman has surrendered this season were via home runs. ... Neil Ramirez was named PCL Pitcher of the Week April 23 after earning wins in two starts with no runs allowed over six innings in each start. He allowed six runs on just one inning April 27 at Oklahoma City in his next start, his shortest outing in 23 starts at the Triple-A level. ... Tanner Scheppers has converted each of his last three save opportunities over a seven-appearance span, posting a 1.17 ERA (1 ER/7.2 IP) over that time. He currently has a 4.2-inning scoreless streak over his last four outings, surrendering only two singles and a double in that time with six strikeouts and no walks. Scheppers recorded six of his last 11 outs via strikeout. He is tied for fifth in the PCL with four saves. Opposing batters are 3-for-7 against him with RISP and two outs. ... Yoshinori Tateyama held the opposition scoreless in six of seven outings, allowing one run in the other appearance. Opponents are 6-for-33 (.182) with three extra-base hits (all doubles) against Yoshinori, including an 0-for-8 mark with runners in scoring position.

NEXT SERIES

Round Rock continues an eight-game home stand with a four-game series against the Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis Cardinals). The series opens Friday with a 7:05 p.m. CDT first pitch, followed by games Saturday at 7:05 p.m., Sunday at 1:05 p.m. and Monday at 12:05 p.m. This is the first of four series between the two teams this season.

GAME"ˆ29 | FRIDAY, MAY 4 | 7:05 p.m. CDT | THE DELL DIAMOND

Express: RHP Greg Reynolds (1-3, 4.45 ERA)

Redbirds: RHP Joe Kelly (1-1, 2.17 ERA)

GAME"ˆ30 | SATURDAY, MAY 5 | 7:05 p.m. CDT | THE DELL DIAMOND

Express: LHP Zach Jackson (1-2, 5.02 ERA)

Redbirds: RHP Shelby Miller (3-2, 5.09 ERA)

GAME"ˆ31 | SUNDAY, MAY 6 | 1:05 p.m. CDT | THE DELL DIAMOND

Express: LHP Michael Kirkman (1-1, 9.00 ERA)

Redbirds: LHP Nick Additon (0-2, 5.74 ERA)

GAME"ˆ32 | MONDAY, MAY 7 | 12:05 p.m. CDT | THE DELL DIAMOND

Express: LHP Martin Perez (2-2, 4.13 ERA; starts tonight)

Redbirds: RHP Brandon Dickson (1-1, 3.29 ERA; starts tonight)

Check out the Round Rock Express Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 2, 2012


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