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Round Rock Express

Round Rock Express - Game Notes Vs. Oklahoma City RedHawks

April 25, 2011 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release


ROUND ROCK EXPRESS (12-6) vs. OKLAHOMA CITY REDHAWKS (6-11)

GAME 19 | 25 APRIL 2011 | 7:05 P.M. CDT | THE DELL DIAMOND | ROUND ROCK, TEXAS

TONIGHT'S GAMES

Round Rock continues a brief home stand tonight with the third of four games against the Oklahoma City RedHawks (Houston Astros). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CDT at The Dell Diamond. This continues an eight-game stretch against the RedHawks.

PROMOTIONS

$1 hot dogs and sodas compliments of Mrs Baird's.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Tonight's game airs on 104.9 FM The Horn ESPN Radio Austin. Online audio also is available at www.espnaustin.com. Express Director of Broadcasting Mike Capps provides play-by-play alongside color analyst Jerry Grote.

EXPRESS-REDHAWKS SERIES

After the Express swept a four-game series at Oklahoma City last week, the RedHawks have won the first two games of this series. The Rangers affiliate has won 17 of 21 against the Astros affiliate since the start of last season. This is the first of two times this season the Express play eight consecutive games against the same opponent; Round Rock and Memphis play eight straight in July, separated by the All-Star Game break.

GAME 17 | SATURDAY, APRIL 23

RedHawks 5, Express 0

WP: Lyles (1-2). LP: Kirkman (0-2). SV: None.

GAME 18 | SUNDAY, APRIL 24

RedHawks 4, Express 2

WP: Perez (1-2). LP: Ramirez (2-1). SV: Escalona (1).

GAME 19 | MONDAY, APRIL 25 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: LHP Zach Jackson (2-0, 5.23 ERA)

RedHawks: LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith (0-1, 5.59 ERA)

GAME 20 | TUESDAY, APRIL 26 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: RHP Derek Hankins (3-0, 4.24 ERA)

RedHawks: LHP Douglas Arguello (0-1, 3.86 ERA)

STARTING PITCHERS

EXPRESS: LHP Zach Jackson (2-0, 5.23 ERA)

Last Outing: Started and earned victory April 20 in Express 5-3 win at Oklahoma City ... No-hit bid broken by Carlos Corporan's leadoff double in the eighth inning ... Allowed three runs - two of which scored after exit - on four hits and three walks with five strikeouts over 8.1 innings.

2011: Makes fourth start tonight ... Express are 3-0 in his starts ... Averages staff-best 8.33 runs of support per start ... Leads squad with 20.2 innings ... 14 strikeouts against five walks with a .268 opponents' batting average.

2010: Spent entire season with Triple-A Las Vegas in the Toronto Blue Jays organization ... 2-3 with a 5.64 ERA in 35 games, five starts; 49 strikeouts over 81.1 innings

Notable: Drafted by Chicago White Sox in 50th round of 2001 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of high school but did not sign ... LaTrobe, Pa., native began collegiate career at Louisville before transferring to Texas A&M ... Toronto Blue Jays first-round pick in 2004 after one season at Texas A&M ... MLB debut June 4, 2006, with Blue Jays vs. Washington Nationals ... Also spent time in Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Indians organizations ... Was part of the July 7, 2008, trade that sent C.C. Sabathia from Milwaukee from Cleveland ... Signed minor league contract with Rangers in January.

REDHAWKS: LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith (0-1, 5.59 ERA)

Last Outing: Pitched well in losing effort April 20 against Round Rock ... Allowed two runs on five hits over 5.0 innings with one walk and two strikeouts.

2011: Makes fourth appearance, third start tonight ... RedHawks are 1-1 in his previous two starts ... Allows .333 opponents' batting average with nine strikeouts against three walks over 9.2 innings.

2010: Spent majority of season with Seattle Mariners, appearing in 27 games with 20 starts ... Finished season 1-10 with a 6.75 ERA at Seattle, allowing a .314 opponents' batting average over 109.1 innings ... Made six starts at Triple-A Tacoma, posting a 2-4 record with a 5.11 ERA and a 24-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 37.0 innings.

Notable: Born in Sydney, Australia ... Pitched for the Sydney Blue Sox of the Australian Baseball League ... Member of Australia National Team at 2004 Olympic Games and 2006 World Baseball Classic ... Signed by the Mariners as a non-drafted free agent Nov. 19, 2000, out of Newcastle [Australia] High School, which also produced all three members of the Australian grunge-rock band Silverchair ... Acquired by Minnesota Twins in 2004 Rule 5 Draft and spent majority of Spring Training with the Twins before being returned to the Mariners ... MLB debut June 30, 2007, against the Cincinnati Reds ... Struck out first Major League batter he faced - Ken Griffey Jr. ... First player with a hyphenated last name to appear in a Major League game ... Avid surfer whose sister, Rhiannon, is a professional surfer ... Grandfather was Australia's minister for sports and recreation.

ROUND ROCK AMONG TOP TRIPLE-A TEAMS

Round Rock is one-half game behind Gwinnett and Louisville of the International League, and Salt Lake of the PCL - each of which is 12-5 - for the best record in Triple-A. Omaha, which has won seven straight, is one-half game behind Round Rock at 11-5.

EXPRESS CONTINUE CLUB-BEST START

Despite losses in each of their last two games, the Express own the club's best 18-game start since Round Rock joined Triple-A in 2005. The previous best record through 18 games was 9-9 in 2006 and 2007. The 2006 edition of the Express started 7-9 before winning four straight and 15 of 16; the 11-game winning streak was the club's best Triple-A streak.

ROUND ROCK SOLID DEFENSIVELY

The Express lead the PCL with a .991 fielding percentage. Round Rock has committed six errors in 18 games - at least half as many as every other team in the league. Memphis (.981) ranks second in fielding percentage; the percentage-point gap between Round Rock and Memphis is the same as that between the Redbirds and Albuquerque (.971), which ranks 12th in the league. The Express have allowed only two batters to reach base by virtue of an error, the most recent of which occurred in the ninth inning of the April 13 game against Omaha (Esteban German fielding error).

RUNS SCARCE WITHOUT HOMERS

The Express have scored four runs in the last three games and only one of those runs did not score on a home run. SS Luis Cruz had two solo homers in Friday's series finale at Oklahoma City, and Round Rock was shutout in Saturday's series opener at The Dell Diamond. Sunday, 3B Brian Barden had a fourth-inning solo homer before DH Brad Nelson delivered an RBI double in the ninth inning. Nelson's RBI double ended a stretch of 27 consecutive innings without a non-homer score for the Express.

STAFF STRONG DESPITE PROSPECTS' STRUGGLES

Round Rock ranks fourth in the PCL with a 4.12 ERA. This comes despite struggles from the club's two highest-rated prospects entering the season. RHP Tanner Scheppers has pitched one game with a 13.50 ERA (3 ER / 2.0 IP), spending most of the season on the disabled list. LHP Michael Kirkman is 0-2 with an 11.57 ERA (15 ER / 11.2 IP) in three appearances for the Express. Meanwhile, the rest of the Round Rock staff has allowed 58 earned runs over 152.1 innings for a 3.43 ERA.

TEAM NOTES

* Round Rock is 11-3 with a 2.91 staff ERA since dropping three of four to Iowa in the season's first series.

* Express pitchers lead the PCL with eight saves and 157 strikeouts. Round Rock ranks fourth in the league in ERA (4.12) and fewest walks allowed (58). The staff's 2.71 strikeout-to-walk ratio also leads the PCL.

* Round Rock ranks sixth in batting average (.285) and tied for second in home runs (22).

* The Express have homered in nine of 18 games, but Sunday's game was the first this season in which Round Rock hit only one home run.

* Round Rock grounded into nine double plays in the season's first 16 games, but the Express have grounded into five double plays over the last two games.

* Round Rock is .289 (22-for-76) with runners in scoring position and two outs. The Express have 33 two-out RBI while allowing only 22.

* Opponents are hitting .179 (37-for-195) against Express pitchers with two outs. The RedHawks were 2-for-36 (.056) with two outs against Express pitching in last week's series at Oklahoma City. However, the RedHawks are 6-for-22 (.273) in that situation since the series shifted to The Dell Diamond.

* Round Rock's bullpen is 6-1 with a 3.12 ERA and eight saves in nine opportunities. The pen boasts an 84-to-31 strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.71). However, the Express bullpen has allowed nine of 15 inherited runners to score (60.0 percent).

* The Express have scored in the first inning nine times in 18 games, going 6-3 in those games.

PLAYER NOTES

* IF Brian Barden has reached safely in 12 of 13 games played, hitting safely in 11 games with six multiple-hit outings. Barden is 5-for-8 when leading off an inning. He is hitting .483 (14-for-29) when ahead or behind in the count but only .222 (4-for-18) when the count is even.

* OF Joey Butler has hit safely in four straight and seven of nine since joining the Express April 14. He did not strikeout Sunday against Oklahoma City, snapping a streak of seven consecutive games with at least one strikeout.

* OF Endy Chavez is riding a five-game hitting streak and has hit safely in 14 of 15 games played. He has reached safely in all 15 games. Chavez leads the PCL in plate appearances per strikeout (17.25). His last strikeout was April 17 at New Orleans, a span of 28 plate appearances. He has struck out once in his last 49 plate appearances.

* IF Luis Cruz is hitless in each of his last two games, marking the first time he has failed to hit safely in consecutive games this season.

* OF Doug Deeds is 8-for-18 (.444) with two outs.

* C Robinson Diaz has hit safely in each of his first two games with the Express, going 3-for-6.

* OF Esteban German has hit safely in 15 of 17 games this season with no consecutive hitless games. He is hitting .447 (17-for-38) since April 16. German leads the Express with nine multiple-hit games.

* 1B Brad Nelson snapped an 0-for-21 skid with his ninth-inning RBI double Sunday. It was his first hit since a third-inning single April 18 at New Orleans. Nelson hit .440 through the season's first seven games, hitting safely in each game with five multiple-hit outings. However, he is 3-for-32 (.094) since then.

* 1B Chad Tracy was 0-for-3 Sunday, snapping a 10-game hitting streak that was the longest by an Express member this season. He is hitting .400 (12-for-30) with runners on base and .450 (9-for-20) with runners in scoring position.

* RHP Derek Hankins is tied for the PCL lead with three wins. He has allowed at least one home run in each start and four homers on the season - all solo shots.

* RHP Seth McClung is ninth in the PCL with a 2.35 ERA.

* LHP Zach Phillips leads all PCL relievers in opponents' batting average (.111) and ranks third among the league's relievers in fewest base-runners per nine innings (6.97).

* RHP Neil Ramirez is fourth in the PCL with a 1.69 ERA. He leads all starters in opponents' batting average (.154), ranking second among all pitchers. Ramirez is fourth in the league in WHIP (0.88) and third among starters in fewest base-runners allowed per nine innings (8.44).

* RHP Yoshi Tateyama has 13 strikeouts over 8.0 innings in his last five appearances, notching at least two strikeouts in each of those five outings. He ranks fourth among PCL relievers with 13.0 strikeouts per nine innings.

* RHP Ryan Tucker has eight strikeouts against one walk in 8.0 innings over his last four appearances.

NEXT SERIES

After the season's first off-day, Round Rock hits the road again for eight straight. The road trip starts with a four-game series at Memphis (St. Louis Cardinals). Thursday's series opener is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CDT. The series continues Friday at 7:05 p.m., Saturday at 3:05 p.m. and Sunday at 1:35 p.m.

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