PCL1 Round Rock Express

Round Rock Express - Game Notes vs. Oklahoma City RedHawks

Published on June 16, 2012 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release


GAME 70 | 16 JUNE 2012 | 7:05 P.M. CDT | THE DELL DIAMOND | ROUND ROCK, TEXAS

ROUND ROCK EXPRESS (30-39) vs. OKLAHOMA CITY REDHAWKS (40-28)

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

EXPRESS: LHP Zach Jackson (2-7, 5.08 ERA) | REDHAWKS: RHP Armando Galarraga (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

TONIGHT, TONIGHT

Round Rock continues a nine-day, eight-game home stand with the third of four games against division-rival Oklahoma City (Houston Astros). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CDT at The Dell Diamond. The Express have won three of their last four games after last night's 2-0 victory. Round Rock is 16-14 at home. The RedHawks have not won or lost consecutive games over their last seven contests and are 15-18 on the road. Round Rock is fourth in the PCL's American Southern Division, 10-and-a-half games back of Oklahoma City and five-and-a-half games behind third-place New Orleans. Oklahoma City has a one-and-a-half-games lead over Albuquerque.

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 second of four series between the two teams. The RedHawks won three of four at Oklahoma City in late April. The teams do not meet again until the season's final three weeks. The RedHawks return to The Dell Diamond for a four-game series Aug. 18-21, and the Express revisit Bricktown Ballpark for the season's final series Aug. 31-Sept. 3. ... SERIES HISTORY: Oklahoma City leads the all-time series 62-55, including a 52-43 advantage prior to the affiliation switch in 2011. The RedHawks are 31-26 at The Dell Diamond, while the Express are 29-31 at Bricktown Ballpark. Round Rock won season series in 2005 (10-6), 2006 (10-6) and 2011 (10-6), while Oklahoma City won season series in 2007 (8-7), 2008 (11-5) and 2010 (13-3). The teams split 16 games in 2009. The Express have three sweeps (2005 at Oklahoma City, 2006 at home, 2011 at Oklahoma City), while the RedHawks have two sweeps (2009 and 2010, both at Oklahoma City). ... 2012 SERIES: The RedHawks lead the season series 4-2. Oklahoma City won three of four April 26-29 at Bricktown Ballpark. Round Rock is hitting .280 (60-for-214) with six homers and 5.0 runs per game. Julio Borbon is 7-for-23 (.304) with three RBI, three runs scored and three walks in six games. Dusty Brown is 6-for-11 (.545) with one RBI, a double and four walks in four games. Luis Hernandez is 11-for-29 (.379) with two homers, six RBI and five runs scored in six games. Brad Nelson is 8-for-22 (.364) with three RBI, a double, six runs scored and six walks in six games. Express pitchers have a 7.06 ERA (40 ER/51.0 IP) with 37 strikeouts against 20 walks. Martin Perez owns both Round Rock win; he allowed three runs on five hits over 13.0 innings in two starts. Oklahoma City is hitting .332 (70-for-211) with homers from six different players, 15 doubles and 7.3 runs per game. The RedHawks 60-for-6 with the bases loaded (5-for-5 at Bricktown Ballpark, 1-for-1 at The Dell Diamond). Scott Moore is 11-for-24 (.458) with 10 RBI and six doubles in six games. J.B. Shuck, who played for the Express in 2010, is 10-for-18 (.556) with three RBI, a double, a triple and five runs scored in four games. Brad Snyder, brother of Express reliever Ben Snyder, is 8-for-22 (.364) with a homer and three RBI in six games.

SERIES"ˆINFORMATION

GAME"ˆ68 | THURSDAY, JUNE 14

Redhawks 10, at Express 6

WP: Flores (4-0). LP: Ramirez (6-7). SV: Del Rosario (1).

GAME"ˆ69 | FRIDAY, JUNE 15

at Express 2, Redhawks 0

WP: Perez (4-5). LP: Bass (1-1). SV: Hamburger (2).

GAME"ˆ70 | SATURDAY, JUNE 16 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: LHP Zach Jackson (2-7, 5.08 ERA)

RedHawks: RHP Armando Galarraga (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

GAME"ˆ71 | SUNDAY, JUNE 17 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: RHP Roy Oswalt (0-1, 7.50 ERA)

RedHawks: RHP Paul Clemens (8-4, 6.31 ERA)

START ME UP

LHP ZACH JACKSON (2-7, 5.08 ERA, 40 K)

2012: Allowed four runs on five hits in two innings of relief with no walks and one strikeout in April 2 exhibition game vs. Rangers ... suffered losses April 9 at Omaha, April 19 vs. Omaha, April 30 vs. New Orleans, May 18 vs. Fresno, May 23 vs. Sacramento, June 5 vs. Albuquerque and June 11 at Albuquerque (all starts) ... claimed wins April 24 at New Orleans and May 31 at Memphis (both starts) ... no-decisions April 14 vs. Iowa, May 5 vs. Memphis and May 10 at Salt Lake ... also made a relief appearance May 14 at Tacoma ... allowed three or fewer runs in seven of last nine starts but is 1-5 record in that time ... season-high seven strikeouts over 4.2 innings in losing effort April 19 vs. Omaha ... six-plus innings in nine of 12 starts, going season-high 7.0 innings May 10 at Salt Lake ... 2.25 ERA (6 ER/24.0 IP) through first two innings; 6.47 ERA (35 ER/48.2 IP) thereafter, including a 9.75 ERA (13 ER/12.0 IP) in the third inning ... opponents hitting .329 (23-for-70) when leading off an inning with five homers, six strikeouts and seven walks (.390 on-base percentage) ... 10 double plays induced ... one double play since May 5 (six starts, one relief appearance) ... averages staff-low 3.58 runs of support per start, including 2.43 runs per game in seven losses ... 1-6 with two no-decisions (one win, one loss) following an Express loss ... team is 3-9 in his starts ... 0-5, 4.95 ERA (22 ER/40.0 IP) in seven starts at The Dell Diamond.

LAST START: Lost June 11 start at Albuquerque, a 12-5 Isotopes win ... surrendered career highs of 11 runs (eight earned) and 15 hits over 6.1 innings with one walk and one strikeout ... yielded five first-inning runs after allowing only two unearned first-inning runs in season's first 11 starts ... left game trailing 11-4 ... both bequeathed runners did not score ... season-high 112 pitches, 83 strikes.

CAREER"ˆvs. OKLAHOMA CITY: 4-5, 6.75 ERA (48 ER/64.0 IP) in nine starts, five relief appearances with 41 strikeouts against 22 walks ... 2-0, 5.31 ERA (12 ER/20.1 IP) in three starts, one relief outing in 2011 ... carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning April 20, 2011, at Bricktown Ballpark ... no-hit bid ended with Carlos Corporan's eighth-inning leadoff double ... Round Rock won all three starts vs. Oklahoma City in 2011 ... lasted at least 5.0 innings in all nine career starts ... 2-5, 7.59 ERA (36 ER/42.2 IP) in five starts, three relief appearances with Nashville (2006-2008).

NOTABLE: Began college career at Louisville (2002-2003) ... at Louisville, lettered two years as a pitcher ... had an overall record of 17-9 which ranked third all-time at Louisville ... earned Freshman All-American honors after the 2002 season ... earned All-Conference USA second team and CUSA All-Freshman team honors after the 2002 season ... played for the Hyannis Mets in the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2003, earning a spot on the Cape Cod All-Star Game ... transferred to Texas A&M in 2004 ... went 10-7 with a 3.58 ERA in 18 starts his junior year prior to being drafted by Toronto ... was a community health and sport management major in college ... lettered four years at Seneca Valley High School in Cranberry Township, Pa. ... compiled a career high school record of 25-4 on the mound and hit a school-record 12 home runs ... struck out 17 batters in final high school game ... originally drafted by the White Sox in the 50th round of the 2001 June draft.

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 (5.08) but his record is just 2-7. That largely is because the Express have averaged just 3.50 runs per game in Jackson's 12 starts, scoring three or fewer runs eight times and fewer than three runs five times. Round Rock scored a total of 17 runs in his seven losses. Jackson yielded three or fewer earned runs in six of eight starts since tossing six shutout innings in a win April 24 at New Orleans. However, he is 1-5 in those eight starts. Jackson surrendered one unearned run over six innings in his June 5 start vs. Albuquerque; the Express were shutout 2-0.

FREE FOUR

Julio Borbon was 4-for-4 last night, one game after snapping a career-best, 21-game hitting streak. He is 44-for-100 (.440) over his last 23 games with 14 multiple-hit outings, including eight in his last 11 games. He also has seven games with at least three hits over his last 23 games, 15 RBI and 19 runs scored. Borbon's streak was one game shy of Yangervis Solarte's franchise-record 22-game streak from earlier this season. Coincidentally, Borbon's streak started the night Solarte's ended. Borbon drew a full-count walk in his final plate appearance, ending the streak. It was his first walk in 112 plate appearances - three games before the streak began. Borbon maintains a 13-game road hitting streak. He has hit safely in 31 of his last 34 games (.401, 61-for-152) with 20 multiple-hit outings, eight three-hit games, five homers, 22 RBI, 10 doubles, three triples, 26 runs scored and nine stolen bases. His average skyrocketed from .186 to .322 in that time.

WALK THIS WAY

Prior to Thursday night's game, five Express players had gone at least 40 plate appearances without a walk and three of them at least 100 plate appearances. Two of those streaks ended that night in the eighth inning. Mike Bianucci walked for the first time since May 31, a span of 47 consecutive plate appearances without a walk. Julio Borbon drew a full-count walk, his first free pass since May 9, ending a streak of 112 consecutive plate appearances without a walk. Those with walk-less streaks still intact are Luis Hernandez (May 19 - 24 games, 111 plate appearances), Matt Kata (May 13 - 19 games, 81 plate appearances) and Tommy Mendonca (May 2 - 28 games, 111 plate appearances). Meanwhile, Joey Butler leads the PCL with 48 walks - seven more than any other player. He drew three walks for the second time this season Thursday night as the Express matched a season high with nine free passes.

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 nearly 100 points better on the road (.336, 48-for-143) than at home (.238, 25-for-105). All seven of his homers and 28 of his 36 RBI were in road games, and his OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) is .963 on the road as opposed to .609 at The Dell Diamond. Nelson has not gone hitless in consecutive games regardless of location since a three-game spell April 19-21. He has hit safely in 41 of 47 games since, enjoying hitting streaks of 11, nine and eight games. Nelson snapped a six-game hitting streak (.385, 10-for-26) last night, going 0-for-3 with a walk. He enjoyed four multiple-hit games and six RBI during the streak.

UNDER PRESSURE

Matt Kata is hitting .455 (20-for-44) with runners in scoring position, delivering 30 RBI. He is even more deadly with runners in scoring position and two outs, going 8-for-16 (.500) with 16 RBI. Kata's grand slam May 31 at Memphis was Round Rock's first this season. He is 4-for-6 with a double and 11 RBI with the bases loaded, going 3-for-3 since delivering a game-winning, three-run double May 24 vs. Sacramento. Furthermore, Kata is hitting .368 (14-for-38) after the seventh inning with eight RBI. He has hit safely in 14 of his last 16 games (.382, 26-for-68) with two homers, 14 RBI, three doubles, eight multiple-hit outings and three multiple-RBI games.

FORK IN THE ROAD

Round Rock is 13-23 since blowing a 9-5 lead in the ninth inning May 9 at Salt Lake. The Express were 17-16 prior to that loss, the only point at which they were over .500 this season. Round Rock has been outscored 231-189 over the last 36 games, surrendering double-digit runs nine times. Express pitchers have a 5.91 ERA (203 ER/309.0 IP) in that time. A closer look into the numbers shows the Express are hitting .194 (36-for-186) with runners in scoring position in the 23 losses and .386 (59-for-153) in the 13 wins. Conversely, opponents are hitting .350 (93-for-266) with runners in scoring position in the 23 Express losses and .136 (14-for-107) in Round Rock's 13 victories.

FIVE TO ONE

The Express are 23-4 when holding the opposition to fewer than five runs but 7-35 when allowing at least five runs. Round Rock surrendered at least five runs seven times in the last 11 games and lost all seven games. Meanwhile, the Express are 6-20 when scoring fewer than five runs; three of the six 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 0.63 homers per game through 30 home dates this season (19 homers). The Express have not homered in 10 of their last 13 home games. 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. Meanwhile, the Express have four multiple-homer games 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 9.27 runs per game at The Dell Diamond this season as opposed to the 11.90 average in 2011.

EVERYDAY PEOPLE

Mike Bianucci is 6-for-37 (.162) over his last nine games. He leads the Express with 12 home runs; however, he has three homers in his last 126 at bats after hitting nine in his first 118 at bats. He also has not gone more than two consecutive games without a strikeout and has 14 strikeouts over his last 10 games. Bianucci has two walks over his last 16 games (71 plate appearances). He is 4-for-11 (.364) with the bases loaded (two doubles, two walks, 10 RBI) and 16-for-34 (.471) in the fourth inning (three homers, seven RBI). ... Dusty Brown is 4-for-49 (.082) since an eighth-inning double May 11 at Salt Lake; he has 18 strikeouts in that time and nine strikeouts over his last seven games. Brown has walked at least once in each of his last five games (seven walks). He is 2-for-21 (.095) with runners in scoring position; both hits came with two outs. Brown owns a .500 on-base percentage when leading off an inning, hitting .333 (7-for-21) with one homer and seven walks against four strikeouts. He has three walks and two sacrifice flies in six bases-loaded plate appearances. ... Joey Butler leads the PCL with 48 walks, seven more than any other player; he has five walks over his last three games. Butler is hitting .393 (70-for-178) when putting the ball in play. He is 11-for-24 (.488) in the fifth inning with four homers and eight RBI; he also has 10 eighth-inning RBI. Butler is second on the team with 11 home runs, six of which were solo shots. He is 6-for-30 (.200) over his last eight games and has at least one strikeout in eight of his last 10 games (11 strikeouts). ... Luis Hernandez is 12-for-36 (.333) over his nine eight games with five multiple-hit outings (four of his last five games), one home run, five RBI, three doubles, a triple and six runs scored. He has not walked since May 19, a span of 24 games and 111 plate appearances. Three of his four home runs were solo shots. Hernandez committed two errors in June 11 at Albuquerque, matching his season total entering the game. He leads all PCL shortstops with a .986 fielding percentage (four errors, 278 chances). ... Luis Martinez is 5-for-12 (.417) with five walks, a double, a triple and four runs scored over his last four games. He is 13-for-29 (.448) in the third and fourth innings but 16-for-86 (.186) the rest of the game, going 2-for-19 (.105) prior to the third inning. He is 2-for-21 (.095) 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). ... Tommy Mendonca has at least one strikeout in 15 of his last 17 games (23 strikeouts), including nine strikeouts over his last five games. Mendonca has not gone more than two straight games without a strikeout. He has not walked since May 2 vs. New Orleans, a span of 28 games and 111 plate appearances. Mendonca is 15-for-48 (.313) after the seventh inning. ... Greg Miclat's two-hit game in Wednesday night's series finale at Albuquerque was his first multiple-hit outing since a two-hit night April 23 at New Orleans - his only other multiple-hit game this season. Six of his last eight hits were doubles. ... Yangervis Solarte leads the league with 13.09 plate appearances per strikeout. He has one strikeout since May 31 (74 plate appearances) and two strikeouts over his last 18 games (77 plate appearances). Solarte is hitting .232 (20-for-86) through the first three innings but .308 (53-for-172) thereafter with five of his six home runs and 25 of his 30 RBI. He is 13-for-36 (.361) when leading off an inning with one home run and three walks (.410 on-base percentage). Solarte is 4-for-37 (.108) with runners in scoring position and fewer than two outs. Five of his six home runs were solo shots. ... Ryan Spilborghs has not homered since May 26, a span of 16 games and 62 at bats. Spilborghs has reached safely in all but three of his 36 games with the Express and managed a sacrifice fly in one of those three games. He is 5-for-23 (.217) with runners in scoring position and two outs. Spilborghs has played 219 career PCL games, hitting .345 (286-for-829) 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. ... Mark Hamburger recorded at least one strikeout in all but two of 20 outings. He surrendered two runs in 9.0 innings (2.00 ERA) over his last four outings. Hamburger worked 3.0 scoreless innings June 12 at Albuquerque, his longest scoreless outing this season. Opponents are hitting .385 (15-for-39) with runners in scoring position (two home runs, 23 RBI). He has stranded all three inherited runners. ... Derek Hankins has one walk in his last eight outings (15.1 innings) with seven strikeouts and a .167 opponents' average (10-for-60). Opposing batters are 0-for-18 with runners in scoring position and two outs, and 0-for-5 with the bases loaded. Hankins stranded 10 of 11 inherited runners. ... Aaron Heilman has a 2.38 ERA (3 ER/11.1 IP) over his last nine outings, going 1-0 with two saves. He recorded at least one strikeout in 18 of 19 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 26 strikeouts in his last 21.2 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 1.26 ERA (2 ER/14.1 IP) in 10 outings at The Dell Diamond but 0-2 with a 5.09 ERA (13 ER/23.0 IP) in 13 road games. He has 13 strikeouts over 13.1 innings with four walks in his last eight appearances. Opponents are hitting .348 (8-for-23) with runners in scoring position and two outs. Snyder stranded 10 of 17 inherited runners. ... 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 hitting .329 (25-for-76) with the bases loaded, going 15-for-38 (.395) since May 21. Meanwhile, opposing batters are 28-for-67 (.418) with the bases loaded, including six grand slams. Oklahoma City is 6-for-6 against Express pitching with the bases loaded. ... Round Rock is tied for third in the PCL with 72 homers, 53 of which were on the road. ... Round Rock is 5-12 in series openers. ... Of Round Rock's 72 home runs, 38 were solo shots, including 19 to leadoff an inning. ... Round Rock leads the PCL with 81 double plays turned. ... The Express have at least one double in 64 of 69 games, including 28 of 29 home games. Round Rock enjoyed a 47-game streak with at least one double after not failing to double in the season opener. ... Round Rock is 7-10 in one-run games. Seven of the 17 games were against Iowa. ... Round Rock is 1-30 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 28-5 when leading after seven innings.

WHO'S NEXT

Following the season's fourth of five off-days Monday, Round Rock continues eight-game home stand with a four-game series against the Iowa Cubs (Chicago Cubs). The series runs Tuesday through Friday with a 7:05 p.m. CDT first pitch each night. This is the third of four series between Round Rock and Iowa. 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.

GAME"ˆ72 | TUESDAY, JUNE 19 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

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

Cubs: RHP Rodrigo Lopez (1-1, 3.41 ERA)

GAME"ˆ73 | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: RHP Neil Ramirez (6-7, 8.02 ERA)

Cubs: LHP Brooks Raley (2-2, 5.93 ERA)

GAME"ˆ74 | THURSDAY, JUNE 21 | 7:05 p.m. CDT

Express: LHP Martin Perez (4-5, 4.90 ERA)

Cubs: RHP Frankie De La Cruz (1-1, 2.58 ERA)

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

Express: LHP Zach Jackson (2-7, 5.08 ERA; starts tonight)

Cubs: LHP Chris Rusin (5-4, 3.81 ERA; starts tonight)

Check out the Round Rock Express Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from June 16, 2012


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