PCL1 Round Rock Express

Round Rock Express Game Notes May 16, 2010

Published on May 16, 2010 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release


TODAY'S GAMES

Round Rock continues its third road trip of the season Sunday with the second game of a four-game series against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Colorado Rockies). First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. CDT at Security Services Field in Colorado Springs. This series is the lone scheduled meeting between the two teams this season. The Express won Saturday night's series opener 16-4; it was Round Rock's highest-scoring game and largest margin of victory this season. Round Rock has never won a series at Colorado Springs, dropping three of four games in each of its previous two series (2006, 2008). The Express have won six of their last eight games, while the Sky Sox have lost five of seven.

EXPRESS ON THE AIR

Tonight's game will be broadcast live on "The Horn" 104.9 FM ESPN Austin. Pregame starts at 15 minutes prior to first pitch with veteran Express play-by-play man Mike Capps on the call. Live streaming audio of the broadcast also is available online at www.ESPNAustin.com.

STARTING PITCHERS

EXPRESS RHP ROY CORCORAN

Second year with Houston Astros organization ... 10th year in professional baseball ... Signed as an amateur free agent by the Montreal Expos in 2001 out of Louisiana State ... Expos/Nationals organization through 2006 season ... Major League debut July 30, 2003 ... Pitched for Albuquerque Isotopes (then-Florida Marlins) in 2007 ... Spent 2008 and 2009 with Seattle Mariners organization, splitting time between Tacoma (AAA) and Seattle each season ... Was designated for assignment by Mariners in late June, 2009, and signed by Astros in early August ... Finished 2009 season with Round Rock ... Makes 12th appearance of season Sunday but only third start ... Sixth start in 333 career appearances ... Started once for Express last season, once for New Orleans (AAA) in 2005 and once for Clinton LumberKings (A) in 2002 ... Has allowed three runs in 17.1 innings over last seven outings, holding opponents to a .135 (8-for-59) average in that time ... Earned victory at Salt Lake in last start (5/11); allowed one run on four hits and no walks with four strikeouts over 5.0 innings ... Older brother Tim, who pitches for Albuquerque, defeated Colorado Springs last week.

SKY SOX RHP ALAN JOHNSON

Sixth year in professional baseball, all with Colorado Rockies organization ... Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2005 ... Played collegiately at Mississippi State and Jefferson State [Ala.] CC ... 49-34 career minor league record ... Spent all of 2009 with Colorado Springs, going 10-6 with a 5.66 ERA over 143.0 innings ... Makes eighth appearance, sixth start, Sunday ... Allowed no more than two earned runs in each of first eight appearances, allowing one or fewer six times ... Has won each of last three starts ... Tossed 6.1 scoreless innings on three hits and three walks with six strikeouts at Sacramento in last start (5/10).

TEAM QUICK NOTES

Friday's 16-4 victory was Round Rock's highest-scoring game and largest margin of victory this season. ... The Express are 10-5 in May after earning just six wins in 21 games in April. Round Rock is hitting .305 and averaging 6.0 runs per game in May after hitting .244 with 3.5 runs per game last month. Round Rock has 13 home runs in May with a .454 team slugging percentage after only 10 home runs in April. ... Despite being five games below .500, Round Rock has out-scored its opponents 163-147 on the season. ... The Express are 14-2 when scoring at least five runs and 2-18 when scoring fewer than five runs. ... Round Rock is 15-1 when leading after seven innings. ... The Express have lost seven games in the opponent's final at bat this season. ... In the season's first 19 games, the Express hit .178 (30-for-169) with runners in scoring position and .149 (13-for-87) with runners in scoring position and two outs. However, Round Rock is hitting .320 (58-for-181) with runners in scoring position and .306 (26-for-85) with runners in scoring position and two outs over the last 17 games. ... Of Round Rock's 20 losses, 16 have been by three runs or fewer, including nine one-run losses. ... Round Rock has won five of its last seven series openers. ... Express in the PCL statistical rankings: sixth in batting (.270), eighth in pitching (3.79) and eighth in fielding (.978). ... Round Rock shortstops have made only two errors in 143 total chances for a .986 fielding percentage. ... Express pitchers have allowed 20 home runs, fewest of any staff in the PCL.

PLAYER QUICK NOTES

Josh Banks is tied for the PCL team with eight games started and ranks second in the league with 49.0 innings pitched. Banks has a 2.03 ERA through five innings; it balloons to 7.00 after the fifth. ... Brian Bogusevic is hitting .160 (4-for-25) over the last three games after hitting .463 (19-for-41) in the first 10 games of May. He owns a .422 average (19-for-45) during innings six through eight, including a .571 mark (8-for-14) in the sixth inning. ... Jason Bourgeois ranks fourth in the PCL in batting average (.348) and stolen bases (13). His five-hit game Saturday at Colorado Springs was the Express' first five-hit game this season. ... T.J. Burton has not allowed a run or a hit in six of eight appearances (8.0 innings), allowing only three base-runners (two hits, one walk) in those outings. He notched his first career Triple-A save in Saturday's series opener at Colorado Springs. ... Jason Castro snapped his season-best, seven-game hitting streak Saturday, going 0-for-4 with a walk. He has reached savely in 25 of 29 games played, including each of the last nine games. He is hitting .440 (11-for-25) with four walks and a .536 on base percentage when leading off an inning, all team bests. ... Casey Daigle has recorded a save in four consecutive opportunities after failing to convert his first two chances of the season. Five of the six runs he has allowed this season came in two outings, both blown saves. Daigle has not allowed a run in six straight appearances. ... Collin DeLome snapped a 5-for-34 (.147) slump with his 2-for-4 night in the Colorado Springs series opener. It was his first multiple-hit game since May 1. ... Chris Johnson has hit safely or produced an RBI in each of his first five games with the Express. ... Matt Kata has multiple hits in four straight games, the longest such streak by an Express player this season. He is hitting .404 (36-for-89) since snapping out of a 1-for-35 funk April 18, raising his average 205 points in that time. He is 16-for-29 (.552) with a runner at first base only. ... Drew Meyer has hit safely in nine of his last 12 games, going 13-for-39 (.333) and raising average 76 points in that time. ... Oswaldo Navarro has hit safely in 13 of 15 starts with nine multiple-hit games. He has multiple RBI in three of his last five games. ... Yordany Ramirez is hitting .111 (5-for-45) over his last 16 games. He is hitless in his last six pinch-hit appearances after starting the year 2-for-2 as a pinch hitter. ... Chris Shelton leads the Express and is tied for fifth in the PCL with seven home runs, four of which have been solo shots. He has homered in three of the last four games. Shelton has gone consecutive starts without a hit only once this season (April 21-22), recording a hit in a team-best 27 games. Shelton leads the Express in hits (14) and RBI (21) with runners in scoring position. ... Andy Van Hekken has allowed seven walks against five strikeouts in his last two starts after posting a 24-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his first five starts. ... Wesley Wright has allowed three or fewer earned runs in all seven starts, allowing one earned run four times. Opposing batters are 1-for-16 (.063) against him with runners in scoring position and two outs.

FIVE THE MAGIC NUMBER FOR EXPRESS

Round Rock is 14-2 this season when scoring at least five runs and 2-18 when scoring fewer than five runs. The two losses when scoring at least five came April 11 at New Orleans (10-5) and April 30 at Albuquerque (8-7). The Express two victories when scoring fewer than five runs came April 20 against Omaha (1-0 in 10 innings) and May 5 against Nashville (2-1).

EXPRESS HEAT UP WITH WEATHER

Round Rock posted a 6-15 record in the month of April; however, the Express have turned things around in May, going 10-5. The Express were the only team in professional baseball to not win back-to-back games in April. They took care of that in the first week of May, winning the first three games of the Nashville series May 3-5. One reason for the turnaround has been better late-inning pitching. In April, the Express surrendered 45 runs in the sixth through eighth innings (2.1 runs per game). In May, the Express have allowed 17 runs in those innings (1.1 runs per game).

EXPRESS AMONG ATTENDANCE LEADERS

Through games of May 13, Round Rock ranks second in the Pacific Coast League in average attendance. A total of 128,490 fans have passed through the turnstiles at The Dell Diamond, a 16-date average of 8,031. Sacramento leads the PCL with an 8,282 per-game average. Round Rock ranks fourth in Triple-A and fifth in Minor League Baseball. Interestingly, none of the top five teams in Minor League Baseball attendance, each of which averages at least 8,000 per game, have winning records.

‘ROJO' JOHNSON No. 1 ON SPORTSCENTER'S ‘NOT TOP 10' LIST

National attention continues to swarm around the legend of Rojo Johnson. ESPN's SportsCenter listed the Will Ferrell skit No. 1 on its "Not Top 10" for the past week. The skit took place between the fifth and sixth innings of the May 6 game between the Round Rock Express and Nashville Sounds at The Dell Diamond. The RRExpressTV footage of the skit posted on YouTube has received more than 800,000 hits since it was posted following the May 6 game. It is a top-three spotlight sports clip in 22 countries, ranking No. 3 worldwide. The video is the 15th most-viewed clip worldwide (all categories) on YouTube this week, ranking second worldwide among sports clips.

NEXT SERIES

Round Rock returns home after the Colorado Springs series for its third home stand of the season. The Express host the Reno Aces for a four-game series May 20-23, followed by a four-game set against the Las Vegas 51s (May 24-27).

Check out the Round Rock Express Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 16, 2010


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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