PCL1 Round Rock Express

Round Rock Express Game Notes

Published on May 26, 2010 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release


TONIGHT'S GAMES

Round Rock continues its third home stand of the season Wednesday with the third game of a four-game series against the Las Vegas 51s (Toronto Blue Jays). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CDT at The Dell Diamond. This is the lone scheduled meeting this season between the Express and 51s. Round Rock holds a 2-0 lead in the series, winning Monday's opener 9-6 and Tuesday's second game 8-5. The Express are guaranteed at least a split in their sixth consecutive series. Round Rock is 6-4 in its last 10 games, while Las Vegas has lost 10 of its last 14.

EXPRESS ON THE AIR

Today'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. ... Home games also are simulcast on 92.5 FM and 1530 AM. Games at The Dell Diamond also are broadcast on 88.9 FM throughout the stadium.

EXPRESS STARTING PITCHER

LHP POLIN TRINIDAD

Ninth season in professional baseball, all with the Astros organization ... Signed as a non-drafted free agent June 7, 2002 ... Split 2009 season between Corpus Christi (AA) and Round Rock ... Makes eighth appearance, ninth appearance, eighth start of season Wednesday night ... Allowed three or fewer earned runs in five of seven starts, surrendering two or fewer four times and one earned run three times ... Posted a decision in each of last four starts, alternating wins and losses ... Suffered least effecitive outing of season against Reno in last start (5/21); allowed eight hits on 12 hits (both season highs for Express pitchers) and two home runs with one walk and two strikeouts over 4.1 innings ... Two home runs allowed against Reno were first round-trippers surrendered this season.

TEAM QUICK NOTES

Round Rock is within three games of .500 for the first time since April 14, following the season's seventh game (2-5). ... The Express are guaranteed to at least split the series with the 51s. Round Rock has not lost a series since dropping three of four at Albuquerque April 29-May 2, a span of six series. The Express are 2-0-3 in their last five series. ... Round Rock's current three-game winning streak matches its longest of the season. ... This marks the third time this season the Express have won the first two games of a series. In each of the two previous cases, Round Rock won the third game (vs. Nashville, at Salt Lake). ... Round Rock's five-run second inning Tuesday was its fourth highest-scoring frame of the season and its highest-scoring second inning. The Express are 10-3 when scoring at least four runs in an inning and 11-21 when failing to do so. On the flip side, Round Rock is 1-6 when allowing an inning of four-plus runs (the lone win was Monday's series opener) and 20-18 when not allowing a big inning. ... Round Rock has homered in nine of its last 13 games, going 7-2 in those nine games. The Express are 13-7 this season when hitting at least one home run. ... The Express suffered their worst defeat of the season May 10 in the Memphis series finale (12-4). Since then, Round Rock is 9-5 with 113 runs scored (8.1 runs per game). That is Round Rock's most prolific scoring stretch since joining Triple-A in 2005. In fact, no Express team had scored as many as 85 runs in any 14-game during the Triple-A era before this run. ... Round Rock has tallied 10-plus hits in 12 consecutive games and in 13 of its last 14. ... The Express are hitting .313 and averaging 6.8 runs per game in May after hitting .244 with 3.5 runs per game last month. Round Rock has 24 home runs in May with a .479 team slugging percentage after hitting only 10 home runs in April. ... Despite being three games below .500, Round Rock has out-scored its opponents 235-212 on the season. ... The Express are 19-5 when scoring at least five runs and 2-19 when scoring fewer than five runs. Conversely, Round Rock is 17-8 when holding its opponent below five runs and 4-16 when allowing at least five runs. ... Round Rock is 19-1 when leading after eight innings, including a 10-0 mark at home. Meanwhile, the Express are 0-20 when trailing after seven innings and 0-18 when trailing after eigth innings. ... Interestingly, Round Rock is 16-19 when committing no more than one error but 5-5 when committing more than one error. ... The Express are hitting .328 (96-for-293) with runners in scoring position over the last 25 games. ... Of Round Rock's 24 losses, 19 have been by three runs or fewer, including 12 one-run losses. ... Express in the PCL statistical rankings: third in batting (.282), 10th in pitching (4.36) and 10th in fielding (.977).

PLAYER QUICK NOTES

Josh Banks is tied for third in the PCL with five wins and leads the league with 63.0 innings pitched. He is tied with Iowa's Casey Coleman for the most wins in the PCL this month (4), and Banks' 4-0 mark in May is the league's best. He owns a 1.80 ERA through the fifth inning that balloons to 7.62 after the fifth. Banks is 5-1 at home and 0-2 on the road. He has allowed three or fewer earned runs in nine of 10 starts, including each of the last six. ... Brian Bogusevic is riding a four-game hitting streak (.429, 6-for-14), matching his longest streak of the season. He has not gone hitless in consecutive games since April 29, hitting safely in 18 of 25 games in that time. Bogusevic is second in the PCL with 35 runs scored. He also leads the league with 24 runs scored in May. ... Jason Bourgeois has hit safely in 13 of the last 14 games; he is hitting .444 (28-for-63) in that time with eight multiple-hit games and five games of three-plus hits. Bourgeois ranks third in the PCL in batting average (.350) and fourth in stolen bases (14). His .367 batting average this month ranks ninth in the league. ... Jason Castro is riding a seven-game hitting streak that matches his longest run of the season and comes one game removed from the other seven-game streak; that means he has hit safely in 14 of the last 15 games, going 19-for-57 (.333) in that time. Castro has hit safely in eight consecutive home games (.313, 10-for-32). He has reached safely in 33 of 36 games played, including each of the last 16. Castro has scored a run or produced an RBI in 14 straight games. ... Roy Corcoran's RBI single in the seventh inning last Thursday against Reno was the first RBI of his career and fourth career hit. He is riding a two-game hitting streak. ... Casey Daigle has recorded a save in six 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 an earned run in 10 straight appearances. He is tied for fourth in the PCL with six saves; all six have come in May, tied with Memphis' Fernando Salas for the PCL lead this month. ... Michael Garciaparra is riding a six-game hitting streak that dates back to his first stint with the Express; he is hitting .600 (6-for-10) with three pinch hits in that time. ... Chris Johnson has hit safely in 13 of 14 games with the Express, delivering a sacrifice fly in the lone hitless game. His current 10-game hitting streak is tied for the second-longest by an Express player this season; he is hitting .419 (18-for-43) during the streak with five multiple-hit games and two games of three-plus hits. Despite missing the first nine games of the month, Johnson ranks among PCL leaders for May in several categories, including batting average (sixth, .373), extra-base hits (tied for sixth, 12), slugging percentage (second, .729) and OPS (third, 1.144). ... Drew Locke has hit safely in seven consecutive starts (.385, 10-for-26) and in 13 of 14 starts (.378, 17-for-45). He is hitting .333 (18-for-54) since May 5. Locke ranks ninth in the PCL with a .613 slugging percentage this month. ... Yordany Ramirez suffered an 8-for-58 skew (.138) over a 21-game stretch from April 20 through May 22, collecting only one multiple-hit game in that time. He has two hits in each of his last two games, posting multiple hits in consecutive games for the first time this season. Ramirez is hitless in his last seven pinch-hit appearances after starting the year 2-for-2 as a pinch hitter. ... Chris Shelton leads the Express with eight home runs, four of which have been solo shots. He is tied for first in the PCL with 11 homers in May. Shelton also is tied for 10th in the league with 30 hits this month, tied for second in with 55 total bases and tied for fifth with 23 RBI. He leads the team with hits in 32 games and has hit .279 or better all season, dipping below .285 only for a four-at-bat period in late April. ... Wesley Wright has allowed three or fewer earned runs in seven of nine starts, allowing one earned run four times. Interestingly, he was 1-0 with five no-decisions and a 2.78 ERA in his first six starts; however, he is 2-0 with one no-decision in his last three starts, despite a 10.13 ERA.

KATA'S STREAK WORTH NOTING

Matt Kata is riding a 13-game hitting streak (.517, 30-for-58), the longest this year by an Express player. He has multiple hits in 11 of those games with a pair of five-game streaks, both of which are the longest multiple-hit streaks by an Express player this season. Kata's 30 hits during the streak are more than five regular Express batters (at least 90 at bats) have for the entire season. Hidden within the streak is the fact that Kata is 10-for-18 (.556) with runners in scoring position. He also has only three strikeouts during the 13-game streak, which ranks as the sixth-longest in the PCL this season and tied for third in the league among active streaks. On top of that, he has reached safely in 15 straight games.

MORE ON KATA

Kata started the season 4-for-38 (.105). Since then, he is hitting .415 (56-for-135) and has raised his average 242 points in that time. Amazingly, he even suffered an 0-for-9 skid during that time. Kata turned things around with hits in each of his final three at bats April 18 against New Orleans. He leads the team in multiple-hit games (19), three-hit games (8) and games with at least three hits (10); he is tied for the team lead in four-hit games (2). Kata also leads the team in game-tying RBI (4) and go-ahead RBI (7). He ranks fourth in the PCL in batting average (.347) and second in hits (60), both league-best marks among switch hitters.

EVEN MORE ON KATA

In the month of May, Kata ranks second in the PCL in batting average (.418), second in hits (38), tied for eighth in total bases (49), tied for eighth in doubles (8) and eighth in on-base percentage (.448). Round Rock has hit two home runs on 3-1 counts this season; both were hit by Kata, including his second round-tripper of the season Tuesday against Las Vegas.

JOHNSON NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Chris Johnson was named Pacific Coast League Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday. Johnson is the first Express player so honored this season and the first since Cody Ransom took player of the week accolades Aug. 6, 2007. Johnson led the hit .458 (11-for-24) in six games during the week with three home runs, nine RBI, 11 runs scored, three doubles and a triple. He currently rides an eight-game hitting streak, during which time he is hitting .469 (15-or-32). Johnson hit safely in six consecutive at bats and reached safely in nine consecutive plate appearances during the first two games of the Express series against Reno, both season bests for Round Rock.

NEXT SERIES

Round Rock makes its fourth road trip of the season after the Las Vegas series, an abbreviated one-series swing. The Express play four games against the Omaha Royals (Kansas City) at Rosenblatt Stadium. The series starts Friday with a 7:05 p.m. CDT first pitch.

Check out the Round Rock Express Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 26, 2010


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