PCL1 Round Rock Express

Round Rock Express Game Notes

Published on May 31, 2010 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release


TODAY'S GAMES

Round Rock concludes its fourth road trip of the season Monday against the Omaha Royals (Kansas City). First pitch is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. CDT at historic Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium. This is the lone stop on the road trip for the Expresss. This also is the second of four series between Round Rock and Omaha this season. The Royals have won five of the first seven meetings this season, splitting a series at Round Rock last month and taking each of the first three games of this series. Five of the seven meetings this season have been decided by three or fewer runs, including three one-run games and three extra-inning games. However, the Royals have out-scored the Express 19-2 in the last two games. Round Rock is 4-6 in its last 10 games, while Omaha is 9-1; the Royals are riding an eight-game winning streak, the longest active streak in the PCL. The Express are 9-17 on the road this season, while the Royals are 15-14 at home. Round Rock is fourth in the PCL American Southern Division, 6.5 games behind division leader Oklahoma City. Omaha is second in the PCL American Northern Division, one-half game behind division leader Nashville.

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 is not available for today's game.

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 10th appearance, ninth start of season Monday ... Lasted at least 5.0 innings in seven of first eight starts, pitching at least into the sixth inning in four of las five starts starts ... Allowed three home runs over last two outings after not allowing a home run in season's first seven appearances ... Posted longest outing of season against Las Vegas in last start (5/26); allowed five runs, two earned, on eight hits, including one home run, and two walks with five strikeouts over 6.2 innings ... Left Las Vegas game with lead but did not factor in decision (13-inning, 10-9 Express loss).

TEAM QUICK NOTES

Round Rock is 3-1-3 in its last seven series after starting the season 0-5-1. ... Sunday's game marked the first game this season in which the Express did not strike out batting; however, the six home runs allowed by the pitching staff were twice as many as allowed in any previous game this season. ... The Express are 11-4 this season when scoring at least four runs in an inning. Conversely, Round Rock is 1-8 when allowing an inning of four-plus runs; Omaha's five-run second inning Saturday matched the most runs Round Rock has allowed in an inning this season. ... Saturday's 9-0 loss was Round Rock's first shutout since April 13, the season's sixth game. It also was the Express' largest margin of defeat this season. ... The Express failed to reach double figures in hits Saturday, snapping a 15-game streak. ... Round Rock is 16-7 when out-hitting its opponent, 4-21 when getting out-hit. ... The Express have 30 home runs in May after hitting only 10 home runs in April. ... Despite being six games below .500, Round Rock has out-scored its opponents 258-250 on the season. ... The Express are 20-7 when scoring at least five runs and 2-21 when scoring fewer than five runs. Conversely, Round Rock is 18-8 when holding its opponent below five runs and 4-20 when allowing at least five runs. ... Round Rock is 20-2 when leading after eight innings, including a 10-1 mark at home. Meanwhile, the Express are 0-22 when trailing after seven innings and 0-20 when trailing after eight innings. ... The Express hit .327 (107-for-327) with runners in scoring position during a 28-game stretch ending Friday. However, Round Rock is 1-for-18 with runners in scoring position in the last two games. ... Of Round Rock's 28 losses, 21 have been by three runs or fewer, including a PCL-high 14 one-run losses. ... Express in the PCL statistical rankings: fourth in batting (.280), 10th in pitching (4.44) and 11th in fielding (.976).

PLAYER QUICK NOTES

Josh Banks suffered his first loss of May in Sunday's game. Prior to that, he owned a PCL-best 4-0 mark for the month. Banks is 5-1 at home and 0-3 on the road. He has allowed three or fewer earned runs in nine of 11 starts. ... Brian Bogusevic snapped a six-game hitting streak (.400, 10-for-25) going 0-for-6 Friday; it was his longest streak of the season with multiple hits in each of the streak's final three games. He is third in the PCL with 37 runs scored. Bogusevic has 38 hits this month, tied for fifth in the PCL. His 26 runs scored in May leads the PCL, ranks second in Triple-A and fourth in Minor League Baseball. ... Jason Bourgeois' leadoff home run Friday at Omaha was Round Rock's first this season. He has hit safely in 18 of the last 19 games, hitting .460 (40-for-87) in that time with 12 multiple-hit games and seven games of three-plus hits. Bourgeois enjoyed a streak of six consecutive multiple-hit games and six consecutive games with an extra-base hit, both the longest such streaks by an Express player this season. Both streaks were snapped Saturday. His current 14-game hitting streak in road games is the longest in the PCL this season; he is hitting .400 (26-for-65) during the streak. Bourgeois ranks third in the PCL in batting average (.370), second in hits (67) and fourth in stolen bases (15). He is hitting .395 in May, third in the PCL. Bourgeois has 45 hits this month, tied with Darwin Barney of Iowa for the PCL lead; that is the second-best total in Minor League Baseball this month. ... Jason Castro snapped his 10-game hitting streak Saturday; it was his longest streak of the season and tied for the second-longest by an Express player in 2010. He hit .341 (14-for-41) during the streak. That streak was one game removed from a seven-game streak. Castro has hit safely in 18 of 20 game, going 25-for-77 (.325) in that time. Castro has reached safely in 38 of 41 games played this season, including 21 straight. His on-base streak is tied for the fifth-longest in the PCL this season, second among active streaks. ... Casey Daigle is tied for fourth in the PCL with six saves and ranks second in the PCL with six saves in May. Seven of the eight earned runs he has allowed this season came in three of 19 outings, all blown saves. Both home runs Daigle has allowed this season were ninth-inning, game-tying, two-run shots. ... Michael Garciaparra snapped an eight-game hitting streak Sunday; he hit .500 (9-for-18) with three pinch hits in that time. Garciaparra posted his first career Triple-A multiple-hit game Friday night. ... Chris Johnson has hit safely in 16 of 19 games with the Express, producing a sacrifice fly in each of the three hitless games. He is 8-for-31 (.258) since being named PCL Player of the Week (seven-game span). ... Matt Kata is 0-for-23 since going 4-for-4 Tuesday to extend his hitting streak to 13 games, the longest by an Express player this season. Interestingly, he suffered an 0-for-9 skid immediately before beginning the 13-game streak. Kata's current five-game and 23-at-bat skids are his longest such slumps this season. Still, Kata is hitting .357 (56-for-157) in 38 games since breaking out of a 4-for-38 slump to start the season. Kata's error Sunday was just his second in 105 total chances (22 games) at second base this season, posting a .981 fielding percentage. He had converted 84 consecutive chances at second base without an error (18 games); his only other error at second base was April 11 in the season's fourth game. Kata has 38 hits this month, tied for fifth in the league. ... Drew Locke has hit safely in 12 consecutive starts (.396, 19-for-48) and in 18 of 19 starts (.388, 26-for-67). He is hitting .355 (27-for-76) since May 5 and has multiple hits in five of the last six games. His current eight-game hitting streak is his longest of the season and third streak of five-plus games this season. All six of his home runs this season have come in the last 14 games (since May 16). He is tied for third in the PCL with six home runs 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 hit safely in each of the next four games with three multiple hits in that time before going 0-for-6 in Friday's series opener. Ramirez is hitless in his last seven pinch-hit appearances after starting the year 2-for-2 as a pinch hitter. ... Chris Shelton returned to the lineup Saturday after missing three games with soreness in his left hand; it was his only missed action this season. Shelton leads the Express with eight home runs, four of which have been solo shots. He ranks second in the PCL with seven homers in May, which ties for fifth in Minor League Baseball. Shelton leads the team with hits in 33 games. ... Sergio Perez earned his first career Triple-A victory against Las Vegas in Thursday's series finale. He has worked 7.0 innings in each of his first two starts with the Express. ... Polin Trinidad has allowed three home runs over his last two outings after not allowing a round-tripper in his first seven appearances. ... Andy Van Hekken has a 14-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio over his last two outings. His nine strikeouts Friday at Omaha were a season high; he has 17 strikeouts over 14.0 innings in two starts against Omaha this season.

NEXT SERIES

Round Rock returns home for its fourth home stand of the season after the four-game series at Omaha. The Express host Iowa and Nashville on the upcoming home stand, starting with a 7:05 p.m. CDT first pitch Tuesday, June 1, against the Cubs at The Dell Diamond.

Check out the Round Rock Express Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 31, 2010


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