PCL1 Round Rock Express

Round Rock Express Game Notes

Published on July 10, 2011 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release


TONIGHT'S GAME

Round Rock concludes a four-game series against the Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis Cardinals) at The Dell Diamond. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CDT. This is the final series prior to the All-Star Game break for both teams. The Express are 7-3 in their last 10 games, the Pacific Coast League's second-best record in that time behind only Tucson (8-2). The Redbirds are 6-4 in their last 10 games but have lost four of their last six. Round Rock is 29-18 at The Dell Diamond, while Memphis is 20-26 on the road.

PROMOTIONS

H-E-B Kids' Day

RADIO 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 handles play-by-play duties, while former Major Leaguer Jerry Grote provides color analysis.

EXPRESS-REDBIRDS SERIES

This is the second of four series between the Express and Redbirds; the season series is tied 3-3. Round Rock dropped two of three in a rain-shortened series April 28-30 at Memphis. All six meetings have been decided by three runs or fewer, including three one-run - two of which were extra-inning games. The teams meet again at Memphis immediately following the All-Star Game break and July 26-29 at The Dell Diamond. The May 1 game, which was postponed due to inclement weather, will be made up as a July 15 doubleheader.

EXPRESS STARTER

RHP Scott Feldman (2-1, 4.29 ERA)

Last Outing: Suffered first loss of season in July 5 start at Albuquerque, a 13-4 Isotopes wins ... Allowed six runs on seven hits, including two home runs, over 5.0 innings with two walks ... Matched season high with five strikeouts ... Used 110 pitches, 67 strikes.

2011: Makes eighth start tonight ... Logged 35.2 innings with eight walks, 21 strikeouts and a .277 opponents' average ... Four home runs allowed, surrendering two in each of last two starts ... 2-0, 4.18 ERA, .309 opponents' average in four starts at The Dell Diamond ... Won first start of season May 19 vs. Colorado Springs followed by four consecutive no-decisions ... Tossed 5.0 no-hit, scoreless innings in no-decision June 16 at Nashville ... Earned victory in May 30 start vs. Nashville ... Allowed three runs on eight hits - two home runs - with one walk and one strikeout over 6.0 innings in 6-5 Express victory over Sounds ... First-inning ERA is 6.43 (5 ER / 7.0 IP) ... Three of five home runs allowed were in the fifth inning ... Opponents are hitting .357 (5-for-14) with runners in scoring position and two outs but 0-for-2 with one strikeout when the bases are loaded.

2011 vs. Memphis: First meeting.

2010: Spent the majority of the season with the Rangers, making one start with Triple-A Oklahoma City ... Posted a 7-11 mark with a 5.48 ERA in 22 starts and seven relief outings for Rangers ... Recorded 75 strikeouts against 45 walks over 141.1 innings with a .313 opponents' batting average.

Notable: Born in Kailua, Hawai`i ... One of 20 pitchers born in the Aloha State to appear in a Major League game ... Rangers 30th-round draft pick in 2003 out of College of San Mateo [Calif.] ... College walk-on ... Drafted by Houston Astros in 41st round of 2002 draft but did not sign ... Prepped at Burlingame [Calif.] High School ... MLB debut Aug. 31, 2005, against Chicago White Sox, pitching a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts ... Father is an FBI agent.

LAST NIGHT'S GAME

Pedro Strop struck out Andrew Brown with runners at second and third to preserve a 5-4 victory for the Express over the Redbirds. Round Rock trailed 3-2 entering the bottom of the sixth, but Joey Butler tied the game with a leadoff homer. Later in the inning, Robinzon Diaz blasted a two-run homer that proved to be the game-winning hit. Memphis rallied for a run off Strop. Memphis out-hit the Express 14-8 as five Redbirds had multiple-hit games. Diaz, Brad Nelson and Kevin Cash had two-hit games for the Express, who have won 13 of 14 when hitting at least one home run. Chad Tracy also clubbed his 19th round-tripper.

DIVISION STANDINGS UPDATE

Round Rock (52-37, .584) added a game to its lead over Albuquerque (47-42, .528) in the PCL's American Southern Division standings with last night's win coupled with the Isotopes' 3-1 loss to Nashville. The Express, who lead the division by five games, are 15-6 since June 18; the Isotopes are 8-13 in that time. Round Rock has at least shared the division lead following 67 of 89 games this season. New Orleans (43-47, .478) defeated Iowa 4-2 last night; the Zephyrs have won three straight and trail Round Rock by nine-and-a-half games. Oklahoma City (39-51, .433) lost to Omaha 7-1 last night; the RedHawks are 13-and-a-half games back. The Express are 17-14 against their division foes.

ROUND ROCK vs. AMERICAN NORTHERN DIVISION

The Express are 28-14 against American Northern Division teams this season, winning nine of their last 10 such games. Round Rock has completed its season series against Iowa, winning nine of 16 meetings. The Express are 7-1 against Omaha - all at The Dell Diamond - and 9-3 against Nashville. Round Rock and Memphis have split six meetings.

MEMPHIS vs. AMERICAN SOUTHERN DIVISION

The Redbirds are 23-18 against American Southern Division foes, winning nine of their last 11. Memphis has concluded its season series against New Orleans, winning seven of 16 meetings. The Redbirds are 11-1 against Oklahoma City and 3-5 against Albuquerque. The Redbirds currently trail division-leading Omaha by one-and-a-half games in the American Northern Division.

EXPRESS AMONG TOP PCL TEAMS

At 52-37 (.584), Round Rock owns the PCL's third-best record behind Sacramento (54-36, .600) and Reno (52-36, .591). Furthermore, the Express are three-and-a-half games ahead of Omaha (49-41, .544) in the overall American Conference standings. Only one other time has Round Rock reached 50 wins prior to the All-Star Game; the 2006 squad was 57-33 at the break en route to the division title.

HOME SWEET HOME

After struggling at The Dell Diamond early in the season, the Express have been strong at home over the past month. Round Rock is 29-18 at home, ranking second in the league in home wins behind only Albuquerque (30). The Express have won seven of their last eight home games and are 12-2 at The Dell Diamond since April 18.

BIG-FLY GUYS

The Express enter tonight's game with 119 home runs on the season. Round Rock - the first PCL team to 100 home runs this season - currently trails only Reno (120) for the league lead. Albuquerque (107) is the next closest American Conference team. The Express clubbed 35 homers over the last 21 games after being shutout in consecutive games. Round Rock already has eclipsed the franchise's season totals from 2009 (97) and 2010 (108). The Express hit 170 home runs in 2006, an average of 1.18 per game and still the club's Triple-A era (since 2005) record. The 2011 Express average 1.34 home runs per game and are on pace to hit 192 on the season.

OFFENSE STRUGGLES WITHOUT HOMERS

The Express have homered in 58 of 89 games this season, going 39-19 in those games. However, Round Rock is just 13-18 when failing to hit at least one home run. The Express average 3.68 runs per game (114 total) when failing to homer. Meanwhile, Round Rock averages 6.03 runs per game when hitting at least one home run. The Express have homered in 21 of their last 31 games and scored a total of 23 runs in the other 10 games, getting shutout three times and scoring one run three times.

MORE HOME-RUN NUMBERS

Round Rock has won 12 of its last 13 games when hitting at least one home run. ... The Express snapped a three-game homerless streak last night. It was only the second drought of more than two games this season; the other was a four-game stretch April 18-21. ... Round Rock has homered at least twice 35 times, going 27-8 in those games. Twelve of the 35 games were on the road, and the Express were 9-3 in those games. ... The Express are 15-2 when hitting at least three home runs and 6-0 when hitting at least four home runs. ... Round Rock has two five-homer games (June 18 vs. Omaha, June 19 vs. Omaha), two five-homer games (May 15 at Las Vegas, June 28 vs. Oklahoma City) and one six-homer game (April 9 vs. Iowa). ... The six-homer game was the second-best game total in franchise history, a single-game Dell Diamond record and one homer shy of the club record set at Albuquerque in 2006.

Check out the Round Rock Express Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 10, 2011


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