PCL1 Round Rock Express

Round Rock Express Game Notes

Published on July 16, 2011 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release


TONIGHT'S GAME

Round Rock continues a five-game series at Memphis (St. Louis Cardinals) with a 6:05 p.m. CDT first pitch at AutoZone Park. The Express won two of the series' first three games, winning the series opener and splitting a doubleheader last night. Round Rock is 5-5 in their last 10 games, while Memphis 4-6 in that time. The teams have played seven straight against each other with the Express winning four times. Round Rock is 25-20 on the road, while Memphis is 28-18 at home. The Redbirds own the Pacific Coast League's third-best home record behind only Albuquerque (30-17) and Reno (27-15).

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.

EXPRESS-REDBIRDS SERIES

This is the third of four series between the Express and Redbirds; the season series is tied 5-5 but the Express have won two of three in the current series. Round Rock dropped two of three in a rain-shortened series April 28-30 at Memphis, and the teams split a four-game series at The Dell Diamond last weekend. Nine of the 10 meetings have been decided by three runs or fewer. The teams have played four one-run games - two of which were extra-inning games. Memphis makes a return visit to Round Rock in late July.

EXPRESS STARTER

LHP Martin Perez (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Last Outing: Tossed one scoreless inning in relief July 7 at Springfield in last game with Double-A Frisco ... Allowed one hit with one strikeout ... Last outing technically was an inning of relief July 10 in the MLB Futures Game in which he surrendered on run on two hits, a walk and a balk with one strikeout.

Last Start: No-decision July 3 vs. Arkansas ... Allowed two runs - one earned - on two hits and four walks over 5.0 innings with four strikeouts ... Also uncorked two wild pitches.

2011: Widely considered top prospect in Rangers organization entering the season ... Makes first career Triple-A appearance tonight ... Began season with Double-A Frisco ... Made 17 starts and one relief appearance with RoughRiders ... Posted a 4-2 record with a 3.16 ERA ... Logged 88.1 innings with 83 strikeouts, 36 walks and a .245 opponents' average ... Surrendered six home runs, two of which came in a June 17 start at Corpus Christi ... Recorded nine-plus strikeouts three times, including 10 whiffs over 7.2 innings May 16 vs. Midland ... Tossed rain-shortened, five-inning perfect game April 19 at Arkansas ... 1-0 with eight no-decisions through May 21 before winning three straight starts ... 0-2 with two no-decisions and one non-factoring relief outing since ... Allowed more than three earned runs three times in 16 starts - yielding four twice and five once ... Worked at least 5.0 innings 13 times and at least 6.0 innings eight times ... Enjoyed a stretch of six consecutive starts with at least 6.0 innings from May 10 through June 6 ... Toiled past the sixth inning twice, including seven shutout innings May 26 in win against Northwest Arkansas ... First-inning ERA was 3.38 (6 ER / 16.0 IP) ... Held opponents to a .194 average (7-for-36) with runners in scoring position and two outs and a .228 mark (18-for-79) when leading off an inning ... Surrendered one hit - a three-run double - and one sacrifice fly in seven bases-loaded situations with three strikeouts and no walks.

2011 vs. Memphis: First meeting.

2010: Spent entire season with Double-A Frisco, going 5-8 with a 5.96 ERA and a .290 opponents' average ... Started 23 games with one relief appearance ... Logged 99.2 innings with 50 walks and 101 strikeouts ... Led Frisco staff in strikeouts.

Notable: Signed by Rangers as a non-drafted free agent in 2007 ... Began professional career with short-season Spokane in 2008 ... Split 2009 between Class-A Hickory and Frisco.

LAST NIGHT'S GAMES

Round Rock and Memphis split a doubleheader with the Express taking the opener 6-3 and the Redbirds claiming the nightcap 4-1. Matt Kata's fifth-inning, two-run homer proved to be the game-deciding hit in the opener. Derek Hankins earned his first victory since May 12 in relief; he joined starter Neil Ramirez, Darren O'Day and Cody Eppley to limit Memphis to three hits. Chris Davis blasted his 21st home run in the first inning of the nightcap, but the Express managed only two hits the rest of the way.

DIVISION STANDINGS UPDATE

Round Rock (54-39, .581) holds a six-and-a-half-game lead over Albuquerque (47-45, .511) in the American Southern Division. While the Express split a doubleheader at Memphis last night, the Isotopes were suspended at Nashville with the score tied 3-3 through 12 innings. Albuquerque has lost four straight. The Express are 17-8 since June 18; the Isotopes are 8-16 in that time. Round Rock has at least shared the division lead following 71 of 93 games this season. New Orleans (46-47, .495) has won six straight and trails Round Rock by eight games. Oklahoma City (40-53, .430) is 14 games back. The Express are 17-14 against their division foes.

ROUND ROCK vs. AMERICAN NORTHERN DIVISION

The Express are 30-16 against American Northern Division teams this season, winning 11 of their last 14 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 has split 10 games against Memphis.

MEMPHIS vs. AMERICAN SOUTHERN DIVISION

The Redbirds are 25-20 against American Southern Division foes, winning 11 of their last 15. 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 game in the American Northern Division.

EXPRESS AMONG TOP PCL TEAMS

At 54-39 (.581), Round Rock owns the PCL's third-best record behind Reno (55-36, .604) and Sacramento (54-38, .587). Furthermore, the Express are four games ahead of Omaha (50-43, .538) in the overall American Conference standings. Round Rock is three wins shy of matching last year's season total; the 2010 Express - then the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros - posted their 54th victory Aug. 20 and went 3-14 the rest of the way.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Round Rock (25-20, .556) owns the best road record in the American Conference. In fact, the Express and Omaha (24-23, .511) are the only American Conference teams above .500 on the road. Sacramento (30-13, .698) owns the PCL's best road record. The Express have not won a road series since taking three of four June 9-12 at Iowa. Since then, Round Rock lost three of four at Nashville, split a four-game series at New Orleans and lost two of three at Albuquerque.

NO REST FOR THE WEARY

Tonight's game continues a 29-game, 28-day stretch for the Express. With only one off-day between the All-Star break and the end of the regular season, Round Rock will play 54 games in 54 days. The Express are 2-1 during this stretch.

BIG-FLY GUYS

The Express enter tonight's game with 123 home runs on the season. Round Rock - the first PCL team to 100 home runs this season - is tied for the league lead with Reno (123). Albuquerque (109) and Nashville (102) are the only other American Conference teams with at least 100 home runs. The Express clubbed 39 homers over the last 25 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 1.32 home runs per game and are on pace to hit 190 on the season.

OFFENSE STRUGGLES WITHOUT HOMERS

The Express have homered in 61 of 93 games this season, going 40-21 in those games. However, Round Rock is just 14-18 when failing to hit at least one home run. The Express average 3.75 runs per game (120 total) when failing to homer. Round Rock has not scored more than six runs in a game without a home run since an 8-4 win June 3 at Oklahoma City. Meanwhile, Round Rock averages 6.00 runs per game (366 total) when hitting at least one home run. The Express have homered in 24 of their last 35 games and scored a total of 29 runs in the other 11 games, getting shutout three times and scoring one run three times.

MORE HOME-RUN NUMBERS

Round Rock has won 13 of its last 16 games when hitting at least one home run. ... Only twice this season have the Express gone more than two straight games without a home run - a four-game stretch in mid-April, and a three-game stretch earlier this month. ... Round Rock has homered at least twice 36 times, going 27-9 in those games. Twelve of the 36 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.

ROUND ROCK PERFECT FOLLOWING CONSECUTIVE LOSSES

The Express have not suffered a three-game skid this season, going 12-0 following consecutive losses. Every other PCL team has suffered three consecutive losses at least once. Reno lost three straight only once. Eleven of the other 14 teams have lost at least five straight at some point this season. Albuquerque and Las Vegas both suffered 10-game skids, the league's longest this season. Nashville and Sacramento both lost nine straight.

NO LATE LOSSES AS OF LATE

The Express have won 18 straight when leading after seven innings and 18 straight when leading after eight innings. Round Rock is 41-3 this season when leading after eight innings; all three losses came in a 12-game span in the second half of May. The last time Round Rock lost when leading after eight innings was May 28 when Iowa posted three ninth-inning runs for a 6-4 win at The Dell Diamond. The Express have not lost a game when leading after nine innings.

BIG-INNING THEORY

Round Rock is 19-5 this season when scoring at least four runs in an inning and 35-34 when failing to do such. However, the difference in record is even more pronounced based upon what the opponent does. The Express are 49-23 when not allowing an inning of at least four runs but 5-16 when the opponent posts such an inning. Round Rock posted an inning of at least four runs in three of the five victories when allowing an inning of at least four runs. Likewise, the opponent had an inning of at least four runs in three of Round Rock's five losses with an inning of at least four runs.

COMEBACK KIDS

The Express have 30 comeback wins this season (trailing at any point in the game). Round Rock has won 10 times when trailing after five innings, seven times when trailing after six innings, seven times when trailing after seven innings and four times when trailing entering the ninth inning.

FIVE IS THE KEY

Round Rock is 46-12 this season when scoring at least five runs. Only eight times have the Express won when scoring fewer than five. Meanwhile, Round Rock is 33-13 when allowing fewer than five runs and 21-26 when allowing at least five runs.

EXPRESS LEAD PCL IN ATTENDANCE

Round Rock leads the PCL in attendance, averaging 8,503 fans per game. Sacramento is second with a 7,910 per-game average, while Albuquerque (7,725) is third. The Express have finished second or third in the PCL each season since joining the league in 2005.

Check out the Round Rock Express Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 16, 2011


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