PCL1 Round Rock Express

Round Rock Express Game Notes

Published on August 6, 2011 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release


TONIGHT'S GAME

Round Rock continues an eight-game home stand with the finale of a four-game series against the Salt Lake Bees (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim). First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CDT at The Dell Diamond. The Express are 7-3 in their last 10 games after last night's 2-0 victory. The Bees are 6-4 in their last 10 games and have won five of their last seven. Round Rock is 36-23 at The Dell Diamond, while Salt Lake is 27-32 on the road.

PROMOTIONS

St. David's Round Rock Express Summer Concert Series presented by Dell Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights

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.

TELEVISION BROADCAST INFORMATION

Tonight's game also airs live on KBVO Austin, the sports-specific sister station of KXAN NBC Austin. KBVO is available on Time Warner Cable HD channel 1525, DirecTV channel 51, AT&T Uverse channel 7 (HD 1007), Grande channel 18 (HD 318), Suddenlink channel 15 (HD 725) and Northland Cable channel 97. KXAN Sports Director Roger Wallace handles play-by-play duties while former Major League pitcher Kirk Dressendorfer provides color analysis.

EXPRESS STARTER

LHP Zach Jackson (9-4, 5.86 ERA)

Last Outing: Earned victory in Aug. 1 start at Nashville, a 9-4 Express win ... Allowed four runs - three earned - on eight hits over 6.0 innings ... Walked three and struck out two ... Surrendered one home run - Mat Gamel's one-out solo shot in a three-run fourth inning ... Only other run was in the second inning ... Left game leading 7-4 ... Used 95 pitches, 46 strikes.

2011: Makes 23rd appearance, 20th start tonight ... Express are 14-5 in his starts - best on staff ... Round Rock has won nine of his last 11 starts ... Averages 6.84 runs of support per start ... Logged 118.1 innings with 62 strikeouts against 41 walks and a .306 opponents' average ... Worked at least into the sixth inning in 15 of 19 starts, going at least 7.0 innings three times ... Carried no-hitter into the eighth inning April 20 at Oklahoma City; bid broken up on first pitch of eighth inning ... Wins April 9 vs. Iowa, April 20 at Oklahoma City, May 27 vs. Iowa, June 1 at Oklahoma City, June 12 at Iowa, June 20 vs. Omaha, July 17 at Memphis, July 27 vs. Memphis and Aug. 1 at Nashville ... Losses May 16 at Las Vegas, June 6 vs. Albuquerque, July 8 vs. Memphis and July 22 at Omaha ... 11.34 ERA in four losses (21 ER / 16.2 IP) ... 4.05 ERA in nine wins (24 ER / 53.1 IP) ... 4-2, 5.90 ERA, .324 opponents' average in nine starts, three relief appearances at The Dell Diamond ... 10 of 15 home runs allowed at home ... 10 of 15 home runs allowed were solo shots, including nine of last 11 ... First-inning ERA is 7.58 (16 ER / 19.0 IP) ... 3.57 ERA (23 ER / 58.0 IP) during innings two through four ... Opponents hitting .220 (11-for-50) with runners in scoring position and two outs with two home runs, three walks and 10 strikeouts ... Allowed three hits, a walk and two sacrifice flies with one double play in 12 bases-loaded situations ... Opponents hit .345 (39-for-113) with four home runs, nine walks and seven strikeouts when leading off an inning.

2010: Spent entire season with Triple-A Las Vegas in the Toronto Blue Jays organization ... 2-3 with a 5.64 ERA in 35 games, five starts; 49 strikeouts over 81.1 innings.

Notable: Drafted by Chicago White Sox in 50th round of 2001 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of high school but did not sign ... LaTrobe, Pa., native began collegiate career at Louisville before transferring to Texas A&M ... Toronto Blue Jays first-round pick in 2004 after one season at Texas A&M ... MLB debut June 4, 2006, with Blue Jays vs. Washington Nationals ... Also spent time in Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Indians organizations ... Was part of the July 7, 2008, trade that sent C.C. Sabathia from Milwaukee from Cleveland ... Signed minor league contract with Rangers in January.

LAST NIGHT'S GAMES

Martin Perez struck out eight over 6.2 innings, and Craig Gentry homered in his first rehab game with Round Rock as the Express blanked the Bees 2-0. It was Round Rock's third shutout of the season and first since May 2. Perez struck out two batters in the first, second, third and fifth innings and retired 10 of the 11 batters he faced. Michael Kirkman struck out pinch-hitter Freddy Sandoval to end the seventh, stranding inherited runners at second and third. The Express added an insurance run in the seventh when Val Majewski singled, stole second and later scored on Matt Kata's sacrifice fly. Pedro Strop worked around a leadoff single in the ninth inning for his ninth save.

ROUND ROCK AMONG TOP PCL TEAMS

The Express (67-47, .588) own the PCL's second-best record behind Sacramento (70-44, .614). Round Rock is four-and-a-half games ahead of Omaha (62-51, .549) in the overall American Conference standings. Only six of 16 PCL teams are above .500, four of which are in the American Conference.

DIVISION STANDINGS UPDATE

Round Rock (67-47, .588) extended its lead over Albuquerque (57-54, .514) in the American Southern Division standings to nine games with last night's win, matching the largest lead of the season. While the Express blanked Salt Lake 2-0, the Isotopes lost to Tacoma 13-9. It marked only the 13th time in the last 17 games that Round Rock and Albuquerque had the opposite result. The Express are 30-16 since June 18, during which time Albuquerque is 19-27. Round Rock has at least shared the division lead following 92 of 114 games this season and has led the division outright since June 25. New Orleans (55-59, .482) trails Round Rock by 12 games, while Oklahoma City (49-65, .430) is 18 games back.

JONES APPROACHING MILESTONE

Express manager Bobby Jones enters tonight's game with 1,496 career managerial wins - all of which have come in the Texas Rangers organization. His tally includes stints with Class-A Charlotte (1988-1990), Double-A Tulsa (1991-1992, 1996-2000), Triple-A Oklahoma City (1993-1994, 2002-2010) and Round Rock. Jones' most successful season at the Triple-A level was 2004 when he led Oklahoma City to 81 wins and the PCL American Southern Division title. He owns 12 division titles and guided the 1998 Tulsa squad to a Texas League championship.

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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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