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Round Rock Express

Round Rock Express Game Notes

August 7, 2011 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release


ROUND ROCK EXPRESS (68-47) vs. TACOMA RAINIERS (57-58)

GAME 116 | 7 AUGUST 2011 | 6:05 P.M. CDT | THE DELL DIAMOND | ROUND ROCK, TEXAS

TONIGHT'S GAME

Round Rock continues an eight-game home stand with the opener of a four-game series against the Tacoma Rainiers (Seattle Mariners). 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 taking three of four against Salt Lake. The Rainiers are 5-5 in their last 10 games after splitting a four-game series at Albuquerque. Round Rock is 37-23 at The Dell Diamond, while Tacoma is 32-27 on the road.

PROMOTIONS

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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-RAINIERS SERIES

Round Rock and Tacoma begin a four-game series tonight. The series continues Monday through Wednesday with a 7:05 p.m. CDT first pitch each night. SERIES NOTES: This is Tacoma's first visit to The Dell Diamond since the 2009 season. Round Rock - then the Houston Astros Triple-A affiliate - lost all four games in the series. Last season, the Express lost three of four at Tacoma. Oklahoma City - then the Texas Rangers Triple-A affiliate - won two of three in a rain-shortened series at Tacoma last season.

EXPRESS STARTER

RHP Brett Tomko (5-4, 6.34 ERA)

Last Outing: Suffered loss in Aug. 2 start at Nashville, a 7-0 Sounds win ... Allowed four runs - two earned - on eight hits over 6.0 innings ... Issued four walks and one wild pitch with four strikeouts ... Surrendered one home run - Mat Gamel leadoff in the sixth ... Allowed solo spots in the second, third, fifth and sixth innings ... Used 107 pitches, 68 strikes.

2011: Makes 16th appearance, 13th start with Express tonight ... Logged 71.0 innings with 26 walks, 48 strikeouts and a .312 opponents' average ... Surrendered 18 home runs ... At least one home run allowed in 12 of 15 appearances, including nine of last 10 ... Express have won seven of his last nine outings ... Wins June 3 at Oklahoma City (start), June 18 vs. Omaha (start), June 21 at New Orleans (relief), June 28 vs. Oklahoma City (relief) and June 9 vs. Memphis (start) ... Losses April 10 vs. Iowa (start), April 15 at New Orleans (start), June 13 at Nashville (start) and Aug. 2 at Nashville (start) ... 3-4, 6.50 ERA, .315 opponents' average as a starter ... 3-1, 6.88 ERA (26 ER / 34.0 IP), .331 opponents' average in six starts and one relief appearance at The Dell Diamond ... First-inning ERA is 6.00 (8 ER / 12.0 IP) ... Third inning is least effective with a 13.15 ERA (19 ER / 13.0 IP), .426 opponents' average ... Opponents hit .278 (10-for-36) with one home run, three walks and six strikeouts with runners in scoring position and two outs ... Leadoff batters hitting .382 (26-for-68) with nine home runs ... Also made eight relief appearances with Texas Rangers, going 0-1 with a 4.58 ERA.

2010: Saw limited action due to injury ... Split season between AZL Athletics (rookie), Stockton Ports (A-Advanced) and Sacramento River Cats (AAA) ... Combined 2-3 record with a 7.18 ERA in 14 outings, all starts; tallied 50 strikeouts against 16 walks in 62.2 innings.

Notable: Prepped at El Dorado High School in Placentia, Calif., which also produced Bret Boone (1987), Phil Nevin (1989) and Dan Petry (1976) ... Attended El Dorado with musicians Jason Freese (Green Day) and Josh Freese (Weezer) ... Los Angeles Dodgers 20th-round draft pick in 1994 out of Mount San Antonio [Calif.] College but did not sign ... Cincinnati Reds second-round draft selection in 1995 out of Florida Southern ... Named Reds top prospect by Baseball America prior to the 1996 season ... Most MLB service of any current Express pitcher (389 games) ... MLB debut May 27, 1997 with Reds vs. Phillies ... Traded to Mariners in Ken Griffey Jr. deal prior to 2000 season ... Signed minor league Feb. 19, 2011, with Rangers, his 10th organization ... Celebrated 38th birthday on Opening Day.

LAST NIGHT'S GAMES

Chad Tracy's two-out RBI double keyed a three-run sixth inning as the Express rallied past the Salt Lake Bees 3-1. Craig Gentry doubled to open the sixth and later scored on Val Majewski's two-out single. Tracy followed with the game-winning hit, and Joey Butler capped the inning with an RBI single. Express starter Zach Jackson battled through six innings and became the PCL's fifth 10-game winner. He allowed only a first-inning run on two hits; he held the Bees hitless over the next five innings but walked six. Mark Hamburger tossed two scoreless innings before Chad Eppley worked a scoreless ninth inning for his ninth save.

ROUND ROCK AMONG TOP PCL TEAMS

The Express (68-47, .591) own the PCL's second-best record behind Sacramento (70-45, .609). Round Rock is four-and-a-half games ahead of Omaha (63-51, .553) in the overall American Conference standings. Only five of 16 PCL teams are above .500, three of which are in the American Conference.

DIVISION STANDINGS UPDATE

Round Rock (68-47, .591) maintained its nine-game lead over Albuquerque (59-56, .513) in the American Southern Division standings last night. While the Express edged Salt Lake 3-1, the Isotopes pounded Tacoma 20-7. It marked only fifth time in the last 18 games that Round Rock and Albuquerque had the same result. The Express are 31-16 since June 18, during which time Albuquerque is 20-27. Round Rock has at least shared the division lead following 93 of 115 games this season and has led the division outright since June 25. New Orleans (56-59, .487) trails Round Rock by 12 games, while Oklahoma City (50-65, .435) is 18 games back.

JONES APPROACHING MILESTONE

Express manager Bobby Jones enters tonight's game with 1,497 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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