TL1 Texas League

Texas League update

Published on April 17, 2007 under Texas League (TL1) News Release


NORTH NOTES

Arkansas Travelers (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) 4-6, t-second place, North Division

April 5... Arkansas pitcher Nick Green had an impressive start to his '07 campaign. Green threw six innings, striking out seven RoughRiders, while not issuing a walk. Green, scattering four hits, giving up one run in the Travs' first game of the year, but loosing 3-2. April 7... Starter Nick Adenhart started the year off on a good note. Adenhart who allowed one hit, struck out eight RoughRiders in only 5 1/3 innings pitched. The Travelers bullpen continued to pitch well. Rafael Rodriguez threw 1 2/3 innings, striking out two hitters, giving up only two base hits. Miguel Gonzalez came on in the 8th inning striking out three 'Riders to collect his first save, in the Travs' 1-0 win, their first of the season. The lone run came off the bat of Arkansas' shortstop Sean Rodriguez, when he hit a 1st inning home run off of rehabbing, former Cy Young winner, Eric Gagne. April 10... Starting pitcher Jesse Smith dominated the RockHounds in the 1st game of the DH, winning 9-1. Smith allowed only three hits, no walks, and struck out four 'Hounds through six innings. The Travelers SS, Sean Rodriguez, led the way by going 3-4 with a HR, a double, his third of the young season, three RBI's and scoring twice. Leadoff hitter Adam Morrissy did his part by crossing the plate three times and collecting two hits, one being his first HR of the year, along with his first RBI.

Springfield Cardinals (St. Louis Cardinals) 2-5, fourth place, North Division

While Chris Lambert has struggled at times since being selected by S. Louis in the first round in 2004, he has gotten off to a good start in 2007. This season Lambert has thrown well in his first two outings. On the 6th against Midland, Lambert lasted six innings, allowing no earned runs and struck out five. Six days later, again, against the 'Hounds of Midland, he only lasted 4 2/3, but gave up just one run (one unearned) on six hits with two strikeouts. His 0.84 ERA is good enough for second in the Texas League. April 10... The Cardinals rallied from seven runs down for an 11-9 victory over the RoughRiders. Joe Mather led the way, going 3-4, cracking his second HR of the year, which put the Cardinals 9-8 in the fifth. Mather also added a 2B (3) and 2 RBI's (4), while scoring three times. Teammate Brian Anderson also went 3-4, also a 2B (2), also knocked in 2 RBI's (4), scoring twice. The duo (hitting sixth and seventh respectively in the Cards lineup) combined for half of the teams' twelve hits. April 12... Joe Mather was poised to be player of the game in the home opener Thursday night by belting two go-ahead home runs over the RockHounds. Unfortunately, 'Hounds Richie Robnett hit a two-run home run off submariner Hugo Castellanos in the top of the eight to go up 4-3, where the game would end.

Tulsa Drillers (Colorado Rockies) 4-6, t-second place, North Division

April 10... On Tuesday, Greg Reynolds made his Double-A debut, throwing eight shutout innings, allowing just four hits - no walks while striking out seven Hooks on the way to a 7-0 victory. The Drillers had an offensive explosion with 13 hits, six of them doubles. Third baseman Christian Colonel led the onslaught, with two doubles and two RBI's. Three other Drillers had two hits, including Jon Herrera, Joe Gaetti, and Tommy Duenas. Jordan Czarniecki one up-ed them all by collecting three base hits, with a double. The pitching staff, much like the weather, has started out the 2007 season a little cold. Franklin Morales has a 3.18 ERA, given up four runs (one unearned) on 10 hits in 11 1/3 innings. Morales, the losing pitcher in both of his games he pitched against the Missions. Stephen Register made 27 starts last year for Tulsa, this year he begins the season as the Drillers closer. In his first outing the Missions tagged him with two earned runs on three hits. Ballooning his young ERA to 18.00. Register his since settled down, going 3 innings without a run, two hits and collecting two saves in three games. Dropping his ERA down to 4.50. April 13... The Drillers game at San Antonio Friday night was suspended due to a sever thunder storm blew in the seventh inning with the score tied 3-3. When the game was reconvened on Saturday, the Drillers took control of the game in the top of the 9th inning when Missions closer, Neil Jamison, came on to pitch to Jonathan Herrera. The speedy Herrera singled on a bunt single to third base, then advanced to second on Christopher Frey's sacrifice bunt. Jamison intentionally walked Christian Colonel to set up the inning ending double play; pinch hitter Tim Olson had other plans. Olson smacked a line drive into the right field corner and the speedy Olson stretched the base hit into a triple, scoring both runs to put the Drillers up for good, winning the game in a 6-3 final.

Wichita Wranglers (Kansas City Royals) 5-5, first place, North Division

Luke Hochevar, Kansas City's #2 prospect and the overall #1 pick in '06, has struggled to start the '07 season. In his first two games this season Hochevar has pitched 7.1 innings, giving up 10 hits five earned runs, while walking seven and striking out nine batters. April 10... The Wranglers cranked out 13 runs and 16 hits in route to beating the Missions in a back-and-forth game, 13-8. Right fielder Jorge Padilla, who leads the Texas League in hitting with a .480 BA, continue his dominance, going 4-5 with a double, three RBI's, while scoring two runs. Teammates Chris Lubanski (3-4, two RBI's and two runs) and Mike Stodolka (2-5, with two 2B, two RBI's and two runs) helped in the cause with solid games. Wichita's first baseman / designated hitter, Craig Brazell has gotten off to a good start for his new team with a .344 BA, four home runs (tied for the league lead) and six RBI's. Last season for the Jacksonville Sun (Dodgers) the left-handed slugger clubbed 21 home runs and collected 91 RBI's.

SOUTH NOTES

Corpus Christi Hooks (Houston Astros) 4-6, fourth place, South Division

The defending Texas League champions have started off the season with little offence. Through the first six games of the season the Hooks have stranded 41 base runners, 26 in scoring position. While the weather and the offence have been cold, the Astros #2 prospect, Troy Patton, has been anything but. In two outings, Patton has allowed only four hits in 12 innings pitched. Patton has a 0.75 ERA, seven strike outs, and three walks. Almost untouchable, in fact, in his last outing at home on April 12th versus Wichita, Patton threw six no-hit innings, walked two Wranglers while striking out five. The bullpen could not hold the lead, giving up 4 runs in the last three innings, leading to a 4-1 Hooks loss. April 14... The Hooks won both games of the double-header on Saturday against Wichita, 6-2 and 3-2, the second game went eight innings. Hooks Jonathan Ash went a combined 3-8 in the double header with one double and two RBI's. Tim Raines went 3-4 in the second game, collecting three singles and one RBI. The Hooks won the second game after Tim Sellers drew a leadoff walk, Todd Self doubled, which forced the Wranglers to intentionally walk Ray Sadler to load the bases. Noochie Varner hit a sacrifice fly to center fielder, scoring Neil Sellers from third.

Frisco RoughRiders (Texas Rangers) 6-4, third place, South Division

After being promoted from the California League last year, Eric Hurley quickly showed why he is one of the top prospect in the Rangers origination, recording a 3-1 record with a microscopic 1.95 ERA in 37 innings pitched, with 31 K's and only two walks. So far, 2007 has been no different for Hurley, as he has gone 11 innings in a pair of starts, giving up one run on six hits, with 10 K's and two walks. Both his games were against Arkansas, collecting a win at home on the 6th and a no decision on the 12 at Arkansas. Former Cy Young winner, Eric Gagne made two rehab starts for the 'Riders. Throwing 15 pitches in his first outing, Gagne struck out one hitter and walked one in 2/3 innings. In his three appearances, Gagne threw 2 2/3 innings, giving up only one run (3.38 ERA) on two hits with three K's and one walk. April 10... The RoughRiders lost a 3 1/2 hour marathon to Springfield 11-9. Travis Metcalf blasted a three-run HR in the 1st inning to cap a six-run inning. The 'Riders knocked out the Cardinals starter Cory Rauschenberger in the first inning. He retired just two batters. Casey Benjamin drew three walks, collected two hits, including a double and scored three times in only two official at bats. Emerson Frostad also contributed with three hits. April 15... The RoughRiders had a banner day at the plate against Springfield. The 'Riders pounded 16 hits in a 17-8 victory, Sunday afternoon. The onslaught was lead by catcher Kevin Richardson, blasting two home runs and collecting three RBI's. Adam Fox and Steve Murphy each collected three hits and scored four times.

Midland RockHounds (Oakland Athletics) 5-2, first place, South Division

April 5... Midland's opening day starting pitcher, Dallas Braden, had a strong first outing. Branden issued just two hits over six innings, allowed one run (a home run to Joe Mather in the 2nd) and struck out six Cardinals. The 'Hounds offence was led by Vince Faison (2-4) and Danny Putnam (1-4) who had three RBI's each. Putnam's three RBI's came on his first home run in the 7th inning off of Springfield relief pitcher Brian Stitt. April 6... Trailing 3-0, going into the last of the 9th inning, the 'Hounds got a leadoff single from Jeff Baisley and a one-out walk from Landon Powell. Moments later, Brian Snyder blasted a shot that cut through the wind and rain for a three-run, game tying home run. In the bottom of the 10th, Richie Robnett singled to right with Vasili Spanos on the bases. The Springfiled right fielder over ran the ball, allowing Spanos to score the game winning run, giving Midland a 4-3 win. Snyder, Oakland's 1st round draft choice in '03 (Stetson University in Florida) has quite a Citibank Ballpark history. Last season, he hit a grand slam on Opening Night... and now he starts '07 with a game tying, three-run shot in the bottom of the 9th. April 9... Jeff Baisley continued his hot streak going 3-4, hitting two home runs, including the game winner in the bottom of the 12th inning. Last year with the Kane County Cougars, Baisley hit 22 homers with 110 RBI's on his way to being named the Midwest League Player of the Year. April 10... Landon Powell blasted his first homer of the season to help his RockHounds beat Arkansas 4-3 in the 2nd game on the double-header. Powell, with one swing of the bat collected his first three RBI's of the young season.

San Antonio Missions (San Diego Padres) 7-3, second place, South Division

Sean Thompson has had stellar start to the '07 season. In two games against Tulsa, the 5-11 lefty has only allowed one earned run in 12 innings pitched, with 10 strikeouts, and four walks. Thompson finished 4th last year in the Southern League with 134 strikeouts. April 6... The Missions opened up the 2007 season being snowed out in Tulsa, so in the words of Hall-of-Famer and Cubs great Ernie Banks, "Let's play two!" In the first game the Missions came out swinging, collecting 11 hits in a 7-4 victory over the Drillers. Mike Sansoe, Juan Ciriaco, Will Venable, Mike Johnson, and Sean Kazmar all had two base hits each. Missions starter, Sean Thompson, earned his first victory of the season by only giving up one run and four hits through five innings, while striking out four Drillers. In game two, the bullpen came through in a clutch situation. With the game tied 2-2 in the fifth, Jon Searles pitched two nearly flawless innings allowing no hits, with five strikeouts and one walk. Closer Neil Jamison got tagged for two runs in the 8th to blow the save, but Frank Brooks shut the door on the Drillers, throwing three innings of hitless ball, allowing only one batter to reach base via a walk. The Missions scored two runs in the top of the 11th, started by a solo jack by Drew Macias (his first hit of the season) to win the second of the twin billing 6-4. April 7... Starter Jose Oyervidez had a strong first outing, going six-innings, giving up one unearned, three hits while striking out six Drillers. Pinch hitter Tim Brown sealed the victory with a solo home run in the top of the ninth. Neil Jamison picked up his second save of the season getting the Drillers out in order to seal the deal for a 3-2 victory. April 10... Missions 3rd baseman, Chase Headley who did all he could to keep his team close in a 13-8 loss to Wichita. Headley went 2-5, with a home run, a double and 3 RBI's. That makes nine base hits for Headley in six games. Nick Hundley, Drew Macias and Headley all hit solo home runs. The Missions ended their first road trip with eight home runs. April 14... Missions second baseman Sean Kazmar helped to defeat Tulsa 10-3 on Saturday going 2-5 with a grand slam in the second inning off of Tulsa's starter Ching-Ling Lo with two outs. Kazmar ended the game with five RBI's and one double.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Joe Mather, Springfield 7 G, 28 AB, .393 AVG, 4 HR, 7 RBI

On a team loaded with prospects, one Cardinal is flying a little higher than the rest. First baseman Joe Mather has started off the 2007 season swinging a hot bat. The 6-5 right-hander has already amassed four multi-hit games, collecting 11 hits in total. Mather leads his Cardinals in hitting (.393), home runs (4), tied for the lead in 2B's (3), RBI's (7), on-base percentage (.452), and slugging percentage (.929). On April 12th, Mather almost single handedly beat the RockHounds with two go-ahead home runs, but the bullpen could not hold the lead.

Last season with Palm Beach (Florida State League), the Idaho native batted .269, smacked 16 home runs and collected 74 RBI's, both career highs. Mather was originally drafted as a high school All-American short stop by the Cardinals in the third round of the 2001 amateur draft.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK

Sean Thompson, San Antonio 2-0, 2 G, 12 IP, 0.75 ERA, 6 H, 4 BB, 10 K

Sean Thompson has become very comfortable in the Texas League very quickly. Starting his third season in AA, (sixth overall) the 5-11 lefty has shown great command and poise on the mound. In two games (both versus Tulsa) Thompson has allowed only six hits in 12 innings pitched and has allowed only one run. The one run he allowed scored in the first inning of opening day on April 6th. Thompson continued his scoreless streak when saw the Drillers at home six days later on April 12th, going 7 strong innings, allowing only two hits, no runs, striking out six batters and allowing one walk, as he stretched his consecutive shutout streak to 11 innings.

Thompson was selected in the 5th round in the 2002 draft by San Diego out of Thunder Ridge High School (CO)... He spent the entire 2006 season with Double-A Mobile, making 27 starts. He threw two complete games and one shutout for the BayBears, finishing '06 with a 6-10 record and a 3.86 ERA. He led the Mobile staff with 154 innings and 134 strikeouts.

ALUMNI REPORT

ARKANSAS TRAVELERS

RHP Steven Shell ('05-'07) returned to Triple-A on Friday, pitching four scoreless innings in the Bees' 5-1 loss to Las Vegas. Shell, 24, started the season with Double-A Arkansas after making his Triple-A debut last season, going 5-9 with a 6.16 ERA in 24 games, including 22 starts, for the Bees. A third-round draft pick of the Angels in 2001, Shell has been a starter throughout his professional career but has made all three of his regular-season appearances this season in relief. OF Nathan Haynes ('01, '03, '06) leads the Bees with 10 RBIs in the early going, having supplied the run production without much power. His one home run stayed in the field of play -- a second-inning drive to right field off Tucson's Yusmeiro Petit in a 7-2 Salt Lake victory on Tuesday. But Haynes was batting .375 (12-for-32) through Saturday's games, and he ranked second on the team with a .594 slugging percentage.

CORPUS CHRISTI HOOKS

RHP Chad Reineke ('05) gave up one hit over five innings and two relievers helped the Express complete a one-hitter Sunday in a 1-0, seven-inning victory over Iowa last Sunday. The game was the second of a doubleheader, giving the Express a sweep. Reineke retired the first 13 batters he faced before giving up a one-out single in the fifth inning... C J.R. House ('06) collected at least one hit in each of his first eight games, giving him a .367 batting average to start the season. House had a pair of home runs at Rochester April 9 and has 10 RBIs and six runs scored.

FRISCO ROUGHRIDERS

RHP Edinson Volquez ('05), who made eight starts last year in the Majors and was ranked the third-best prospect in the Rangers organization by Baseball America, started the season at Bakersfield and has given up 14 runs in eight innings (and eight walks) after two starts.

MIDLAND ROCKHOUNDS

Sacramento's pitching staff carried a league-leading 2.52 ERA into Saturday's games, with nearly everyone contributing to the early success. Entering Saturday only one starter, RHP Kevin Olsen ('06), had an ERA higher than 3.29, while five different relievers had yet to give up an earned run. Among the superlatives: RHP Shane Komine ('03 - '05) tossed six shutout innings in Thursday's 3-1 win over Portland, and RHP Marcus McBeth ('06) picked up his first save in the same game while allowing only an unearned run through his first four innings... OF John-Ford Griffin ('02) has hit .361 in his first 10 games with four homers, 10 RBIs and eight runs scored.

SAN ANTONIO MISSIONS

Manager Dean Treanor (coach '99) was assessed a four-game suspension by the league for his conduct during Tuesday's 9-7 loss to Iowa. Treanor was ejected for arguing after home-plate umpire Dan Bellino called third strike an Robert Anduno after the SS had stepped out of the batters box. Brian Falkenborg ('01) has established himself as the league's early save leader, with three through Saturday... Jesus Guzman ('05, '06) is second in the Cal League with 13 RBIs... "[Shin-Soo Choo] ('04) is going to be one of the best players in this league. There's no doubt about it. You see it by the way he steps up there, by the way he carries himself and executes a great game plan. For me, he's a big leaguer." -- Bisons manager Torey Lovullo told the Buffalo News. In his first six games this season, Choo has hit .438 with three runs scored... 2B Jason Bourgeois ('06), who had started just two previous games, went 4-for-5 and keyed a three-run ninth inning with his second triple in a 7-5 victory over Mobile. The 25-year-old, who raised his batting average to .429, also had two stolen bases... 1B Thomas Hubbard ('06) had four multi-hit games in West Tenn's first 10 contests, batting .351... Matt Tuiasosopo ('06), whose father and brother played in the NFL, was headed to the University of Washington in 2004 to play quarterback until the Mariners gave him a $2.29 million bonus -- a record for a third-round draft pick. The third baseman is off to a fast start, hitting .424 in his first taste of Double-A ball. Five of his 14 hits were doubles.

SPRINGFIELD CARDINALS

Former pitching prospect Rick Ankiel ('99) has progressed well through the season's first week. Ankiel, now a center fielder at triple-A Memphis, has had a slow start with the bat. The left-handed hitter is batting .226, although five of his seven hits have been for extra bases, with three home runs. He also leads the Redbirds with 10 RBI's... IF Aaron Herr ('05) has batted .385 in his first eight contests with two homers, six RBIs and seven runs scored. ...

TULSA DRILLERS

"Every run we score is like the game winner. I just tried to drive a run in at the time. We had gotten too comfortable and Syracuse started getting close. I never thought [the double] would be the game winner." -- Lynx IF Danny Sandoval ('04) told the Ottawa Citizen April 14 after his RBI double helped Ottawa claim a 4-3 victory over Syracuse. Last season, this group of players, which played in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, ranked near the bottom of the IL in runs scored.

WICHITA WRANGLERS

The Mud Hens have gotten fine pitching from its bullpen, which boasts three pitchers who have not allowed an earned run: LHP Tim Byrdak ('96, '98) (5 1/3 innings, six strikeouts)... Another reliever, RHP Jason Karnuth ('99, '00), has a 1.13 ERA

OTHER TEXAS LEAGUE ALUMNI

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "It tells you how old you are when you're facing Eric Young's son. I guess that puts things in perspective." -- 42-year-old Randy Johnson (El Paso '03), after his rehab start against Modesto, on facing the 21-year-old Eric Young Jr... OF Josh Kroeger (El Paso '03, '04) had 10 hits in his first 26 at-bats for a .385 average. A left-handed hitter, Kroeger was 5-for-10 against southpaws.

THIS WEEK IN TEXAS LEAGUE HISTORY

April 5, 1998 Midland used three consecutive home runs from Troy Glaus, Chris Norton and Danny Buxbaum in the ninth driving in six runs to tie the score. Jason Herrick then singled in the winning run as the Angels beat Wichita 12-11.

April 6, 2001 Four Round Rock pitchers struck out 19 Midland batters yet needed a one-out ninth-inning grand slam by Cesar Morillo to beat Midland 9-6. Brad Lidge set the strikeout pace for the Express as he K'd 11 in five innings of work.

April 7, 1899 John Douglas becomes the first Texas college player to appear in a professional game. The University of Texas student, pitching for Austin, tossed a 4-0 shutout over San Antonio.

April 8, 2000 Tulsa right fielder Craig Monroe blasted three home-runs, the last an eighth-inning grand slam, to help lead the Drillers to a 17-2 pounding of the visiting Shreveport Captains. Monroe's power outburst produced nine RBI's, a new single game record for the Drillers.

April 9, 1953 Chuck Harmon became the first Negro player to play for Tulsa, as he led the Oilers to a 2-0 win over Oklahoma City. Harmon drove in both of Tulsa's runs with a third-inning single. Tulsa starter Ed Varhely opened the season with a two-hit shutout, striking out three and walking three in front of over 4,500 Tulsa fans.

April 10, 1994 For only the second time in league history, two no-hitters were pitched on the same night. At Shreveport, Arkansas southpaw Rigo Beltran topped the Captains 2-0, striking out six and walking two. Beltran would add five more hitless innings in his next start at Tulsa April 16th, giving him fourteen consecutive hitless innings. Teammates Andy Bruce and Joe Biasucci cracked solo home runs to produce both Traveler runs. At Tulsa, Kevin Gallaher and Jamie Daspit combined to pitch a seven-inning no-no, propelling Jackson over the Drillers 3-0. Gallaher struck out nine and walked two in six innings. Daspit followed with a perfect seventh to close out the game. The only other time that double no-hitters occurred on the same night was June 26, 1906, when two nine-inning perfectos were tossed.

April 11, 1920 Deciding the nickname "Aces" was a jinx, the San Antonio club changed their nickname to "Bears". The name is a play on the county name, Bexar, which is pronounced "bear".

April 12, 1989 Tulsa scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to take a 6-4 win over Arkansas in from of 13,988 Drillers fans. Sammy Sosa hit his first Texas League home run, a solo shot, in the bottom of the sixth to give Tulsa a 4-2 lead.

April 13, 1949 Using a twenty-six hit attack, Dallas trampled Oklahoma City 23-2. Third baseman Bill Serena provided much of the punch driving in seven runs with a single, double and two home runs. Serena was one of five Dallas hitters to have at least four hits in the game. First baseman Jerry Witte led all hitters with five safeties in seven at-bats. Interestingly, the game was completed in just two hours and thirteen minutes.

April 14, 1956 Oklahoma City and Tulsa battled for thirteen innings in over four hours before the Indians finally prevailed 16-13. Tulsa scored ten runs in the seventh inning to take a brief 13-12 lead before giving up the tying run in the top of the ninth. Fred Marolewski, the Indians third baseman, had seven RBI in the game. He was 4 for 7 with a double and two home runs. Teammate Matt Sczesny was 6 for 8 in the game, all singles. The two clubs combined to use thirty-eight players, a Texas League record for extra-inning games.

April 15, 1990 Scoring in every inning but the seventh, the San Antonio Missions used twenty-one hits to beat El Paso 19-9. Eric Karros lead the way for the Missions with four hits. Charlie Montoyo was 4 for 5 for El Paso with three doubles.

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Texas League Stories from April 17, 2007


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