Travs Weekly Report
Published on June 3, 2008 under Texas League (TL1)
Arkansas Travelers News Release
The Past Week: The Arkansas Travelers (28-28) swept Corpus Christi at Dickey-Stephens Park last week to move above .500 for the first time this season. After sweeping the Hooks, the San Antonio Missions returned the favor by sweeping the Travs moving them back to the .500 mark. Sunday's game was rained out forcing a double header on Monday. Both games were seven innings.
Corpus Christi Series: The Travs broke out the bats against the Hooks, batting .323 in the series. The success at the plate resulted into success in the win column as the Travs were able to sweep the Hooks. The Travelers were sometimes unable to capitalize on base hits however, stranding 25 runners in the series. OF Brian Staviskywas signed to a minor league free agent and assigned Arkansas. C Tim Duffwas sent to Salt Lake. C Brian Walker was added to the Travs from Rancho Cucamonga.
The Travs 4-3 win in game one sent the Travs to a 26-25 sent them over the .500 mark for the first time this year. Cliff Remole hit a two-out single in the seventh to knock in the winning runs. Ben Johnson hit his 11th homer of the year. Brok Butcher won his fourth game of the year by pitching seven innings with three runs allowed on six hits. Butcher retired 10 during one span. Kevin Jepsen pitched a perfect ninth inning for his ninth save.
Arkansas won its fourth straight game with a 3-1 victory over the Hooks in game two. Corey Smith doubled in two runs in the first inning, and Fernando Rodriguez earned his fourth straight home win tossing 7.2 effective innings. The Travs turned three double plays and received outstanding relief work from RHP Rafael Rodriguez and RHP Kevin Jepsen, who combined to strikeout all four batters that they faced. Jepsen earned his 10th save.
The Travs won game three 6-5 on the strength of three home runs. Jordan Czarniecki, Drew Toussaint and Brian Stavisky all went deep, it was Stavisky's first game with the team. Czarniecki also threw out the tying run at the plate to end the Hooks' eighth inning rally. Anthony Ortega won his fifth game of the year by holding the Hooks to three runs on eight hits. Stephen Marek picked up his second save of the year.
San Antonio Series: The Travs lost their first home series since the opening home stand when they lost all three games to the Missions over the weekend. Game two was rained out, which forced a double header on Monday. The Travs' offense couldn't figure out the Missions' starters, which led to a batting average of just .214 in the three games. The Travs only mustered four runs, three of which came in game one. Left-handed relief pitcher Daniel Davidson was activated from the DL and assigned to Arkansas.
In game one of the series, the Travs got a great start by Bobby Mosebach but the bullpen blew the 2-1 lead that the Travs had when Mosebach exited. The Travelers ended up losing 7-3. Doug Brandt was saddled with the loss after allowing three runs in just 1.2 innings. Francisco Rodriguez gave up three unearned runs in the ninth inning to put the game out of reach. Arkansas also committed three errors. RF Jordan Czarniecki continued to pound the ball, finishing 3-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and one RBI.
In game two, Nate Sutton's solo home run was the only offense the Travs could mount en route to falling 4-1. Brok Butcher allowed all four runs in the first two innings and settled down nicely by setting down 13 of the final 15 batters he faced. It wasn't enough however for the Travs to come back against Missions' starter Will Inman who went the full seven innings for his fifth win.
Things didn't get much better in the series finale with the Travs falling 4-0. Again, all the runs were scored early and the Travelers couldn't come back. Bill Edwards started the game and allowed all four runs in just 2.2 innings pitched. The Travs had a chance in the third inning by loading the bases with no outs but were unable to score. Jordan Czarniecki singled in both games to give him 10 hits in his last six games.
Who's Hot: Jordan Czarniecki is white hot with a .529 batting average in his last five games and a six-game hit streak. On May 8th, Czarniecki was batting just .233 but is currently batting .318. Since then, he has gone hitless in only three games he's played in, a span of 22 games.
Who's Not: Adam Greenberg has cooled off after a hot start and is batting just .071 in his last four games. Ben Johnson is hitting a mere .176 in his last five games. Bill Edwards has given up six runs in his most recent 3.1 innings pitched.
The Week Ahead: Starting Wednesday, the Travs will play two four-game series, one each against the NW Arkansas Naturals and the Springfield Cardinals. After the road trip, the Travelers will return home on Thursday the 12th to face the Tulsa Drillers for four games and the Cardinals for four games. After another trip to NW Arkansas, the season will be half over with the All-Star game being played Wednesday the 25th in Springfield.
Pitching Probables, Travs vs. Naturals: Wed: RHP Dan Denham (4-4, 2.91 ERA) vs. RHP Blake Wood (0-0, 6.23 ERA) Thurs: RHP Anthony Ortega (5-3, 4.22 ERA) vs. LHP Rowdy Hardy (2-4, 4.88 ERA) Fri: RHP Bobby Mosebach (4-3, 3.53 ERA) vs. RHP Blake Johnson (5-3, 3.69 ERA)Sat: Fernando Rodriguez (4-4, 5.32 ERA) vs. RHP Dan Cortes (2-2, 3.27 ERA)
Texas League Standings: W L GB Texas League North NW Arkansas Naturals 30 26 - Arkansas Travelers 28 28 2.0 Springfield Cardinals 26 30 4.0 Tulsa Drillers 22 34 8.0
Texas League South Frisco RoughRiders 36 20 - Midland RockHounds 28 28 8.0 San Antonio Missions 28 28 8.0 Corpus Christi Hooks 26 30 10.0
Texas League Stories from June 3, 2008
- Travs Weekly Report - Arkansas Travelers
- Father's Day "Catch with Dad" Package on June 15th! - Springfield Cardinals
- Naturals to Make Event-Related Announcement Wednesday Prior to Naturals-Travelers Game - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Hot Air Ballooning, Anyone? - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Drillers Stadium Parking Update - Tulsa Drillers
- Series Preview: Diamond Series Reaches Apex This Week - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Homestand Short but Jam-Packed With Action - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Hooks Return Home For Eight Great Games! - Corpus Christi Hooks
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