Game Preview: June 27 vs. Oklahoma City
Memphis Redbirds (46–30) vs. Oklahoma City Dodgers (43–32)
Tuesday, June 27 • 7:05 p.m. (CT) • AutoZone Park (10,000) • Memphis, Tennessee
Broadcast Information: MiLB.tv | TuneIn Radio | Gameday Play-By-Play
Probable Pitchers: Memphis RHP John Gant (1–2, 3.14) vs Oklahoma City RHP David Hale (0–0, — )
Lineups:
ABOUT THE LAST ONE: Memphis’ offense was quieted for most of the night, falling 3–2 in the series opener to Oklahoma City. Nick Martini provided three of the Redbirds’ five hits, also driving in the only two runs in the seventh.
Zac Gallen struck out eight in his Triple-A debut while three relievers combined for four scoreless innings out of the ‘pen.
A full recap is available here.
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Pregame Listening: Voice of the Redbirds, Steve Selby, caught up with infielder Alex Mejia earlier this week. You can hear the entire conversation below:
Today’s Game Notes: Click here for full set of notes
TODAY’S GAME: Memphis continues its eight-game homestand with game two of a four-game series against the Oklahoma City Dodgers. The Redbirds completed a 5–3 road trip and sit nine games up in the American Southern division. Oklahoma City has won five straight and possesses the fourth-best record in the league. Today’s game will be broadcast live on Sports56/87.7 FM and internet webcast at MemphisRedbirds.com, with Steve Selby on the call.
ON THE HILL: John Gant toes the rubber for the Redbirds this evening. Gant is coming off his shortest start of the year, lasting just 3.1 frames against on Thursday. The righthander allowed a season-high six runs (four earned) on nine hits while taking the loss. In his last home start, though, Gant tossed eight scoreless frames against Colorado Springs en route to being named PCL Pitcher of the Week. He holds a 2.53 ERA (6 ER/21.1 IP) in four home starts.
David Hale becomes the second straight Dodger to take the hill in his 2017 Triple-A debut. Hale has appeared in Triple-A each of the last four years, made three appearances (two starts) with Double-A Tulsa, encompassing 9.1 innings. He last pitched on Wednesday, allowing four runs on seven hits in two innings of relief. Hale was signed by the Dodgers on April 10 after spending Spring Training with Atlanta. He split last year between the Colorado and Baltimore systems.
SCHEDULE WITH OKLAHOMA CITY: The Redbirds and Dodgers meet for their third series of the season, and second and final at AutoZone Park. Memphis is just 3–5 against Oklahoma City this year, the only team that the ‘Birds do not have at least a .500 winning percentage against. The two teams met seven times over 11 days in April, and after this series, will not meet again until July 17–20.
THIS DATE IN REDBIRDS HISTORY (June 27, 2005): John Rodriguez hit two home runs, including a grand slam, and knocked in 6 runs in the Redbirds’ 7–5 win at New Orleans.
FOR THE RECORD:
- The Redbirds are one game behind the best record through 76 games in franchise history (47–29, 2000)
- A win today would tie the earliest 47th win by games in franchise history (77, 2000)
- Memphis is one of 8 teams in MiLB with 46+ wins
CHANGE IN CULTURE: Memphis finds itself with the second-best record in the league, 1.5 games behind Reno (48–28), thanks to an ever-changing approach to winning games. After leading the league in homers in April (29), the ‘Birds now sit 10th in blasts in June (25). Meanwhile, the pitching staff, which ranked 10th in the league in ERA in April (4.54), rose to second in May (3.84) and is tied for the league’s best in June (3.41).
STREAK RESISTANT: Memphis enters tonight having dropped back-to-back games for the first time since June 6–7 at New Orleans and for only the third time in the last 55 games since April 28. The Redbirds have not lost three straight games since April 24–27, which included back-to-back shutout losses to Oklahoma City.
TWO (OR THREE) OLIVES: Nick Martini collected another multi-hit game last night, going 3-for-4 with a two-run single. It marked the third multi-hit game for the Memphis outfielder in his last five games (9-for-20, .450, HR, 4 R, 6 RBI).
After suffering through a 2-for-24 skid from June 7–16, Martini has reached base safely in six of seven games, driving in nine runs in the process. Since joining the Redbirds on May 6, 15 of his 26 RBI have come with two outs, six have given Memphis the lead, and three have proved to be the game-winning RBI.
