The Frisco RoughRiders, Double-A affiliate to the Texas Rangers, dominated the Arkansas Travelers, 7-0. This was the first game in a double-header (two seven inning games, per MiLB rules), brought on by bad weather postponing Friday’s game. Starting pitcher, and Texas Rangers top prospect, Yohander Mendez was phenomenal on his outing. Paired with booming RoughRiders bats, Frisco earned the victory.
Yohander Mendez, who is ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the Texas Rangers organization, didn’t allow a single run. He tossed 7.0 innings of three-hit ball. He walked one, and had five strikeouts. Mendez finished the day with 92 pitches, 63 for strikes. This win improves him to 3-3 on the season. The game started on a bad note, as Mendez hit the first batter. He quickly made up for it, getting his first strikeout and inducing two flyball outs. Mendez didn’t allow anything more than a single throughout the entire game.
Mendez is not proving to be a strikeout pitcher. He induces more grounders and fly balls than anything. It isn’t a bad thing, but it can lead to giving up more home runs. That’s proven by the fact that he has given up 14 home runs this season, most in the Texas League.
Offensively, the RoughRiders were dialed in. Outfielder Royce Bolinger launched two home runs, good for three RBIs. He also hit a double in his 3-3 performance. Luke Tendler went back-to-back with Bolinger, launching his own solo shot in the second inning, right after Bolinger’s first homer. The long balls didn’t stop there, as Isaiah Kiner-Falefa sent one deep for three RBIs.
Here's Isiah Kiner-Falefa's blast over the right-center field wall! It's IKF's fourth-career home run (all this year)! pic.twitter.com/4Hsa8mIqF1
— Frisco RoughRiders (@RidersBaseball) June 3, 2017
Hanser Alberto, who is with the club on a rehab assignment from the Texas Rangers, played his second game with the RoughRiders. Alberto hit a deep single to centerfield on his first at-bat. He had one strikeout. Alberto seems to be performing well in his rehab stint, showing no issues stemming from his should injury.
Though the game was shorter than normal (in accordance with MiLB rules), the RoughRiders did not hesitate to get the offense going. It was a good performance from a team that was sitting in last place prior to the double-header tonight. Going into the matchup, the club was sixth (out of eight) in batting average, hitting just .251.