The Frisco RoughRiders, Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, defeated the San Antonio Missions Thursday night, 5-1. Rangers top pitching prospect Ariel Jurado tossed seven dominating innings of baseball. He led the team to victory, snapping a three-game losing streak for the RoughRiders.
Jurado, currently ranked by MLB.com as the No. 8 prospect for the Texas Rangers, allowed just three hits and one run (earned) in his seven innings of work. He walked three and struck out five along the way. 59 of his 95 pitches were thrown for strikes. Jurado earned the win, his first since June 11. The RoughRiders righty now sits at 8-8 on the year.
Reed Garret relieved Jurado on the mound. He tossed one inning, allowing one hit and striking out one. Ricardo Rodriguez closed out the pitching duties for the RoughRiders. He allowed no hits, no runs, and walked none in his one inning performance while punching out two of the San Diego Padres affiliate batters.
The sixth inning was huge for the RoughRiders. Leading 1-0 heading into the frame, outfielder Royce Bolinger added to the score with a two-run homer. The club would score four total runs in the sixth, leaving the score at 5-1 through the rest of the matchup.
Bolinger finished the night at 1-4, with his monster home run accounting for both of his RBIs. Michael O’Neill went 2-4, with a stolen base. An1dy Ibanez also went 2-4 with a stolen bag. Jose Trevino rounded out the offensive performance for the RoughRiders, as he went 1-2 with two RBIs.
News and notes from RidersBaseball.com:
- The Riders collected two extra-base hits (a double and a home run) Thursday to end a streak of three straight games with only singles.
- Ariel Jurado lasted career-high-tying seven innings for the second consecutive start and the third time this season.
- Michael O’Neill extended his hitting streak to six games with two more hits and has hits in 10 of his past 21 at-bats (.476).
- With two hits Thursday, Andy Ibanez tallied his sixth multi-hit display in his past 12 games, hitting .341 (15-44) in that stretch.
The Frisco RoughRiders will continue their series against the San Antonio Missions Friday night. Tyler Davis (1-1, 3.00 ERA) is scheduled to make the start for the RoughRiders. He’ll face lefty Joey Lucchesi (3-1, 2.19 ERA) for the Missions.
You can watch the action via MiLB.tv, or listen to the broadcast at RidersBaseball.com.
Follow Blake Cole on Twitter (@blakeacole) for more on Ariel Jurado, the Frisco RoughRiders, and other MiLB Texas League Double-A teams and players.
*Featured image courtesy of the Frisco RoughRiders.