The Frisco RoughRiders, Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, lost to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 4-2 Saturday night. Foster Griffin controlled the game, tossing 7.2 innings in his quality start for the Naturals. Frisco was able to hold their own until late in the game when a seventh inning spark put Northwest Arka as ahead for good.
Richelson Pena took the hill for the RoughRiders. He lasted 6.2 innings, allowing 10 hits and four runs (two earned). Pena walked one, struck out one, and gave up a homer. It was technically a quality start for the Frisco pitcher, though he took the loss and now sits at 1-1 on the year. Joe Filomeno closed out the pitching duties for the RoughRiders, tossing 1.1 innings of no-hit baseball. He punched out three along the way.
Down 2-0 in the fifth inning, Michael O’Neill put the RoughRiders on the board. He hit a single that scored two, and landed Frisco back into the mix. Northwest Arkansas regained the lead in the bottom of the seventh, when Jack Lopez hit a two RBI single. It came with two outs on the board and two strikes against him. He was responsible for three of the Naturals’ four runs, including a solo home run in the first inning.
News and notes from RidersBaseball.com:
- Isiah Kiner-Falefa recorded his team-leading 35th multi-hit game with a pair of singles, and Scott Heineman tallied his 24th such performance.
- After getting swept in the first three games of the season series, Northwest Arkansas has won four of the past five head-to-head contests.
- Thirteen of the Riders’ past 15 games have been decided by three runs or fewer. In those games, the Riders are averaging 2.5 runs per game.
The Frisco RoughRiders will take on the Kansas City Royals affiliate again Sunday afternoon, for the final matchup of the three-game set. The first pitch is scheduled for 2:05 PM, from Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Arkansas.
Frisco will send right-hander Ariel Jurado (8-10, 5.00 ERA) to the mound. Northwest Arkansas has not announced their probable starter. You can watch the action via MiLB.com, or listen to the broadcast at RidersBaseball.com.
Follow Blake Cole on Twitter (@blakeacole) for more on the Frisco RoughRiders, and other MiLB Texas League Double-A teams and players.
*Featured image courtesy of the Frisco RoughRiders.