RENO, Nev. – Much like last week’s opponent from whom they took four of six games while putting on an offensive display, the Reno Aces are set to battle the Round Rock Express, Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, in a six-game series for the second time this month beginning tonight.
In a week against the Tacoma Rainiers that was full of offense, no Ace stood out more than Groover as he ended the week hitting .520 with a total of 13 hits, eight runs scored, a team-best five doubles, one triple, two homers, seven RBI, and a 1.592 OPS. All that production has resulted in him being named the PCL Player of the Week for the second time this season.
Robinson also ended with at least one hit in every two at-bats, hitting .579 with a team-high 10 runs scored, two doubles, one homer, a team-high tying eight RBI, and a 1.461 OPS. Fernandez matched Robinson in RBI while hitting .391 with four doubles and one homer, and Rojas trailed shortly behind hitting .381 with five runs scored, two homers and seven RBI.
It was just three weeks ago (July 7-12) that the Express and Aces met for the first time this season, playing six games at Dell Diamond in Texas just prior to the All-Star Break. Though Round Rock took the first, Reno won four straight to take a series victory before the Express ended the set by taking the finale.
That series helped the Aces even up the all-time series between the two teams, as they are now deadlocked at 48-48 (.500). Game four of this set marks the 100th shared game between the two teams, making the Express the ninth team to do so in Aces franchise history.
Of the teams that Reno has played at least 75 times in history, their 5.34 ERA against the Express ranks as the fourth best, just points behind the 5.28 ERA they have against Salt Lake (293 games). Though the total is not as impressive due to the lack of games, Reno always has the strikeout stuff working as their 20.5 percent strikeout rate against the Express ranks as the second best in team history, as is their 2.19 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
However, hitting has not been quite as successful as Reno’s .279 batting average sits in the middle in sixth place of the 10 teams they’ve faced on 75 or more occasions. In that time the Aces have logged 928 extra-base hits, 101 of which have been homers. The extra-base hits rank last of those 10 teams in total, and their average of 3.4 extra-base hits per game against the Express ranks sixth of those 10 teams.
The Express have played just nine games (one postponement) since last meeting the Aces, and in that time, they have logged a 6-3 record by taking two of three against Las Vegas before snatching four straight against Albuquerque on the road. That effort has helped the Express to sit in fourth place in the PCL standings at four games back, residing directly behind the Aces in third place (three games back).
Since coming out of the All-Star Break, Round Rock’s 3.60 ERA sits third in the PCL and trails the marks of only Sugar Land (3.18) and Sacramento (3.38), whereas the Aces currently rank ninth of 10 teams with a 7.41 ERA. Limiting free passes has been key, as the 20 walks issued by the Express is the fewest in the PCL and all Triple-A. However, they have achieved this record without the help of the strikeout as their 59 punchouts in that time ranks ninth in the PCL.
The Express have also been one of the best hitting teams, as their .313 batting average ranks fourth in the PCL. Though their six home runs are the second fewest in this time in the PCL, they lead the league in stolen bases with 19, are tied for the PCL lead in walks with El Paso at 45 and have the league’s best on-base percentage at .413 (Reno third at .402).
Since the All-Star Break, the Express have three of the top-20 individual batting averages as John Taylor leads the way hitting .394 with an impressive nine RBI and a .985 OPS. Trevor Hauver ranks 14th in average just 12 points behind Taylor at .382, though Hauver has doubled three times to the one of Taylor to go with eight RBI and a .984 OPS. Last of the three is Jonah Bride in 20th, batting .360 with five runs scored, five RBI, eight walks and a .940 OPS.
Josh Stephan has made two starts in that time and stands as the best pitcher of the second half thus far for Round Rock, working to a 3.72 ERA and a 1-0 record after allowing only four runs on 11 hits in a combined 9.2 innings.
Round Rock has just two of Texas’ top-30 prospects per MLB Pipeline, tops among them being right-handed pitcher Winston Santos at No. 11. This year, Santos has made just four appearances (one start) and is 1-0 with a 6.23 ERA and 13 strikeouts to six walks. Right-hander Emiliano Teodo also joins him as the No. 17 ranked prospect, working to a 3-4 record and 4.10 ERA in 36 outings with 54 strikeouts to 35 walks.
This six-game series begins tonight at 4:45 p.m. PT from Dell Diamond.