HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Express put up a crooked number with three runs on three hits in the bottom of the first. 1B Diego Castillo sent SS Santiago Espinal home with a single and RF Trevor Hauver drove two more in with a base hit to right. Round Rock led 3-0 after one.
Round Rock capitalized on two errors by the Isotopes in the second to extend the lead to five. 3B Keyber Rodriguez walked and stole second base to set up Espinal. Rodriguez came around to score from second after errors from Albuquerque’s 3B Chad Stevens and SS Ryan Ritter on a groundball from Espinal.
The Isotopes got on the board in the third after putting runners in scoring position following a walk by CF Connor Capel and a double by LF Zac Veen. Capel scored from third on a groundout by 1B Charlie Condon, cutting the deficit to four.
Round Rock CF Gilberto Celestino led off the 8th with a single and moved into scoring position with a stolen base. Rodriguez followed with a triple into right-center, giving the Express a 7-2 lead that stood final.
E-TRAIN EXCERPTS:
WHERE WE STAND: The Express secured at least a series split with the Isotopes with the win tonight…can claim the series with a win on Sunday…are in 3rd place in the Pacific Coast League through the 1st 11 games of the 2nd half, trailing Las Vegas and Sugar Land by 1.0 G…own a -1 run differential (59-60) in the 2nd half, which ranks 6th in the Pacific Coast League.
RHP JOSE CORNIELL: (ND, 3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R-ER, 2 BB, 5 SO, 69 pitches, 49 strikes) made his 2nd start since being optioned to Round Rock on 6/24 from Texas… 7th start this season for the E-Train… 5th at Dell Diamond… struck out three batters in the first while allowing just one hit… struck out the 5 batters with 3 different pitches (3 w/ sweeper, 1 w/ 4-seam fastball and 1 w/ changeup)… 5th outing of the campaign to allow a run or less… continues his streak of not allowing a home run on the season… is 1 of 3 Triple-A pitchers to toss 30.0+ innings and not allow a homer… coming off a hot start in June where he finished with a 1.38 ERA (2 ER/13.0 IP).
RHP LUIS CURVELO: (W, 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 34 pitches, 24 strikes) appeared in his 16th game out of the bullpen for the E-Train… 9th scoreless outing with the Express… recorded back-to-back strikeouts to start the fourth… 4 strikeouts is a season-high for the right-hander… 3 of the 4 strikeouts came from his splitter (1, 4-seam fastball)… continues his success pitching at Dell Diamond this season… owns a 3-1 record with a 3.52 ERA (3 ER/7.2 IP) in home games… on the road has a 1-1 record with an 11.42 ERA (11 ER/ 8.2 IP).
OF AARON ZAVALA: reached base on four of his five plate appearances… walked in the 1st… doubled in the 2nd… singled in the 4th and 7th inning… marks his 13th multi-hit game of the season… 18 doubles leads all Express hitters… is slashing .313/.333/.625/.958 with 5 RBI to start July.
INF KEYBER RODRIGUEZ: extended his on-base streak to 8 games after drawing a walk in the 2nd…recorded his first triple of the year in the 8th…is slashing .348 with a 1.326 OPS in his last 9 games.
NOTES: Saturday night’s attendance of 11,417 is Dell Diamond’s highest since 7/4/2023 (11,639 vs. Sugar Land)…The Express recorded a franchise-record 9 stolen bases…the most by a PCL team this season… 2nd most by a Triple-A club this season (10, GWN 4/7)…stole 5 bags in the first two innings.
NEXT GAME: Sunday, July 5 vs Albuquerque FIRST PITCH: 6:05 p.m. CT BALLPARK: Dell Diamond
For more information about the Express, visit RRExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Subscribe to the E-Train email newsletter and keep up with the Express on Facebook, Instagram and X!