HOW IT HAPPENED:
Round Rock took a 2-0 lead in the first behind back-to-back RBI singles from RF Aaron Zavala and 1B Diego Castillo.
In the top of the second, Comets DH Matt Gorski hit a 435-foot homer, cutting their deficit to one.
Express LF Orlando Martinez tallied a two-run double in the third inning for a 4-1 advantage.
Oklahoma City stole the lead with five runs on six hits in the top of the fifth. CF Zach Ehrhard tallied an RBI after grounding into a fielder’s choice. 1B Ryan Fitzgerald and SS Hyeseong Kim hit back-to-back RBI doubles and C Eliezer Alfonzo drove one in with his single.
After three scoreless frames, Fitzgerald belted a solo home run in the ninth. The Comets took the series opener, 7-4.
E-TRAIN EXCERPTS:
WHERE WE STAND: The Express dropped the series opener, moving to 7-12 against the Comets this season and 1-6 at Dell Diamond…dropped to 3rd place in the Pacific Coast League standings…are 6-4 in their last 10, 9-6 in their last 15 and 10-10 in their last 10 games…14 strikeouts matches their season-high from 4/1 vs Gwinnett.
RHP DAVID DAVALILLO: (ND, 4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R-ER, 3 SO, BB, HR, 79 pitches, 49 strikes) made his 11th start for the E-Train this season and 6th at Dell Diamond…allowed at least a hit in each inning…threw 1st-pitch strikes to 14-of-22 batters faced…went to his four-seam fastball 46% of the time…tallied strikeouts on his fastball, cutter and splitter.
RHP LUIS CURVELO: tossed 2.0 SHO IP as the 1st man out of the bullpen…retired the side in order in the 6th…allowed 1 baserunner via a SS Hyeseong Kim single with an exit velocity of 67.8 mph…has allowed just 1 run in his last 5 outings (8.0 IP) with 5 strikeouts and 0 walks.
WITH RISP: The E-Train offense went 5-for-9 with runners in scoring position on Tuesday night…since the second half began on 6/22, Round Rock leads the PCL in base hits (173), batting average (.308) and OPS (.879) with runners in scoring position.
NEXT GAME: Wednesday, September 2 vs Oklahoma City FIRST PITCH: 6:45 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!