HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Express struck first in the bottom of the first with two outs. 3B Jonah Bride drew a walk and came around to score on LF Aaron Zavala’s RBI double to give the E-Train an early one-run edge.
The Aces responded with a run in the top of the second. A pitch hit LF A.J. Vukovich to start the inning and RF Gavin Conticello singled to put runners at first and second. CF Anderdson Rojas poked a single to left field, scoring Vukovich from second to even the score at one.
Round Rock pulled away with four runs in the bottom of the fifth. The E-Train loaded the bases after a walk by SS Keyber Rodriguez, an error by 3B LuJames Groover and a DH Cody Freeman single. CF John Taylor drove in two runners with a double, putting runners at second and third. Freeman scored on a sacrifice fly by Bride, which also advanced Taylor to third base on the play. Taylor capped off the inning by scoring on a wild pitch from LHP Yu-Min Lin. The Express led 5-1 after five complete.
The Express held the Aces to one hit through the final six innings as they claimed the series opener by a final score of 5-1.
E-TRAIN EXCERPTS:
WHERE WE STAND: The Express have now won 5 of the first 6 series openers of the second half… have won all three series openers at Dell Diamond… second consecutive series opener victory against the Aces… are now 6-4 in home games to start the second half… are 5-0 in the last 5, 7-3 in the last 10… own the T-2nd best run differential (+15) in the second half… are on a season-high five game winning streak.
RHP NOLAN KINGHAM: (W, 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R-ER, 0 BB, 9 SO, 78 pitches, 52 strikes) made his 10th start of the season on Tuesday night… just the 3rd Round Rock pitcher this year to make double-digit starts (also RHP Josh Stephan and RHP Trey Supak) and 41st pitcher in the PCL… started and ended the 1st inning with a strikeout… struck out the first two batters he faced in the 2nd on his way to retiring the side… struck out the final two batters in the 3rd to strand runners in scoring position… generated at least one strikeout in each inning he pitched, totaling a season-high 9 punchout… became the 4th Round Rock pitcher to record 8+ strikeouts in a game (Also Stephan, LHP Austin Gomber and Supak)… his outing tonight marks the first time an E-Train pitcher has generated 8+ strikeouts in an outing since RHP Josh Stephan’s 9 strikeouts on 5/10 at DUR (63 game stretch)… earns the 14th win by an Express starting pitcher this season… took the loss in his first and only appearance against RNO earlier this season on 7/9… allowed a season-high 7 R-ER and 8 H over 4.0 innings.
HITTING AGAINST LEFT-HANDERS: Tonight’s game marks the 36th game this season the Express have faced off against a starting left-handed pitcher… 36th contests is T-3rd lowest in the PCL… are 5-3 in the second half and 20-16 on the campaign… last faced off against a starting southpaw on 7/22 in a 5-2 loss at ABQ… despite owning the 3rd lowest number of at-bats (1033) against left-handed pitchers, the E-Train are hitting .283 with 27 HR, 176 RBI and 133 BB…Round Rock is slashing .252 with 67 HR and 341 RBI in 2397 AB against right-handers and also owns the lowest average exit velocity (86.3 mph) among PCL teams… this month, the Express are hitting .308 with 32 RBI and 4 HR against lefties, which ranks 3rd among PCL teams.
OF AARON ZAVALA: recorded his 42nd RBI of the campaign with his double in the 1st inning… 42 RBIs is the 4th most on the Express… now has 24 doubles on the season and 8 this month, which is T-4th most in the PCL… the outfielder also recorded his 22nd hit with two outs and two strikes, which is the most by any Triple-A batter this season.
INF/OF JOHN TAYLOR: extended his on-base streak to 12 games, which is tied with INF Cody Freeman for Round Rock’s longest active streak…owns a .370/.453/.500 slash line with 13 RBI, 6 BB and 6 SO since the streak began on 7/11…has recorded multiple RBIs in 19 of his 41 games with the Express…has driven in 24 runs since the 2nd half began on 6/23, which ranks 4th in the Pacific Coast League.
BULLPEN: The Express bullpen comprised of RHP Chris Martin, RHP Emiliano Teodo, RHP Luis Curvelo and RHP Mason Thompson combined to stifle the Reno bats through the final 4.0 innings…Martin was the first man out of the bullpen as he retired the side on just five pitches… Teodo and Curvelo tossed scoreless frames in the 7th and 8th innings… Thompson recorded two strikeouts and secure the win in the 9th… marks the 24th game this season the bullpen has not allowed a run… are 23-1 in those contests.
STREAKING: The Express extended their season-long win streak to 5 games on Tuesday night…marks the longest active streak in Triple-A…ties their longest win streak from 2025, when they won 5 in a row 3 different times…during the streak, Express pitchers have posted a 1.76 ERA (41.0 IP/8 ER), struck out 41 batters and walked 10 while the offense has batted .333 and scored an average of 9 runs per game.
NOTES: Haven’t homered at Dell Diamond in 4 games (since 7/5 vs ABQ)… tied for the longest homerless streak at home for the Express this season (3 G 4/30-5/2 vs OKC)… 35 HR in home games is the lowest tally among Pacific Coast League clubs and 2nd lowest in Triple-A (34- NOR, Triple-A affiliate of BAL) while 59 homers in away games ranks 6th in the PCL… Round Rock pitchers recorded 13 strikeouts on Tuesday night, marking the 29th game of the season and the 4th game this month in which the Express have recorded 10+ strikeouts… the E-Train are 14-15 in those contests… Round Rock recorded 6 H tonight for the 26th time this season… just the 2nd time the Express have won when posting 6 H or less (also, 7/1 vs ABQ in 6-5 win)… are 2-24 on the year.
NEXT GAME: Wednesday, July 29 vs Reno 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!