HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Chihuahuas struck first after former member of the Express CF Dustin Harris doubled to start the first inning and came around to score on 3B Marcos Castañon’s double.
The Express responded with three runs courtesy of three doubles in the top of the second. 3B John Taylor and 2B Diego Castillo each doubled to start the inning. Taylor then scored on a groundout to tie the game at one. One batter later, SS Keyber Rodriguez drove in Castillo to give the E-Train their first lead of the game. C Cooper Johnson capped off the inning with the third and final double, scoring Rodriguez and giving Round Rock a 3-1 advantage.
Round Rock extended the lead to three in the third after Taylor drove in DH Logan O’Hoppe with an RBI single.
The Express added a run with two outs in the top of the fifth. LF Alejandro Osuna reached on a fielding error from SS Mason McCoy. Taylor poked a single into left field to score Osuna. The E-Train held a 5-1 edge entering the bottom of the fifth.
El Paso cut the deficit to two after Harris blasted a two-run home run in the bottom of the frame.
The E-Train left the bases stranded in the top of the ninth. RHP Gavin Collyer entered the game in the ninth inning and retired the side to secure a 5-3 win in the series opener.
E-TRAIN EXCERPTS:
WHERE WE STAND: The Express win their 2nd consecutive series opener… win their first series opener against ELP this season after losing the previous 2 series openers… With SUG loss to OKC, Round Rock is now -5.0 G behind 1st place SUG… Round Rock is 2-3 in the last 5 G and 4-6 in the last 10 G… own a PCL-high 14 wins on the road in the second half.
RHP WINSTON SANTOS: (W, 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R-ER, 7 SO, 1 HR, 74 pitches, 53 strikes) logged his 4th start with the Express in his 10th career appearance with Round Rock… 5 of his 10 career outings have been as the starter… 1st time he has faced ELP… recorded a season-high 7 SO… tossed a season-high-tying 5.0 innings (Also 7/21 at ABQ)… just the 2nd time he has pitched more than 4.0 innings…did not walk a batter for just the 2nd time in his 9 outings this season… 2nd time this month… 8th Round Rock starter this season to record 6+ SO and not issue a walk… went to his fastball 50 % (37/74) of the outing which topped out at 98.1 mph… 42nd time an Express starter has tossed 5.0 innings or more… 22-20 in those contests.
C COOPER JOHNSON: his double in the 2nd marks his 43rd RBI this season, which is the 3rd most among PCL catchers… Johnson also owns 52 H on the year, which ranks 5th among PCL catchers… the catcher also owns 33 walks which is the 2nd most among the position (min. 250 PA)…despite owning the lowest batting average among Express hitters this season (min. 50 PA), Johnson’s 43 RBIs is the 5th most on the E-Train.
LHP ANTHONY VENEZIANO: (ND, 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 34 pitches, 20 strikes) was the 1st man out of the bullpen for Round Rock on Tuesday… just the 2nd time he has appeared out of the bullpen in his 5 outings with the Express… 1st outing this season to not allow a hit… started and ended his outing with a strikeout to 3B Marcos Castañon… has allowed just 2 BB this season… is 1 of 2 PCL pitchers (RHP John Brebbia) this season to pitch at least 15.0 innings and allow 2 walks or fewer.
INF JOHN TAYLOR: was the lone E-Train hitter to record multiple RBIs… tonight’s contest is his 13th multi-RBI game with Round Rock… owns a 4-G hitting streak, hitting .357 (5-for-14) with 3 RBI and 4 BB.
DH LOGAN O’HOPPE: went 2-for-5 with a single and a double… his 106.2 mph double in the 3rd inning was his 2nd hardest base hit with the Express… 9 of his 15 hits this season have been doubles… 6 of the 9 doubles have been recorded over 100.0 mph… owns a team-high 11 G on-base streak, slashing .311/.392/.556 with 9 of his 14 hits going for extra-bases… also owns 10 RBI during the stretch.
INF JONAH BRIDE: reached base three times on Tuesday night… two via walks… marks the 21st game this season the infielder has drawn multiple walks… has drawn 62 walks this season, which is the 4th most in the PCL.
NEXT GAME: Wednesday, August 19 at El Paso FIRST PITCH: 1:05 p.m. CT BALLPARK: Southwest University Park
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