Frisco hosts Arkansas seeking first-half championship clinch

In the final series of the first half, the Frisco RoughRiders return to Riders Field for a seven-game homestand against the Arkansas Travelers (Mariners affiliate), spanning Tuesday, June 16 to Sunday, June 21, with both teams angling for playoff spots in their respective divisions

Series Schedule

Tuesday, June 16th (11:05 a.m.)

• Probables: RHP Aidan Curry (1–1, 11.68) vs RHP Michael Morales (2–1, 5.13)

Wednesday, June 17th (5:05 p.m. Doubleheader)

• Game One Probables: LHP Blake Townsend (3–2, 3.86) vs RHP Ryan Hawks (3–3, 4.94)
• Game Two Probables: TBD vs TBD

Thursday, June 18th (7:05 p.m.)

• Probables: RHP Winston Santos (1–3, 7.51) vs LHP Nico Tellache (3–3, 3.04)

Friday, June 19th (7:05 p.m.)

• Probables: LHP Dalton Pence (2–1, 2.05) vs LHP Kade Anderson (6–0, 1.13)

Saturday, June 20th (7:05 p.m.)

• Probables: RHP Ben Anderson (0–0, 3.65) vs RHP Ryan Sloan (1–2, 4.44)

Sunday, June 21st (6:05 p.m.)

• Probables: LHP Dylan MacLean (4–0, 4.02) vs RHP Adam Leverett (2–1, 4.44)

Winston Santos struck out a season-high nine batters last week in San Antonio

Three Travelers to Watch

• Anderson (SEA №1, MLB №6) has been the best pitcher in Minor League Baseball this season, bar none. The lefty from LSU who Seattle selected third overall in last year’s MLB Draft owns MiLB’s best ERA (1.13) among pitchers who have tossed 50 or more innings this season. He has made 11 starts in his professional debut season, including one against the Riders on May 29 in which he struck out nine over 5.1 scoreless innings.
• OF Lazaro Montes (SEA №4, MLB №27) ranks second in the Texas League with 20 home runs already this season. Eight of those big flies have come in just 12 games here in the month of June — the most in all of the Minor Leagues. The 21-year-old has driven in 54 runs on the season, including 21 in June.
• With an eight-hit week against Northwest Arkansas last week, INF Charlie Pagliarini is hitting .279 on the season with 10 home runs in his 56 games. He is one of nine qualified hitters in the Texas League with an on-base percentage over .400.

Three RoughRiders to Watch

• On the road against San Antonio last week, Santos (TEX №5) struck out a season-high nine batters over five innings against the Missions. The righty has fired at least five innings in each of his last four starts.
• OF Orlando Martinez is riding an eight-game hitting streak that has raised his batting average from .268 to .303, the third-best active mark in the Texas League. In that span, the corner outfielder has three three-hit performances, including both weekend games in San Antonio, and has seen seven of his 15 total hits go for extra bases.
• C Ian Moller has hit a home run in three of his last five games, setting a new career high with his seventh of the season on Sunday, taking just 33 games to do so. On the year, Moller’s OPS sits at .809, which would be by far his career-best for a full season.

Orlando Martinez’s eight-game hitting streak is tied for the second-longest active streak in the Texas League

Three Things to Know

1. Scene Setter: As the final week of the first half begins, Frisco sits 3.5 games up for first place in the Texas League South over both Midland and Amarillo. That means that the RoughRiders’ magic number to clinch the first half title — and a spot in the playoffs — is four over both teams, who happen to play against each other this week in HODGETOWN. The Travelers, meanwhile, are in second place in the Texas League North, trailing the Tulsa Drillers by just 2.5 games.
2. Written in ‘Pen: Across the first five games of last week’s series in San Antonio, RoughRider relievers combined to surrender just eight hits and three earned runs over 19.1 innings for a 1.40 ERA — the second-best mark in Minor League Baseball over that span. Frisco owns the Texas League’s best bullpen ERA in June (3.42) and now the best for the entire season as well (3.90).
3. Calendar Callback: Just two weeks ago, these teams met for the first time this season in a series held at Dickey-Stephens Ballpark. In a series that was shortened to five games because of rain, Frisco won three, including the rubber match to claim the series victory on Sunday — the last day of May. The series was tight-fought and low-scoring, with the Riders outscoring the Travelers 21–19 in the five games.