Stout pitching helps Riders hold off Hooks 4-3

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (June 7, 2017) - Behind clutch pitching late in the game, the Frisco RoughRiders, the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, held off the Corpus Christi Hooks 4-3 Wednesday night at Whataburger Field.
BIG MOMENTS

• Riders reliever Ryne Slack entered with one out and two runners in scoring position in the fifth. The southpaw retired Garrett Stubbs and Jack Mayfield , keeping Frisco in front 2-0. He retired all eight men that he faced, earning his second win of the season.
• The Riders took a 2-0 lead in the fifth with the help of three Corpus Christi mistakes. The first run scored on a fielding error - the third Hooks error of the inning - and Scott Heineman's sacrifice fly added another tally. Isiah Kiner-Falefa's sac fly in the seventh increased the lead to 3-0.
• Michael O'Neill hit his first homer with the Riders in the top of the ninth, giving Frisco a 4-1 advantage.
• Trailing 4-1 entering the ninth, the Hooks scored twice on a two-out, two-run double from Kyle Tucker to close within a run at 4-3 but Nick Gardewine finished off the victory with a strikeout of J.D. Davis , earning his first save of the year.

KEY RIDERS PERFORMERS

• Ryne Slack: W, 2 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER 3 K
• Pedro Payano: ND, 4 1/3 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
• Michael O'Neill: 2-4, home run, RBI, run, hit by pitch
• Scott Heineman: 1-4, sac fly, RBI
• Isiah Kiner-Falefa: 1-4, double, sac fly, RBI

NEWS AND NOTES

• With 10 more strikeouts Wednesday, Riders pitching has fanned 22 in the first two games of the four-game set. Riders pitching has struck out at least 10 hitters in each of the last three games.
• Ryne Slack has stranded 12 of 13 inherited runners this season, including his two in the fifth inning Wednesday.
• Riders starter Pedro Payano fired 4 1/3 scoreless innings, lowering his Double-A ERA to 0.96 (1 ER in 9 1/3 innings).
• With Wednesday's win against Corpus Christi, the Riders snapped a three-game skid against the Hooks.

WHAT'S NEXT
RoughRiders at Corpus Christi, Thursday, 7:05 p.m.
Probables: RHP Collin Wiles (5-2, 3.15 ERA) vs. RHP Cy Sneed (4-4, 5.04 ERA)
Video: MiLB.tv
Audio: RidersBaseball.com, TuneIn Radio App, MiLB First Pitch App
About the RoughRiders
The Frisco RoughRiders are the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers and play their games at beautiful Dr Pepper Ballpark in Frisco, Texas. The team was founded in 2003 and has finished first among all Double-A franchises in attendance in each of the last 12 seasons (2005-2016). In August 2014, the RoughRiders were purchased by an ownership group led by Chuck Greenberg. The new ownership group, together with the city of Frisco, has spearheaded numerous major franchise improvements over the past two seasons, investing nearly $8 million in a wide array of facility upgrades and improvements, including a new state-of-the-art HD video board, sound system, Bull Moose Saloon, InTouch Grille, Riders Outpost Team Store, and the newest and biggest creation, the 174-foot Choctaw Lazy River. The upgrades made prior to the 2015 season earned the Riders and the City of Frisco "Best Ballpark Renovation" of 2015 by Ballpark Digest. The same publication also honored the Choctaw Lazy River as the best ballpark improvement over $1 million for the 2016 season. More than 140 former RoughRiders players have gone on to play Major League Baseball, including All-Stars Chris Davis, Adrián González, Ian Kinsler, and Nelson Cruz, as well as current Rangers stars Elvis Andrus, Rougned Odor and Nomar Mazara. For more information on the Frisco RoughRiders and Dr Pepper Ballpark, please visit RidersBaseball.com or contact Art Garcia at [email protected] or Ryan Rouillard at [email protected].