Peter O'Brien
The Round Rock Express hit three solo home runs off Matt Buschmannand Nick Martinez allowed one run on three hits with 11 strikeouts over eight innings to give the home team a 4-1 victory over the Reno Aces on Memorial Day at Dell Diamond.
The Aces’ loss gave Round Rock the season-series win for the fourth time in the last five years.
The Aces returned home for an eight-game homestand, beginning with game one of a four-game set against the Las Vegas 51s on Tuesday night at Greater Nevada Field.
Martinez mastered the Aces (24-26) over the first six innings as his offense built a 3-0 lead. The right-hander yielded a one-out single to Mike Freemanin the first but settled in and retired each of the next 17 batters he faced, including two strikeouts apiece in the second, fourth and fifth innings.
The game remained scoreless until the fifth when James Jones ripped a two-out offering from Buschmann over the right-field wall, giving the Express (28-22) a 1-0 lead. After another 1-2-3 inning by Martinez in the top of the sixth, Drew Robinson and Joey Gallo played longball with solo shots in the home half, extending Round Rock’s lead to three.
Freeman walked with one away in the seventh, and one out later, Sócrates Britolaced a run-scoring triple into the left-field corner, bringing the Aces back within two.
In front of 11,218 patrons, the Express insured their lead with a run in the bottom half on an RBI single by Brett Nicholas, providing the final margin.
Buschmann (1-5) suffered the loss after surrendering three earned runs on eight hits with two walks and five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. He received no run support for the third time in eight starts, and the Aces have given the right-hander an average of 2.25 runs in those outings.
Martinez (5-3) became the first opposing pitcher to record a double-digit strikeout total against the Aces since Omaha’s Andy Ferguson punched out 10 batters on May 23, 2015 at Werner Park. Carlos Fisher sat down the Aces with a 1-2-3 ninth for his seventh save of the season.
The Reno Aces, in conjunction with the Arizona Diamondbacks, announced last week that outfielder Peter O’Brien and relievers Silvino Bracho and Dominic Leone were recalled from Reno by Arizona. To clear space on the D-backs’ roster, relievers Andrew Chafin and Evan Marshall were optioned back to Reno, while starters Shelby Miller and Rubby De La Rosa were placed on the 15-day disabled list.
Right-hander Josh Collmenter was reinstated from his rehab assignment as well after making three appearances (two starts) for the Aces, going 0-0 with a 1.23 ERA over 7 1/3 innings.
On Monday, however, the Arizona Diamondbacks recalled left-handed pitcher Edwin Escobar from Triple-A Reno. In a corresponding move, the team sent Peter O’Brien back to Triple-A.
O’Brien, 25, is rated as Arizona’s No. 7 prospect by Baseball America and No. 9 by MLB.com entering the season, O’Brien got off to another torrid start in 2016. He was named the D-backs’ Organizational Player of the Month for April when he hit .370 (30-for-81) with seven homers, five doubles, 21 RBI, 20 runs scored and a 1.060 OPS in 20 games. Through 42 games to date, O’Brien ranks among Pacific Coast League leaders in total bases (1st, 104), home runs (3rd, 12) and slugging percentage (T-3rd, .601).
Bracho, 23, made Arizona’s Opening Day roster out of spring training but was optioned to Reno after one appearance for the D-backs. Arizona recalled Bracho on April 19, and he made a single appearance again for the D-backs before being optioned back to Reno. In 18 appearances for the Aces, the right-hander went 0-1 with a PCL-high 10 saves and a 4.26 ERA over 19.0 innings. His 13.74 strikeouts per nine innings ratio (29 SO/19.0 IP) ranks third among PCL relievers.
Leone, 24, returns to Arizona for a second time this season after being recalled briefly by the D-backs on April 25. In 16 relief appearances for Reno, Leone held opponents to a .203 batting average (12-for-59) while posting a 2-0 record with a 2.12 ERA in 17.0 innings. In the right-hander’s last seven outings spanning 6 2/3 scoreless innings, opponents recorded just one hit in 20 at-bats.
Chafin and Marshall return to Reno for another go-round after significant time spent with Arizona. Chafin, a southpaw, went 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA over 17.0 innings in 23 relief appearances for the D-backs this year. Marshall, 26, has an 0-1 record and 6.92 ERA in 13.0 innings over 12 appearances for Arizona. In eight games for the Aces this season, the righty is 0-0 with a 3.72 ERA in 9 2/3 innings.
Additional immediate moves today filling the gaps left by O’Brien, Bracho and Leone’s departures include the transfer of outfielder Matt McPhearson from Kane County after being reinstated from the Cougars’ disabled list, and right-hander Cody Clark and left-hander Hector Hernandez being transferred from extended spring training to Reno.