ROAD ’BIRDS
Colorado Springs in town for four-game series
The Memphis Redbirds have 4 games at AutoZone Park this week, but most of their games have been on the road.
With the first month of the 2014 season almost in the history books, the Memphis Redbirds lead the Pacific Coast League in a pair of troublesome categories — and neither is their fault.
Redbirds batters have been hit by a pitch a leagueleading 16 times with third baseman Scott Moore having been plunked five times by himself. Even if the batters are crowding the plate, that’s mostly the fault of the opposing pitchers.
The Redbirds also lead the league in number of road games played with 16. Stingy schedule makers have only allowed them to play seven times at AutoZone Park, and they’re
only slated to play four home games this week against Colorado Springs before embarking on their second eight-game road trip of the year.
Memphis will finally play its first extended homestand May 10-18 with four games each against Round Rock and Omaha.
Until then, here’s another version of our “Thanks for stopping by” Memphis Redbirds Homestand Guide:
First thing’s first: Weather could be a problem during this homestand.
According to the forecast from weather.com, the games scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Monday and Tuesday are both in doubt. The forecast for both days calls for an 80 percent chance of rain and possible strong thunderstorms.
This weather is supposed to be nice (sunny with highs in the upper 60s) for Wednesday’s game at 7:05 p.m. and Thursday’s 11 a.m. tilt.
What to expect if the weather cooperates: fantasy prospect” in the minors.
The analysis by Christopher Crawford of ESPN Insider reads as follows: Taveras’ swing isn’t picture-perfect, but he has excellent hand-eye coordination and stays through the zone to hit line drives to both right and left field. He’s also an excellent ‘bad ball’ hitter who can hit pitches hard no matter the location …”
Taveras is batting . 303 on the season and has batted . 358 (19-for-53, eight RBIs, 10 runs) during his past 16 games.
In addition to one of the coolest nicknames in the PCL, the Sky Sox also have the fourth-best prospect in the Colorado Rockies’ organization, according to “Baseball America.” Outfielder Kyle Parker is batting . 304 with three home runs and 13 RBIs, but he has almost as many strikeouts (22) as base hits (24).
The Sky Sox roster will also include relief pitcher Chad Bettis, the Rockies’ fifth-best prospect. Bettis actually started the season in the majors, but was sent down to Colorado Springs after allowing a gamewinning grand slam in the Rockies’ 12-10 loss to San Francisco on Wednesday.
Alumni watch: Three Redbirds have been summoned to St. Louis this season — pitchers Tyler Lyons, Jorge Rondon and Eric Fornataro. Rondon is back with Memphis after failing to appear in a game with the Cardinals, but Fornataro and Lyons are still in “The Show.”
Lyons is 0-2 in two starts with a 4.50 earned run average. He’s allowed six runs on 10 hits in 12 innings while striking out 11 and walking five.
Promotions: Tuesday’s game will feature typical “TWOsday” specials when fans are encouraged to “Forget about cooking and take advantage of $2 hotdogs, sodas and popcorn.” Thursday’s afternoon game will be a “Business Person Special” with discounted tickets available for those interested in playing hooky from work.
Be ready: The promotions will get really fun during the next homestand with “Hunting and Fishing Night,” a pair of fireworks shows, a bobblehead giveaway and a block party.
Tickets: memphisredbirds.com/tickets.