CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Frisco RoughRiders will look to extend their strong start to the series Thursday night when they face the Corpus Christi Hooks at 6:35 p.m. at Whataburger Field.
Left-hander Dalton Pence is scheduled to start for Frisco in the third game of the six-game set. Pence enters with a 2-2 record and a 2.61 ERA. Corpus Christi will counter with right-hander Joey Mancini, who is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA.
Frisco enters the matchup at 8-6 in the second half and 47-35 overall after producing a dramatic 8-3 victory Wednesday. The RoughRiders trailed 3-1 before scoring seven runs in the eighth inning to seize control of the game.
Rafe Perich ignited the rally with an opposite-field home run to right, his eighth since joining Double-A Frisco. Julian Brock followed with a game-tying RBI single before Marcus Lee Sang drove in two runs with a base hit. Max Wagner completed the outburst with a three-run homer that pushed the advantage to five runs.
The late surge continued a season-long trend for one of the most dangerous late-inning offenses in Minor League Baseball. Frisco has scored 177 runs in the seventh inning or later, the highest total in Double-A.
Perich has been at the center of the RoughRiders’ recent success. He has homered eight times in his first 32 games with Frisco, with six of those blasts either tying the game or giving the club the lead. The RoughRiders are 8-0 when Perich goes deep.
His 19 total home runs between Frisco and High-A Hub City lead the Texas Rangers organization. Perich is also batting .520 in July, collecting 13 hits in 25 at-bats with a .613 on-base percentage and a .960 slugging percentage.
He is the only Minor League player with four three-hit games this month and has recorded at least three hits in three consecutive games for the first time in his professional career.
The Dominance of the Frisco RoughRiders in Late Innings
Frisco’s pitching staff has been equally impressive during the series. Aidan Curry tied a career high with 12 strikeouts in Tuesday’s opener, while Blake Townsend set a personal best with eight strikeouts Wednesday.
The RoughRiders have recorded 106 strikeouts over their past eight games, the highest total in Minor League Baseball during that span. The staff has averaged more than 13 strikeouts per game across that stretch.
Pence will now attempt to continue that momentum against a Corpus Christi lineup that has scored five runs through the first two games of the series.
The RoughRiders have enjoyed repeated success at Whataburger Field this season. Frisco is 8-3 in Corpus Christi and opened the year by sweeping a three-game set at the ballpark.
In 11 games by the bay, the RoughRiders have hit 19 home runs, averaged 6.5 runs per game and produced an .819 team OPS. Wagner has been especially productive in Corpus Christi, hitting five home runs at the venue.
The entire Frisco offense remains among the strongest in Double-A. The RoughRiders rank second at the level with 745 hits and lead the Texas League with a .268 batting average. They are also first in doubles and slugging percentage while ranking second in Double-A with an .808 OPS.
Frisco’s 109 home runs through 82 games are already a franchise record. The club has hit 26 homers over its past 14 games, tied for the Texas League lead during that stretch.
The RoughRiders have also scored at least seven runs in 35 games and are 26-1 when reaching eight runs. That production has complemented a team already assured of a postseason berth after winning the Texas League South Division first-half championship.
With two victories secured in Corpus Christi, Frisco will try to maintain its offensive pressure and move another step closer to winning the series behind Pence on Thursday night.
