Late runs hurt Riders in 8-2 defeat

FRISCO, Texas (August 17, 2018) - The Frisco RoughRiders, the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, fell 8-2 to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Friday night at Dr Pepper Ballpark.

BIG MOMENTS
* The RoughRiders opened the scoring with a two-run third on RBI singles from Michael O'Neill and Luis Mendez .

* Northwest Arkansas tied the game in the fifth inning on a two-run home run from Alfredo Escalera and grabbed a 3-2 lead in the sixth before scoring five runs in the eighth and ninth.

* Riders starter Yohander Méndez allowed just two runs on five hits across five innings of work in a no-decision. His seven strikeouts were his most in six starts with the Riders.

KEY RIDERS PERFORMERS
* Michael O'Neill: 1-for-3, RBI, R, SB
* Luis Mendez: 1-for-4, RBI
* Destin Hood : 1-for-4, 3B, R
* Yohander Mendez: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

NEWS AND NOTES 
* Mendez has RBIs in three of his last four games.
* O'Neill swiped his team-leading 29^th base of the season.

WHAT'S NEXT
Riders vs. Northwest Arkansas, Saturday, 7:05 p.m.
Probables: LHP Taylor Hearn (1-1, 6.30) vs. LHP Foster Griffin (8-12, 5.07)
Tickets: Click here
Video: MiLB.tv
Audio: RidersBaseball.com, TuneIn Radio, 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 13 seasons (2005-2017). In August 2014, the RoughRiders were purchased by an ownership group led by Chuck Greenberg. Since then, the new ownership group, together with the City of Frisco, has spearheaded numerous major franchise enhancements, investing over $8 million in a wide array of facility upgrades and improvements, including a state-of-the-art HD video board, sound system, Bull Moose Saloon, InTouch Grille, Riders Outpost Team Store and the world's largest water feature in a sports facility, the massive Choctaw Lazy River. These enhancements earned the Riders and the City of Frisco Ballpark Digest's prestigious "Best Ballpark Renovation" award for two consecutive years (2015 and 2016). More than 140 former RoughRiders players have gone on to play Major League Baseball, including All-Stars Chris Davis , Adrián González , Ian Kinsler and Neftalí Feliz , 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 Ryan Rouillard at [email protected].