Double the Defeats: Memphis sweeps OKC in DH
In this first game, David Freese staked the Redbirds to a 3-0 first inning lead against RedHawks starter Brian Gordon with a home run to left.
Oklahoma City cut into the deficit with a run on a wild pitch in the top of the third inning. Joaquin Arias singled to lead off the inning and stole second. Arias advanced to third on a fly out by Casey Benjamin and scored on a wild pitch to Royce Huffman.
Freese drove in two more runs in the bottom half of the inning with a double to extend the lead to 5-1, and added a sixth run batted in with single in the fifth inning against RedHawks reliever Mike Hinckley. Mark Hamilton added a run with a double in the fifth as the lead climbed to 7-1.
Jared Bolden hit his first Triple-A home run off Matt Scherer in the top of the seventh inning to close out the game one scoring.
Gordon (7-3) took the loss, while Memphis starter P.J. Walters (8-10) notch the win. Freese finished 3-3 with six runs batted in and was just a three base hits shy of a cycle.
In game two, the Redbirds took a 1-0 lead against RedHawks starter Chris Cooper in the second inning. Cooper, make his first ever start in affiliated baseball after 234 career relief outings in the Cleveland Indians organization, saw Brian Barden reach on an error, advance on a wild pitch, and score on a single by Mark Shorey. The Redbirds extended the lead in the second on a base hit by Tyler Greene that scored Jon Jay for a 2-0 advantage.
Oklahoma City took its only lead of the day in the fourth inning when Justin Leone hit his first Pacific Coast League home run of the season; a three-run shot with Benjamin and Huffman on base for a 3-2 edge. Leone had hit four home runs earlier in the season while playing for the Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre Yankees. Two batters after the home run, rain began to fall and the clubs sat through a 56 minute rain delay.
Memphis regained the lead in the fifth inning. Cooper remained on the mound for the RedHawks after the delay and surrendered a two-run home run to Greene as the Redbirds moved ahead 4-3. Memphis added a run off Jailen Peguero in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Cooper (0-1) was tagged with the loss, Charlie Manning () 1-2earned the win, and Pete Parise picked up his second save of the series and eighth of the season. Benjamin had the lone two-hit game in the nightcap for Oklahoma City, while Shorey had three hits and Green drove in three runs to lead Memphis.
The RedHawks and Redbirds play a 6:35 pm game on Sunday at AutoZone Park. Elizardo Ramirez will start for Oklahoma City against Memphis' Evan MacLane.