Round Rock Express hitters were surely looking forward to this past weekend’s series against the Salt Lake City Bees. Coming into the series the Pacific Coast League pitching rankings of the Bees were: last in ERA, first in home runs allowed, second most runs allowed, third most hits, and issued the fewest strikeouts and fourth most walks. The Express definitely needed some soft pitching; they went into the first game of the series without having scored a run in 16 innings. That gutworm gnawing extended to 19 innings before Round Rock scored two in the third inning of the first game. From there it was fine sailing for The Express, except for a game three hiccup that was more the fault of the pitchers. The offense still managed five runs on eleven hits in that game. 
Here is how the hitting for The Express broke down over the four game series: 38 Hits (12 a game, up from 9.43 before) which increased their team Batting Average from .264 to .270, 18 RBIs, and their Slugging Percentage was raised from .397 to .401. They also averaged 5.75 Runs Per Game during the series, compared to 4.36 before. Individually, the main standout was Tommy Manzella, who had six hits in the series, two of them Doubles. Saccomanno also increased his hitting streak to 17 games. The sad part was the inability of Round Rock to get a single Home Run off of the team who has given the most up in league.
So this all looked pretty great for the RR batters going into it. There was a slight problem, though. Salt Lake City has batters of their own, and they are pretty damn good. Coming into the series they led the PCL in Home Runs, RBIs, and Slugging Percentage. They also had the third most stolen bases in the league, which is important in this time when teams are going for speed and small-ball since, for some strange, unexplained reason, hitters just can’t get as many home runs as they did a few years back. (The Express had a crappy 24 Stolen Bases heading into the series. They managed three in these four games). Salt Lake also came in with a tidy .281 team Batting Average.
So with those numbers, any team would fear the Bees offense. Perhaps even their sting, as it were. But Round Rock had extra reason to fear: The Bees pitching was bad, but The Express had numbers that weren’t much better. They sported a league rank of 12th in ERA, most Walks, fourth most Hits and Runs allowed, and had given up 37 Home Runs, yet somehow ranked sixth in the league in Strike Outs (who knows)? So this looked to be an offensive showdown, with Round Rock hoping to at least split the series.
Instead they won three out of four, with all three wins being very decisive. Express pitching showed up strong for all but game three, as mentioned before. In the other three games, the pitching staff only surrendered three Runs on 19 Hits, Struck Out 18 while walking nine (yet they struck out 10 in the game three loss), and only gave up one Home Run during the three wins. For the most part for Round Rock, the star pitchers lived up to their potential, the decent pitchers stepped up to the competition, and the unknowns showed strong. The one game that got out of hand can easily be forgiven, considering Salt Lake’s formidable arsenal. A sweep would have been amazing; winning three and losing one is an admirable feat, giving them some much-needed confidence in their bats along the way. It also moved them into second place in the PCL American South Division, three games behind the Albuquerque Isotopes, who play The Express in Round Rock June 11-14, games which I should be covering from the press box.
Tomorrow, I’ll have an interview I recently did with Express pitching coach Burt Hooton, who had a very interesting Major League career with the Cubs and the Dodgers. I ask him about some of his exploits, like throwing a no-hitter in his fourth Major League start. He’s worth looking up, and has some pretty sound “voice of experience” advice that could benefit Little Leaguers as well as MLB veterans.
Til then, take it easy!
Keith Trussell
Keywords: Houston Astros, Round Rock Express, Salt Lake City Bees
