Fort Wayne TinCaps (12-21) vs. Beloit Snappers (15-16)
RHP Austin Smith (7.85) vs. LHP Ty Damron (2.88)
Thursday, May 11, 2017— Parkview Field — First Pitch 7:05 p.m. — Game 34
YESTERDAY AFTERNOON: The TinCaps beat the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, 3-2. Rod Boykin hit a 2-out, 2-run homer in the home seventh to lift Fort Wayne from a 2-1 deficit.
TREVOR HOFFMAN: Padres Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman is at Parkview Field today and is scheduled to sign autographs for fans from 6:05-7:05. Hoffman is one of the greatest relief pitchers in MLB history. His résumé includes 601 saves — the second most all-time. Hoffman, who pitched in the majors for 18 years from 1993-2010 (and was a 7-time All-Star), has worked for San Diego since 2011. He’s in his third season as a Senior Advisor to Baseball Operations.
WHAT’S AT STAKE: The TinCaps have a chance to win consecutive games for the first time since a 3-game winning streak April 18-20 (they’ve gone 19 games without back-to-back wins)… Fort Wayne has dropped 5 straight series openers since winning at Great Lakes on April 20.
BOYKIN’S BIG HOMERS: Rod Boykin had appeared in 81 regular season games without a home run before he hit his first of the season on April 23. He now has 3 homers in his last 14 games. His long ball at Great Lakes last month came in the 5th inning of a tie game. His 2-run blast at Quad Cities last week in the 7th turned in a 1-run deficit into a lead, just as it did yesterday. Boykin’s 3 homers match his career high set in 2015.
ADVANCED STATS: Brad Zunica has drawn a walk in 22% of his plate appearances this season (up from 5% last year), which ranks 3rd best among all Minor Leaguers (2nd in MWL) with at least 80 PAs. (The MLB leader is Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals at 21%)… Isolated Power (ISO) measures the raw power of a hitter by taking only extra-base hits into account (it’s Slugging % minus Batting Average) Zunica’s .343 ISO leads the MWL and ranks 6th in MiLB… Eguy Rosario has hit a line drive 29% of the time he’s put the ball in play. That “LD%” is 6th highest among qualifying hitters in the MWL. (The MLB leader is Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers at 32%.) Generally speaking, line drives go for hits more often than ground balls or fly balls… Jack Suwinski has seen a MWL-leading 733 pitches, or 5.2 pitches per PA. (The MLB leader is José Bautista of the Blue Jays at 4.6 PPA).
LEAGUE LEADERS: Fernando Tatis Jr. is tied for 2nd in the MWL in games played (31) and 10th in stolen bases (7)… Jack Suwinski is tied for 2nd in games played (31) and is 4th in walks (21)… Brad Zunica is tied for 3rd in home runs (6) and 6th in walks (19)… Eguy Rosario is tied for 5th in stolen bases (9) and 9th in doubles (8)… Reinaldo Ilarraza is tied for 10th in stolen bases (7), too.
AS A TEAM: In the MWL, the TinCaps have drawn the 2nd most walks (129; 3.9/G) and have the 2nd most stolen bases (35).
PADRES PRESENCE: In addition to Trevor Hoffman, the following members of San Diego’s staff are here… Assistant General Manager Josh Stein, Coordinator of Instruction Ryley Westman, Pitching Coordinator Mark Prior, and Hitting Instructor Oscar Bernard.
A’S PROSPECTS: Beloit’s roster features 1 Top 30 Oakland prospect, per MLB.com… RHP Dakota Chalmers (No. 13).