Chihuahuas blast their way past Memphis 11-5 Monday night
EL PASO, Texas – The El Paso Chihuahuas scored multiple runs in each of their final four innings Monday to beat the Memphis Redbirds 11-5 at Southwest University Park. Frank Garces struck out eight Redbirds in 5.2 innings in his first start sinceJune 23.
Hector Sanchez had two solo homers in the first four inningsMondayto give El Paso an early 2-1 lead. Sanchez went 3-for-3 with a walk and a hit by pitch and now has seven home runs in his first 45 El Paso at bats. Memphis inched close on multiple occasions but both Austin Hedges and Carlos Asuaje hit two-run, two-out doubles in the middle innings to keep the Chihuahuas in front. Hedges and Hunter Renfroe both homered in the win for El Paso.
The Chihuahuas had 15 hits in the win and remain on pace to narrowly break the modern Pacific Coast League team hits record, currently held by the 2000 Salt Lake Buzz. El Paso pitchers struck out 14 Redbirds, one shy of the 2016 single-game high. The Chihuahuas have won two consecutive games and now sit in first place, 5.5 games ahead of second place Las Vegas with 49 games to go.
Gameday Box Score:http://www.milb.com/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2016_07_18_mrbaaa_elpaaa_1&mode=gameday
Team Records:Memphis (45-49), El Paso (55-40)
Next Game:Tuesdayat 7:05 p.m. vs. Memphis at Southwest University Park. Memphis RHP Corey Baker (1-1, 7.71) vs. El Paso RHP Aaron Northcraft (3-0, 5.40). Game coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. on 600 ESPN El Paso andwww.epchihuahuas.com.
