ROUGHRIDERS 2, TRAVELERS 0
Ariel Jurado made short work of the Arkansas Travelers on Friday night.
Needing only 86 pitches, the Frisco RoughRiders' 22-year-old right-hander limited the Travs to six hits in a 2-0 victory in front of an announced crowd of 4,386 fans at Dickey-Stephens Park.
Jurado's effort was only the third Texas League complete game this season. The contest took 2:09 to complete, the shortest game of the season for Arkansas and the second shortest game for Frisco.
"We could use a few more like that," said Frisco Manager Joe Mikulik, whose team stands at a league-worse 16-32.
Jurado was in command of his sinker all night, getting the Travs to hit 15 ground-ball outs.
"I thought (Jurado) did a nice job," Travs Manager Daren Brown said. "Sometimes you tip your hat to the other guy. Obviously he threw a nice ballgame. ... We didn't make a lot of adjustments to him."
Jurado got a taste of the major leagues last Saturday, throwing 4 2/3 innings for the Texas Rangers in Chicago. He gave up six hits and four earned runs in a loss to the White Sox.
"He threw the ball well when he was up in the big leagues," Mikulik said. "There was one inning that got away from him but other than that, he commanded his sinker and that's what he threw tonight. ... It was a special night for him. He was locked in. He was the pitcher we thought he was tonight. He won't strike out a lot of guys but he'll get them to mishit the ball. That's his goal."
Jurado (2-1) struck out only one batter and he did not give up a walk. He faced the minimum 15 batters through the first five innings, giving up two hits but also inducing two double-play ground balls to short.
Arkansas starter Max Povse (0-1) worked around five hits in the first three innings but could not dodge a bullet in the fourth. With two outs, Yanio Perez was hit by a pitch and Preston Beck followed with a triple to the right-center field gap.
Frisco also added another two-out run-scoring hit in the sixth, getting a RBI single from nine-hole hitter Michael De Leon, scoring Carlos Garay who opened the inning with a double.
Povse allowed 8 hits, walked 2 and struck out 8 in 5 2/3 innings. It was Povse's second start with the Travs and 10th start of the season. Povse opened the season at Class AAA Tacoma.
The Travs' best chance to score came in the seventh inning when Dario Pizzano and Joey Curletta came up with back-to-back two-out singles, but Jurado responded by striking out Chris Mariscal.
Arkansas managed only six base runners and none of them advanced past second.
Prior to the game, the parent Seattle Mariners announced they had traded minor-league starters Andrew Moore and Tommy Romero to the Tampa Bay Rays for major-league closer Alex Colome and veteran outfielder Denard Span.
Moore was originally scheduled to start tonight's game at Dickey-Stephens Park.
"We're short one pitcher for (Saturday), but we'll get through it," Brown said. "Things will happen sometimes. It's an opportunity for (Moore) and we're getting a couple of guys who will help our big league roster. That's what we're here for."
Sports on 05/26/2018