ROUND ROCK, Texas – Randal Grichuk homered twice and Harrison Bader went deep once, and the Memphis Redbirds got 6.0 solid innings from Marco Gonzales in a 7-3 win over the Round Rock Express (Rangers) Sunday afternoon in Round Rock, Texas.
Grichuk homered in the first and fifth innings for the Redbirds (42-27), and Bader added an eighth-inning shot for his second home run in two games this series. Grichuk scored three runs in the game, and Patrick Wisdom and Alberto Rosario each added two hits for Memphis. Round Rock (34-36) made four errors in the game.
Gonzales allowed one run on five hits in 6.0 innings to move to 2-3 on the season. He struck out four and walked two in his first appearance since making a spot start for St. Louis as part of a doubleheader. Mark Montgomery was solid in 2.0 innings of relief following Gonzales and lowered his season ERA to 2.17.
Memphis had a 7-1 lead until the Express scored two runs off Ryan Sherriff in the bottom of the ninth, but Sherriff finished the job and improved the Redbirds to 15 games over .500 on the year.
A three-run Redbird fifth inning broke a 1-1 tie and propelled Memphis to a lead it would not relinquish.
Memphis and Round Rock continue their four-game series with 7:05 p.m. games tomorrow and Tuesday, before the Redbirds head to Omaha for four games Thursday-Sunday.
