Joe Rizzo needed to see only five pitches to leave his mark on the Arkansas Travelers' 5-1 win over the Frisco RoughRiders on Wednesday night.
The Travs' third baseman launched the second pitch he saw from Frisco right-hander Ronny Henriquez over the right-field wall in the third inning, then drove in a pair of runs an inning later with a single up the middle, again on the second pitch that came his way. Rizzo drove home another with a first-pitch liner to center field in the sixth, marking his fourth RBI of the night, one shy of a career high.
"I'm went up there looking for something to hit," Rizzo said. "If I find something over the plate to hit, that's what I'm looking for."
Rizzo went 3 for 4 and stroked the Travelers to a second consecutive win at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock, driving in all but one of the host's runs off of Henriquez (1-1), who allowed four runs over 42/3 innings out of the bullpen. Jake Scheiner went 1 for 2, walked twice and scored two of the runs Rizzo drove in. Julio Rodriguez -- the No. 2 prospect in the Seattle Mariners farm system -- went 2 for 3 and walked in his second game at the Class AA level.
Together, the Travelers' offense provided plenty for starting pitcher Adam Hill (2-1) and the Travs' bullpen that threw four scoreless innings. Hill, making his ninth start of the season, allowed 1 run, struck out 8 Frisco batters and surrendered 4 hits and a pair of walks in his third longest outing of 2021.
The 6-6 righty loaded the bases in the second inning on back-to-back singles by Frisco's Steele Walker and Dio Arias and a walk to Jordan Procyshen. Former Arkansas Razorback Jax Biggers gave the RoughRiders a 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly that brought Walker home one batter later. Hill recovered from the shaky second to retire 10 of the next 11 batters he faced before escaping out of a bases-loaded jam unscathed in the fifth.
Hill received the only run support he needed from Rizzo. The third inning home run -- Rizzo's eighth of the season -- traveled 372 feet and leveled the game at 1-1.
"My first at bat, [Henriquez] happened to hang a change up," Rizzo said. "I got the head out on it. I was looking for a heater and I stayed on it pretty well."
In the fourth, Arias' error on a Jordan Cowan grounder to first base gave the Travs runners on second and third. Rizzo then roped his second hit of the night to score Scheiner and Cowan, handing the Travelers a 3-1 lead.
Rizzo plated Scheiner again with his sixth-inning single, extending the lead to 4-1 and chasing Henriquez, who allowed 3 earned runs on 5 hits and 4 walks in his first loss of the season.
"My second two at-bats he gave me two heaters over the plate that I was able to go over the middle with," Rizzo said.
Rodriguez batted second and manned right field for a second consecutive night. The 20-year old outfielder from the Dominican Republic cranked a double off the right-field wall in the the fifth before he was thrown out at third base trying to stretch it into a triple. In the seventh, Rodriguez laced a single that left the bat at 101 mph and later scored on Josh Morgan's double.
Relievers Jack Anderson, Collin Kober and Ray Kerr combined to shut out the RoughRiders over the final four innings. Anderson allowed a hit but fanned two Frisco hitters in the sixth before Kober worked two scoreless innings. Kerr worked a perfect ninth inning, striking out J.P. Martinez on a checked swing to seal the victory.