Redbirds manager Stubby Clapp
The 2018 Memphis Redbirds have reached the midpoint of their season in precisely the same position they found themselves a year ago: first place in their division of the Pacific Coast League (with a healthy lead over New Orleans, Nashville, and Round Rock). Hopes of a second straight PCL championship are very much alive at the corner of B.B. King and Union Avenue, though AutoZone Park has been relatively quiet of late, the Redbirds in the middle of a stretch in which they’ll play 16 of 20 games on the road.
But the ’Birds are back this week! Memphis hosts the New Orleans Baby Cakes in a four-game series (Thursday through Sunday) that should boost early-summer spirits among Bluff City baseball fans. Among the current Redbirds worth your attention:
• Centerfielder Oscar Mercado has been a spark at the top of the Memphis batting order, climbing the PCL charts in stolen bases and runs scored while flashing leather defensively.
• Outfielder Tyler O’Neill leads the Redbirds with 15 home runs despite a recent promotion to St. Louis where he slammed three long ones for the Cardinals.
• Catcher Carson Kelly and third-baseman Patrick Wisdom are back after playing big roles for the 2017 PCL champs.
• Pitcher Dakota Hudson has already won nine games, putting him in position to break the franchise record for wins in a season. (Tim Cooney won 14 in 2014.) The big righty leads the PCL with a 2.13 ERA.
If Solo wasn’t enough for your Star Wars fix, Friday night’s the game to attend as AutoZone Park will have almost as many lightsabers as baseball bats in the building. The first 1,500 fans through the gates for “Star Wars Night” will receive a bobblehead of former Redbirds outfielder Harrison Bader, though with a conspicuously dark helmet. (“Darth Bader” . . . get it?)
Postgame fireworks will be part of the fun after Saturday night’s game and kids can run the bases after Sunday afternoon’s contest. After that game, the Redbirds can’t be seen at home until the Fourth of July.
For ticket information, visit memphisredbirds.com.
