Baseball Game Preview: Pioneer Diamondbacks vs. Ray Texans

The Pioneer Diamondbacks will face off against the Ray Texans on Thursday. Pioneer's hitters haven't had much luck over their past three contests, but Thursday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Pioneer is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They never let Harlingen South get on the board and left with a 2-0 victory.

Meanwhile, Ray had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 3 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They put the hurt on the Rattlers with a sharp 12-2 win. The Texans might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won ten matchups by six runs or more this season.

LUCAS TINAJERO made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed five innings while giving up just two earned runs off seven hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two RBI, one run, and one double.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on JOSH HERNANDEZ, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Those four hits gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was OJ RUIZ, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run.

Pioneer is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-11 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Ray, their record now sits at 20-11.