Minor League Schedule and Recaps

THURSDAY'S GAMES

DSL Astros at DSL Cardinals at 9:30 CST

GCL Astros at GCL Marlins at 11:00 CST

Vermont at Tri-City at 6:00 CST
Probable Pitchers: TBD

Greeneville at Johnson City at 6:00 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Francis Ramirez (0-0, -.--) and RHP Bryan Martinez (0-0, -.--)

Lexington at West Virgina at 6:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: LHP Luis Cruz (5-3, 3.49) and LHP Zach Dodson (1-5, 6.12)

Corpus Christi at San Antonio at 7:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Jose Cisnero (4-6, 3.68) and RHP Josh Geer (2-2, 5.77)
Available on MiLB.tv

Oklahoma City at Nashville at 7:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Armando Galarraga (1-0, 1.86) and RHP Marco Estrada (0-0, 0.00)
Available on MiLB.tv

Lancaster at Lake Elsinore at 9:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: TBD and RHP Matthew Andriese (4-3, 3.39)

WEDNESDAY'S RECAPS

DSL Mariners over DSL Astros 10-9
Seriously? The Mariners made seven errors and we still couldn't win? Despite getting an early lead with six runs in the first, the Astros ended up losing this one in 12 innings after allowing a big inning of their own later in the game. The Mariners played ugly in that first inning, too, as by my count the Astros scored their six runs on only two hits with help from five errors (three runners reached base on errors), two walks and a hit by pitch. Edwin Villarroel allowed four runs and Javier Saucedo allowed five (including a grand slam), and Yonquelys Martinez allowed only one run but got pegged with the loss, helping to prove that life is, indeed, not fair. Mesac Laguna (3x5, 3R), Frederick Serrano (2x5, 2B, RBI), Yoel Silfa (2x5, 2RBI), Marlon Avea (2x3, 2B, RBI), and Arturo Michelina (2x6, 2RBI) all had productive outings.

GCL Astros over GCL Marlins 4-0
Five pitchers combined on the shutout with Chia-Jen Lo getting the first inning. I was frankly very surprised to see Lo in a game since Fred Nelson was quoted as saying that the end of the season looked optimistic for his return in this article from Zachary Levine. But pitch he did! After one perfect inning from Lo, Edison Frias (W, 1-0) took over for 4.1 innings and allowed six hits and a walk with five strikeouts. Ricardo Batista, Erick Gonzalez and Ambiorix de Leon not only allowed no runs in relief, they also allowed no hits. The Astros struck early, scoring two in the first. Carlos Correa singled and was driven in by a Teoscar Hernandez double, scoring what turned out to be the winning run. Hernandez and Juan Santana were both two-for-four with a double, RBI and run scored. Brett Phillips stole two bags.

Vermont over Tri-City 7-4
Juri Perez got the start, giving up two runs (none earned) over his four innings before giving way to Travis Ballew for his two innings of scoreless relief. Jeremiah Meiners (L, 0-1) ran into trouble in the seventh, allowing three runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks without recording an out in the then tied game, before being replaced by an effective Jamaine Cotton for two innings. Brad Propst allowed another two runs during the ninth. Jobduan Morales was three-for-four with a double and a home run; Andrew Aplin was two-for-four with two RBIs; and Austin Elkins was two-for-four with one RBI and a stolen base. Errors really hurt Tri-City as Juri Perez, Emilio King (2 errors), and Jesse Wierzbicki all recorded fielding errors. Morales was charged with two passed balls as well.

Corpus Christi over San Antonio 2-1 in 12 innings
Yet another extra inning affair for Corpus Christi as they win game one of the second half. Ross Seaton pitched eight strong innings (four hits, including one solo home run) but was denied the win as the Hooks weren't able to scratch across much offense in part due to three GIDPs. Kevin Chapman, Erick Abreu (W, 8-2) and Jason Stoffel (S, 10) combined for scoreless relief. Seaton's RBI double in the fifth accounted for one of the Hooks runs and Adam Bailey's RBI single in the 12th accounted for the other.

Nashville over Oklahoma City 3-2
The Redhawks could only muster four hits on a pitching dominant night in Nashville. Brian Bass gave up two runs on three hits over five innings before being ejected, along with skipper Tony DeFranscesco, in the bottom of the fifth as he came to the plate. There was no indication in the game story as to what happened. The newest Astro, Hector Ambriz, was then pressed into service. Ambriz and Juan Abreu pitched scoreless relief, but Adalberto Flores wasn't as lucky as he gave up a walk-off home run in the ninth to get the loss. The Redhawks only scoring came as the result of an Angel Sanchez hit by pitch (he was hit in the helmet) and a Landon Powell walk followed by a J.B. Shuck triple.

GAME OF THE DAY

Greeneville over Johnson City 9-4
Richard Rodriguez had a terrific start, allowing only one earned run over five innings while striking out eight. But it took three pitchers to get through the sixth inning, with Jordan Jankowski getting Greeneville out of a jam and getting rewarded with his first win, as Greeneville posted five runs in the eighth to put them out of reach. Mitch Lambson also pitched beautifully, getting five strikeouts in the final two innings. The game was tied going into the eighth, but Greeneville played a little small ball; took advantage of a passed ball, a wild pitch and a fielding error; and added a couple more for good measure on a Jean Batista home run.

What went right: Greeneville took advantage of Johnson City's mistakes while minimizing the damage from their own mistakes.

What went wrong: Toney with one error and Ibanez with two errors.

Richard Rodriguez - 5IP 4H 2R/1ER 0BB 8SO
Zach Dando - 0.2IP 1H 2R/0ER 1BB 1SO
Scott Zuloaga (BS, 1) - 0IP 0H 0R 1BB 0SO
Jordan Jankowski - 1.1IP 2H 0R 0BB 2SO
Mitch Lambson - 2IP 1H 0R 0BB 5SO

Jean Batista - 2x5 HR 2RBI R
Marc Wik - 2x4 RBI BB 2SO 2R
Ariel Ovando - 2x5 2B 2RBI 2SO R
Jimmy Howick - 2x4 2B RBI R

Pitcher of the Day: Richard Rodriguez gets this as much for the ZERO walks as he does for his eight strikeouts.

Player of the Day:  Ross Seaton may be a pitcher but he was responsible for the only Hooks run in the first nine innings in what could easily have been a 1-0 shutout.