Minor League Recaps

Wednesday's Games

DSL Astros over DSL Cardinals 6-5
Finally, I'm not dreading writing a DSL write-up! The lead changed back and forth a bit and there were still a couple of unearned runs, but Johan Arias had an effective six inning outing and recorded eight strikeouts and, other than allowing an inherited runner to score, Javier Saucedo pitched three good innings for the win. And the offense managed to get eight hits. Yes, they were all singles, but baby steps, you know. Jarico Reynoso was two-for-three with an RBI.

GCL Marlins over GCL Astros 3-2
Lance McCullers got the start and pitched three strong scoreless innings with one hit, one walk and three strikeouts and Brandon Culbreth scattered one hit and three walks over his four innings of work. Juan Mojica ended up with a blown save and a loss in his two-thirds of an inning as he gave up the three Marlin runs. Newcomer Gera Sanchez recorded the final out. Carlos Correa recorded his second home run in as many days as he went two-for-four. Wallace Gonzalez hit a solo shot as well.

Greeneville - Off Day

Hudson Valley over Tri-City 10-9 in 12 innings
Vincent Velasquez got the start and went five innings giving up three runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts before giving way to Travis Ballew (two runs in two innings). Tri-City was up 9-5 going into the eighth inning and appeared to have things well in hand until Brad Propst ran into trouble and suddenly the game was tied. Blake Ford pitched 3.2 scoreless innings and Kenny Long was pegged with his first loss of the season after giving up one run in the 12th. Austin Elkins hit his third home run of the season as he went two-for-five and scored two runs; Jesse Wierzbicki was two-for-six with three RBI and stole his ninth and tenth bags of the season; Tyler Heineman was three-for-six with a double and two RBI; and Joe Sclafani was two-for-five with a walk, an RBI and scored three times.

Lexington over Augusta 9-5
This was a huge win for Lexington. Their sixth win in a row put the Legends in a three-way tie for second place in the division in the second half standings. Juri Perez got his second win of the season, allowing three runs on five hits and four walks with four strikeouts in five innings of work. Tommy Shirley (one run in three innings) and Nate Pettus (one run in one inning) kept things in check in the later innings. The offense scored nine runs on only nine hits, all singles. How did that happen? 11 free passes from Augusta, including two bases loaded walks. Luis Alvarez also took one for the team with a bases loaded hit by pitch. Matt Duffy was three-for-five and scored a run; Nolan Fontana was hitless but drew three walks (including one of the bases loaded walks), stole a base and scored three times; Luis Alvarez was two-for-three with three RBI; and Zach Johnson, Mike Kvasnicka and Jordan Scott each had multiple walk nights.

Lancaster over Lake Elsinore 3-0 in 10 innings
At long last, the Lake Elsinore curse is over. After a dozen futile attempts to beat Lake Elsinore on their home turf, Lancaster's lucky number proved to be 13. It was only fitting that it would take extra innings to do it. David Martinez (7IP 7H 0BB 4SO), Jose Trinidad (1.1IP 1H 2BB 1SO) and Andrew Robinson (1.2IP 1H 0BB 5SO) combined on the shutout with a lot of help from Carlos Perez and his three caught stealings and one pickoff. Trinidad made it a little too interesting in the bottom of the ninth, but Robinson came in to get the final two outs in a bases loaded situation. A leadoff double by Jonathan Meyer, a single from Kike Hernandez, an Alex Todd two-run triple and a Grant Hogue sac fly gave Lancaster a 3-0 lead in the top of the tenth. In the bottom of the frame, Robinson allowed a triple but sandwiched that triple with three strikeouts to earn his second win in relief.

San Antonio over Corpus Christi 5-1
At the other end of the spectrum, you have a team that only scored one run on ten hits. Aaarggghhh. Rob Rasmussen allowed three runs on five hits and four walks with two strikeouts in four innings to go to 1-2 since joining the Hooks. Henry Villar allowed two additional runs in his two innings of work before giving way to Arcenio Leon for two perfect innings. Despite threatening a couple of times, the Hooks could never quite break through at the plate. A Drew Locke sac fly accounted for the only Corpus run. Jake Goebbert was three-for-four with a double. Drew Locke and Jose Martinez each had a pair of hits as well.

Oklahoma City over Iowa 10-8
Starter Brett Oberholtzer allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits and one walk with five strikeouts over seven innings to earn his fourth win since joining the Redhawks rotation. Mickey Storey pitched an effective eighth inning, but Jake Buchanan in his first appearance with the Redhawks and his first relief appearance of his professional career did not fare well as he allowed four runs in the top of the ninth on five singles while recording only two outs. Jose Valdez came in for the final out to earn his 14th save of the season. Chris Wallace was three-for-four with three RBI and scored two runs; Brandon Barnes was two-for-five with a double and three RBI; and Fernando Martinez was two-for-five with a double and two RBI.

Pitcher of the Day: Andrew Robinson gets all my love today for his huge role in helping to end the Lake Elsinore curse.

Players of the Day: Carlos Perez (or at least his arm) is one of my honorees. Three arrested baserunners and a pickoff? Yeah, I can live with that. My other honoree is Brandon Barnes, not just for his three RBI night, but for his body of work this season. He is now hitting .331/.389/.535 for the season and .413/.471/.696 over his last 10 games.