Minor League Recaps

Wednesday's Games

Hudson Valley over Tri-City 3-2
In the last game of the regular season, Joe Bircher got the start and the loss as he allowed three runs on six hits in six innings of work. He was followed by scoreless outings from Jeremiah Meiners and John Neely. After a three run third by Hudson Valley, Tri-City countered with a run in the bottom of the frame and followed with a Joe Sclafani home run in the fifth, but that was all the offense the Valley Cats could muster. Ryan Dineen stole a bag and Austin Elkins did him one better stealing two. Tyler Heineman was two-for-four  which was enough to assure him of the New York-Penn League batting title as he finished the season with a .358/.452/.430 batting line. Tri-City will start their playoff run on Friday.

Frisco over Corpus Christi 6-5 (Game 1 of playoffs)
The Hooks fought hard in this one, but ultimately came out on the wrong side of the win column. Paul Clemens got the start and only lasted two and two-thirds as he allowed five runs on seven hits, but three of those runs were unearned as two quick outs in the third blossomed into three runs after an Andy Simunic error. Erick Abreu came in for four innings of one-hit scoreless relief and was followed by one and a third effective innings from Kevin Chapman. Alex Sogard gave up the winning run in the ninth and was charged with the loss. Despite being down 5-2 after the third innings, the Hooks battled back a run at a time to bring the game even in the ninth. Jon Singleton continued on the hot streak he rode in to the playoffs, going two-for-five with a double, solo home run and two RBI. Ben Orloff was three-for-four with two RBI; Austin Wates was two-for-five and scored a run; and Drew Locke was two-for-four with a double and an RBI. George Springer stole a base and scored twice. Despite the loss, I was very encouraged as the Hooks held tough against a pitcher with a 14-1 record who had killed them earlier in the season. They not only held tough, they also scored three runs off of Barrett Loux.

Lake Elsinore over Lancaster 1-0 (Game 1 of playoffs)
This one was a pitcher's duel from the start as each team only managed three singles each in the hit column. The one walk starter Tyson Perez issued in an otherwise magnificent start came back to haunt him as the runner advanced on a ground out and scored on one of those three singles. Perez pitched seven innings, struck out eight and was awarded a hard luck loss. Kenny Long pitched the eighth with no hits, no walks and one strikeout. Carlos Perez had two of the three JetHawks hits with Delino DeShields getting the other one. Erik Castro drew the lone Lancaster walk. This series is a best of three so tonight's game is a must win for the JetHawks.

Thursday's Playoff Pitching Matchups

7:00 CST - Game 2: Corpus Christi at Frisco (Available on MiLB.tv)
The scheduled starters are LHP Rob Rasmussen for Corpus Christi and RHP Wilfredo Boscan for Frisco. Rasmussen has faced Frisco three times since coming in to the Astros system and is 1-2 with a 7.54 ERA and a 1.535 WHIP in those three outings. Boscan only recently converted to a starter and had one start against the Hooks on August 31st which resulted in a no-decision. In 9 starts this season, Boscan is 3-2 with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.204 WHIP.

9:00 CST - Game 2: Lake Elsinore at Lancaster (Audio available)
The scheduled starters are RHP Nick Tropeano for Lancaster and RHP Chris Fetter for Lake Elsinore. Tropeano is 1-1 in two appearances against Lake Elsinore this season with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.800 WHIP in those two appearances. Since his promotion to Lancaster, he is 6-3 with a 3.31 ERA and a 1.316 WHIP. Fetter has only had three starts with Lake Elsinore, one of which was a loss to Lancaster. He has a 4.35 ERA and a 1.839 WHIP since his promotion to Hi-A.