Astros Minor League Recaps

Tuesday's Games

Burlington over Quad Cities 6-4
All good things must come to an end. Quad Cities got pegged with their first loss of the season on Tuesday. Daniel Minor got the start and allowed four runs on four hits with five strikeouts over five innings. All four of Minor's runs came via the long ball as he served up three home runs. Lance McCullers allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks and was charged with the loss. Jesse Wierzbicki with the only multi-hit game went 2-for-4 with a walk, RBI and run scored. The team had as many walks (eight) as hits with Teoscar Hernandez walking twice to go with a double and Carlos Correa walking three times. Chase Davidson had a double and an RBI. Roberto Peña and Ryan Dineen each recorded a sacrifice bunt RBI.

Lancaster over Lake Elsinore 13-8
Starter Alex Gillingham gave up two runs in the first and then shut the door on Lake Elsinore for his next four innings, ending his outing with six hits, two walks and three strikeouts. Mike Foltynewicz allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits, three walks and three strikeouts. The story of this game, though, was the offense. Zach Johnson went 5-for-5 with a double and a bases clearing triple and four RBI. Nolan Fontana only had one hit, but he made it count as he cleared the bases with a double. Fontana also racked up four RBI on the night with the first of the four coming on a sac fly. Matt Duffy was 3-for-5 with a two-run home run and scored three times, while Drew Muren and Preston Tucker each added RBI doubles into the mix.

Corpus Christi over Tulsa 6-0
Bobby Doran and Nick Tropeano combined for the shut out. After one single in the first, Doran didn't allow another baserunner in his five innings while striking out four. Tropeano scattered five hits over his four innings of work. Neither pitcher walked a batter. As a matter of fact, the Corpus Christi pitching staff has allowed only seven free passes in the first six games with no pitcher allowing more than one. Corpus took the lead early on a George Springer RBI single and a Domingo Santana RBI double. Those were all the runs they would need, but Santana (3-for-4) drove in a second run with one of his three doubles for the night; Jio Mier (3-for-3, BB) drove in two via a solo homer and a sac fly; and Kiké Hernandez doubled home a run as well. Austin Wates was 2-for-5 with a double, scored two runs and stole his third base of the season.

Oklahoma City over Nashville 5-3
Starter Ross Seaton pitched a strong five innings and allowed one run via a solo home run on six hits and no walks with four strikeouts. Jordan Lyles followed and gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits with one strikeout in three and two-thirds innings. Kevin Chapman recorded the final out for the save. 1B Brandon Laird was 2-for-4 with two RBI doubles for a three RBI night. (He also struck out four fewer times than a certain unnamed major league first baseman.) Trevor Crowe and Jake Elmore were each 2-for-3 with an RBI single. Jonathan Villar got his first hit of the season and scored a run.

Pitcher of the Day: Bobby Doran gets the nod for his five innings of one-hit ball. And no walks!

Player of the Day: Zach Johnson not only won the coveted Morgan Ensberg "You're a Really Good Player" Award, he also wins the WTHB Player of the Day for his tremendous 5-for-5, four RBI outing.

Note: I have the Astros Minor League standings available on a sidebar on the front page of the blog for quick reference.