Astros Minor League Recaps

Wednesday's Games

Oklahoma City over Nashville 6-2
The RedHawks made it six in a row on Wednesday with strong pitching performances from Wes Musick (6IP 2H 1R 1BB 4SO 1HR), Eric Berger (2IP 0H 0R 0BB 2SO) and Jason Stoffel (1IP 1H 1R 1BB). The OKC offense got all the runs they needed by putting up a four-spot in the third via four RBI doubles in the inning from Che-Hsuan Lin, Carlos Perez, Jake Elmore (2x4 R 2B) and Brett Wallace. They drove in two more in the fifth with a Wallace single and a Jonathan Villar double. Trevor Crowe was two-for-five and stole a base; and Andy Simunic was two-for-four and scored a run. Jimmy Paredes was only one-for-two but walked twice and stole a base as well.

Corpus Christi over Midland 3-2 in 11 innings
A pitchers duel through six innings, the two teams swapped runs in the seventh and again in the 10th before the good guys ultimately prevailed via a Ben Orloff (2x3 R) walk-off hit in the 11th. Nick Tropeano got it started and pitched four scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out two. Bobby Doran gave up one run in his third and final inning (2H 0BB 2SO) before giving way to Pat Urkfitz who gave up the go ahead run in the 10th. Andrew Robinson hasn't gotten much work as of late, but he didn't show any rust as he retired the Midland hitters in order in the top of the 11th on only 10 pitches, and was rewarded with the win as the Hooks scored in the bottom of the frame, walk-off style. An Erik Castro (2x3 BB R) double brought the first run across in the seventh and a Rene Garcia single re-knotted things in the tenth. Kike Hernandez also doubled in the game, and Domingo Santana stole his fourth base of the season. J.D. Martinez went two-for-four in the second start of his rehab.

Lancaster over Inland Empire 5-3

After a bit of a rough start to the season, Mike Foltynewicz has settled in nicely his last few starts. In four innings on Wednesday, Folty allowed one run on six hits and two walks while striking out six. He was followed by a perfect inning from Jonas Dufek who bridged the gap to tandem starter Blair Walters. Walters was the beneficiary of late scoring on the part of the JetHawks as he earned his third win of the season despite allowing two runs, including a solo home run. Kenny Long converted a two-inning save, allowing only one walk and striking out two. The 'Hawks scored one in the third on an Andrew Aplin RBI single, but weren't destined to get on the board again until the seventh when Aplin drove in two more. Back-to-back doubles from Preston Tucker (2x5 R) and Telvin Nash, followed by a Chris Epps RBI single in the eighth accounted for the final runs. Aplin and Nash each walked twice as well. M.P. Cokinos was two-for-four with a double and a walk.

South Bend over Quad Cities 4-3

Quad Cities scored early and South Bend scored late. Daniel Minor (5IP 5H 2R 0BB 2SO) and Lance McCullers (3IP 3H 2R/1ER 1BB 1SO) split the duties on the mound and McCullers was charged with the loss. He is pitching much better than an 0-3 record might indicate. Quad Cities drove in one run in the first on a Jesse Wierzbicki sac fly on which Joe Sclafani (2x4 SB) scored.They added another in the second on a Terrell Joyce RBI double, and they recorded their final run of the game in the fourth on a Teoscar Hernandez RBI single. Roberto Pena was two-for-four with a double and scored two runs. Austin Elkins also doubled in the game.

Player of the Day: Andrew Aplin leads off May as my first Player of the Day as he went two-for-three with two walks, three RBI and a stolen base.

Pitcher of the Day: Wes Musick, who most people had forgotten about last year when his season was cut short by injury, is quietly going about making a statement at Oklahoma City. He's only started two games this season but has won both, including his very impressive outing last night.