Astros Minor League Recaps

Friday's Games

Quad Cities River Bandits 3, South Bend Silver Hawks 2

The River Bandits were no-hit for the first six innings on Friday, but the offense came alive and pitching held strong as they rallied to snatch the win. Jordan Jankowski took the hill first for Quad Cities and after giving up a run in both the first and second innings, settled down and went on to record 1-2-3 innings in the third and fifth frames. Jankowski left after five, having allowed two runs on four hits, walking two and striking out five. Brian Holmes (3-2) came on next and earned his third win of the season after pitching three innings. Holmes allowed just three hits and struck out three during his shift. John Neely earned his fourth save after finishing the 1-2-3 ninth inning, all batters being retired on ground balls. Miles Hamblin got things started offensively for the River Cats in the seventh inning with their first hit of the game and ended up two-for-three with a walk and a lead-clinching RBI single in the ninth. Teoscar Hernandez batted one-for-four in the game with a run scored and RBI on his two-out homer in the eighth frame, his first homerun of the season. Also of note, Roberto Peña hit one-for-three on Friday and extended his hitting streak to 11 games.

Lancaster JetHawks 7, High Desert Mavericks 9

The JetHawks lost what ended up being a roller coaster ride of a game on the road in Adelanto on Friday. Lancaster got on the board early with three runs in the first but lost the lead after dropping six unearned runs in the fourth. Tyson Perez, who threw for those first three and two thirds, left the game after recording seven runs (1ER) on nine hits with two walks and two Ks. Jonas Dufek followed Perez for an inning and a third on the bump and retired the four batters he saw in order, striking out the first. David Rollins (2-3) came to the mound in the sixth inning to finish out the game and ended up with the tough loss even though Lancaster tied the game in top of the seventh on a Nolan Fontana long ball. With two outs in the seventh Rollins walked a batter then gave up a single followed by a two-RBI double to put the JetHawks behind again. Fontana finished with an outstanding night at the plate, hitting four-for-five with an RBI, three runs scored and a stolen base. At one AB shy of 100, Fontana is batting .384 on the season so far. Telvin Nash and Andrew Aplin both hit two-for-four with RBIs; Aplin also had a double, walk and scored two runs.  

Midland RockHounds 4, Corpus Christi Hooks 10

Corpus Christi crept out to an early lead in the first inning and followed that with a five-run second; four runs and six and a half innings later, they were celebrating their fourth win a row, marking their second series sweep at home this season. Ruben Alaniz was first on the mound and through his three innings he gave up four runs on six hits while walking two and striking out four. Pat Urckfitz came on for one inning after Alaniz and after walking the first batter he faced, retired the next three on ground balls. Matt Heidenreich (2-2) took the helm for the final five innings and combined with Urckfitz's inning for six shutout innings at home, Friday. Heidenreich walked one, K-ed three and gave up just three hits during his time, all singles, while recording 1-2-3 innings in the seventh and eighth frames. The Hooks' offense was on fire, all but three batters recorded a hit in the game and of those three, all but one walked. Corpus Christi collected 13 hits and 6 were for extra bases including a triple and George Springer's ninth homer of the season; Springer leads the Texas League. Here's the box score, because a picture here will save about 1,000 words:

Oklahoma City RedHawks, Iowa Cubs

-Game postponed due to weather, will be played Sunday (5/5) as part of a doubleheader.

Player of the Day: I have two words for you, Nolan Fontana. The guy was a one man show Friday in Adelanto. The JetHawks may not have gotten the "W", but either way Fontana gets the crown today. Great game, Fontana.

Pitcher of the Day: Matt Heidenreich pitched a solid five frames Friday and not only earned the win, but the WTHB honors as well. Giving up just three singles over five innings is the baseball version of a wrestler kissing his bicep then flexing it while standing with one foot on his defeated opponent's chest.