Astros Minor League Recaps

Friday’s Games

DSL Astros 6, DSL Indians 4 (10)

The DSL Astros won this one after a coming from behind to tie the game in the eighth inning. They were the first on the board, scoring in the fifth inning but fell behind 4-2 after giving up four runs in the seventh frame. Juan Hernandez was the starting pitcher for the DSL Astros and he gave up a pair of hits and a walk through his five innings of work as he struck out six. Junior Garcia followed Hernandez for five outs and picked up his first blown save, as four runs (0ER) scored on three hits and a walk during his time on the mound. Angel Heredia (2-1) entered to pitch in the ninth and finished the game, picking up the win. Heredia gave up one hit and struck out one in each of his two frames. The bats were hot yesterday for the DSL Astros. Brian Pena (.429 in 21 AB) went three-for-five at the plate while Jesus Bermejo (R BB SO) and Jean Estrella (R 2B BB) both had two-for-four outings. Kristian Trompiz went one-for-two with a huge RBI triple to start the comeback in the tenth and scored a run. Trompiz also drew three walks and stole his first base of the season.

Burlington Bees 3, Quad Cities River Bandits 1

The River Bandits couldn't get the offense started at home Friday, scoring one run in the seventh frame, despite the fact they out-hit their opponents. Vincent Velasquez (4-3) took the mound first and threw for the first five innings, recording 1-2-3 innings in the second, third and fifth with three Ks. In the first and fourth he allowed three runs (2ER) on three hits, walked two and struck out another three, tallying his third loss. Jamaine Cotton came as the second half of the tandem in the sixth and went to work, retiring the first six batters he faced in order. Cotton finished the game and kept his frames scoreless, allowing two hits while striking out six of his own. Two River Bandits had multi-hit games, Jesse Wierzbicki (2X4 RBI) and Teoscar Hernandez (2X4 R BB SO). Hernandez also stole his 16th base on Friday.

Lancaster JetHawks 7, Lake Elsinore Storm 3

Lancaster exploded for six runs in the ninth to come back and win this game on the road in Lake Elsinore. The JetHawks scored first in the first inning but were then shutout until the ninth. Tyson Perez was on the hill first and worked through the first five innings, recording three runs on six hits (HR), two walks and three Ks. David Rollins (6-4) followed Perez for the next three frames and didn't give up a hit or a run, just a lone walk and two strikeouts. Rollins would go on to take the win. Travis Ballew came on to shut things down in the ninth and faced six batters. Two batters hit singles, one walked and the other three were struck out. Before the ninth inning, Lancaster had seven hits (all singles) and two walks. In the ninth inning, they hit three doubles, three singles and walked once as they hit through the order. MP Cokinos (2X4 2B 2RBI SO) and Matt Duffy (2X5 3RBI 2SO) both had two RBIs in the ninth. Delino DeShields (3X5 2R 2B RBI SO) stole a base and matched Preston Tucker (3X5 R) for a three hit performance.

Corpus Christi Hooks 3, Frisco RoughRiders 2 (11)

The Hooks came from behind to tie this game in the seventh and then went on to win it in the 11th to take the first half of the season. The win came with an exclamation point to their first half as well: the winning run was Domingo Santana's one-out, solo-homer in the eleventh. Jorge De Leon had the first shift on the mound and worked through five, tallying two runs on three hits (HR) and a walk while K-ing three. Birthday boy, Ruben Alaniz worked the next four frames as the other half of the tandem and threw four shutout frames with two hits, two walks and four strikeouts. Andrew Robinson (2-2) clocked in for the 10th and picked up the win, recording no hits, walks or runs with one K. Pat Urckfitz entered to close things out in the bottom of the 11th, gave up a hit and hit a batter but managed to close things out and earn his third save. Santana (2X5 2R HR RBI SO) wasn't the only Hooks player with a longball on Friday. In the seventh, Santana led off with a single and the next batter up, Erik Castro (2X5 R HR 2RBI SO), knocked them both in with one swing of the bat, tying the game in the process.

Round Rock Express 11, Oklahoma City RedHawks 2

The RedHawks took a beating at home on Friday. Starting pitcher Ross Seaton (2-6) took one too, giving up 10 earned runs in the first five innings on 10 hits (3HR) and six walks (Seaton stayed in to allow the OKC bullpen some rest after their 13-inning game on Thursday). Seaton also struck out three as he tallied his sixth loss of the year. Jason Stoffel pitched the next two innings and added another run on two hits as he struck out three of his own. The RedHawks had five hits in the game Friday and three came in the fourth inning as they scored their only runs. Brett Wallace (1X4 RBI SO) hit an RBI single to score Jonathan Villar (2X4 R 2B) and Justin Maxwell (0X3 RBI) followed with a sac'-fly that scored Jake Elmore (1X4 R).

Player of the Day: A lot of guys played really well on Friday. Lancaster's entire batting order is getting the crown today though, because every one of those guys stepped up in the ninth inning (literally and metaphorically) and took a turn at the plate, resulting in six runs and the win. Great game.

Pitcher of the Day: Jamaine Cotton gets the honor today for his four commanding, shutout-innings yesterday. Cotton didn't get the win but he took the mound and held back the tide, doing what he could to help his team get back in it. He also matched his career high in Ks last night. On the theme of players contributing to their teams, honorable mentions go out to outfielders Andy Simunic (1.1 IP) and Che-Hsuan Lin (.2 IP) who combined to pitch the last two innings of OKC's game yesterday in scoreless fashion. Simunic gave up a couple walks and a hit and Lin retired the two he faced in order. That's teamwork. Nice work, guys.