Astros Minor League Recaps

Saturday's Games

Kingsport Mets 2, Greeneville Astros 5
Greeneville built momentum slowly on Saturday before rolling in for the win at home. Starter Jandel Gustave went four innings, allowing an unearned run on four hits and striking out five. The win was claimed by Ryan Connolly (1-1), who also picked up his second blown save, after he pitched the seventh. Connolly faced five batters in the inning, giving up a run on two hits and striking out one. Gonzalo Sanudo earned his 11th save on Saturday after striking out six through the eighth and ninth inning. Alfredo Gonzalez (2X3 2R HR RBI SO) hit his first homer of the season in the seventh inning and he was also the only Astro with multiple hits in the game. Ariel Ovando (1X3 2B 2RBI BB) doubled in the eighth inning to plate two runs, marking his 30th of the year (Quad Cities and Greeneville combined).

GCL Braves 6, GCL Astros 2
The Astros outhit the Braves nine to eight Saturday, but still lost by four runs for their fourth loss in the past five games. Agapito Barrios started things off from the hill, pitching for five innings and would take the loss. Barrios (3-4) gave up four runs on six hits (HR), walked one and struck out three. Reymin Guduan followed Barrios for three frames, keeping his scoreless. Other than issuing a walk and balking in the seventh, Guduan was in control, striking out seven of the 10 he faced. Ydarqui Marte batted three-for-four, with a run scored, his 10th RBI and strikeout.

DSL Red Sox 7, DSL Astros 1
The DSL Astros had just three hits and scored one run in their game Saturday. Their lone run came in the seventh when Randy Cesar (1X4 RBI 2SO) singled to drive in Oliver Toribio (0X3 R BB SO), who was on after drawing a walk. Elieser Hernandez (4-1) earned his first loss of the season after throwing the first five innings. Hernandez allowed three runs in the third inning, but outside of that had three 1-2-3 innings, giving up four hits all day and K-ing five.

Jamestown Jammers 3, Tri-City Valley Cats 2
Tri-City tied this game up in the fifth inning and then lost it in the ninth after an error, balk and sac' fly pushed across the go-ahead run, ending their five game win-streak. Only one of the runs scored against the Valley Cats on Saturday was earned. Randal Fant started on the mound and through four innings recorded two runs (1ER), six hits, two walks and 2 Ks. Troy Scribner (0-1) took the loss after tossing the final three frames, striking out five. Scribner retired the first five he faced before giving up a hit, his only one, in the eighth. In the ninth he was charged with the unearned run and a balk. James Ramsay (1X4 R HR RBI 2SO) tied the game in the fifth inning with a solo home run, his third homer. Conrad Gregor (3X3 RBI BB) was the only Valley Cat with more than one hit in the game and drove in the their first run in the third inning.

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 7, Quad Cities River Bandits 0
Quad Cities was one hit, shut out on Saturday. They had five base runners all game. One by way of the lone hit, two players drew walks and two River Bandits were hit by pitches. This is the second time they have been one hit this season. Joe Bircher (3-2) started things off on the mound and through five innings gave up six runs on nine hits (2HR) and K-ed four, taking the loss. Danry Vasquez (1X4) owned the only hit of the game for the River Bandits, a single in the fourth frame.

Lancaster JetHawks 6, High Desert Mavericks 0
A night after having 30 runs scored against them, Lancaster got a little revenge in Adelanto by two-hit, shutting out the Mavericks. Kyle Smith (1-0) was at the helm for the entire game, facing just three batters over the minimum and striking out nine. Despite the six runs, no batter had more than one hit, although two JetHawks did have two RBI in the game. Nolan Fontana (1X3 2RBI 2BB) singled in the ninth, plating the final two runs of the game and Jesse Wierzbicki (1X3 R HR 2RBI BB) hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning.

Arkansas Travelers 2, Corpus Christi Hooks 3
This game had the same score as the day before and ended with a Hooks walk off win as well. On Saturday however, no extra inning were needed. The bottom of the ninth started with the Hooks down two runs. Erik Castro (1X3 R HR RBIBB SO) stepped to the plate first in the inning and homered to tie the game. Jonathan Meyer (1X4 R HR RBI SO) was next up and hit a homer of his own to put the Hooks ahead and win the game. David Rollins pitched the first six and two-thirds, tallying two runs (1ER) on five hits (HR) and a pair of walks while striking out five. Andrew Robinson (4-2) worked the final two and a third, taking the win. Robinson retired the final five he faced in order, allowing two hits and striking out two during his shift. Corpus Christi's first run of the game came with two outs in the third frame via a Preston Tucker (1X2 R HR RBI 2BB) long ball.

Oklahoma City RedHawks 1, Las Vegas 51s 4
George Springer hit a home run in the first inning for the RedHawks only score of the game and one of three hits they would have Saturday. Springer would finish one-for-three at the dish, with that run scored, RBI and homer with a walk and strikeout as well. Jake Buchanan (4-3), in a quality start, threw the first six innings and picked up his third loss of the season, recording three runs (HR), seven hits, two walks and four K. Jason Stoffel tossed the final two frames and gave up another run on a pair of hits while K-ing three.

Player of the Day: Erik Castro and Jonathan Meyer share the honor today for their win inducing, back-to-back homers Saturday. They stepped up in the ninth inning and took care of business. Great game, guys.

Pitcher of the Day: Two words: Kyle Smith. Smith dominated yesterday, throwing a complete game shutout while allowing just two hits. On top of that he struck out nine and helped his teammates recover from the whirlwind of a loss the night before. Well done.

Honorable mentions also go out to Gonzalo Sanudo and Reymin Guduan. Both of these guys came on and stepped right into the zone, getting their job done in support of their team on Saturday. Guduan struck out seven over three frames of relief. Sanudo struck out six in two and earned his 11th save, tying him for the lead in the Appalachian League.