Astros Minor League Recaps

Saturday's Games

-Jayne has already posted her daily, updated look at the playoff situation for the minor league affiliates here.

Kingsport Mets, Greeneville Astros
-Postponed due to rain.  

Tri-City Valley Cats 2, Lowell Spinners 5

The Valley Cats moved to half a game behind the lead in their division after this loss on Saturday. Adrian Houser (0-4) had the start and through the first four and one-third innings he tallied five runs (4 ER) on seven hits, walked one and K-ed a pair, taking the loss. Chris Munnelly and Evan Grills combined to allow only one hit after Houser left in the fifth frame, but the offense did not catch up. After the fifth inning, Tri-City had one hit and drew five walks. Ronnie Mitchell (2X3 BB SO) was the only Valley Cat with more than one hit in the game. Tyler White (1X5 2RBI) drove in both of his team's runs in the fifth inning with an RBI single.

Beloit Snappers 5, Quad Cities River Bandits 4

The River Bandits got off to a good start, then Beloit scored three runs in the sixth and turned the tables, ending Quad Cities winning streak at four games. Juan Minaya started things off on the mound. After five frames of work, Minaya left with two runs on three hits (HR), a walk and five Ks. Richard Rodriguez (0-1) pitched the remaining four innings, picking up his first blown save and the loss. Rodriguez allowed three runs on four hits, walked one an struck out three. With two outs in the third inning Carlos Correa (2X4 R HR 3RBI 2SO) connected for a three-run homer. Anthony Kemp collected a couple of hits, finishing at two-for-four with a run scored and a strikeout.

Lancaster JetHawks 3, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 4 (10)

For the second night in a row Lancaster saw extra innings, but this time the JetHawks would not be victorious as they were not able to score after the fourth inning on Saturday. Lancaster got off to a strong start in the second frame when Chris Epps (1X4 R 2B SO) launched his 14th home run of the year, a two-run shot that scored Brandon Meredith, into right. Meredith (2X4 R RBI 2SO) drove in their last run of the game in the fourth with an RBI single. Colton Cain threw seven innings in his start, allowing two runs (1 ER) on five hits and striking out seven along the way. Michael Dimock (4-1) pitched the final two innings and would take his first loss after Gera Sanchez (2H R 2SO) picked up the blown save in the eighth. Dimock gave up a run on two hits, walked a pair and struck out two.  

San Antonio Missions 9, Corpus Christi Hooks 10

The Hooks were down nine to six before scoring four runs in the bottom of the ninth to win this game in walk-off fashion in front of the home crowd. The ninth-frame-comeback began when Ronald Torreyes tied the game with his two-out, bases-loaded triple, scoring three runs. Preston Tucker was next to the plate and he singled, bringing Torreyes home to win the game. Matt Heidenreich started things off on the hill and in three innings of work, he was charged with three runs on seven hits (HR), one walk and a strikeout. Jonas Dufek, the fifth pitcher for Corpus Christi, picked up the win after working a scoreless ninth. Dufek allowed a hit and struck out one. There was a lot of offense in this game for the Hooks. Six players had multi-hit games and there were 18 hits in total. Here's a look at the box to sum it all up:

Memphis Redbirds 7, Oklahoma City RedHawks 3

Oklahoma City didn't score after the third inning and after allowing six runs in the top of the first they would go on to lose their second in a row to Memphis. David Martinez (0-2) was on the mound for the first inning and would be charged with the loss. Martinez allowed six runs on six hits (HR), walked two and struck out one before leaving the game. Eric Berger then entered to pitch four innings and was nearly perfect, walking one and striking out the same. Che-Hsuan Lin (1X3 R HR RBI) led off the bottom of the third with his third homer of the year. Brandon Laird (0X3 RBI) would knock in the final run for the RedHawks with a sacrifice fly one out later. Jimmy Paredes finished the game batting two-for-four with a run scored and his sixth triple of the season. (George Springer hit one-for-three, struck out once and picked up an RBI with a sac' fly in the first, but remained at 37/44 in the bid for a 40/40 season.)

Player of the Day: Preston Tucker and Ronald Torreyes split the honor today for their parts in the Corpus Christi comeback. Not only that, Tucker and Torreyes both finished with four hits in the game, meaning they were dominating all day at the plate.

Pitcher of the Day: Colton Cain and Eric Berger share the crown today. Cain had a really strong start on Saturday and pitched great. Berger stepped in and stepped up for four innings yesterday in a situation no pitcher enjoys being in—behind.