Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Trade Deadline Deals

Since I don't have time to post anything right now about the players the Astros acquired today in the trade deadline deals, I will point you to these Baseball America articles that outline what the team will be getting.

Justin Maxwell Trade

Bud Norris Trade

A Look at the Lancaster JetHawks

This week I'm taking a late season look at the full season Astros minor league affiliates, how their 2013 campaigns have played out and some individual accomplishments. Yesterday, I looked at the Quad Cities River Bandits. Today it is the Advanced A Lancaster JetHawks turn. Coming in to today, the JetHawks are 63-46 with a 5.07 ERA, a 1.440 WHIP and a cumulative batting line of .291/.385/.474.

Lancaster was the first Astros affiliate to 60 wins in 2013. They got there on July 23rd, a full two and a half weeks before they achieved that feat in 2012. This year's team is roughly equivalent to last year's in terms of pitching stats, but the 2013 offense is clearly ahead of the 2012 team's cumulative batting line of .283/.353/.448. And the difference is the depth of talent. The California League top 20 list for offensive categories is littered with JetHawks players.

OF Preston Tucker, who has been in Corpus Christi for the last 31 games, is still in the top 20 in batting average (3rd), OBP (14th), SLG (6th), home runs (17th), and RBI (5th), but once he falls off the list, there will be plenty of JetHawks to take his place:

3B Matt Duffy - BA (4th), OBP (9th), SLG (7th), Runs (5th), Hits (7th), HR (T10th), RBI (T2nd)
DH M.P. Cokinos - BA (8th), OBP (8th), SLG (16th), 2B (T7th), RBI (T7th)
OF Chris Epps - BA (10th), OBP (10th), SLG (4th), 2B (T4th), HR (T20th), RBI (20th), BB (T9th)
2B Delino DeShields - BA (11th), OBP (12th), Runs (9th), Hits (19th), 3B (T5th), BB (13th), SB (2nd)
OF Brandon Meredith - BA (20th), OBP (6th), SLG (9th), Runs (14th), HR (T18th), BB (T9th)
SS Nolan Fontana - OBP (3rd), Runs (6th), BB (1st)
OF Andrew Aplin - OBP (16th), Runs (1st), Hits (6th), 2B (T2nd), 3B (T20th), RBI (1st), BB (2nd), SB (T14th)
1B Telvin Nash - HR (T15th)
IF Joe Sclafani - BB (T15th)

In addition, if Joe Sclafani had enough at-bats to qualify, he would rank fourth in the league in batting average and second in on-base percentage. Ridiculous, huh? An embarrassment of riches. The team leads the league in every single offensive category except triples (fifth out of 10), home runs (second) and stolen bases (fifth). One of the best stats? The JetHawks have drawn a total of 519 walks, 116 more than the next highest team total.

Yes, some of the hitters don't fare as well away from the hitter-friendly confines of The Hangar, but Duffy and DeShields, in particular, have very good home/road splits and Nolan Fontana and M.P. Cokinos actually do better away from The 'Caster.

Now, let's look at the pitching. The staff as a whole ranks tenth out of ten teams in ERA, seventh in WHIP and sixth in strikeouts. On the good side, they have issued the fewest free passes of any team in the league. Overall, the staff hasn't been bad at all, but many of the pitchers have struggled for consistency. A good example of this would be LHP Luis Cruz who has been simply brilliant at times, including participating in a tandem no-hitter in May, but looking at his ERA by month from April through July (3.47, 9.28, 1.97, 8.14), you can see that he has lacked consistency. But his 1.365 WHIP ranks 14th in the very tough California League, and he is third in the league in strikeouts with 114 in just over 100 innings.

Other pitchers who rank in the top 20 in the league are LHP David Rollins, and RHP Brady Rodgers. Rollins has been the breakout star of the starting rotation this season. His 3.98 ERA ranks sixth in the league and his 1.161 WHIP ranks fourth. Rodgers is 15th in WHIP (1.431). RHP Aaron West lacks enough innings to qualify, but would be in the top 20 in both ERA and WHIP if he did have the innings.

Relievers LHP T.J. Geith and RHP Jonas Dufek both recently graduated to Corpus Christi. In his return to Lancaster, LHP Kenny Long (1.59 ERA/0.618WHIP in 10 games) is showing a return to his 2012 and early 2013 form. RHP Michael Dimock and Cameron Lamb have done solid work out of the 'pen as well. Travis Ballew is second in the league in saves, but has struggled during July.

Two others of note are LHP Tommy Shirley and LHP Blair Walters. Shirley has really come on strong in his last 10 outings with a 2.53 ERA and a 1.125 WHIP. He has been used as both a reliever and a starter and has thrived in the starting role. Unfortunately, he left the game last night after two innings with what was characterized as arm discomfort. I am hoping that he will bounce back quickly. Walters has a 2.53 ERA and a 0.938 WHIP in his last seven appearances out of the bullpen.

New to the staff is RHP Mike Hauschild who, after struggling in his first outing, was terrific in his next two. I look forward to seeing what the extreme ground ball pitcher can do in a ballpark for which he was made.

It's a little bit hard to get a handle on this pitching staff. There are a lot of moving parts and most of them are moving in different directions with one player doing well while another struggles. Most of the pitchers on the staff have performed extremely well at one point or another. The talent is there. The consistency of that talent remains the question mark.

Lancaster is guaranteed a playoff berth, having won the first half of the season. They have the best record in the South Division at 63-46 as compared to the North Division leader San Jose who has a 64-45 record. Lancaster also leads the South Division in the second half of the season, two games ahead of second place team Inland Empire. Both the offense and the pitching on this club have been streaky at times. If they can get into a groove during this last few weeks of the season, it will go a long way toward getting them back to the California League Finals and a chance at back-to-back rings. The talent is definitely there. As Morgan Ensberg would say, "They are really good players."

For my earlier take on the short season teams ~
DSL Astros
GCL Astros
Greeneville Astros
Tri-City ValleyCats

Astros Minor League Recaps

Tuesday's Games

Oklahoma City over Reno 4-2
The RedHawks had put up three small ball runs by the time Reno scored its only two runs off Jake Buchanan  (7IP 6H 2R 1BB 3SO) in the sixth inning, with a little help from a wild pitch and the only walk issued by Buchanan. The RedHawks only scraped together five hits (all singles), but walked six times. Jose Martinez and Carlos Perez drove in runs with RBI singles and George Springer was credited with an RBI on a ground out.

San Antonio over Corpus Christi 4-1
Mike Foltynewicz went five, giving up three runs on four hits and five walks on his way to his second Hooks loss. He also struck out five. T.J. Geith (1.2IP 1H 2BB 4SO) and Andrew Robinson (1.1IP 2H 1R/0ER) shared the bullpen duties. The Hooks only managed one run in the third as Jio Mier scored on a Ronald Torreyes single. The Hooks were held to five singles and two walks.

Lancaster over Lake Elsinore 10-4
Tommy Shirley (1H 1BB 1SO) pitched the first two innings before coming out of the game with what was characterized as arm discomfort. Blair Walters (4IP 2H 2R 2BB 5SO) picked up where Shirley left off and got the win with a lot of help from his offense. Cameron Lamb and Tyson Perez allowed the last two runs to score in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively. The 'Hawks got the party started early with Matt Duffy's (2x4 3RBI) 17th home run of the season, a two run shot in the second. The good guys went on to score two more in the second; three in the third on a Chris Epps RBI single and a Brandon Meredith (4x4) two-run homer; one in the sixth on a Chris Epps sac fly scoring M.P. Cokinos; one in the seventh on Meredith's second home run of the night and 14th of the season; and a final run in the eighth as Tyler Heineman (3x5) singled in Andrew Aplin. The team hit six doubles - two from Tyler Heineman, and one each from Nolan Fontana, Andrew Aplin, Matt Duffy and Brandon Meredith. Aplin and Fontana each swiped a bag as well.

Peoria at Quad Cities - Postponed

State College over Tri-City 6-2
Tri-City got on the board first with one in the third on a Conrad Gregor (3x4) solo home run, but State College countered in the bottom of the frame with four runs off starter Randall Fant whose night was done after that inning. He was followed with two innings from Patrick Christensen who gave up only one hit and struck out three. Zach Morton took the mound for the next two innings and allowed two runs on three hits before giving way to a scoreless eighth from Albert Minnis. The ValleyCats scored an additional run in the top of the eighth, but it was too little, too late.

Burlington over Greeneville 7-6
Greeneville made a valiant effort to come back, scoring five runs in their last two frames but fell just short. Starter Edison Frias put up six solid innings, allowing two runs on six hits and striking out two, but the bullpen struggled as Tyler Brunnemann and Ryan Connolly allowed five runs between them in the last three innings. Greeneville only put up one run on an Angel Ibanez RBI single in the fourth before they started the scoring in earnest in the eighth inning as Ariel Ovando (2x4) doubled in two runs and later scored on a ground out. Ricky Gingras (2x4 BB 2R) singled in the final two runs of the game in the ninth. Marc Wik was three-for-five and scored a run; and Juan Santana was two-for-five with a double and scored a run.

GCL Astros over GCL Yankees 6-3
Six pitchers took the mound with the first three, Agapito Barrios (4IP 2BB 5SO), Jorge Perez (1IP) and Juan Santos (1IP 1BB) posting zeroes. According to Jacob Nottingham, Santos was hitting 99 on the radar gun during the game.  [Note: I misunderstood Nottingham's tweet. It was actually Guduan who hit 99, which makes a whole lot more sense!] Reymin Guduan (1IP 1H 2R/0ER 1BB 1SO), Kevin Ferguson (1IP 1BB 1SO) and Zach Dando (1IP 2H 1R 2BB) took it the rest of the way. The Astros got their first run in the third as Javaris Reynolds (2x5) tripled in a run, and scored another in the fourth. After a Jason Martin RBI single in the seventh, the Astros led 3-2 going in to the ninth when three runs came across on another Martin single and a Yonathan Mejia two-RBI single. Jose Fernandez went two-for-five, stole a base and scored a run.

DSL Astros over DSL Dodgers 8-2
Elieser Hernandez pitched the first four, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks, before giving way to Yonquelys Martinez who earned his first win of the season with three scoreless innings. Angel Heredia and Starlyng Sanchez each pitched a scoreless frame in relief as well. The team brought their big boy bats to the game yesterday, banging out twelve hits, including four doubles and a bases clearing triple from Luis Payano. Payano ended the day going three-for-five with a double, triple, four RBI and scored two runs. Kristian Trompiz was two-for-five with a double and a run scored; and Jean Estrella went three-for-five with a double, stolen base and two runs.

Player of the Day: It's not even a contest. Brandon Meredith went four-for-four with a double, two home runs, three RBI and scored three runs. That performance is deserving of the WTHB honors any day. Luis Payano gets honorable mention for his four RBI day.

Pitcher of the Day: Jake Buchanan has only made six starts and he has already collected his third win. On Tuesday, he only allowed six singles and one walk. He has a 3.08 ERA and a 1.132 WHIP since joining OKC.

Happy Birthday - 7/31

No future Astros, only former Astros with birthdays today ~

RHP Gordie Pladson (57)
Signed by the Astros as an amateur free agent in 1973, Pladson pitched in 20 games scattered over the four years from 1979 to 1982 with a 6.04 ERA and a 1.757 WHIP.

LF Jay Schlueter (died May 13, 2010 at 60)
A second round draft pick in 1967, Schlueter's entire major league career consisted of seven games and only three at bats in 1971. He got one hit, scored one run and retired with a .333 major league batting average and a 1.000 fielding percentage.

Tweet of the Day


Comment of the day: Today is Tuesday, does that mean tomorrow is Wednesday?

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Astros Minor League Roster Moves

In addition to the MUCH reported moves that brought RHP Josh Zeid and RHP Chia-Jen Lo up to the Astros and sent Hector Ambriz to Oklahoma City, there are a couple of other minor league moves to report.

Lancaster
1B Jesse Wierzbicki assigned from Quad Cities to Lancaster
1B Telvin Nash placed on the 7-day DL

Quad Cities
OF Danry Vasquez assigned to Quad Cities

GCL
RHP Luis Ordosgoitti assigned to the GCL (Ordosgoitti started the season on the DL)

A Look at the Quad Cities River Bandits

This week I will be taking a late season look at the full season Astros minor league affiliates, how their 2013 campaigns have played out and some individual accomplishments. Today it is the Quad Cities River Bandits turn. Coming in to today, the Quad Cities team is 58-46 with a 3.83 ERA, a 1.346 WHIP and a cumulative batting line of .245/.340/.352.

In comparing them to the Lexington Legends full season A level team from last season, this Quad Cities squad has slightly better pitching numbers and lags ever so slightly in offense from their 2012 counterparts. The 2012 Lexington team ended the season with a .500 record. The River Bandits only need 13 more wins out of 36 remaining games to surpass that mark.

The team ERA (8th out of 16 teams) and WHIP (7th) rank in the middle of the pack in the league; however, only one team has walked fewer batters and they rank third in strikeouts.

There has been a lot of flux in the membership of the pitching staff due to promotions and injuries and even one retirement (RHP John Neely), but there are four names that populate the top 20 list of Midwest League leaders among the pitching staff. Among those with enough innings to qualify, RHP Jordan Jankowski ranks fourth in ERA (2.67), second in WHIP (1.061) and 14th in strikeouts (80 in 87.2IP). RHP Lance McCullers is 11th in ERA (3.05), 20th in WHIP (1.320) and third in strikeouts (101 in 88.2IP). RHP Vincent Velasquez is 17th in ERA (3.49), fifth in WHIP (1.133) and first in strikeouts (109 strikeouts in 98IP). And finally, RHP Mike Hauschild, who has since graduated to Lancaster, was seventh in the league in both ERA (2.92) and WHIP (1.140) while he was with Quad Cities.

LHP Colton Cain is not in the league rankings, but that is largely because of a disastrous April. Since April, Cain has a 2.61 ERA and a 1.258 WHIP. Also of note, both LHP Joe Bircher (1.164) and LHP Brian Holmes (1.211) have very good WHIP, but both are just making their way back from injury and have missed much of the season. At 10.2 SO/9, reliever RHP Gera Sanchez has the highest strikeout rate of anyone on the team not named Lance McCullers.

Now for the offense. The team ranks in the lowest third of the league in many of the offensive categories (BA, SLG, doubles, triples, home runs), but there are a few notable exceptions. The River Bandits rank third in OBP which is directly related to the fact that they rank first in drawing walks. They are also fourth in the league in stolen bases.

The one true standout on the team offensively is SS Carlos Correa. He ranks sixth in batting average, eighth in on base percentage, 13th in RBI and 17th in slugging percentage in the league. Other top 20 players in the league are OF Teoscar Hernandez (first in runs scored and tied for 17th in stolen bases), OF Jordan Scott (tied for 12th in stolen bases, 18th in walks and 20th in OBP), 1B Jesse Wierzbicki (18th in RBI), and 2B Austin Elkins (sixth in walks). In a bit of a good news/bad news scenario, Teoscar Hernandez leads the team in outfield assists with nine, but also ranks ninth in the league with strikeouts (98 in 90 games).

Two additional players who are recent additions to the team have definitely helped to boost the offense. In 12 games C Luis Alvarez is hitting .319/.347/.511 with three doubles and two home runs and in 19 games, OF Dan Gulbransen is hitting .299/.405/.418 with six doubles and a triple. Rio Ruiz has made incremental improvements at the plate all season long and is hitting .280/.351/.476 with five doubles, a triple and three home runs in July. As a final note, C Roberto Peña boasts a very impressive caught stealing percentage of 54%. He has caught 37 of 69 base runners.

The Quad Cities team is in third place overall for the season, seven games back, but just made its way to second place in the second half standings after last night's game. They are well poised for, at a minimum, a wild card berth in the playoffs. The improvements by players like Colton Cain and Rio Ruiz, the return of Joe Bircher and, potentially, Brian Holmes and the addition of the offense of Luis Alvarez and Dan Gulbransen will all go a long way toward helping the team get to that goal.

For my earlier take on the short season teams ~
DSL Astros
GCL Astros
Greeneville Astros
Tri-City ValleyCats

Astros Minor League Recaps

Monday's Games

Burlington Royals 3, Greeneville Astros 4 (11)
Greeneville came from behind to tie this game and eventually won it in extras on a walk-off walk. Juan Santana hit a solo shot with two outs in the ninth to tie the game and force extra innings. Santana finished one-for-two at the plate with a pair of runs scored, the homer and RBI. In the 11th, Edwin Gomez (0X0 RBI BB) drew a bases-loaded walk to push across the winning run. Thomas Lindauer was the only Greeneville player who hit for multiples, closing out his day at two-for-five with an RBI and strikeout. Austin Chrismon began the game on the mound and went five innings, giving up three hits, walking one and K-ing two. Raul Rivera (2-0) clocked in for the 11th and faced four batters, allowing a hit to one and striking out two to earn the win.

GCL Yankees2 1, GCL Astros 6  
The Astros took this one at home to stop their losing skid on Monday. Brian Holmes started and threw four and a third innings, giving up a pair of hits, a pair of walks and struck out eight. Holmes retired the first nine batters he faced in order, striking the first five out consecutively. Holmes left an out into the fifth inning with runners on the corners and Juan Santos entered. Santos (1-1) forced the only batter he faced to fly into a double play and picked up the win. Yonathan Mejia (2X3 R RBI) and Jose Solano (2X4 R 2B SO) had two hits each in the game.

DSL Astros 3, DSL Dodgers 10
The Astros were in this game until the Dodgers scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth. Rayderson Chevalier (4-2) took the loss after pitching three and a third, allowing four runs (HR), five hits, walking two and striking out a trio. Joselo Pinales came in to finish the fourth inning and struck out the last two batters. In the fifth however, Pinales faced six batters, allowed six runs, four hits and walked two without recording an out. Brauly Mejia was the only player for the DSL Astros with more than one hit, batting two-for-four in the game, with a run scored and a triple. 

Connecticut Tigers 2, Tri-City Valley Cats 0
Tri-City was shut out for the third day in a row to extend their losing streak to four games. Chris Cotton (3-2) started and took the hill for five innings, recording a single run in the third, seven hits and two Ks. Chan Moon and Jack Mayfield both went two-for-three at the plate. Moon drew a walk in the seventh and Mayfield stole his first base of the season in the fifth.

Quad Cities River Bandits 4, Beloit Snappers 1
The River Bandits scored all four of their runs before Beloit could muster anything and Quad Cities would go on to win, taking the series. Colton Cain (5-5) earned the win on the mound after throwing the first five innings, tallying five hits, a run, two walks and five strikeouts. Juan Minaya earned his fifth save after closing out the ninth. Teoscar Hernandez went one-for-three at the plate, with two runs scored, a walk, a strikeout and his 21st stolen base of the year. Terrell Joyce went two-for-three at the dish with two runs scored of his own.

Corpus Christi Hooks 3, San Antonio Missions 4
This game came down to the wire for the Hooks. With two outs in the top of the ninth, Max Stassi was tagged out at home to end the game, trying to score what would have been the tying run. Bobby Doran took the hill to start for the Hooks and pitched six innings. Doran allowed all ten hits (HR), three runs and walked two. Sergio Escalona (1-2) worked the eighth and picked up the loss after allowing another run to score without recording a hit. Escalona hit the leadoff batter of the inning with a pitch, the runner later advanced on a wild pitch, then a balk and came around to score on a groundout. Max Stassi was on fire at the plate yesterday, hitting four-four with a run scored, two doubles, a two run homer in the third for two RBI and a walk. Rene Garcia and Preston Tucker both went two-for-five batting. Garcia also scored a run on Stassi's home run and struck out once.
    
Iowa Cubs 3, Oklahoma City RedHawks 4
The RedHawks won Monday to sweep the Cubs in this series at home. After coming out to an early lead, Oklahoma City lost the lead in the top of the eighth and came back to win in bottom of the ninth. George Springer led of the bottom half of the last inning with a triple and with the next batter, Brandon Laird (0X3), batting, Iowa's pitcher threw a wild pitch and Springer came around to score the walk off run. Springer finished two-for-four on the day with that run scored, a double, the triple, a walk and two strikeouts. Brad Peacock threw the first seven innings and allowed a run, six hits (HR), walked one and struck out a trio. Kevin Chapman earned his second blown save of the season after recording a couple of runs in the eighth on two hits and one walk. Jason Stoffel (5-1) came on to finish the eighth and finished the game to earn the win.

Player of the Day: Without a doubt, Max Stassi gets the honor today. He may have been the final, disappointing out of the game yesterday for Corpus Christi, but Stassi did anything but disappoint. Stassi reached base every trip to the plate and finished four-for-four. Great job.

Pitcher of the Day: Brian Holmes gets the nod today for his superb start yesterday. Holmes struck out eight all day and five in a row to start the game, not allowing a base runner until the fourth—talk about intimidation. Nice work.


Happy Birthday - 7/30

RHP Jorge Perez (20)
Drafted by Houston in the 30th round in 2013 out of Seminole State College in Seminole, Oklahoma, Perez has pitched in eight games (10.2 innings) with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.686 WHIP.

Greeneville Manager Josh Bonifay (35)
Josh Bonifay was drafted by the Pirates in 1999, but ended his minor league career with the Houston organization. After serving as Hitting Coach for Greeneville in 2011 and Lexington in 2012, Bonifay got his first Manager assignment with the Rookie level Greeneville Astros team this season.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

3B Doug "The Red Rooster" Rader (69)
Rader was signed by Houston as an amateur free agent in 1965 and played for the Astros for nine seasons, from 1967 to 1975. In 1178 games, he hit .250/.318/.402 with 197 doubles, 20 triples, 128 home runs and 600 RBI. He won Gold Gloves five seasons straight from 1970 to 1974.

C Gus Triandos (died March 28, 2013 at age 82)
Triandos came to Houston from Philadelphia in June 1965 and played in only 24 games for the Astros at the end of his career, hitting .181/.244/.292. Triandos was a three-time All Star for Baltimore with a lifetime caught stealing percentage of 47%.

Tweet of the Day


Clothing is selfish. Im always waiting for them to get clean, but they never wait to get dirty

Monday, July 29, 2013

A Look at the Tri-City ValleyCats

Last week, I took a closer look at the DSL Astros, the GCL Astros , and the Greeneville Astros to see how their seasons have been unfolding and what players have stood out. Today, it's the Tri-City ValleyCats turn. Coming in to today, the Tri-City team is 26-15 with a 2.63 ERA, a 1.045 WHIP, and a cumulative batting line of .244/.321/.342.

The 2013 team compares very favorably to the 2012 team in terms of pitching, but the offense lags behind their 2012 counterparts considerably. This year's team is allowing .25 runs per game less than last year's, but they are scoring 1.30 runs per game less as well. Pitching is definitely the strength of this team.

The team ERA and WHIP rank first (out of 14 teams) in the league. The walks allowed rank dead last while strikeouts rank third. The pitching staff has allowed 68 free passes while striking out 310, leading the Astros minor league system with a 4.56 SO/BB rate.

Two pitchers stand out among the league leaders. Among pitchers with enough innings to qualify, RHP Michael Feliz ranks second in the league in ERA (1.49), third in WHIP (0.936) and fourth in strikeouts (42 in 36.1 innings). And did I mention that Feliz is still only 19? RHP Tanner Bushue ranks first in the league in WHIP (0.802) and 14th in ERA (2.94).

There are quite a few more who fall short of the innings requirement, but who have excellent numbers:

LHP Evan Grills - 31IP  2.61 ERA  1.226 WHIP
RHP Adrian Houser - 29.2IP  2.43 ERA  1.281 WHIP
LHP Randall Fant - 27.1IP  2.63 ERA  1.134 WHIP
RHP Andrew Thurman - 25.1IP  2.84 ERA  1.263 WHIP
RHP Zach Morton - 25.1IP  1.07 ERA  0.671 WHIP
RHP Kyle Westwood - 24IP  1.12 ERA  0.708 WHIP
LHP Chris Cotton - 17.2IP  0.51 ERA  0.566 WHIP

Of those who have been used exclusively from the bullpen, there are two pitchers worth noting in particular. In 11 appearances (14.2IP) by RHP Richard Rodriguez, he has a 1.23 ERA and a 0.818 WHIP. He has walked one and struck out 16. The other, RHP Patrick Christensen, has a 4.35 ERA in nine appearances (10.1IP), but has a 0.871 WHIP. He has not walked a batter this season and has struck out 12.

Now for the offense. The team batting average, OBP and SLG all rank fifth out of 14th in the league. They are dead last in doubles, but rank first in home runs. They are third in walks drawn and 13th in strikeouts. Only one player on the ValleyCats team shows up as a league leader in numerous categories. 2B Tony Kemp is second in stolen bases, fifth in hits and walks, 12th in runs scored and is tied for 21st in OBP and is tied for 22nd in batting average.

Others showing up in the top 20 in the league are DH/1B Mike Martinez (tied for seventh in home runs and 20th in RBI), 1B Conrad Gregor (second in walks) and OF James Ramsay (tied for 19th in walks).

A couple of good hitters graduated from the team and were promoted to Quad Cities. C Luis Alvarez was .303/.395/.485 in 12 games and OF Dan Gulbransen was .397/.426/.638 in 15 games. Two recent promotions who may help fill the void are SS Jack Mayfield, who showed decent power in his stint at Greeneville, and C Brett Booth, who tore it up in the GCL and is hitting .400/.455/.600 in his first three games with Tri-City.

Also of note on the team are SS Chan Moon (.303/.361/.355) and OF Ronnie Mitchell, whose .384 slugging percentage is the highest of anyone on the team having a minimum of 100 at bats.

The Tri-City team is currently in first place in the Stedler Division, leading second place Lowell by three games. They currently rank second in the league in win percentage (.634) behind the the Jamestown Jammers (.641) in the Pinckney Division. They are going to need to keep the strong stretch of pitching going and/or pick up the offense. Nine of their 15 losses have been when the offense scored either zero or one run. They are 8-3 in games decided by one run. If the pitching staff starts to struggle, the offense will have to pick them up.

Roster Moves

Aside from spot starters Bobby Doran, Brady Rodgers and David Rollins returning to their respective clubs after having very successful spot starts, there are two additional roster moves to report.

Greeneville
RHP Troy Scribner was promoted to Greeneville from the GCL and it is easy to see why. In eight appearances, he has a 1.26 ERA and a 0.663 WHIP. He has only walked three in 28.2 innings while striking out 42!!!

DSL Astros
LHP Starlyng Sanchez was assigned to the DSL club. I know nothing about him other than the fact that he will be 19 next week.

[UPDATED TO ADD] It was reported this morning that the Astros traded closer Jose Veras to the Detroit Tigers for OF prospect Danry Vasquez and a PTBNL. The 19-year old Vasquez was ranked in the top five of Detroit prospects by most pundits going in to the 2013 season. According to Brian McTaggart, Vasquez will report to Quad Cities.

[ALSO ADDED] The Astros transaction page shows that they have signed RHP Justin Hess out of Georgia Southern as a NDFA. He has been assigned to the GCL Astros.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Sunday's Games

Oklahoma City over Iowa 4-3
Asher Wojciechowski got the start and the win as he pitched six innings, allowing two runs on six hits. Philip Humber and Jorge de Leon each pitched an inning of scoreless relief, and Josh Zeid got his 13th save despite adding one to the run column in the ninth. The RedHawks got one across in the second on a Marwin Gonzalez (2x3) RBI double, but the rest came via the long ball ... a solo shot from Jon Singleton in the fifth and a two-run bomb from the bombardier himself, George Springer (2x4), in the sixth. It was Springer's 29th of the season. Jimmy Paredes was two-for-three and stole a base.

Corpus Christi over Midland 5-2
R.J. Alaniz (6H 4BB 2SO) allowed the only two Midland runs in his six innings before he gave way to two scoreless frames from Carlos Quevedo. Andrew Robinson got his second save of the season with a perfect ninth. Robinson is quietly going about having a nice stretch; in his last 10 games, he has a 1.64 ERA and a 0.818 WHIP. The Hooks scored three in the first inning, starting with Drew Muren scoring from third on a wild pitch and the other two coming on an Erik Castro double and a Jonathan Meyer (2x4) single. The fourth run came in the third on Domingo Santana's 17th home run of the season, and Rene Garcia (2x4) singled in Jio Mier for the final run of the game.

Rancho Cucamonga over Lancaster 11-10
This was one that got away. Luis Cruz (7H 5R 1BB 6SO) got hit hard, giving up two doubles and two home runs in his five frames. Tyson Perez and Kenny Long followed, allowing two runs each in their outings and were followed by a perfect three-strikeout eighth from Blair Walters. In the top of the ninth, the JetHawks re-took the lead. Unfortunately, Travis Ballew couldn't hang on to it in the bottom of the frame and allowed two runs, only to be charged with a blown save and a loss. Matt Duffy (1x3 BB 2R) drew first blood, scoring on a wild pitch in the third. Two more came across in the fifth on a Delino DeShields (3x4 3B HR 5RBI R) triple, one more in the sixth and three in the seventh on a three-run DeShields home run. Two more scored in the eighth on a Joe Sclafani (2x4 2B 3B 2RBI 2R) triple and a Chris Epps (3x3 RBI 2R) sac fly, and one more in the ninth on a M.P. Cokinos single.

Quad Cities over Beloit 9-1
Joe Bircher had a terrific outing in only his second start with Quad Cities after coming back from a rehab assignment. In seven scoreless innings, he only gave up three hits and two walks while striking out a pair. Mitch Lambson kept the shutout going through the eighth, but ultimately allowed one run in the ninth. Quad Cities roughed up the Beloit starting pitcher early, collecting five runs in the first inning. Teoscar Hernandez (3x5 2B HR RBI 3R) got it started with a solo homer and was followed by two-run doubles from both Rio Ruiz (3x5 2B 3RBI R) and Terrell Joyce (2x5 2-2B 2RBI). Two more came across on a Carlos Correa (2x4 2B 2RBI R) sac fly and a Dan Gulbransen (2x4 2B BB RBI R) single in the second. Correa doubled in another run in the fourth and Ruiz drove in the final run in the ninth.

Connecticut over Tri-City 3-0
Andrew Thurman (5IP 6H 2R 1BB 4SO HR) took the loss and was followed by by one inning from Richard Rodriguez who allowed the final run across in the sixth. Michael Feliz pitched the final three scoreless innings with four hits and four strikeouts. The ValleyCats only collected four hits in the shutout with Tony Kemp and Brett Booth each collecting two hits with a double. Booth also collected the only 'Cats walk of the game. Jon Kemmer was credited with an outfield assist.

Greeneville over Pulaski 10-1
See Appy Astros Eyewitness Account here.

GCL Astros and DSL Astros - Day Off

Pitcher of the Day: Joe Bircher appears to be back from his rehab with a vengeance. It is my honor to honor him for his seven shutout innings.

Players of the Day: Delino DeShields was a double shy of the cycle and drove in five runs. Teoscar Hernandez was a triple shy of the cycle, scored three runs and contributed an outfield assist to the mix. (He is hitting .317/.370/.610 over his last 10 games.) Rio Ruiz deserves acknowledgement for his three RBI day as well.

Eyewitness Report: 7/28/13 Greeneville 10 - Pulaski 1 - How A Pitchers Duel Turned Into A Blow Out

When you get to the game and the starters ERAs are 1.83 and 1.59 respectively, you settle in for a pitchers duel.  That is how the game played out for the first five innings.  But then Greeneville's bats exploded for 10 runs in their last three at bats to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 10-1 victory.  Here are more observations from the game.

On The Mound
Jandel Gustave only allowed one hit in six innings but he walked six batters.  The walks came in pairs, with two each in the first, third and fifth innings. He wasn't wild, just missing by little bits.  I had his pitch count at 75 with only 35 for strikes. Despite his control issues, he still fanned four batter and only allowed one of his walks to score.  He left after five innings down 1-0.

Chris Munnelly made his Greeneville debut pitching two innings of no hit, shut out ball. He struck out two hitters and walked one.  The only other runner reached on an error when the ball was knocked out of a glove on a tag play at first.  Munnelly's curve ball appeared to be his best pitch tonight.

Krishawn Holley closed out the game with an effective inning, allowing just one hit.

It was quite an outing from the pitching staff.

At The Plate
The Astros bats were kept in check for the first five innings.  Pulaski starter, Eddie Campbell, used effective location of multiple pitches.

In the first five innings, the Astros batters were 3 for 15 with one walk and five strike outs.
In the final three at bats, the G-Stros batters were 11 for 18 with three walks, four strike outs and 10 runs scored - all earned.

Chase McDonald reached base in each of his four plate appearances.  He had a single, a double, two walks, two RBI and two runs scored.

Brian Holberton hit his first HR at Pioneer Park; a two run blast in the sixth that gave Greeneville the lead 2-1.  He also singled and scored in the 8th.

Brett Phillips laid down one of the sweetest bunt hits I have seen for one of his two singles on the night.  Phillips pushed a bunt past the pitchers out stretched glove and no play at first was made.  He later scored two runs after reaching via a walk and single.

Three other G-Stros had two hits.  Tanner Mathis and Thomas Lindauer both produced a single and a double and Juan Santana had two singles.

Only Edwin Gomez didn't join the hit parade for Greeneville.  He went 0 for 4 with 4 Ks.  The part of that that concerned me was that he only saw 13 pitches on the night.  The first pitch he saw of the night was a ball, after that it was twelve straight strikes and four straight Ks.  Obviously something is wrong there.

In The Field
Mathis gets the Oscar for selling a sliding short hop grab as a catch in the second inning.  From my vantage point, it appeared the ball bounced into his glove.  The Pulaski manager and bench agreed with me.  But Mathis raised his glove high and the home plate ump signaled out.

Lindauer started a nice 6-4-3 double play in the fifth inning.  The ball was hit to his right.  He ranged over, grabbed the ball and threw across his body to start the double play.  Juan Santana made a nice quick turn to complete the twin killing.

The other nice play was made by McDonald at first on a high pop fly in foul territory.  He adjusted to the ball at the last minute making a lunge to his right to secure the ball to end the sixth inning.

The only error of the game was charged to McDonald.  He was playing in anticipating a bunt from the speedy Aaron Barbosa.  Barbosa didn't bunt.  He chopped a ball down the first baseline that McDonald had to retreat to retrieve.  When he did, Munnelly had not made it in time to cover first.  McDonald made an attempt to tag Barbosa before he reached the bag safely but the ball was knocked out of McDonalds glove during the attempt.  Heck of an effort but charged with the error none the less.

Overall
Nice team win for the G-Stros.  The pitching was very good, the offense produced late in the game and the defense was solid.  They end the series against a very good Pulaski team two games in front of the streaking Kingsport Mets.  They start a three game series against the Burlington Royals (17-19) tomorrow.


Happy Birthday - 7/29

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

2B/SS/OF Felix Mantilla (79)
Mantilla came to Houston in April 1966 in a trade with Boston and played in 77 games for the Astros at the end of his career, hitting .219/.279/.371. A one-time All-Star for Boston, his best season was 1964 when he hit .289/.357/.553 with 30 home runs for Boston. He played with the Milwaukee Braves in 1957 as a part of their winning World Series team.

1B Dan Driessen (62)
Driessen signed as a free agent with Houston in June 1986 and played in only 17 games for the Astros, hitting .292/.414/.458. Driessen played for the Reds from 1973 to 1984 as a part of the Big Red Machine and won two World Series with the Reds in 1975 and 1976. He was the first National League player to be used as a DH as that position was introduced in the 1976 World Series with the Yankees.

RHP Mike Williams (45)
A 14th round draft pick by the Phillies in 1990, Williams came to Houston in a July 2001 trade with the Pirates. In 25 games for the Astros in 2001, he was 4-0 with a 4.03 ERA and a 1.567 WHIP before going back to Pittsburgh. A two-time All Star for the Pirates, his 2002 season was his best as he had a 2.93 ERA, a 1.223 WHIP and 46 saves.

Tweet of the Day


Man the flight to Houston sure looks tempting to hop on but I got a championship to win in Cali so HTown can wait

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Astros Minor League Recaps

Saturday's Games

Pulaski Mariners, Greeneville Astros -Doubleheader 
Steve has a great eyewitness account of these games already up. You can check it out here.

GCL Tigers 3, GCL Astros 0  
The GCL Astros were four-hit, shut out Saturday, marking their fifth consecutive loss (not including the postponed game from the 25th). Yonathan Mejia had half of his team's hits, going two-for-four at the plate and striking out once. Neither Jacob Nottingham (0X2 SO) nor Jose Fernandez (0X2 SO) had a hit in the game, but both drew two walks. Fernandez also had a stolen base in the game. Jose Montero (1-1) started things off on the mound for the GCL Astros and after five innings of work had allowed three runs on four hits (HR), walked five and struck out three—good for the loss. Samil De Los Santos followed Montero for one inning and struck out all three he faced.

DSL Royals 4, DSL Astros 2
The Astros allowed four runs in the sixth inning and that ended up being too big of a crooked number to defeat Saturday. Gerardo Juarez (2-2) started, working the first five and two-thirds. Juarez recorded all four runs, six hits, two walks and five Ks in his outing. Hector Roa had a pair of hits in the game, closing out at two-for-four with a stolen base and run scored too. Roa doubled in the ninth to knock in his team's final run of the game. Luis Payano was the only other player in multiples for the Astros, batting two-for-four also.

Tri-City Valley Cats 0, Vermont Lake Monsters 4
The Valley Cats didn't get a hit until the fourth inning Saturday and it would be one of only five they collected in this shutout. Adrian Houser (0-2) took the loss after pitching the first five innings and allowing a pair of runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out a trio. Tanner Bushue took the mound next and threw through the seventh, tallying another two runs, two hits and walk as he struck out two. Anthony Kemp picked up his 15th stolen base of the year and batted one-for-three with a walk and strikeout. Chan Moon bat one-for-four, hitting a triple in the fifth inning for Tri-City's second hit of the game. The Valley Cats' first hit in the fourth inning was a Ronnie Mitchell (1X4) double.

Quad Cities River Bandits 6, Beloit Snappers 8
The River Bandits struck first yesterday, but a five-run sixth inning toppled their momentum. Chris Devenski was on the mound for the first five innings and in that time saw a pair of runs score, allowed ten hits (HR), walked one and struck out four. Juri Perez (0-2) entered to pitch next and in two outs time Perez faced eight batters, allowing five runs on five hits and a walk. Perez would snag the loss and the blown save, his first. Rio Ruiz brought home three runs Saturday, concluding the game at the plate two-for-four with a two-run homer, stolen base and two strikeouts. Teoscar Hernandez went two-for-five with a pair of runs scored while Carlos Correa hit two-for-four, swatting a double, scoring a run and collecting two RBI.

Lancaster JetHawks 5, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 7
Only three of the Quakes' seven runs yesterday were earned. The other four runs were scored in conjunction with Lancaster's six errors in the game. Carlos Perdomo committed four errors on Saturday alone. Perdomo (0X3 RBI 2BB) was also one of four JetHawks to steal a base in the game. Delino DeShields (2X5 R 2B RBI SO), Chris Epps (2X4 R BB) and Andrew Aplin (0X4 RBI BB) were the other three to swipe bags. Matt Duffy (1X4 R HR RBI SO) hit a round-tripper in the fourth inning, his only hit of the day. Kyle Hallock (4-3) took the loss after starting and pitching four innings. Hallock conceded four runs (2ER), seven hits (HR), three walks and K-ed three. Michael Dimock took the hill for the next three innings and logged another three runs (1ER), four hits, walked one and struck out two.

Corpus Christi Hooks 12, Midland RockHounds 6 (7)
Max Stassi and Domingo Santana hit back-to-back homers in the first inning pushing the Hooks out to an early lead before falling behind in the bottom of the second. Corpus Christi pitching then buckled down and the offense rallied to pull out the win. Ross Seaton started and was on the mound for just one and two-thirds before exiting the game. In that span Seaton tallied six runs, six hits, walked two and struck out one. After Seaton left the game there were four Hooks pitchers in the game and only Chia-Jen Lo, who picked up the save in the ninth, allowed a hit as he struck out another. Theron Geith followed Seaton and retired all eight batters he faced in order, striking out three. Jonas Dufek (1-0) strode to hill after Geith and produced a carbon copy of his performance—down to the number of strikeouts—and picked up the win. The outing was Dufek's debut in Double-A. Preston Tucker (1X4 2R HR RBI BB SO) hit a solo homer in the seventh that put the Hooks ahead. Max Stassi (2X4 R HR 3RBI), Domingo Santana (2X4 R HR RBI) and Jonathan Meyer (2X4 SO) all had two hits in the game.
    
Iowa Cubs 0, Oklahoma City RedHawks 5
Oklahoma city shut down and shut out the Cubs at home Saturday, allowing just four hits and adding an inside-the-park home run to the score sheet. David Rollins started things off from the hill for the RedHawks, debuting in Triple-A, and went six innings. Rollins (1-0) saw three hits during his shift and not much else, walking one and striking out eight to earn the win. George Springer went two-for-three at the dish with three runs scored, an RBI, stolen base and couple of walks. Springer also legged out the inside-the-park homer when his fifth inning shot to center eluded the center fielder and escaped to the wall. Marwin Gonzalez finished two-for-three, the only other RedHawk in multiples, with a pair of RBI and a walk.

Player of the Day: An inside-the-park knock always deserves the honor. They are rare and take a special set of circumstances, not too mention a fast pair of feet. So George Springer, the crown is yours for the day (Note: While they are rare, Springer's inside-the-park homer was actually OKC's second this week).

Pitcher of the Day: David Rollins, come on down. Rollins made the trip up to three-A yesterday and had an outstanding outing, allowing just three hits, striking out eight and retiring the first nine he faced in order. That's respectable. Nicely done.

Also an honorable mentions go out to Jonas Dufek and T.J. Geith. Dufek, in his own debut, was lights out. Kind of like, errr, exactly like the guy on the mound before him T.J. Geith.


Happy Birthday - 7/28

No future Astros, only former Astros with birthdays today ~

RHP Henry Sosa (28)
Sosa came to Houston from San Francisco as a part of a July 2011 trade for Jeff Keppinger. In 10 starts for Houston in 2011, he was 3-5 with a 5.23 ERA and a 1.444 WHIP. He started the 2012 season playing for the AAA Oklahoma City team before signing with the Kia Tigers in Korea.

OF Dick Simpson (70)
Simpson came to Houston from the Cardinals in June of 1968 and was gone to the Yankees six months later. In between, he played in 59 games for Houston, hitting .186/.282/.299.

RHP Chad Paronto (38)
Originally drafted by Baltimore in the 8th round in 1996, Paronto came to Houston as a free agent in December of 2007. In 12 games for Houston in 2008 and 2009, Paronto was 0-1 with a 7.41 ERA and a 1.706 WHIP.

Tweet of the Day


No time for sleep.. Gladiator is on.

Appy Astros Eyewitness Report - 7/27/13 - Pulaski Pulls Out Two Wins From G-Stros

In what could be a potential play off preview, the Pulaski Mariners pulled out two late comebacks to defeat the Greeneville Astros twice Saturday night.  The first game was the conclusion of Friday's suspended game.  The Mariners scored four runs in the in the seventh to take a 5-4 decision.  Then in the seven inning night cap, they got a two run homer in the sixth to secure a 2-1 win.  Here is a closer look at what I observed last night.

Game 1 - Pulaski 5, Greeneville 4

The game picked up with Greeneville up 2-1 in the bottom of the 2nd.

On the Mound

Christian Garcia threw three very effective innings.  His fast ball sat in the upper 80's but he mixed speeds well and keep batters guessing.  He fanned five in the three innings and retired the first 8 batters he faced.  He had a walk and a hit batter but no base hits.

Sidewinder Ryan Connolly came in next and was effective in the 6th before the wheels came off in the 7th.  He struck out a batter to start the 7th but then a short hop couldn't be handled by Tyler White at third for an E-5.  The next three batters followed with a triple, a single and a triple.  An inning that started as a 4-1 lead ended with a 5-4 deficit.

Tyler Brunnemann finished off the game.  I was pleased to see that some improvement in his mechanics.  When I saw him earlier in the year, he would touch the ground with his glove on his follow through.  Now he tucks the glove to his chest as he follows through.  He is not repeating the tuck perfectly as it was sometimes at his chest and sometimes at his hip but it shows improvement.  He only had one strike out but induced three ground balls and two pop outs to short.  He gave up one hit, a double.

At the Plate

Brett Phillips started the third off with a hard ground ball inside the bag at third for a double.  It is fun to watch him run.  He is fast! He also reached on a walk.

Edwin Gomez reached base three times with a walk and two singles.  However he was .500 in getting out of base running goofs.  In the third, with the bases loaded, Tyler White hit a fly ball to shallow right field.  Phillips was tagging on the play but did not try to advance.  However, Gomez took off from second and was almost to third when the throw reached the catcher.  The catcher threw to second to try to get Gomez coming back to the bag but the ball ended up in center and both Phillips and Gomez scored.

He wasn't as fortunate in the seventh.  He scorched a ball that appeared to be leaving the yard but bounced off the top of the fence.  He was nabbed at second with a great throw from the left fielder.  Some people sitting around me said Gomez had started his home run trot, I don't know if this is accurate because I was trying to follow the trajectory of the ball.  If he was, I am sure the coaching staff will let him hear about it.  If not, it was a great play by the Mariners.

Those three were the only players with hits for the continuation portion of the game.  Ariel Ovando and Darwin Rivera both took walks but no one else reached base.

In The Field

Other than the error by White on a tough play coming in on a short hop, the defense looked pretty good.  Darwin Rivera was at 2nd and looked pretty comfortable there.  More so than he has looked at third. 

Game 2: Pulaski 2 - Greeneville 1:

This game was a seven inning game due to the completion of the suspended game.

On The Mound

Chris Lee was impressive last night.  Lee's fastball was sitting in the 93-95 range (thanks to the scout two rows in front for holding his radar gun in a position so I could peek) and his slider was getting a great many swings and misses.  His delivery was smooth and effortless.  I had him at 78 pitches when he was pulled with one out in the sixth with 53 being for strikes (68%). I also had him with first pitch strikes to 17 of the 24 batters he faced (71%).

He led off the second striking out the Pulaski clean up hitter on three pitches. The final pitch resulted in the Pulaski hitter winding up on the seat of his pants after an unsuccessful attempt to check his swing. He ended up striking out five batters on the night.  All of them swinging.

He was helped by the ground rules in the fourth.  After striking out the first two batters, the next batter reached on a hit to short stop.  Thomas Lindauer made a nice backhanded play on a sharply hit ball but couldn't recover for the throw.  The next batter hit a ball into the right field corner that went under the gate for a ground rule double.  If not for the gate being there, it would have been an RBI triple - Pulaski's third of the evening.

In the sixth, Lee had a different kind of luck. After hitting the first batter, he induced a ground ball to second. Marc Wik had to come in to field the ball and made a swipe at the runner going by before throwing to first.  The umpire ruled Wik didn't tag the runner going to second.  Both Wik and Lindauer were adamant the tag had been made.  From my angle, it appeared the umpire made the safe sign before Wik even attempted the tag. 

Lee had the next batter in a 1-2 count and left a pitch up in the zone that was sent over the left field wall.  After giving up a bunt hit to the next batter, his night was done.  He deserved a better fate than taking the loss.

Gonzalo Sanudo came into finish off game getting five straight outs.  Four of them were air outs and three went to the outfield.

At The Plate

When you get three hits as a team, there is not too much to write about here.

Thomas Lindauer had the big hit of the night, a RBI double to left that scored Wallace Gonzalez from first.  

Marc Wik singled in the first after fouling off five pitches.  He was in an 0-2 whole and ended up seeing a total of eight pitches that at bat before reaching on a bouncer up the middle.  He was robbed of another single by a nice play by the second baseman to lead off the sixth.

Tyler White had a solid single to left to lead off the fourth but was erased on a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

Angel Ibanez hit a ball hard up the middle that the short stop made a nice play on to prevent him from having a hit on the night.

A bit of good news - the Mariners are second in the league in most strike outs by their pitchers.  They came into the games just two K's behind the G-Stros pitchers.  In the 16 innings played in the series so far, G-Stro batters have just five strike outs.  Meanwhile the G-Stro pitchers added 15 to their total. 

In The Field

Lindauer also made the play of the game in the field as well.  He climbed the ladder and nabbed a line drive to end the fifth inning.

Ibanez made a nice play at third in the sixth.  With a runner on third, he fielded a ground ball on a short hop and made a nice throw to catcher Ricky Gingras to get the runner who had been going on contact.

Tyler White made a nice play at first on a hard hit ball in the second inning.  

Overall

After being 10-1 in one run games, they lost two last night.  Just not enough offense to get the job done.  


Saturday, July 27, 2013

Astros Minor League Recaps

Friday's Games

Pulaski Mariners, Greeneville Astros - suspended until today due to rain

GCL Tigers 2, GCL Astros 1  
The Astros only allowed three hits in this matchup and still went on to lose despite more than doubling their opponent's hit output (7). Austin Nicely started and through the first three gave up a run on one hit and a walk. Troy Scribner (5-2) followed Nicely, recording a run on two hits over the next five innings, while striking out half a dozen. Scribner took the loss. Luis De La Rosa hit two-for-three in the game and Jose Fernandez went nothing-for-two, but drew two walks.

DSL Royals 5, DSL Astros 1
The DSL Astros shut out the DSL Royals yesterday until the seventh inning, when one run scored for the tie. An inning later in the ninth, Carlos Vazquez (1-1), one of three pitchers in the inning, recorded four runs and picked up the loss. Juan Hernandez threw the first two and two-thirds, keeping them hitless and scoreless, while walking five and striking out two. Victor Mesa came on to pitch in the sixth and allowed the tying run in the seventh on a walk, wild pitch and a single. Mesa left with a blown save, four hits, a run, a walk and two Ks in his outing. Vazquez tallied his four runs through two outs in the ninth and left having allowed a hit and four walks. The DSL Astros had two players with multi-hit games, Hector Roa and Jean Estrella. Roa went two-for-three with a walk and Estrella went two-for-four.

Tri-City Valley Cats 3, Vermont Lake Monsters 5
The Valley Cats fell behind early and never quite recovered in this one. Starter Kevin Comer (2-3) lasted just an out into the third, allowing all five runs on six hits and striking out one for the loss. Evan Grills would pitch the last four innings for Tri-City, giving up only three hits and striking out six—including the first two and last two batters he faced. Conrad Gregor hit three-for-five in the game with a strikeout. Jon Kemmer and Ryan Dineen both batted two-for-four. Kemmer also scored a run, had an RBI and struck out twice.  

Quad Cities River Bandits 1, Burlington Bees 0
The River Bandits only needed one run on Friday as they two-hit, shut out the Bees on the road behind dominant pitching by starter Vincent Velasquez (7-4). Velasquez pitched seven innings, recording just two hits and striking out seven. Jordan Jankowski followed with a perfect inning in the eighth (2 K) and Juan Minaya picked up his fourth save after working the hitless ninth (although he did walk two), striking out three. Teoscar Hernandez went two-for-four at the plate (SO) and scored the winning run in the eighth. After advancing on a wild pitch Hernandez was brought around by Austin Elkins' (1X4, SB) only hit of the day, an RBI single.

Lancaster JetHawks 2, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 1 (10)
The JetHawks didn't score until the seventh, but were able to ride some very solid pitching into the 10th inning Friday before Chris Epps hit a go-ahead homer that would win the game. Mike Hauschild pitched the first six and a third, allowing a run, five hits and striking out seven before making way for Blair Walters, who would pick up the win. Walters (5-1) worked through the ninth, facing the minimum and striking out four, including the last three he faced, to force extras. Kenny Long picked up save number four after striking out the last batter of the game. Lancaster tied things up in the seventh when Carlos Perdomo (1X4 2B RBI) doubled to score Joe Sclafani (0X4 R). Epps (1X4 R HR RBI 3SO) hit his go-ahead, solo shot with one out in the 10th—his 13th long ball of the year. Delino DeShields was the only Lancaster player with multiple hits in the game, finishing two-for-four with a double and a stolen base.  

Corpus Christi Hooks 12, Midland RockHounds 6 (7)
In the first game of the double header Friday the Hooks jumped out to an early lead and by the fourth inning had scored four runs. Nick Tropeano (5-7) threw all but the last inning, earning the win after allowing five runs on six hits, walking a pair and striking out six. Theron Geith worked one out in the seventh and added another run on three hits. The Hooks had 15 hits in this seven inning game and three were homers (Stassi, Santana, Tucker). Three guys had three hits, two had two hits apiece and Domingo Santana topped them all with three RBI. Here's the box to make sense of it:

Corpus Christi Hooks 2, Midland RockHounds 0 (7)
In the second game of the day, the Hooks shut out the RockHounds to claim the double header with authority. Brady Rodgers was called up from Lancaster for a spot start and pitched five innings in his debut. Rodgers (1-0) allowed five hits and not much else, striking out six to take the win. Pat Urckfitz gave up a hit and struck out two in the seventh, earning him his sixth save of the season. Kiké Hernandez (2X3), Ronald Torreyes (2X4 2SO) and Zach Johnson (2X3) all had two hits in this game. Hernandez also swiped a bag.     

Iowa Cubs 6, Oklahoma City RedHawks 10
The RedHawks had eight on the board before the Cubs were able to answer back Friday. Wade LeBlanc (2-1) pitched the first five and earned the win, allowing three runs on five hits while walking four during his shift. Alex Sogard followed for and inning and two-thirds, allowing three more runs on four hits, striking out one. Oklahoma City had a ton of hits on Friday and Robbie Grossman and Jose Martinez led the charge with three apiece. Grossman stole a base to boot and the second inning, in which the RedHawks scored six runs, saw the opposing manager and hitting coach ejected as OKC hit around the order. Here's the box:

Player of the Day: Chris Epps takes the cake today for his go-ahead homer in the 10th inning yesterday. What better way to support his pitchers for their superb outings than to blast one into the cheap seats and secure the win?

Pitcher of the Day: There were several good pitching performances yesterday, but Vincent Velasquez was a head above everyone. He not only threw a career-high seven innings and was a huge part of that magnificent shut out, but he also retired the first twelve batters he faced in order. Put simply, Velasquez was on fire yesterday.  

Brady Rodgers also earned a shout out for his call-up, spot start in Corpus. He came out and dominated, earning a win as part of another shutout and struck out six. Rodgers threw 88 pitches in his five innings and 65 of them were strikes—impressive.