Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Let's try it again... let's play 2 in Davenport!

Round Rock 5, Oklahoma City 2

W- Ryan Feierabend (4-1)
L- Jake Buchanan (1-3)

OKC home runs: None.

The RedHawks were stifled as they only got a run in the 1st and the 9th. Seems like they just couldn't string hits together to start rallies. Domingo Santana hit an RBI double in the 1st and Jonathan Meyer added a sac fly in the 9th. Robbie Grossman went 2-4.

Jake Buchanan went 5 innings and allowed 4 runs (2 earned) on 7 hits and struck out 2. Darin Downs allowed a hit and struck out 3 in 2 scoreless innings, and Jason Stoffel pitched the final 2 innings, allowing a run on 3 hits, walking 1, and striking out 2.

The series finale features a battle of Nicks. Tropeano will be on the hill for OKC, and Tepesch will be his opponent. First pitch is at 7:05.

Midland 5, Corpus Christi 4

W- Ryan Dull (3-0)
L- Pat Urckfitz (0-1)
S- Seth Frankoff (5)

CC home runs: Preston Tucker (6, 3-run in 3rd)

For the 2nd straight game, the Hooks bullpen couldn't hold a late lead. An incredibly costly error in the bottom of the 8th did not help matters either. Midland put up 4 in that frame to erase a 4-1 deficit. The Hooks lost despite doubling up Midland 8-4 in the hit column.

All 4 Corpus runs were scored in the 3rd; Matt Duffy grounded into a fielder's choice allowing Nolan Fontana to score, and Preston Tucker's blast (6) extended the lead to 4-0. Fontana, Andrew Aplin, and René Garcia all went 2-4.

Tommy Shirley continued his stellar start to the season; he went 5 innings and his only blemish was serving up a solo homer to Miles Head in the bottom of the 4th. Shirley allowed one other hit and struck out 6. His 1.27 ERA is now 3rd in the Texas League.

Alex Sogard cruised through 2 innings and got 1 out in the 8th, but an error on what could've been the inning-ending double play allowed the batter, Connor Crumbliss, to reach, and that's when the wheels fell off. Sogard was ultimately charged with 2 unearned runs (both inherited runners who scored); he walked 3 and struck out 1. Pat Urckfitz got the 2nd out, but then he issued a walk to load the bases, and they were promptly cleared on a double, which tied the game. Max Muncy, the former Baylor standout, gave the RockHounds the lead with an RBI single. Urckfitz got the final 2 outs of the 8th and allowed 2 runs on 2 hits and walked 1.

In game 3 of this series, Brady Rodgers will face Shawn Haviland. First pitch is at 7:00.

Lancaster 2, High Desert 0

W- Dan Minor (1-1)
L- Dylan Unsworth (2-2)
S- Juan Minaya (1)

Lancaster home runs: None.

A game after striking out 17 Mavericks, the Lancaster pitching staff delivered an encore in the form of a 1-hit shutout. These 2 outstanding performances surely have to be the main reasons as to why the JetHawks have taken the last 2 games in the series after getting waxed in the opener.

Josh Hader was all over the place, but he was effective enough to keep the Mavericks off the scoreboard. He allowed a leadoff single to Gabriel Guerrero, Vladimir's nephew, in the 4th. That was it for the Mavericks as far as hits were concerned. Hader, who also uncorked a wild pitch, went 4 innings and walked 5 while striking out 1. 5 walks isn't pretty, but he still managed to keep High Desert off the scoreboard. Dan Minor struck out 3 over 2 perfect innings. He's had 4 straight scoreless appearances after an incredibly rough first 3 appearances. Tyson Perez walked 1 and struck out 2 in 2 innings, and Juan Minaya worked around a walk to finish it off, striking out 1 in the 9th.

Carlos Perdomo led off the 5th with a triple and scored on a Roberto Peña GIDP. Tony Kemp doubled to lead off the 5th and came around to score on a Rio Ruiz double. Danry Vasquez went 2-2 with a walk.

The series finale has Chris Devenski facing Matt Anderson at 6:30 Pacific.

Game 1: Clinton 6, Quad Cities 3

W- Aaron Brooks (1-0)
L- Kent Emanuel (0-2)
S- Emilio Pagan (5)

QC home runs: None.

After getting washed out 2 days in a row, the doubleheader went as scheduled. From the pictures I've seen, the skies over the Quad Cities were still rather ominous; fortunately, the weather cooperated (for once). The LumberKings scored 1-2-3 in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th respectively to come out on top in the first game of the twinbill.

The River Bandits' 3 came in the bottom of the 5th in the form of a James Ramsay 2-run single and a Chase McDonald groundout. Tanner Mathis and Brett Phillips both drew 2 walks. In his first game in his home area, Thomas Lindauer went 1-2 with a double and a run scored.

Kent Emanuel pitched 3 innings and the only ding on his line was a solo homer to Jeff Zimmerman in the 3rd. He allowed one other hit, walked 1, and struck out 4. Albert Minnis went 1.2 innings and allowed 5 runs on 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 1. Tyler Brunnemann allowed 3 hits and struck out 1 over 2.1 scoreless.

So... what would game 2 have in store for QC?

Game 2: Quad Cities 9, Clinton 8

W- Andrew Walter (2-2)
L- Thyago Vieira (0-1)

QC home runs: Jon Kemmer (3, solo in 2nd)

I think Quad Cities has split like 38 consecutive doubleheaders since last year.

In the nightcap, the River Bandits scored 5 in the 5th to turn a 7-3 deficit into an 8-7 lead.

Conrad Gregor put QC on the board with an RBI double in the bottom of the 1st, down 2-1. Jon Kemmer tied the game for the first time when he went deep (3) with 1 out in the 2nd. After Brian Holberton hit a 1-out double in the 4th, he advanced to 3rd on a wild pitch and Alex Gonzalez brought him home with a single.

Chan-Jong Moon singled to begin the 5th, moved to 2nd on a Gregor walk, and scored on a Chase McDonald single. After James Ramsay flew out, a Holberton single loaded the bases. Kemmer, who finished 2-3 with 3 runs scored, sent Gregor home by drawing a bases-loaded walk. Tyler White then followed with a pinch-hit, 2-run single. A Lindauer walk re-loaded the bases, and Brett Phillips completed the comeback with a sac fly. Well, he actually reached base, thanks to an error from Clinton CF Burt Reynolds (yes, that really is his name, and I'm being totally serious).

There was a brief lull in the 6th, then Austin Wilson tied it for Clinton with a homer to begin the 7th. But, Phillips un-tied it in the bottom of the inning with his 2nd sac fly of the evening. Moon, McDonald, Holberton, Kemmer, and Lindauer all had 2 hits.

Jandel Gustave went 3.2 innings and allowed 6 runs (4 earned) on 5 hits, walked 2, and struck out 4. Zach Morton was the first man out, and in 2.1 innings, he allowed a run on 3 hits (solo homer), walked 1, and fanned 2. Andrew Walter got taken deep by Wilson, but that was the only hit he allowed in the 7th. He walked 1 and struck out 2.

Well, let's play 2 again. The River Bandits and LumberKings will conclude their series with another doubleheader. Andrew Thurman will face Carlos Misell in game 1, and Chris Lee is taking on Jake Zokan in game 2. First pitch for game 1 is scheduled for 6:00.