What the Heck, Bobby?: Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Thursday, May 22, 2014

New Orleans 3, Oklahoma City 2 in 10 innings

W- Grant Dayton (1-0)
L- Rhiner Cruz (1-1)

OKC home runs: None.

The RedHawks had to settle for the split as they walked off with a loss in the series finale. The Zephyrs tied the game at 1 in the bottom of the 9th, then put up 2 in the bottom of the 10th after the RedHawks regained the lead in the top of the inning.

Andy Simunic hit an RBI single in the 4th to put the RedHawks on the board first. In the 10th, Max Stassi reached on a foce attempt that scored Robbie Grossman to put OKC on top 2-1. Grossman finished 3-5 and added a double. Kiké Hernandez singled in the 2nd to extend his hitting streak to 9.

Nick Tropeano had a strong start, as he allowed just 3 hits, walked 2, and struck out 8 over 6.2 shutout innings. Kevin Chapman faced 1 batter; he struck out Rob Brantly to end the 7th. In his first appearance as a member of the Houston Astros organization, Alex White threw a 1-2-3 8th inning, and it took him 9 pitches (7 strikes) to do so. New Orleans finally cracked the OKC pitchers as they got all 3 of their runs off of Rhiner Cruz. 1 of those 3 runs was earned. Rhiner pitched 1.1 innings and also allowed 3 hits, walked 2, and struck out 1.

The RedHawks will now begin the final leg of their Big 12 Tournament roadtrip, as they're set to begin 4 with Memphis starting tonight at 7:05. David Martinez will face Tim Cooney in game 1.

Corpus Christi 3, Arkansas 1

W- Kyle Smith (1-2; 5-2 season)
L- Brandon Sisk (0-2)
S- Michael Dimock (1)

CC home runs: None.

The Hooks took this one on the strength of a 3-run 7th.

Leo Heras led off the 7th by getting plunked. He advanced to 3rd on a Tyler Heineman double, and scored the tying run on a wild pitch. Nolan Fontana put Corpus on top with a 2-run single, which turned out to be the difference in this game. Matt Duffy was the only player in the starting 9+1 to have a multi-hit game; he went 2-4

Kyle Smith, after a rough introduction to the Texas League, threw his 2nd straight 1-run outing. He went 6 innings and allowed 4 hits, walked 1, and struck out 5. The bullpen took it from there; Pat Urckfitz allowed 2 hits and struck out 2 over 2 scoreless, and Michael Dimock worked around a 2-out single to shut the door, striking out Vance Albitz to end the game.

The Hooks will look for the sweep as they send out Brady Rodgers. He'll face Orangel Arenas at 7:10.

Bakersfield 8, Lancaster 2

W- Mike Dennhardt (1-0)
L- Kent Emanuel (1-1; 1-3 season)

Lancaster home runs: Rio Ruiz (4, solo in 3rd), Tony Kemp (3, solo in 5th)

The JetHawks dropped the series as their offense was shackled, save for the 2 solo blasts you see above. Yesterday was Rio's birthday, so that was a rather nice present for himself.

Kent Emanuel pitched 5 innings and allowed 5 runs (all on home runs) on 7 hits (2-run and 3-run homers) and struck out 4. Tyson Perez went 2 innings and gave up 3 runs on 5 hits, walked 2, and fanned 2. Jamaine Cotton worked around a hit to throw a scoreless 8th.

The Hawks are back home, and they'll welcome Inland Empire to The Hangar for the weekend and Monday. Lance McCullers gets the start in the opener; he'll face Mike Clevinger at 6:30 Pacific.

Quad Cities 11, Cedar Rapids 6

W- Chris Lee (2-2)
L- Aaron Slegers (4-2)

QC home runs: Ronnie Mitchell (3, 3-run in 3rd)

Well, that was fun. The River Bandits were up by as much as 10-3 after the 4th. They did get outscored 4-1 the rest of the way, but that touchdown lead provided enough cushioning for them as they took the opener of this series.

Everyone in the starting 9+1 had a hit. The top 2/3rds of the lineup had 2 hits, while the bottom third had 1. Ronnie Mitchell, who was hitting 7th, had the big hit, though: he smacked a 3-run blast (3) in the 3rd as part of a 6-run outburst. He also brought home QC's first run of the evening on a sac fly in the 2nd. Also taking place in the 3rd inning was a 2-run double from Conrad Gregor and an RBI double by Tyler White.

The Bandits were a home run shy of the cycle in the 4th, as they got an RBI double from Brett Phillips, who scored on a triple from Chan-Jong Moon, who scored on a Gregor single. And finally, in the 7th, Thomas Lindauer brought White home for the final Bandits run of the night with an RBI single.

Chris Lee went 5 innings and allowed 4 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits, walked 2, and struck out 5. Andrew Thurman pitched 3, and allowed 2 runs on 2 hits (solo homer), walked 2, and fanned 5. Frederick Tiburcio finished it out as he worked around a hit to do so. He struck out 1 in a scoreless 9th.

In the middle game of this series, Michael Feliz will face Ryan Eades at 7:00.

Three Stars: Position Players

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