Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Saturday, June 28, 2014

Omaha 7, Oklahoma City 4

W- Aaron Brooks (7-2)
L- Asher Wojciechowski (0-1)
S- Tim Collins (1)

OKC home runs: Robbie Grossman (4, 6 season; solo in 3rd), Preston Tucker (1, 18 season; solo in 6th)

The RedHawks couldn't climb out of an early 4-1 hole. They got 2 in the 3rd to get to within 1, but that was as close as they got all night. The Storm Chasers got just enough separation to take the 3rd game of this series.

Marc Krauss got OKC on the board with an RBI single in the 1st. He attempted to score on a Domingo Santana double, but was thrown out at home. Robbie Grossman homered to lead off the 3rd, and they got another run on a Kiké Hernandez sac fly. Preston Tucker connected for his 1st home run as a member of the RedHawks in the 6th. Later in the inning, Matt Duffy attempted to score on a Joe Sclafani single, but he was thrown out at the plate to end the frame. He, Grossman, and Domingo had 2-hit nights. Grossman also scored twice, walked twice, and stole a base (5, 8 season).

Asher Wojciechowski pitched 4 innings and allowed 5 runs (4 earned) on 9 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4. Jorge De Leon punched out 2 in a 1-2-3 5th, and Paul Clemens tagged in for the final 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits (solo homer), walking 1 and striking out 2.

In the series finale, Nick Tropeano will face John Lamb. First pitch is at 6:05.

Corpus Christi 10, Tulsa 3

W- Tommy Shirley (6-3)
L- Ryan Kulik (0-1, 2-4 season)

CC home runs: None.

The Hooks opened up this series by scoring the game's first 10 runs, while Delino DeShields and Leo Heras went on a stealing spree. Entering the game, Tulsa's catchers had the worst caught stealing percentage in the Texas League, at 24.5%. I guess that number took a hit after this game.

DeShields singled with 1 out in the 1st, then proceeded to steal his way to 3rd. Two walks later, Jio Mier came through with a 2-run single to open the scoring. Delino chipped in with a 2-run double in the 2nd. What did he do next? Well, he stole 3rd for a second time, giving him 29 stolen bases on the season. He'd score on a single from Leo Heras, who proceeded to steal 2nd.

Heras added an RBI double to his ledger in the 5th. He then stole 3rd and scored on a single from Telvin Nash. Jonathan Meyer hit a sac fly in the 6th, and Heras grounded into a force out that scored DeShields. Tony Kemp went 3-5 with a couple of runs scored and an RBI triple in the 7th. Delino finished 3-5 with 3 runs scored to go along with his 3 steals. Andrew Aplin was 2-6 with a double. Heras was 2-4; the 2 steals give him 12 on the season. Jonathan Meyer and Ruben Sosa scored 2 runs apiece.

Tommy Shirley continued his excellent year, as he allowed 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 6 over 5 shutout innings. Kyle Smith tagged in for 3 innings and he allowed 3 runs on 4 hits (solo homer), walked 1, and struck out 6. Mitch Lambson finished it off by striking out 2 in a 1-2-3 9th.

In the middle game of this series, Luis Cruz will face Jonathan Gray at 2:05.

Lake Elsinore 7, Lancaster 4

W- Joe Ross (8-4)
L- Kyle Westwood (5-5)
S- Tayron Guerrero (2, 3 season)

Lancaster home runs: Brandon Meredith (7, 2-run in 5th)

A 4-run 5th tipped the balance of the game in Lake Elsinore's favor.

Conrad Gregor went 3-5 with a double and 2 runs scored as he extended his hitting streak to 16 games. Through 27 games, he has 42 hits, and he's recorded a hit in 24 of those 27 games. Jose Altuve had 46 hits in the first 27 games of the 2011 season, when he started off in Lancaster. Altuve had a hit in 23 of his first 27. Maybe a little bit of perspective into how torrid Gregor's pace actually is?

Rio Ruiz led off the 2nd with a double and scored Lancaster's first run of the night on a single from Dan Gulbransen. Gregor's double came in the 3rd and he ended up scoring on a Brandon Meredith single. The two of them were at it again in the 5th; Gregor singled, and Meredith sent one into the Antelope Valley night. Meredith and Gulbransen had 2 hits apiece.

Kyle Westwood went 4.1 innings and allowed 7 runs (6 earned) on 9 hits and struck out 5. Juan Minaya pitched 2.2 scoreless, allowing 2 hits and striking out 3. Zach Morton allowed a hit over 2 scoreless.

In the series finale, Gonzalo Sañudo will take on Bryan Rodriguez at 7:00.

Peoria 5, Quad Cities 4

W- Blake McKnight (4-6)
L- Adrian Houser (4-3)
S- Zach Loraine (7)

QC home runs: None.

The Chiefs' 2 crooked-numbered innings topped the River Bandits' 4 single-tallied innings. The Banditos got a run in the 9th and had runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out, but they were unable to find the breakthrough.

Brett Phillips hit a sac fly in the 1st to get things started. QC had to wait until the 6th to get their 2nd run, as Phillips scored on an error that came off a Ronnie Mitchell single. James Ramsay tripled to lead off the 8th and scored on Marc Wik's groundout. After Mitchell singled to lead off the 9th, Jon Kemmer brought him home with a double that also moved Tyler White over to 3rd. Sadly, Kemmer and White were stranded there to end it. Ramsay finished 2-5 with 2 runs scored; he led off the game with a double and scored on Phillips' sac fly. Mitchell finished 2-3.

Adrian Houser pitched 5 innings and allowed 5 runs on 8 hits (2-run homer) and struck out 2. Kevin Comer allowed a hit and fanned 1 over 3 scoreless.

The River Bandits will close out the month with a doubleheader. This is because last Sunday's game featuring these two teams in Davenport was rained out. Game 1 will begin at 1:00 and will feature Chris Lee taking on Kevin Herget. Andrew Thurman will start game 2; he'll face Luis Perdomo.

Connecticut 10, Tri-City 2

W- Chase Edwards (2-1)
L- Austin Chrismon (1-2)

TC home runs: None.

The ValleyCats were blasted by Michael Gerber, who had 2 homers and 8 RBI for the Tigers.

Tri-City's 2 runs came in the 2nd, as Ariel Ovando scored on an error and Terrell Joyce scored on a double play. Ravel Santana was credited with an RBI on the error. Dayne Parker, in his ValleyCats debut, went 1-3.

Austin Chrismon went 3 innings and allowed 6 runs (5 earned) on 6 hits (3-run homer), walked 1, and struck out 2. Brandon McNitt restored some order to the game with 3 scoreless. He allowed a hit, walked 3, and struck out 1. Kevin Ferguson was taken deep by Gerber in the 7th, which was the only hit he allowed. He walked 2 and struck out 2 in the inning. Vince Wheeland allowed 3 runs on 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 1 in the 8th.

In the series finale, Joe Musgrove will face Fernando Perez at 3:05.

Burlington 5, Greeneville 1

W- Julio Pinto (2-0)
L- Jose Montero (0-1)

Greeneville home runs: None.

A 3-run homer from Meibrys Viloria allowed the Appy Royals to seize control of the series opener.

The Appy Astros' lone run came courtesy of an RBI double from Connor Goedert in the 2nd. 3 of Greeneville's 4 hits were doubles; the other 2 were hit by Trent Woodward (who scored the only run) and Yonathan Mejia. Luis Reynoso's single was the other hit.

Jose Montero went 5 innings and got dinged by Viloria's homer in the bottom of the 2nd. He allowed another run in the 5th, 4 other hits, walked 2, and struck out 5. Josh James allowed a run on a groundout, a hit, walked 2, and struck out 1 in the 6th. Krishawn Holley threw 2 scoreless, allowing a hit and striking out 1.

In the middle game of this series, Juan Carlos Santos will face Foster Griffin. First pitch is at 5:00.

GCL Pirates 4, GCL Astros 3

W- Eduardo Vera (1-1)
L- Albert Minnis (0-1, 1-2 season)
S- Carlos Ruiz (1)

GCL home runs: None.

A 3-run 6th turned the tide in the Pirates' favor. The Kissimmee Stros had a chance to tie in the 7th, but Richard Gonzalez was thrown out at home trying to score on a grounder to 1st, and Jean Estrella was stranded at 2nd to end the inning.

Randy Cesar scored the first run of the day on an error in the 2nd. Kristian Trompiz finished 2-4 with a steal (2) and an RBI single in the 3rd, and Jake Bowey hit a sac fly in the 4th. Osvaldo Duarte was 2-4 with a run scored.

Junior Garcia pitched 4.1 innings and allowed a run on 4 hits, walked 3, and struck out 1. Albert Minnis bore the brunt of the Pirates' 6th inning, as he allowed 3 runs on 5 hits and struck out 4 in 2.2 innings. Alejandro Solarte allowed a hit, walked 1, and struck out 3 over 2 scoreless.

The GCL has every Sunday off.

DSL Astros Blue 14, DSL Rays 5

W- Albert Abreu (1-1)
L- Jose Disla (0-2)

Blue home runs: None.

The Blue team only had 8 hits, but they had 14 runs thanks in large part to 5 Rays errors. Also, an 11-0 lead after 3 innings helps as well.

Connor MacDonald opened the scoring with a 2-run double in the 1st. He would score on an error that allowed Joan Mauricio to reach.

The game was blown wide open in the 3rd as the Blue team put up 8 runs in the frame. Mauricio hit an RBI triple and came home on a single from Oliver Toribio, who scored on a fielder's choice/error. Andy Piñeda hit into a force out that scored Jose Benjamin. He scored on a force attempt, and 2 errors saw Rodrigo Ayarza reach 3rd. Ayarza would score on a Jonathan Matute groundout. After 2 walks, Mauricio added an RBI single, and MacDonald scored on a wild pitch.

Ayarza drew a bases-loaded walk in the 4th and Wander Franco grounded into a force out that scored Nestor Tejada. Piñeda hit an RBI groundout in the 8th for the Blue team's final run of the day. Mauricio (3B, 2 RBI) and MacDonald (2B, 2 RBI, 3 R) had 3-hit days. Jose Benjamin and Wander Franco scored 2 runs apiece.

Albert Abreu went 5 innings and allowed 4 runs on 5 hits (3-run homer), walked 5, and struck out 3. Juan Cuevas allowed a run on 4 hits in 2 innings. Luis Arias struck out 1 in a 1-2-3 8th, and Yan De La Cruz threw a 1-2-3 9th.

These two teams will play again at the Rays complex on Monday morning.

DSL Astros Orange 3, DSL Mets2 2

W- Adonis Peña (2-0)
L- Ramon Rodriguez (0-2)
S- Carlos Pizzolato (1)

Orange home runs: None.

Peña and Pizzolato held the Mets 2 to just 2 hits in a fine pitching performance.

Peña allowed an unearned run on a groundout, a single, walked 2, and struck out 3 in 5 innings. Pizzolato allowed a run on a force out, a single, walked 2, and fanned 1 in 4 innings.

Wilson Amador finished 4-4 with a double, an RBI single in the 6th, 2 runs scored, and stole 3 bases (12). He scored the first run of the game on an error in the 3rd and scored again on a triple from Marcos Almonte in the 5th. Gabriel Bracamonte was 2-3 with a double and a run scored. '

Both teams will continue this series Monday morning at the Astros complex.