Happy Minor League Opening Day, everyone! And what a way to open up the season with an organizational....
Fresno 2, Las Vegas 1
W- Jake Buchanan (1-0)
L- John Church (0-1)
Fresno home runs: None.
The reincarnated Tucson Toros came out on top in their first game as an Astros affiliate since 1997.
This game was scoreless until the bottom of the 6th, when Matt Duffy grounded into a force out that allowed Nolan Fontana to score. After the 51s tied the game at 1 in the top of the 7th, Matt Dominguez proceeded to untie it with an RBI double in the bottom half of the inning, and that was the difference. Jon Singleton finished 2-3.
Brad Peacock started things off with 4.2 scoreless. He didn't allow a hit, but he did hit someone and he also issued 5 walks, compared with just 2 strikeouts. Jordan Jankowski came on to finish off the 5th and he did so by striking out Matt Reynolds. Jake Buchanan took over from there, and he allowed a run on 2 hits and struck out 1 over 4 innings of work.
In the 2nd game of this series, Dan Straily will face Matt Bowman at 7:05 Pacific.
Corpus Christi 9, Springfield 4
W- Mitch Lambson (1-0)
L- Joey Donofrio (0-1)
S- Angel Báez (1)
CC home runs: Brandon Meredith (1, 3-run in 4th)
The Hooks had a 16-hit assault as they seized control of the game from the Cardinals in the middle stages of the game. All 9 of their runs were scored from the 4th-7th innings.
Brandon Meredith put Corpus on the board and in the lead with a 3-run shot in the 4th, the first home run in the Astros' minor league system for 2015. Conrad Gregor went 3-5 with 2 runs scored, and 1 of those 3 hits was an RBI single in the 5th. In the 6th inning, #1 himself, Carlos Correa, smacked a 2-run double. He'd come around to score on a Telvin Nash double. And finally, Tony Kemp finished 4-5 with a 2-run single in the 7th. He also scored a run, drew a walk, and stole a base. Meredith, Nash, Tyler Heineman, and Teoscar Hernandez all had 2 hits apiece; Heineman scored twice. Meredith didn't have a double, like the other three, but he does have the homer.
Kent Emanuel went 3.2 innings, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits, walking 2, and fanning 1. Mitch Lambson came on in relief and got the win as he held the Cardinals to just 1 hit over 2.1 scoreless frames. Angel Báez got the 3-inning save in his organizational debut; he allowed a run on 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 2.
In game 2, the team of Mark Appel and Kyle Westwood will take on Mike Mayers at 7:10.
Lancaster 3, San Jose 2
W- Edison Frias (1-0)
L- Jeff Soptic (0-1)
Lancaster home runs: None.
The JetHawks began their defense of their California League championship by walking off with the win. They had been trailing 2-0, but they scored the final 3 runs of this game. Danry Vásquez was the hero in this one as he blooped a ball over San Jose SS Christian Arroyo's head in the bottom of the 9th, and James Ramsay hustled home with the winning run. Ramsay scored 2 of Lancaster's 3 runs.
Lancaster tied the game at 2 in the bottom of the 7th on a safety squeeze from Chan-Jong Moon and an RBI single from Brett Phillips, who finished 2-5 and also had a triple. Chase McDonald smacked a couple of doubles in his 4 trips to the plate.
Brian Holmes went 3.1 innings and allowed a 2-run homer to Ryder Jones in the 4th inning, which turned out to be the only runs for the Giants. He allowed 5 other hits, walked 1, and struck out 6. Tyler Brunnemann allowed a hit and struck out 1 over 1.2 scoreless, and Edison Frias shackled the San Jose offense, allowing 2 hits and striking out 4 over 4 scoreless.
In game 2 of this season-opening 4-game set, Michael Feliz will face off against Chase Johnson at 6:30 Pacific.
Quad Cities 7, Peoria 3
W- Kevin Comer (1-0)
L- Fernando Báez (0-1)
QC home runs: Sean McMullen (1, 2-run in 8th)
The Chiefs put up 3 in the bottom of the 3rd to take a 3-1 lead, but the Banditos scored the game's final 6 runs as they opened up their 2015 campaign with a victory.
Kristian Trompiz doubled to lead off the 3rd, and one batter later, he scored the first run of the season on a wild pitch. Sean McMullen finished with 3 RBI; his first came on a sac fly in the 4th. QC got a pair in the 5th as Alex Hernandez hit a sac fly and Jake Nottingham was plunked with the bases loaded, which gave the River Bandits a 4-3 lead. McMullen provided some insurance in the top of the 8th as he smacked a 2-run homer. Jamie Ritchie finished 2-4 with a double and drove in the final run of the evening with an RBI single in the 9th. D.J. Fisher* went 1-2 with 3 walks and a stolen base.
Chris Lee got the nod on Opening Day and that 3-run 3rd put a damper on his final line. He allowed 3 runs on 4 hits, walked 3, and struck out 1 in 4 innings of work. Kevin Comer tagged in and got the win as he struck out 2 over 4 near-perfect innings; the only thing that went wrong for him was hitting Peoria DH Nick Thompson with a pitch in the 8th. The Closer, Ryan Thompson, worked around a double to finish it off, striking out 1.
Game 2 of this season-opening series pits Bryan Radziewski against Austin Gomber. First pitch is at 7:00.
*For a big-time Houston Rockets fan like me, the name "Derek Fisher" brings up some incredibly unpleasant memories. So, from here on out, I'll be calling him D.J. (Joseph is his middle name.)
If he's reading this, I hope he'll understand. Plus, as, D.J. Fisher, he'll fit right in with A.J. Reed and J.D. Davis!.
Three Stars: Position Players
Corpus sweeps the Three Stars for position players on this Opening Night.
3.
Conrad Gregor, 1B
3-5, RBI, 2 R
2.
Brandon Meredith, RF
2-4, 3-R HR (1)
1.
Tony Kemp, 2B
4-5, 2 RBI, R, BB, SB (1)
Three Stars: Pitchers
All three of these guys were outstanding on the mound after coming out of the bullpen, so it wouldn't really be fair for me to rank them. So, Mitch Lambson, Kevin Comer, and Edison Frias are all sharing the top spot.
Kevin Comer, RHP, Quad Cities
W (1-0), 4 IP, 2 K
Mitch Lambson, LHP, Corpus Christi
W (1-0), 2.1 IP, H
Edison Frias, RHP, Lancaster
W (1-0), 4 IP, 2 H, 4 K
There were some pretty solid performances from this first night of Minor League Baseball, but alas, I can only choose 3 standout performances for position players and pitchers. Here are a few other noteworthy highlights:
- Angel Báez made a pretty good first impression with his new organization.
- Although the 5 walks are definitely a minus, Brad Peacock still managed to keep Las Vegas off the scoreboard in both the run and the hit columns.
- Brett Phillips got off to a nice start with his triple and RBI single.
- Tyler Brunnemann pretty much picked up where he left off in the California League championship series.
- Jake Buchanan cruised through his 4 innings; he only needed 30 pitches!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.