Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Friday, May 8, and Saturday, May 9, 2015

First off, I would like to wish every mother a happy Mother's Day! This one goes out to all the mothers of Astros minor league players.

So, let's get crackin'. The last two days in the system have been quite fun... we had a walkoff win on Friday, and Quad Cities just continues to lay waste to their opponents.

Friday: Fresno 4, Tacoma 0

W- Richard Rodriguez (2-0)
L- Forrest Snow (1-2)
S- Darin Downs (1)

Fresno home runs: None.

A 3-run 8th inning provided some much-needed breathing room for the Grizz as they recorded their 2nd shutout of the season.

Brady Rodgers allowed 3 hits over 4.2 scoreless innings, walked 4, and struck out 4. Richard Rodriguez threw 3 scoreless, allowing 2 hits and striking out 2. Darin Downs got the 4-out save, retiring all 4 Rainiers he faced.

Domingo Santana broke a scoreless tie with an RBI single in the 4th. The score remained 1-0 until the 8th, when Alex Presley led off the inning with his 4th hit of the night. He would score on a Matt Dominguez single. Andrew Aplin laid down a bunt single, and on the ensuing error, Jon Singleton scored. Chan-Jong Moon drove in the final run of the evening with a sac fly. Presley finished a perfect 4-4 at the plate.

Saturday: Tacoma 8, Fresno 3

W- Mike Montgomery (3-2)
L- Tommy Shirley (3-1)

Fresno home runs: None.

The Grizzlies got pounded in a 4-inning span that saw them trail 8-1 after the 5th inning (this began in the 2nd inning).

Jon Singleton put Fresno on the board with an RBI single in the 4th inning. L.J. Hoes hit an RBI double in the 8th, and Alex Presley drove him in with a single. Presley finished 2-4; the top 3 of the order in Joe Sclafani, L.J. Hoes, and Alex Presley scored the 3 Fresno runs.

Tommy Shirley went 4 innings and allowed 5 runs on 7 hits (solo and 2-run homers) and struck out 2. Jonas Dufek went 3 innings and allowed 3 runs (all on a home run) on 4 hits and struck out 2. Jason Stoffel struck out 2 in a 1-2-3 8th inning. Tyson Perez worked around a hit to throw a scoreless 9th.

In game 3 of this series, Jake Buchanan takes the mound. First pitch is at 2:05 Pacific.

Friday: Midland 4, Corpus Christi 3

W- Ryan Dull (2-0)
L- Aaron West (0-2)
S- Tucker Healy (1)

CC home runs: None.

The Rockhounds spoiled the Hooks' bid to sweep the series as their bats woke up late. The Hooks made it a 1-run game in the bottom of the 9th, but their comeback bid was cut short.

Brandon Meredith put the Hooks on the board with an RBI groundout in the 4th. Tyler White put them in the lead with an RBI single in the 5th. Leo Heras added another RBI groundout that scored Teoscar Hernandez in the 9th. White and Jio Mier finished with 2 hits each.

Vince Velasquez made his long-awaited 2015 debut and was absolutely marvelous in his 5 innings. He allowed a run on 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 10. Midland got to Aaron West with 2 runs in the 8th inning. West went 3 innings and allowed 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 3. Juan Minaya allowed a run, a hit, and walked 2 in the 9th inning.

Saturday: Corpus Christi 11, San Antonio 1

W- Mark Appel (3-0)
L- Elliot Morris (1-2)
S- Kyle Westwood (3)

CC home runs: None.

The Hooks pounded out 16 hits as they swamped the Missions in the first edition of the I-37 Series in 2015. Everyone in the lineup had a hit as Tyler White and Teoscar Hernandez, who both went 3-5 with 2 runs scored, led the way. It's been a tough start for Teoscar; hopefully this game gets his bat out of the mudhole it's been stuck in all season. On the other hand, the door opened for Tyler White because of Colin Moran's injury, and he's busted that door down. White has recorded a hit in 13 of  the 16 games he's played this season.

Jio Mier put Corpus on the board first with a 2-run double in the 2nd inning. Things got out of hand in the 6th inning as the Hooks scored a touchdown in the inning.

Tyler White drove in the first run of the frame with an RBI single. Roberto Peña followed with an RBI single; an error allowed Jon Kemmer to score and Peña also advanced to 2nd. Leo Heras hit a 2-run single, and then Jio smacked an RBI triple. Carlos Correa, who scored the first run of the inning, ripped an RBI double. Oh, and uh... he's 15-15 in stolen base attempts this season. The Hooks finished it off with a pair of RBI singles from White and Teoscar in the top of the 9th.

Mark Appel and Kyle Westwood breezed through this game; together, they threw 96 pitches. Appel went 5 innings and allowed 8 hits (7 singles and a double), an unearned run, walked 1, and struck out 1. Westwood got the 4-inning save, allowing a hit and striking out 1 in the process.

Josh Hader will be on the mound this afternoon for the Hooks. He'll face Zack Segovia at 2:05.

Friday: Lancaster 7, Lake Elsinore 6 in 10 innings

W- Gonzalo Sañudo (2-0)
L- Genison Reyes (1-2)

Lancaster home runs: Jack Mayfield (2, solo in 2nd), James Ramsay (1, 2-run in 9th)

James Ramsay was the hero on Friday as he tied the game in the bottom of the 9th with his 1st homer of the season, and won it for the JetHawks with an RBI double in the first extra frame. He picked a fine time to get his first two hits of the evening.

The JetHawks got a pair of RBI doubles from A.J. Reed and Jose Fernandez in the 1st. Jack Mayfield's 2nd homer of the season led off the 2nd inning, and Fernandez reached on an error that allowed Reed to score in the 3rd. After Lancaster took the 4-2 lead into the 4th, the Storm struck back, putting up 2 in the 4th and the 5th to take a 6-4 lead, and it would stay that way heading into the bottom of the 9th. Mayfield walked to lead off the inning, and after Brian Holberton lined out to center, Ramsay stepped in and tied the game. They very nearly walked off with the win, as Danry Vásquez found himself 90 feet away from home after a J.D. Davis single. Reed was intentionally walked to load the bases, but Fernandez was unable to come through, striking out to end the inning. Holberton drew a 2-out walk, and one batter later, Ramsay ended it with the double.

Zach Morton was all over the place on Friday night; he allowed 4 runs on 5 hits, walked 6, and struck out 1 over 3.2 innings. Tyler Brunnemann skirted out of a bases-loaded situation to end the 4th, although he gave up a 2-run homer to Jeremy Baltz in the 5th. Bruno allowed 1 other hit and struck out 2 in 1.1 innings of work. Michael Feliz came on and threw 4 scoreless, allowing 3 hits and striking out 3. Gonzalo Sañudo worked around a hit to throw a scoreless 10th, striking out 1.

Saturday: Lancaster 3, Lake Elsinore 1

W- Joe Musgrove (1-0, 5-1 season)
L- Rafael De Paula (2-2)

Lancaster home runs: Danry Vásquez (1, solo in 6th)

In the rare low-scoring game at The Hangar, the two debuting pitchers, Bryan Radziewski and Joe Musgrove enjoyed stellar California League debuts. Actually.... I get the feeling that low-scoring games at The Hangar have become more common in recent years.

The southpaw, Radziewski, got the start and allowed an unearned run on 4 hits and struck out 5 over 5 innings. All Musgrove did in his 4 innings was allow a hit and strike out 6.

Danry finished a double shy of the cycle. He put the JetHawks on the board with an RBI triple in the 3rd inning, and then he put them in the lead with his 1st homer of the year in the 6th inning. James Ramsay brought in the final Lancaster run of the evening with a sac fly in the 7th. J.D. finished 2-4. Unfortunately, Jose Fernandez went 0-4, ending his hitting streak at 17 games.

The JetHawks look for the sweep as Troy Scribner takes the mound this afternoon. He'll take on Jake Lloyd at 2:00 Pacific.

Friday: Quad Cities 11, Wisconsin 6

W- Akeem Bostick (1-0)
L- David Burkhalter (0-3)

QC home runs: None.

The Timber Rattlers struck for 6 runs in the final 2 innings, but no matter, the River Bandits still extended their win streak to double digits.

Bryan Muniz got things started with an RBI single in the 1st, but the big blow in the inning came when Ryan Bottger cleared the bases with a double. Bobby Boyd finished 3-5 with a stolen base (5), 3 runs scored, and laid down a bunt single in the 5th. An error on the play allowed Kristian Trompiz to score, and Boyd advanced to 2nd. He eventually scored on a D.J. Fisher single. The Banditos put up a 5-spot in the 8th thanks to a 2-run single from Jason Martin, Boyd followed with an RBI single, and then Trompiz scored on another error. Nick Tanielu finished the scoring in that inning with a sac fly. Martin (2B, 2 RBI, R) and Trompiz (2B, 2 R) finished 2-4.

In his season debut, Akeem Bostick allowed a hit and struck out 1 over 5 shutout innings. Brandon McNitt, also making his season debut, went 3 innings and allowed 3 runs (all in the 8th) on 5 hits (solo and 2-run homers), walked 1, and struck out 2. Jose Montero allowed 3 unearned runs, a double, walked 2, and struck out 2 in the 9th.

Saturday: Quad Cities 6, Wisconsin 3

W- Austin Chrismon (4-1)
L- Milton Gomez (1-2)

QC home runs: Jake Nottingham (5, 3-run in 3rd)

11 in a row! This winning streak is "believed to be the longest" for the Quad Cities franchise since 1979. According to Wikipedia (I know... I know it's not always reliable), this would be the longest winning streak for a Quad Cities baseball team in the Midwest League era.

A pair of 3-run innings did the trick for the Banditos in this one, as did a huge night for The Sheriff, Jake Nottingham, who drove in 5 of their 6 runs. He put them on the board in the 3rd with a 3-run blast that also put them in the lead. In the 7th, Mott Hyde laid down an RBI bunt single, and two batters later, Nottingham struck again with a 2-run triple. In the end, Nottingham, Bobby Boyd (2 R), D.J. Fisher (2B, R), and Sean McMullen (2 singles) finished with 2 hits apiece.

Austin Chrismon allowed a run on 5 hits and struck out 5 over 5 innings. Reymin Guduan was the first man out of the bullpen; he allowed a run on a wild pitch in the 7th after he allowed a double to lead off the inning, and struck out 2. The Closer, Ryan Thompson, pitched the final 2 innings and allowed a run on 3 hits, walked 1, and fanned 3.

After a Sunday off, the River Bandits will get back to it on Monday, when they welcome Beloit to Modern Woodmen Park.