Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for the weekend of June 5-7, 2015

I had a tremendous amount of fun during Free Press Summer Fest 2015, which took place on Saturday and Sunday at Reliant Park, but now, it's back to reality.

Since there's a lot of games to cover, the format of these recaps will be a little bit different.

Fresno

The Grizzlies won the first 2 games of their series against Reno on Saturday and Sunday, while their series finale against Colorado Springs on Friday night was rained out. Since that was the final meeting between the Grizz and Sky Sox in the 2015 season, that game will not be made up.

On Saturday, Fresno scored 4 in the 6th to tie the game at 7, and scored 4 more in the 8th to take the lead, and eventually won 11-7. Jason Stoffel got the win in relief of Asher Wojciechowski; Stoffel allowed a hit and struck out 2 in the 8th. Tyler Heineman went 3-4 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Domingo Santana, Matt Duffy, and Carlos Correa also drove in 2 runs each.

The Grizz blew a 14-8 lead in the 9th inning, but they pulled themselves together and walked off with a 15-14 win on a wild Sunday. Both teams had a combined 29 runs and 32 hits as they pulled off their best Lancaster impressions.

Domingo was the only player in the Fresno lineup without a hit, but he got on base 3 times by way of 2 walks and a HBP and scored 3 runs. Max Stassi was the only player in the Fresno lineup who did not score a run; he hit 2 doubles in his 4 trips to the plate and drove in 3. Matt Dominguez hit a grand slam in the 5th inning (4), part of a 7-RBI night for him. Jose Veras, in his return to the Astros organization, allowed 2 hits in a scoreless 8th inning.

Carlos Correa, in his final 2 games at the AAA level, went 4-7 (2 hits in each game) with a double, 4 RBI (2 RBI each game), and 2 runs scored.

The Grizzlies kick off the post-Carlos Correa era as they continue their series with Reno tonight at 7:05 Pacific. Brady Rodgers gets the nod tonight; he'll face Caleb Clay.

Corpus Christi

The Hooks took 2 of 3 from the Arkansas Travelers this weekend. Both teams scored in 1 inning in each game. I don't recall seeing something like that before.

On Friday, Arkansas scored 4 in the top of the 7th to win 4-2. They finally got to Josh Hader, who had a fine performance otherwise. Hader allowed 3 runs (all inherited runners that were charged to him; only 1 run was earned) on 3 hits, walked 3, and struck out 3 over 6+ innings of work.

The Hooks' 2 runs came in the 4th. Colin Moran ripped an RBI double and later scored on an error. Tony Kemp had the other 2 Corpus hits.

Corpus got a measure of revenge on Saturday by walking off with a 3-2 win, scoring all 3 of their runs in the bottom of the 9th. Conrad Gregor hit the winner in the form of a 2-run single. Tyler White put them on the board with a sac fly earlier in the inning. Tony Kemp went 2-4 with a steal (15). Brian Holmes went 5.2 innings and allowed 2 runs on 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 6. Juan Minaya pitched 1.1 innings and allowed a hit while striking out 3. Jandel Gustave struck out 2 over 2 perfect innings.

Mike Hauschild was excellent as the Hooks won 3-1 on Sunday. He allowed a run on 8 hits (all singles) and struck out 2 over 7 innings. Travis Ballew wrapped it up with 2 scoreless, allowing a hit, walking 1, and striking out 2.

The Hooks' 3 runs on Sunday came in the 6th. Colin Moran hit an RBI single to tie the game. Jio Mier put them ahead with a sac fly, and Conrad Gregor added an RBI single. Gregor finished 2-4.

After a day off, the Hooks hit the road. First stop, Midland.

Lancaster

The JetHawks won on Saturday and Sunday to split their series with Rancho Cucamonga. They lost 4-1 on Friday, but responded with a 3-1 win on Saturday and blasted the Quakes 17-2 in the series finale on Sunday.

Their only run on Friday was a J.D. Davis solo shot, his 7th of the year. Troy Scribner went 5 innings and allowed 3 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits (solo homer), walked 3, and struck out 4. Adrian Houser pitched the final 4 innings and allowed an unearned run on 3 hits and struck out 2.

Joe Musgrove walked someone on Saturday. That was only the 2nd walk he's issued all season. He allowed a run on a wild pitch; the runner who scored had the only hit off of him: a double. Musgrove struck out 7 in 6 innings to run his K:BB ratio to 66:2. Or, in lowest terms, 33:1. Keegan Yuhl allowed a hit and fanned 2 over 1.2 scoreless, and Reymin Guduan shut it down, walking 1 and striking out 2 in 1.1 innings.

Jack Mayfield was the JetHawks offense on Saturday; he put the JetHawks on the board with a 2-run double in the 1st and cranked a solo shot (5) in the 4th.

Brett Phillips ripped his 10th home run of the year in Lancaster's 17-2 romp on Sunday. He drove in a career-high 6 runs. Mayfield finished 3-6 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Edison Frias had a solid night as he allowed a run on 3 hits, walked 3, and struck out 5 in 6.1 innings, lowering his ERA to 3.86.

The JetHawks are in Visalia tonight to begin a 3-game set. Dan Mengden gets the start at 6:00 Pacific.

Quad Cities

The River Bandits went 2-1 this weekend. They finished up their series in West Michigan with a 4-3 win on Friday and have moved on to South Bend. They lost 2-1 on Saturday but rallied for an 8-3 win on Sunday.

On Friday, the Banditos rallied for 3 in the final 2 innings to counter a 3-run 6th from the Whitecaps. Jake Nottingham opened the scoring in the 1st with an RBI single. Ryan Bottger tied the game with a 2-run single in the 8th, and Sean McMullen put the Bandits in front with an RBI double in the 9th.

Josh James allowed 3 runs (2 inherited runners charged to him) on 5 hits, walked 4, and struck out 5. Aaron Greenwood got through the 6th, but not before allowing the 2 runners he inherited from James to score. Angel Heredia pitched 3 scoreless, walking 2 and striking out 3.

They dropped their series opener with South Bend 2-1 on Saturday. Their only run in that game came on a Kristian Trompiz sac fly in the 4th. Francis Martes allowed 2 runs on 5 hits (solo homer), walked 2, and struck out 2 in 5 innings. Christian Powell allowed a hit, walked 2, and struck out 2 in 3 innings.

The Banditos rebounded to win 8-3 on Sunday as they used a pair of 3-run innings. Nick Tanielu ripped his 2nd homer of the season, a 3-run shot in the 3rd. The top 3 of Jason Martin, Jamie Ritchie, and Jake Nottingham all had 2-hit games. Ramon Laureano, after a bit of a slow start, looks to be getting himself going... he went 2-4 with a double and scored 2 runs.

Akeem Bostick got the win after tagging in as the 2nd starter. He went 4 innings and allowed a run on 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 6.

The River Bandits and Cubs conclude their series at 7:05 Eastern. Austin Chrismon will take on Tommy Thorpe.

DSL Astros Blue

The Blue team continued their hot start as they defeated the Royals 6-3 on Friday and walked off with a 6-5 win against the Rays on Saturday.

DSL Astros Orange

On the other hand, the Orange team is still searching for that elusive first win. They lost 11-3 to the Rangers 1 on Friday and walked off with a 3-2 loss in 11 innings to the Cardinals on Saturday.