Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Sunday, July 19, 2015

Let's play 2 in Fresno!

But first... the medal games from the Pan Am Games.

In the bronze medal game, Cuba walked off with a 7-6 win over Puerto Rico after walking off with 4 in the bottom of the 9th. Roberto Peña played 1B for Puerto Rico and went 0-4 with a strikeout.

The gold medal game was a doozy as Canada topped the United States 7-6 in 10 innings. Apparently, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America, extra innings in international play stipulate that each half-inning starts with runners on 1st and 2nd. Yes, seriously. Canada won the gold thanks to an errant pickoff throw that was recovered, and thrown away once again in the bottom of the 10th. Yes, seriously. The ball was recovered again, but winning run scored as the throw to home was dropped by the catcher, Tom Murphy.

Josh Hader got the start for Team USA and allowed 3 runs (all on a 3-run homer) on 3 hits, walked 2, and struck out 4 in 4 innings.

Game 1: El Paso 7, Fresno 1

W- Colin Rea (1-0)
L- Mark Appel (1-2, 6-3 season)
S- Frank Garces (1)

Fresno home runs: None.

The Chihuahuas busted out with 4 runs in the 4th to run away with this one.

Joe Sclafani hit an RBI single in the 4th, and Tony Kemp finished 2-4.

Mark Appel went 4 innings and allowed 5 runs (4 earned) on 5 hits (2 2-run homers), walked 2, and struck out 3. Jose Veras, Jason Stoffel, and Jordan Jankowski each pitched 1 inning. Veras worked around a hit to throw a scoreless 5th, striking out 1. Stoffel threw a 1-2-3 6th, but he had 2 inherited runners charged to him after he loaded the bases with nobody out to begin the 7th. He allowed a hit, walked 2, and struck out 1. The 7th became Jankowski's inning; he walked 2 and struck out 2.

Game 2: El Paso 7, Fresno 1

W- Daniel McCutchen (5-5)
L- Luis Cruz (5-5)

Fresno home runs: Matt Duffy (12, solo in 7th)

Yeah, not the Grizzlies' night.

Matt Duffy's solo shot in the 7th was their only run.

Luis Cruz allowed 3 runs (2 earned, 2 inherited runners charged to him) on 5 hits (solo homer), walked 1, and struck out 2. Jake Buchanan, Kevin Chapman, and Tyson Perez each pitched an inning. Buchanan allowed 3 runs on 3 hits (grand slam; 1 run was charged to Cruz) in the 5th. Chapman allowed a hit in the 6th, and Perez allowed a run on 2 hits and struck out 2 in the 7th.

The Grizzlies will hit the road. First stop, Las Vegas. Brett Oberholtzer will take on Luis Cessa at 7:05 Pacific.

Corpus Christi 9, Midland 4

W- Kyle Westwood (7-3)
L- Jake Sanches (7-6)

CC home runs: Conrad Gregor (7, 3-run in 1st)

The Hooks stormed out to a 9-1 lead after the 3rd inning and aside from a speed bump in the 6th, had a rather smooth ride to the win.

Kyle Westwood went the distance for the 2nd time this season. Well, his first complete game was 7 innings as it was part of a doubleheader. In this outing, he needed 102 pitches (77 strikes) to do so. Westwood allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 7 hits, walked 2, and struck out 6.

Corpus scored 5 in the 1st, so they had a pretty good start. A.J. Reed opened up the scoring with an RBI double, and Jon Kemmer added a sac fly. The big hit of the inning came off the bat of Conrad Gregor, who ripped a 3-run homer. Colin Moran hit an RBI single in the 2nd and followed that up with a 2-run single in the 3rd. Prior to Moran's 2-run single, Brett Phillips added an RBI single of his own.

Moran finished 3-4, while Phillips (RBI, 2 R), Reed (2B, RBI, R), and Gregor (3-R HR, 2 R) had 2 hits apiece. Reed was not feeling well, so he left the game in the 3rd inning, which immediately sparked trade speculation.

The Hooks have yet to announce a starter for tonight's game. Whoever he is, he'll take on Dillon Overton at 7:05.

San Jose 3, Lancaster 2


W- Chase Johnson (6-3)
L- Austin Chrismon (3-2, 7-3 season)
S- Dan Slania (14)

Lancaster home runs: D.J. Fisher (10, 16 season; solo in 4th)

The JetHawks dropped a tight one.

D.J. Fisher finished 2-4, and his solo homer in the 4th put Lancaster on the board. Jake Nottingham hit an RBI single in the 9th to cut the deficit to 1. Fisher scored both of the JetHawks' runs.

Kevin Comer allowed a run on 4 hits and fanned 6 in 5 innings of work. Austin Chrismon allowed 2 runs on 3 hits (solo homer) and struck out 2 over the final 3 innings.

In game 3 of this series, Dan Mengden will take on Jose Reyes at 7:00 Eastern.

Quad Cities 5, Cedar Rapids 1

W- David Paulino (2-2, 3-2 season)
L- Luke Westphal (1-2)
S- Ryan Thompson (4)

After the Kernels made it a 1-run game in the 8th, the Banditos put them away with 3 in the bottom of the inning.

Ramon Laureano walked to lead off the bottom of the 2nd. He then stole 2nd base (9) and advanced to 3rd on the errant throw down. Jason Martin brought him home with a groundout to put Quad Cities on the board. Kristian Trompiz hit a 1-out triple in the 6th and scored on an RBI double from Alex Bregman. Nick Tanielu delivered a crucial hit in the 8th when he cleared the bases with a double, giving the Banditos the cushion they needed. Trompiz went 2-2 with the triple and 2 runs scored at the bottom of the order.

David Paulino was excellent as he allowed just 4 hits and struck out 7 over 7 shutout innings. Riley Ferrell allowed a run, a single, walked 4, and struck out 1 in 1.1 innings. He left 2 runners on for The Closer, Ryan Thompson, who finished the game without incident.

Elieser Hernandez will make his first start as a River Bandit in the series finale. First pitch is at 1:00.

Tri-City and Aberdeen was postponed

Due to rain. A doubleheader is just getting started.

Greeneville 7, Kingsport 2


W- Devonte German (2-1)
L- Darwin Ramos (2-1)

Greeneville home runs; Hector Roa (4, 2-run in 8th)

The Appy Astros took the series as they scored 2 in the 6th and 2 in the 8th to create some separation between them and the K-Mets.

Erasmo Pinales allowed 2 runs on 4 hits and struck out 3 in 4.2 innings. Juan Delis got the final out of the 5th. Devonte German allowed a hit, walked 3, and struck out 1 over 3 scoreless, and in his Appalachian League debut, Lachlan Madden worked around a walk to throw a scoreless 9th.

Luis Payano opened the scoring with an RBI single in the 2nd. Later, a wild pitch allowed Randy Cesar to score, and Myles Straw hit a sac fly. Payano struck again in the 6th as he smacked a 2-run double, and Hector Roa capped it off with a 2-run shot, his 4th of the year. Payano and Roa both finished 2-4.

The Appy Astros will look for the sweep as Ryan Deemes takes on Harol Gonzalez. First pitch is at 7:00 Eastern.