Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Joe Musgrove is pretty good.

Fresno 8, Oklahoma City 1

W- Joe Musgrove (2-0, 4-1 season)
L- Logan Bawcom (1-2)

Fresno home runs: Andrew Aplin (2, 2-run in 8th)

Joe Musgrove dazzled again and the Grizzlies emphatically broke a scoreless tie with 6 runs in the 5th to take this matinee game.

Musgrove allowed a run on 5 hits and struck out 7 in his 7 innings, and he did not look as though he was out of his element going up against a fine (but rehabbing) Major League pitcher in Hyun-Jin Ryu. Jordan Jankowski struck out 4 over 2 perfect frames to finish it off.

Andrew Aplin opened the scoring, and the floodgates, with an RBI single in the 5th. He proceeded to steal 2nd and came around to score on a Danny Worth single. A.J. Reed and Preston Tucker chipped in with RBI singles of their own, and Tyler Heineman capped off the outburst with a 2-run triple. Aplin tacked on the 2-point conversion with a 2-run homer in the 8th. He finished 2-5 with 2 runs scored and the stolen base (8). Worth (RBI, R) and Big Tuck (2B, RBI, R) had 3 hits apiece

Brady Rodgers will take the mound as the Grizzlies look to sweep the series. He'll take on Julio Urias someone else, because Julio Urias was just called up by the Dodgers, at 7:05 Pacific.

Corpus Christi 2, Arkansas 1

W- Keegan Yuhl (3-1)
L- Victor Alcantara (1-2)
S- Brendan McCurry (9)

CC home runs: D.J. Fisher (9, solo in 1st), Carlos Gomez (1, solo in 5th)

Keegan Yuhl shined and Carlos Gomez had something resembling a sexy performance for once.

Rant: It's no secret that Carlos Gomez has been a massive disappointment since coming over from Milwaukee. But, reveling in his failure and making him the scapegoat for all of the Astros' shortcomings this season solves absolutely nothing. I had no problems with the trade; Jeff Luhnow felt that he needed to go out and get a veteran bat to help support a lineup with three up-and-coming stars in the core. The trade seemed to be the right idea at the time, but I highly doubt that anyone could have predicted that Carlos Gomez would fall as dramatically as he has. This trade definitely has not worked out the way the Astros had envisioned, and I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment.

But, a trade not working out does not mean that it was a bad trade. Trades can benefit both sides. For reasons that completely escape me, sports fans like to dwell on the pieces their team traded away, knowing full well that keeping them doesn't necessarily guarantee that they'll perform like they are with their new organizations. That, and the segment that whines about the front office not doing enough to help the major league team win usually has a field day about "oh, why didn't they go out and get so-and-so? He could've helped push this team over the hump!" It's not like the Astros have been the only team in sports history to be burned by trades.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't root for the prospects the Astros have traded away. But, I'd like to see a little more even coverage. I'm glad Vince Velasquez is doing extremely well in Philly. We'll hear a lot about the starts where he gave up 1 run in 8 innings, but you have to balance the good with the bad, as well. He's still a young pitcher, so he'll have a start where he gives up 6 runs in less than 3 innings. However, I usually don't see tweets about those kinds of starts....

I'll close my rant out with an unpopular take: I've seen a lot of people demanding that Carlos Gomez shut up and change his personality, because he's apparently not allowed to act like he normally does because he isn't contributing. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Carlos Gomez doesn't have to change his personality for anyone. And yes... asking him to "tone it down" also qualifies as asking him to change his personality. Criticizing him for his poor play is totally fair. Demanding that he change his personality because he's not allowed to act a certain way unless he performs well is completely out of line. It doesn't matter what type of celebrity a person is; fans have this weird obsession of wanting to dictate a celebrity's behavior.

Carlos Gomez has admitted that his play has hurt the Astros. You don't have to like him, but you can at least accept that he's accepting responsibility for his role in the team's underwhelming start to the season.

OK, rant over. Sorry about that. Back to your regularly scheduled recaps.

Keegan Yuhl turned in his best start of the year, scattering 4 hits, walking 1, and striking out 2 over 7 shutout innings. David Schmidt got 1 out in the 8th; he had an inherited runner charged to him on 2 hits and walked 1. Brendan McCurry got the 5-out save; he allowed a hit and struck out 2.

Both Hooks runs came on solo homers, which were their only extra-base hits on the night. D.J. Fisher opened up the scoring in the 1st with his 9th homer of the year, and Mr. Gomez smacked one in the 5th. He had a fine night in the field as well, throwing out 2 runners at home and another at 2nd base. Alex Bregman finished 3-4, while Teoscar Hernandez went 2-3.

The Hooks will try for the sweep as Kyle Smith gets the start. He'll face Troy Scribner at 7:05.

Stockton 16, Lancaster 7

W- Riley Gossett (4-1)
L- Elieser Hernandez (1-4)

Lancaster home runs: Drew Ferguson (4, inside-the-park solo in 7th)

The JetHawks were blasted early and often in this one.

The pitching staff largely struggled, and I'd like to leave it at that. Yeyfry Del Rosario was the first man out of the bullpen; he allowed 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 1 over 1.2 scoreless innings. Ryan Thompson, who was the 4th Lancaster pitcher to appear, allowed a solo homer to Mikey White, which was the only run that he allowed in 3.1 innings. He allowed two other hits, walked 1, and struck out 3. Richard Gonzalez, who is normally a catcher, worked around a hit and a walk to throw a scoreless 9th.

Lancaster finally got on the board in the 6th as Garrett Stubbs ripped an RBI double. In the 7th, Drew Ferguson lashed a liner to right field and dashed madly around the bases for an inside-the-park homer. They got 2 more in the inning as Jamie Ritchie scored on a passed ball and Jason Martin scored on a Luis Reynoso groundout. Ferguson added an RBI single to his ledger in the 8th, and later in the inning, Martin drove in 2 more with a double. Ferguson (HR, 2 RBI, 2 R) and Martin (2B, 2 RBI, R) both finished 2-4 and drove in 2.

Rogelio Armenteros will start the series finale. He'll go up against Brett Graves at 6:35 Pacific.

Quad Cities and Beloit was postponed

Due to rain. They'll play 2 starting at 4:30. Makay Nelson will face Evan Manarino in game 1, and Albert Abreu will take on Boomer Biegalski in the nightcap.

Four Stars (in Three)

3 (tie).

Jason Martin and Drew Ferguson, OFs, Lancaster

Martin: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R

Ferguson: 2-4, inside-the-park solo HR (4), 2 RBI, 2 R

2.

Joe Musgrove, RHP, Fresno

W (2-0, 4-1 season), 7 IP, 5 H, ER, 7 K

1.

Keegan Yuhl, RHP, Corpus Christi

W (3-1), 7 IP, 4 H, BB, 2 K

Honorable Mentions

Jordan Jankowski, RHP, Fresno: 2 IP, 4 K

- Jankowski has had a tough May, but if this is his last appearance of the month, he finished strong.

Yeyfry Del Rosario, RHP, Lancaster: 1.2 IP, 2 H, BB, K

Ryan Thompson, RHP, Lancaster: 3.1 IP, 3 H (solo HR), ER, BB, 3 K

Richard Gonzalez, C, Lancaster: IP, H, BB

- They did what they could to stop the bleeding.

Alex Bregman, SS/3B, Corpus Christi: 3-4

- Bregman is on a 5-game hitting streak. The Texas League is eagerly anticipating the day that he can no longer terrorize them.

Teoscar Hernandez, OF, Corpus Christi: 2-3

- Teoscar looks like he's figuring out the Texas League in his 2nd try. He lost some prospect luster with that tough 2015, but has rebounded nicely.

Brendan McCurry, RHP, Corpus Christi: Save (9), 1.2 IP, H, 2 K

- McCurry is just doing what he does. 

Preston Tucker, OF/DH, Fresno: 3-3, 2B, RBI, R

- Tucker's been in that post-optioned-to-AAA funk. Nice to see him snap out of that with a perfect day at the plate.

Andrew Aplin, OF, Fresno: 2-5, HR (2), 3 RBI, 2 R

- A fine day at the top of the order for Aplin, who is trying to get himself off the canvas on offense.