What the Heck, Bobby?: Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Friday, July 1, 2016

After two AAA games, Alex Bregman has demonstrated his proficiency at the level. #callamup

The Astros' lower-level affiliates continued their battle with the Rays on Friday. How did they fare?

Fresno 4, Salt Lake 1

W- Mike Hauschild (6-7)
L- Nate Smith (5-3)
S- James Hoyt (20)

Fresno home runs: Teoscar Hernandez (2, 8 season; solo in 2nd), Alex Bregman (1, 15 season; 2-run in 8th)

I think it might be safe to say that Teoscar Hernandez and Alex Bregman really like their new surroundings in the Pacific Coast League.

Mike Hauschild allowed a run on 3 hits, walked 4, and struck out 4 in 5 innings of work. Kevin Chapman was the first man out of the Fresno bullpen, and in 1.1 innings, he walked 2 and struck out 1. Reymin Guduan allowed a hit and got the second out of the 7th inning. Brendan McCurry recorded the final out of the 7th and threw a 1-2-3 8th inning; he got 3 groundball outs and a flyout. James Hoyt navigated through some traffic in the form of a hit and a walk to record his 20th save, striking out 2 in the 9th inning.

Tony Kemp led off the game with a single. He then stole 2nd base (6) and scored the first run of the evening on a single from Matt Duffy. Teoscar Hernandez led off the 2nd inning with a home run to put the Grizzlies up 2-0 at that point, and Alex Bregman whacked his first home run at the AAA level in the 8th inning, a 2-run blast to bring in the final runs of the evening. Duffy finished 2-3 on the night.

Tommy Shirley will start game 3 of this series. He'll face David Huff at 6:35 Mountain.

Springfield 11, Corpus Christi 1

W- Heath Wyatt (1-1)
L- Francis Martes (5-3)

CC home runs: None.

The Hooks' first series after the Texas League All-Star break has been forgettable, to say the least. Frustrations reached a boiling point in the 3rd when Hooks manager Rodney Linares was tossed.

Jack Mayfield finished 2-4; both of his hits were doubles, and the one he hit in the 8th inning was Corpus Christi's only scoring play. James Ramsay, who scored on Mayfield's 8th-inning double, also finished with 2 hits in the game.

Francis Martes went 2 innings and allowed 4 runs on 3 hits, walked 4, and struck out 5. Eric Peterson was the first man out of the Corpus Christi bullpen; he allowed a grand slam, 5 other hits, walked 1, and struck out 1 in 2 innings. Ryan Thompson pitched 3 innings and allowed 2 runs on 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4, and Albert Minnis allowed a run on 2 hits and struck out 2 in 2 innings.

Corpus will look to avoid the sweep as Evan Grills takes the mound. He'll face Luke Weaver at 7:05.

Lancaster 5, Lake Elsinore 1

W- Trent Thornton (4-4)
L- Brett Kennedy (2-6)

Lancaster home runs: None.

Trent Thornton shined on the mound, and the JetHawks have won the first 2 games of this series by a score of 5-1.

Thornton allowed a run on 5 hits and struck out a career-high 9 in 7 innings of work. Kevin McCanna's second California League outing went much smoother; he threw 2 perfect innings and got a strikeout.

Garrett Stubbs opened the scoring with an RBI double in the 3rd inning. Lancaster scored 3 in the 4th thanks to an RBI single from Aaron Mizell and a 2-run single from Tony Nuñez. Both teams scored a run in the 6th inning; the JetHawks' run came in the form of a sac fly from Bryan Muñiz. Everyone in the lineup got a hit; Nuñez (2 RBI, R), Brooks Marlow, and Ramon Laureano (BB, SB) had 2 hits apiece. Laureano also stole his 28th base of the season.

Rogelio Armenteros will start game 3 of this series. He'll take on Chris Huffman at 6:00 Pacific.

Quad Cities 5, Kane County 3

W- Justin Ferrell (4-4)
L- Drew Muren (0-4)

QC home runs; None.

The Banditos scored 4 in the top of the 9th to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Yes, the losing pitcher is the same Drew Muren who played in the Astros' system from 2011-13 as an outfielder.

Prior to the 9th, Quad Cities' only run came in the 5th when Myles Straw scored on an error. Pat Porter ignited that big 9th inning with a single. He advanced to 3rd on an error and scored on a Christian Correa single to tie the game at 2. Bobby Wernes ripped an RBI double to put the Banditos in front, and Straw capped off a huge night with a 2-run single, his 5th hit of the game. Straw, who also stole a base (10), was the only player on either side to record a multi-hit game, and he accounted for 31% of all the hits recorded in this game.

Matt Bower went 6 innings and allowed 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 11. The 11 strikeouts represents a new career high and is the 2nd time that he's recorded double-digit strikeouts in an appearance this season. At one point, he struck out 6 consecutive batters. Justin Ferrell pitched the final 3 innings and allowed a run on 2 hits and struck out 2.

In game 3 of this series, Franklin Perez will face Justin Donatella. First pitch is at 6:30.

Tri-City 5, Hudson Valley 3

W- Sebastian Kessay (1-0, 2-3 season)
L- Brock Burke (0-1)
S- Sean Stutzman (1)

TC home runs: Kevin Martir (1, 2-run in 7th)

The ValleyCats got a solid start from Sebastian Kessay as they took the first of 3 from the Renegades.

Daz Cameron hit a single with 1 out in the 1st inning, advanced to 3rd on a Ronnie Dawson single, and scored the game's first run on a wild pitch. Kevin Martir smacked an RBI double in the 2nd inning, and he clubbed a 2-run homer in the 7th. Stephen Wrenn provided a big insurance run with an RBI single in the 8th. Wrenn and Martir both finished 2-4.

Sebastian Kessay pitched 5.1 innings and allowed a run on 3 hits while striking out 7. Carlos Sierra allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and struck out 2 in an inning of work (2 outs in 6th, first out of 7th). Chris Cotton allowed 2 hits and struck out 1 over 1.2 scoreless, and Sean Stutzman struck out 1 in a 1-2-3 9th to get the save.

Edgardo Sandoval will start game 2 of this series. First pitch is 7:05 Eastern.

Greeneville 5, Princeton 2

W- Ricardo Castro (1-0)
L- Jose Disla (0-2)
S- Abdiel Saldaña (1)

Greeneville home runs: Miguelangel Sierra (3, solo in 7th)

The Appy Astros got their first series win of the season as Ricardo Castro and Abdiel Saldaña combined on a 3-hitter.

The two runs that Castro allowed in his 6 innings both came on solo home runs. He allowed one other hit, walked 1, and struck out 3. Saldaña walked 1 and struck out 4 over the final 3 innings to record the save.

Bryan De La Curz scored Greeneville's first run when he came home on a Chaz Pal groundout in the 2nd inning. Ray Henderson followed with an RBI single to put them in the lead. De La Cruz ripped a 2-run triple in the 3rd inning, and Miguelangel Sierra clubbed a solo home run in the 7th inning to cap off the scoring. Tyler Wolfe finished 3-5 with a run scored and a stolen base (1), and Jonathan Arauz went 2-4 with a run scored.

Tonight, Greeneville will begin a 4-game series with Kingsport. For some reason, the first three games of this series will take place in Greeneville, and the finale will be in Kingsport. Framber Valdez will start game 1, and he'll take on Adonis Uceta at 6:00 Eastern.

GCL Mets 12, GCL Astros 3

W- Yeudy Colon (1-0)
L- Enoli Paredes (0-2)

GCL home runs: None.

The Kissimmee Stros scored first, but the Mets closed the game on a 12-1 run.

Juan Piñeda finished 2-3 and opened up the scoring with a 2-run single in the 2nd inning. Troy Sieber also finished 2-3; he doubled in the 2nd and scored on Piñeda's single. He also hit an RBI single in the 5th inning.

The pitchers struggled, and I'll leave it at that. Luis Vásquez walked 1 and struck out 1 in 1.1 innings; he was the only GCL pitcher with a scoreless outing.

The Kissimmee Stros are currently playing the Marlins.

DSL Astros Blue 5, DSL Rays1 1

W- Edwin Fidel (1-0)
L- Jose Zerpa (0-3)

Blue home runs: None.

The Blue team got a fine outing from Edwin Fidel, who dominated the Rays 1 in his 5 innings. He allowed just 1 hit, walked 2, and struck out 3. Yulian Frontado allowed a run on 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 1 in 3 innings, and Yeremi Ceballos worked around a hit to throw a scoreless 9th, striking out 1.

Angel De Leon opened the scoring with an RBI single in the 4th inning. Alfredo Angarita whacked a 2-run triple in the 5th, and in the 8th, Jose Benjamin hit an RBI single and Nicolás Miranda scored on a wild pitch. Benjamin (RBI, R, 2 SB) and César Cortez both finished with 2 hits on the day.

The Blue team is taking on the A's today.

DSL Astros Orange 3, DSL Rays2 2 in 13 innings

W- Gabriel Pirela (2-0)
L- Enyerbeth Lugo (1-1)
S- Carlos Espinoza (3)

Orange home runs: Anthony Rodriguez (2, 2-run in 9th)

With the Orange team down to its final two outs, Anthony Rodriguez tied the game with a 2-run home run in the top of the 9th to force extra innings. Jose Abel Hernandez was hit by a pitch in the 13th inning, and a wild pitch allowed him to advance to 2nd. He scored the go-ahead run on another wild pitch that struck out Gerry Castillo.

Gerardo Bojorquez allowed a solo homer to Sabriel Polanco in the 1st, which was the only run he allowed in 4 innings. He allowed one other hit, walked 1, and struck out 4. Francisco Villegas also went 4 innings; he allowed a run on a sac fly in the 8th, a triple that preceded the sac fly, and struck out 5. Willy Collado was next; he allowed a hit, walked 1, and struck out 1 over 2 scoreless. Gabriel Pirela walked 1 and struck out 4 over 2 scoreless, and Carlos Espinoza worked around a walk to close out the game, striking out 1.

The Orange team faced the Phillies 2 today.

Friday's Stars

Edwin Fidel, RHP, DSL Astros Blue: W (1-0), 5 IP, H, 2 BB, 3 K