What the Heck, Bobby?: Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Thursday, July 21, 2016

Round Rock 3, Fresno 0

W- Michael Roth (8-3)
L- Tommy Shirley (7-7)
S- Andrew Faulkner (3)

Fresno home runs: None.

There was only one scoring play in this game, and it did not belong to the Grizzlies. Fresno only had two hits in this game, and they both belonged to Tony Kemp.

Tommy Shirley went 2.1 innings and allowed a 3-run home run to Joey Gallo in the 3rd, 5 other hits, walked 4, and struck out 3. Brendan McCurry was the first man out of the Grizzlies bullpen; he walked 1 and struck out 5 over 2.2 scoreless. Jandel Gustave allowed a hit and fanned 2 in 2 scoreless innings, and Jordan Jankowski struck out the side in order in the 8th inning.

The Grizzlies will return home, with Alex Bregman still with the club, to begin a 4-game series with Albuquerque tonight at 7:05 Pacific. Mike Hauschild will take on Kyle Freeland.

I'm not thrilled that Alex Bregman isn't a Houston Astro yet, especially when this is an ideal time to have him up. But... I strongly suspect that the Astros front office knows what they're doing. They do a pretty good job at testing whether we can delay our gratification, and I admit that there are times (see: George Springer flirting with 40-40 in the minors in 2013) where I have failed badly at this. He'll be in the Majors this year. Just..... not at this moment.

Frisco 7, Corpus Christi 6 in 10 innings

W- John Fasola (3-1)
L- Chris Cotton (1-1)

CC home runs: J.D. Davis (15, 2-run in 3rd), Roberto Peña (8, 2-run in 8th)

The Roughriders tied the game with a run in the 9th and went ahead with a run in the first extra frame.

Mott Hyde put Corpus on the board with an RBI single in the 2nd inning. J.D. Davis clubbed a 2-run home run in the 3rd to put them in the lead, and Nolan Fontana added an RBI single in the 4th. Roberto Peña responded to Frisco's 4-run 7th inning with a 2-run home run in the 8th that put the Hooks back in front. Six players finished with two hits in this game, including Davis, Fontana, and Hyde.

Evan Grills went 6.1 innings and allowed 5 runs on 7 hits (2 solo homers) and struck out 6. Kyle Smith tagged in to throw 2 innings, allowing a run on 2 hits, walking 1, and striking out 1. Chris Cotton allowed a run on 2 hits and walked 1 in 1.2 innings.

Edison Frias will start game 2 of this series. He'll take on Scott Carroll at 7:05.

Lancaster 9, High Desert 8 in 11 innings

W- Kevin Comer (2-2)
L- Felix Carvallo (6-2)

Lancaster home runs; Bryan Muñiz (9, solo in 2nd), Aaron Mizell (4, 6 season; solo in 8th), Drew Ferguson 2 (7; solo in 8th, walk-off 2-run in 11th)

The Astros' affiliates dropped 2 of 3 from the Rangers' affiliates on Thursday, but the one win came in walk-off fashion. The JetHawks erased a 7-2 deficit by finishing the game on a 7-1 run, scoring 2 in the 8th and the 9th to force extras and winning the game with Drew Ferguson's 2-run home run in the bottom of the 11th.

Bryan Muñiz's solo home run in the 2nd put Lancaster on the board. Drew Ferguson drew a bases-loaded walk in the 4th, and Aaron Mizell scored on an error following a Johnny Sewald single in the 6th inning. Mizell and Ferguson led off the 8th with solo home runs, and then in the 9th, Mizell tied the game with a 2-out, 2-run double. The Mavs re-took the lead with a run in the 11th, but in the bottom of the inning, Ferguson sent the crowd at The Hangar home happy by sending a ball into the warm Antelope Valley night for a 2-run home run, his second of the evening. He finished 3-4 in the game. Mizell finished 2-6 with 3 RBI and scored twice, and Sewald and Tony Nuñez went 2-6 from the top of the order.

Rogelio Armenteros went 5 innings and allowed 4 runs (2 inherited runners charged to him) on 6 hits (solo homer), walked 4, and struck out 7. Jacob Dorris was the first man out of the JetHawks bullpen, and he took ownership of the 6th inning. It was a rare off night for Dorris as he allowed 3 runs of his own in addition to allowing both of Armenteros' runners to score. His 3 runs all scored on a home run. Dorris allowed 4 other hits in his outing. Scott Weathersby stopped the bleeding with 3.2 scoreless innings; he allowed 3 hits and fanned 3. Kevin Comer pitched 1.1 innings and allowed a run on 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 2.

In game 2 of this series, Dean Deetz will start against David Ledbetter. First pitch is at 6:35 Pacific.

Quad Cities 12, Dayton 4

W- Matt Bower (4-0, 6-3 season)
L- Ty Boyles (2-6)

QC home runs: Anthony Hermelyn (3, 3-run in 2nd), Pat Porter (5, solo in 5th)

Quad Cities saw their lead whittled down to one run, thanks to a 3-run 6th from the Dragons, but they responded with 3 of their own in the bottom of the 6th and put this game away with a 4-run 8th inning.

Anthony Hermelyn's 3-run home run in the 2nd inning put the Banditos on the board and in the lead. Myles Straw hit a single in the 4th, and on the ensuing error, Randy César scored. Pat Porter whacked a solo homer in the 5th inning.

César, Hermelyn, and Myles Straw led off the 6th by singling to load the bases. Kristian Trompiz grounded into a force out that erased Straw at 2nd base, but an error allowed César and Hermelyn to score. Trompiz, who advanced to 2nd on the gaffe, stole 3rd and scored on a Kyle Tucker sacrifice fly. Trompiz reached on another error in the 8th and scored on a triple from Hector Roa. Arturo Michelena followed with a 2-run double, and Connor Goedert capped off the scoring with an RBI single.

César finished 3-5 and scored 3 runs in his Midwest League debut. Hermelyn (3-R HR, 2 R), Roa (2B, 3B, RBI, R), Porter (solo HR, 2 R), and Goedert (RBI, R) all had 2 hits in this game.

Matt Bower went 6 innings and allowed 4 runs on 4 hits (3-run homer), walked 2, and struck out 11. He is the second pitcher in the Astros system to reach the 100-strikeout plateau this season. Adam Whitt allowed a hit and fanned 3 over 2 scoreless innings, and Makay Nelson walked 1 and struck out 2 in the 9th inning.

Elieser Hernandez will take the mound as the Banditos look for the sweep. He'll face Austin Orewiler, a Galveston native and Rice product, at 7:00.

Staten Island 6, Tri-City 5

W- Taylor Widener (2-0)
L- Kevin Hill (0-2)
S- Brooks Kriske (3)

TC home runs: Jake Rogers (2, solo in 2nd)

The ValleyCats' comeback bid fell one run short.

Taylor Jones drove in Tri-City's first run with a groundout in the 2nd inning. Jake Rogers followed by launching a solo homer. Alex De Goti followed Rogers' blast with a single and was able to make it to 2nd base on an error. De Goti then stole 3rd (7) and scored on a wild pitch. Ronnie Dawson ripped an RBI double in the 3rd inning. De Goti hit a one-out single in the 9th and made his way to 3rd, thanks to a couple of wild pitches. Rodrigo Ayarza, who was batting at the time, walked, and Ryne Birk brought De Goti home with a sac fly. Unfortunately, Ayarza was left at first base to end the game. De Goti (2 R) and Carmen Benedetti (2B) both finished 2-4.

Dustin Hunt went 1.2 innings and allowed a 3-run home run to Timmy Robinson in the 1st, which was the only hit that he allowed. He walked 2 and struck out 1. Ryan Hartman tagged in for 3.1 innings and allowed an unearned run on 2 hits, walked 1, and fanned 6. Kevin Hill allowed 2 runs on 4 hits (solo homer), walked 1, and struck out 2 in 1.2 innings, and Juan Carlos Santos allowed a hit and struck out 1 in 1.1 innings.

Game 2 of this series starts at 7:00 Eastern.

Greeneville 6, Johnson City 1

W- Diogenes Almengo (1-1)
L- Austin Sexton (0-1)
S- Angelo Serrano (1)

Greeneville home runs: Chaz Pal (2, 3-run in 6th)

The Appy Astros avoided the sweep thanks to a big home run that gave them a little more breathing room on the scoreboard.

Jonathan Arauz opened the scoring in the 2nd inning with an RBI double. Chaz Pal got plunked to lead off the 5th, advanced to 3rd on an errant pickoff throw, and scored on a Vicente Sanchez single. Pal got his revenge in the 6th as he whacked a 3-run home run to extend Greeneville's lead to 5-1. Troy Sieber capped off the scoring in the 7th by ripping an RBI double.

Sieber (2B, RBI, 2 BB), Arauz (2B, RBI), Pal (2B, 3-R HR, 2 R), and Gabriel Bracamonte (2 R) all finished with 2 hits apiece in this game.

Diogenes Almengo allowed a solo homer to Bryce Denton in the 5th which accounted for Johnson City's only run. In 5 innings, Almengo allowed 2 other hits, walked 2, and struck out 2. Patrick Sandoval tagged in for 3.1 innings, allowing 4 hits, walking 4, and striking out 1. Angelo Serrano inherited a bases-loaded situation from Sandoval in the 9th, but he was able to record the final two outs of the game, thwarting the Cardinals' comeback bid.

Nathan Thompson will start for the Appy Astros tonight as they get set to start a 3-game series with Bristol. First pitch is at 7:00 Eastern.

GCL Astros 4, GCL Mets 0 (play suspended)

This game will be completed on July 26.

DSL Athletics 2, DSL Astros Blue 1

W- Jhenderson Hurtado (2-1)
L- Javier Navas (1-1)
S- Jean Ruiz (1)

Blue home runs: None.

Well, the Blue team was left to rue some missed opportunities on offense in this one; they were 0-11 with runners in scoring position.

Angel Tejeda's RBI single in the 7th was their only scoring play. He and Nicolás Miranda had 2 hits apiece.

Javier Navas allowed a run on 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4. Angel Matos allowed a run on a force out, walked 2, and struck out 1 in the 6th, and Juan Corniel allowed a hit over 2 scoreless.

DSL Astros Orange 4, DSL Red Sox2 3

W- Asael Uribe (2-2)
L- Joan Martinez (0-1)
S- Yohan Ramirez (1)

Orange home runs: None.

The Orange team made it two in a row over the Red Sox 2.

Both teams scored 2 runs in the 6th inning; the Orange team's two runs came on an RBI single from Hector Martinez and an Anthony Rodriguez RBI double. In the 8th, Ronaldo Urdaneta scored on a wild pitch, and Martinez scored on an errant pickoff throw. Martinez finished 2-3 in this one.

Junior Garcia allowed 3 hits and struck out 3 over 3 scoreless. Miguel Matos went 2 innings, walking 4 and striking out 2. Asael Uribe went 3 innings and allowed 2 runs (1 earned), a single, walked 3, and struck out 3. Yohan Ramirez allowed a run on 2 hits and struck out 1 in the 9th.

Thursday's Stars