What the Heck, Bobby?: Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Friday, May 5, 2017

Fresno 5, Sacramento 1

W- Trent Thornton (1-0, 2-2 season)
L- Dan Slania (0-4)

Fresno home runs: Preston Tucker (5, 2-run in 5th)

The Grizzlies earned the split behind a strong outing from Trent Thornton, who won his first AAA start.

Thornton allowed 4 hits, walked 1, and struck out 6 over 6 shutout frames. Tyson Perez, Ashur Tolliver, and Jordan Jankowski each pitched an inning out of the bullpen. The RiverCats spoiled the shutout with a run off of Perez in the 7th, which came on a sac fly. Perez also allowed a single and walked 1. Tolliver retired the side in order in the 8th inning, striking out 1. Jankowski worked around a couple of singles to finish off the game, striking out 2.

D.J. Fisher singled to lead off the 2nd and scored the first run of the night on a Tyler White double. A.J. Reed clubbed a ground-rule double to lead off the 4th and scored on Juan Centeno's sac fly, and Preston Tucker launched a 2-run homer in the 5th. Fisher and White both finished 3-4; Fisher now has a 10-game hit streak. Reed and Centeno had two hits apiece.

Tonight, Fresno starts a 4-game series in Colorado Springs. Mike Hauschild will be on the mound in game 1 and he'll go up against Paolo Espino at 6:00 Mountain.

Midland 10, Corpus Christi 4

W- Kyle Friedrichs (1-3)
L- Akeem Bostick (0-1, 3-2 season)

CC home runs: None.

The Hooks were swept out of Midland as the wheels fell off on their bullpen.

Kyle Smith allowed 2 runs on 3 hits, walked 2, and struck out 3 in 5 innings of work. Akeem Bostick came out for the 6th, but he allowed 2 hits, issued a walk, and only recorded one out before a hand issue forced him out of the game. Eric Peterson came on and allowed all of Bostick's runners to score. Peterson ultimately pitched 2 innings and allowed 5 runs (4 earned, 1 inherited runner charged to him) of his own on 7 hits. Andrew Thome got the last two outs of the 8th; the runner that he inherited from Peterson scored on a groundout.

Jon Singleton opened the scoring with an RBI double in the 1st. In the 4th, Alejandro Garcia lashed a 2-run double, and Tony Nuñez smacked an RBI triple in the 5th. Nuñez went 2-3 and was the only player in the Corpus Christi lineup with a multi-hit outing. Garrett Stubbs only had one plate appearance and didn't complete it because he got tossed from the game in the opening frame.

Kent Emanuel will be on the mound as the Hooks begin the latest iteration of the I-37 Series against San Antonio. He'll face Brett Kennedy at 7:05.

Myrtle Beach 4, Buies Creek 2

W- Dillon Maples (4-0)
L- Elieser Hernandez (2-3)
S- Craig Brooks (2)

BC home runs: Ryne Birk (2, solo in 2nd)

The difference in this game was a 3-run 3rd inning in the Pelicans' favor. The Astros couldn't capitalize on a bases-loaded, no out situation in the 7th inning.

Ryne Birk smacked a solo homer in the 2nd to put Buies Creek on the board first. Jason Martin scored the other run after Anthony Hermelyn grounded into a force out in the 6th inning. Myles Straw finished 2-4 with a double.

Elieser Hernandez went 5 innings and allowed 4 runs (1 inherited runner charged to him) on 4 hits (solo homer), walked 3, and struck out 6. Carlos Sierra pitched the final 3 innings and allowed 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 5; one of the two runners he inherited from Hernandez scored after he threw a wild pitch.

In game 3, Justin Ferrell will face Oscar De La Cruz. First pitch is at 7:05 Eastern.

Quad Cities 6, Lake County 2

W- Cionel Perez (1-1)
L- Brady Aiken (0-5)

QC home runs: None.

Cionel Perez rebounded from a rough debut and came out with a win for the first time in his American baseball career.

Cionel allowed just 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 7 over 5.2 shutout innings. Lake County spoiled the shutout with a pair of solo shots off Abdiel Saldaña in the 7th. Those were the only two runs that Saldaña allowed in his 2.1 innings of work; he allowed one other hit, walked 1, and struck out 3. Erasmo Pinales walked 1 and struck out the side in the 9th.

Marcos Almonte doubled to lead off the 2nd and scored the first run of the evening on a wild pitch from Brady Aiken. Randy César ripped a 2-run double in the 3rd. Spencer Johnson lashed a 2-run double of his own in the 6th and scored the last Quad Cities run on a Carmen Benedetti sac fly. Almonte went 2-4 with 2 runs scored and was the only player on either side to finish with more than one hit.

Forrest Whitley takes the mound in game 2 of this series. He'll take on... someone else. Shane Bieber is listed as the probable starter on MiLB.com, but he was just promoted. First pitch is at 6:35.

Friday's Stars

All photos are from Jayne unless stated otherwise.