What the Heck, Bobby?: Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Appy Astros sweep!

Fresno 6, Albuquerque 3

W- Kyle Smith (1-0, 3-1 season)
L- Matt Flemer (2-6)
S- Tyson Perez (3)

Fresno home runs: D.J. Fisher (17, 3-run in 1st), Tyler White (12, solo in 5th)

Charlie Morton had a very nice outing as he continues to work his way back to full strength.

Morton allowed 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 2 over 4 scoreless innings. Kyle Smith got the next 4 innings and did alright until he ran into trouble in the 8th. He allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 8 hits and struck out 1. Tyson Perez struck out 1 in a 1-2-3 9th for the save.

The Tacos got a 3-run blast from D.J. Fisher (17) in the opening frame and got 1 each in the 4th, 5th, and the 6th to come away with the victory. Reid Brignac smacked an RBI triple in the 4th, Tyler White launched a solo homer in the 5th, and Preston Tucker brought in Fresno's final run of the night with an RBI single in the 6th. Brignac (3B, RBI), Tony Kemp (2B, R), and Colin Moran (2B) turned in 2-hit performances.

Trent Thornton will take on Barry Enright in game 3 of this series. First pitch is at 7:05 Pacific.

Texas League All-Star Game

The South All-Stars erupted for 7 runs in the 4th to run away with a 10-3 win.

Drew Ferguson started in RF and went 2-3 with 2 walks and scored a run out of the leadoff spot. J.D. Davis got the start at 3B and went 2-4 with a 2-run single in that massive 4th inning. Jon Singleton went 0-4 as the starting 1B, and Garrett Stubbs, who started at catcher, hit a bases-clearing triple in the 4th and scored twice.

Rogelio Armenteros got the start and allowed a 2-run homer to Chuck Taylor, one of 3 hits that he allowed in the 1st inning. He struck out 2.

Corpus Christi returns to action on Thursday in Northwest Arkansas.

Carolina 6, Buies Creek 5 in 15 innings

W- Eric Hanhold (5-2)
L- Sebastian Kessay (4-2)
S- Quintin Torres-Costa (1)

BC home runs: Alex De Goti (1, 4 season; solo in 3rd), Stephen Wrenn (1, 4 season; 2-run in 9th)

Stephen Wrenn smacked a 2-run homer to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th and that's how the game remained until the Mudcats broke through with a run in the 15th.

Both teams scored 2 runs in the 3rd; Buies Creek got theirs on an Alex De Goti solo blast, and then Myles Straw followed with a triple and walked home after a balk was called. Straw, who finished 3-7 with a stolen base (18), added an RBI single to his ledger in the 8th. Wrenn connected for his first Carolina League homer to tie the game with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th. Jake Rogers finished 2-4 with a double and scored on Wrenn's homer.

Matt Bower went 2.2 innings and allowed 2 runs on 3 hits, walked 3, and struck out 2. Howie Brey was the first man out of the Carolina Stros bullpen and threw 3 innings, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits (solo homer), walking 1, and striking out 3. Sean Stutzman followed with 3.1 scoreless innings, allowing 3 hits, walking 1, and striking out 3. Not sure why he's in Buies Creek when he's been doing relatively well in Corpus; it was probably just for him to get work during the Texas League All-Star break.

Anyway, Nick Hernandez was next and he struck out 7 over 4 perfect frames. Sebastian Kessay allowed a run on 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 1 in 2 innings.

Buies Creek and Carolina will continue their series at 7:00 Eastern as Framber Valdez faces Kodi Medeiros.

Quad Cities 6, Wisconsin 5

W- Gabriel Valdez (2-0)
L- Miguel Sanchez (2-4)
S- Erasmo Pinales (4)

QC home runs: Ronnie Dawson (7, solo in 4th)

Erasmo Pinales had a nice outing of the bullpen and the Banditos got a run in the 6th to break a 5-5 tie.

Wander Franco opened the scoring with an RBI single in the 1st. Ronnie Dawson started off the 4th with a homer. Quad Cities got 3 in the 5th after Gabriel Bracamonte scored on a wild pitch. Dawson then added an RBI single to his ledger and Franco scored on an error. Jonathan Arauz scored the go-ahead run on another wild pitch in the 6th inning.

Arauz (HR shy of cycle, 2 R) and Dawson (solo HR, 2 RBI) both finished 3-5 on the day, while Franco went 2-5.

Gabriel Valdez went 6 innings and allowed 5 runs on 9 hits (2 solo homers), walked 1, and struck out 4. Erasmo Pinales shut it down over the last 3 innings, walking 2 and striking out 2 for the save.

Forrest Whitley will take the mound in game 3 of this series. He takes on Zach Brown at 7:05.

Tri-City was off

The ValleyCats will play a doubleheader to start a new series in Connecticut with game 1 beginning at 6:05 Eastern.

Greeneville 8, Bristol 5

W- Juan Robles (1-0)
L- Domingo Robles (0-1)
S- Ian Hardman (1)

Greeneville home runs: None.

The Appy Astros scored in 6 of 9 innings and withstood a 3-run 9th from the Pirates to earn the sweep.

Austin Kerns allowed a run on a double and struck out 1 in the 1st inning. Cole Watts allowed 2 hits and walked 2 in 2 scoreless innings. Juan Robles tagged in for 5 innings and allowed a run on 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 9. Willy Collado got 2 outs in the 9th, but he also allowed 3 runs on 3 hits and walked 1. Ian Hardman walked the first man he faced to load the bases but got the last out of the evening with a strikeout.

Both teams scored a run in the 1st; Greeneville's came on a Brody Westmoreland RBI double. Chas McCormick ripped a 2-run double in the 2nd inning. Gilberto Celestino scored on an error in the 4th. The Appy Astros got RBI singles from McCormick in the 7th and another from Joan Mauricio in the 8th. Cody Bohanek ripped an RBI double and came around to score on a Frankeny Fernandez single in the 9th inning.

McCormick (2B, 3 RBI, R), Bohanek (2B, RBI, 2 R), and Roman Garcia (2B, 3B, R) all finished with 2 hits on the evening.

Tim Hardy will start the first of a 3-game series in Johnson City. He'll face Franyel Casadilla (I'm suddenly hungry) at 7:00 Eastern.

GCL Marlins 14, GCL Astros 9

W- Karl Craigie (1-0)
L- Johsson Arias (0-1, 0-2 season)

GCL home runs: Richard Slenker (1, 2-run in 5th)

The Marlins got 4 in the 8th and 2 in the 9th to seize control of this one.

Vicente Sanchez finished 3-4 and scored 3 runs. Richard Slenker hit a 2-run homer in the 5th for his first pro home run. Juan Piñeda (2 RBI) and Enmanuel Valdez had 2 hits apiece. Orlando Marquez drove in 2, while Ihan Bernal and Hector Martinez both drove in a run.

Jheyson Caraballo allowed 2 runs on 2 hits, walked 2, and struck out 4 in 3 innings. The bullpen.... struggled, and I think I'll leave it at that. Tanner Duncan was the only GCLstros pitcher to turn in a scoreless outing, striking out 2 over 2 perfect innings.

DSL Astros Blue 7, DSL Marlins 4

W- Christopher Javier (2-0)
L- Franklin Brioso (0-2)
S- Oscar Severino (1)

Blue home runs: None.

The Blue team took advantage of 5 Marlins miscues on Tuesday.

Ronaldo Urdaneta stole 2nd base in the 2nd inning and scored thanks to a couple of errant throws. In the 3rd, Yorbin Ceuta smacked an RBI double and trotted home on an Anthony Rodriguez triple. Rodriguez wound up scoring on a balk. Nerio Rodriguez doubled and eventually scored on an error that allowed Urdaneta to reach. In the 5th inning, Rhandall Sanchez drew a bases-loaded walk to score Anthony, and Nerio scored on a wild pitch.

Ceuta finished 4-5 on the day, while the Rodriguezes both finished with 2 hits.

Angel Macuare allowed 2 runs on 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 1 in the 1st inning. Christopher Javier was the first man out of the bullpen and allowed 4 hits, walked 1, and struck out 2 over 3 scoreless. Nathanael Ventura got 2 strikeouts in the 5th and allowed a single; the runner eventually scored on a wild pitch. Ventura also issued 2 walks and hit another batter. Antonio Pujols allowed a run on 2 hits, walked 2, and fanned 2 in 3 innings. Yulian Frontado got the last out of the 8th. Oscar Severino worked around a couple of hits to finish the game, striking out 1.

DSL Astros Orange 12, DSL Cubs 10

W- Diosward Gonzalez (2-1)
L- Yovanny Cruz (1-1)
S- Luis De Paula (2)

Orange home runs: None.

The Orange team stormed out to a 12-0 lead and then had to withstand a massive charge from the Cubs that included an 8-run 9th inning.

Diosward Gonzalez allowed 3 hits and fanned 4 over 5 shutout innings. The bullpen almost suffered a meltdown of epic proportions, but Rafael De Paula finally managed to get that elusive final out.

Jose Carrillo didn't have a hit, but that didn't prevent him from scoring 3 runs. The first run came on a Michael Garcia groundout in the 2nd inning. Fildex Perfecto drove in the first of 5 runs in the 3rd with a double. Perfecto scored on a Freudis Nova single. Nova wound up scoring on an error, and then Luis Barajas and Garcia followed with an RBI single and a sac fly, respectively.

Team Orange scored 3 in the 5th on RBI singles from Garcia and Sean Mendoza and an RBI double from Renaigel Martis. Garcia hit a 2-run single in the 6th and Mendoza hit another RBI single later in the frame.

Mendoza went 3-4 out of the #9 spot in the order, while Martis (2 2B, RBI, R) and Alvarez (2B, RBI, 3 R) had 2 hits apiece.

Tuesday's Stars

All photos are from Jayne unless stated otherwise.

Yorbin Ceuta, SS, DSL Astros Blue: 4-5, 2B, RBI, R
Sean Mendoza, IF, DSL Astros Blue: 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R