What the Heck, Bobby?: Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Wednesday, August 9, 2017

El Paso 5, Fresno 3

W- Dillon Overton (4-5)
L- Dean Deetz (3-4, 7-6 season)
S- Cory Mazzoni (1)

Fresno home runs: Jack Mayfield (5, 19 season; solo in 2nd), Tony Kemp (10, solo in 6th), A.J. Reed (24, solo in 9th)

The Grizzlies got three solo shots.... but not much else on offense as they couldn't quite come back from an early 4-0 deficit. A.J. Reed went 2-4 on the night.

Dean Deetz went 2 innings and allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 4 hits, walked 3, and struck out 4. Jacob Dorris and Ashur Tolliver pitched 3 innings apiece; Dorris allowed a hit and fanned 3, while Tolliver allowed a run on 2 hits, walked 4, and struck out 3. Brendan McCurry struck out 1 in a 1-2-3 9th.

Mike Hauschild gets the start in the finale. He'll face Chad Huffman at 7:05 Pacific.

Corpus Christi 10, Tulsa 7

W- Ryan Thompson (2-2, 2-3 season)
L- Shea Spitzbarth (2-4)

CC home runs: Rico Noel (1, solo in 2nd), Dexture McCall (5, 9 season; solo in 5th), Arturo Michelena (1, 2-run in 7th), Jason Martin (10, 17 season; walk-off grand slam in 9th)

The Hooks scored 6 in the bottom of the 9th to steal one from right under the Drillers.

Framber Valdez went 4.1 innings and allowed 3 runs (1 inherited runner charged to him) on 5 hits, walked 2, and struck out 6. Cy Sneed was the first man out of the Corpus bullpen and went 3 innings, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits, walking 2, and striking out 4. Ryan Thompson allowed a hit and fanned 2 over 1.2 scoreless.

Both teams scored a run in the 2nd inning; Corpus got theirs on Rico Noel's first homer as a member of the Astros organization. Dex McCall launched a solo homer in the 5th, and Arturo Michelena hit a 2-run homer in the 7th that tied the game at 4. The Drillers got 3 in the 8th to re-take the lead.

Ryne Birk led off the bottom of the 9th with a single, which prompted Tulsa to make a pitching change. McCall greeted new Drillers pitcher Shea Spitzbarth with a single. Michelena went down on strikes, but Colin Walsh hit an RBI single to cut the Tulsa lead to 7-5. Tony Nuñez singled to load the bases for Kyle Tucker, who hit a sac fly to bring Corpus to within a run. Jamie Ritchie legged out an infield single to re-load the bases for Jason Martin, who sent the Whataburger Field crowd home in ecstasy with a walk-off grand slam while down to his last strike. Martin and McCall both finished with 3 hits on the evening.

Franklin Perez will take on Mitchell White in the series finale. First pitch is at 7:05.

Buies Creek 3, Salem 2

W- Elieser Hernandez (4-3, 5-3 season)
L- Matthew Gorst (0-1)

BC home runs: Jake Rogers (10, 16 season; solo in 4th)

The Carolina Stros got a run in the 9th to break a 2-2 tie.

Anthony Hermelyn hit a pair of RBI singles; he opened the scoring in the 2nd and drove in the go-ahead run in the 9th. Jake Rogers also went 2-3 and smacked a homer to begin the 4th. Taylor Jones went 2-4 with a double and scored what turned out to be the winning run.

Forrest Whitley went 4 innings and allowed 2 runs on 6 hits (solo homer), walked 3, and struck out 7. It was not his sharpest performance as he also uncorked 4 wild pitches. Erasmo Pinales worked around a hit to throw a scoreless 5th, striking out 1. Elieser Hernandez allowed 3 hits and struck out 1 over the final 4 innings.

Cionel Perez will start the series finale. He'll go up against former Aggie Matt Kent at 7:05 Eastern.

Quad Cities was off

The Banditos will begin a 4-game series in Cedar Rapids tonight at 6:35. Carlos Sanabria will take on Tyler Watson.

Tri-City 7, Lowell 2

W- Ben Smith (5-2)
L- Nick Duron (2-4)
S- Corbin Martin (1)

TC home runs: Jonathan Arauz (1, 2-run in 1st), Adrian Tovalin (4, 8 season; 2-run in 3rd)

The ValleyCats got back to the .500 mark thanks to a pair of 2-run blasts and a dominating outing from Corbin Martin to end the game.

Brandon Bielak allowed 2 runs on 4 hits and struck out 3 in 4 innings. Ben Smith worked around a couple of walks to throw a scoreless 5th, striking out 2. Martin shut things down for the final 4 innings, walking 1 and striking out 9 to record his first save as a pro.

J.J. Matijevic hit a one-out single in the 1st and Jonathan Arauz opened the scoring by launching a homer. Adrian Tovalin whacked a 2-run homer of his own in the 3rd inning. Tovalin scored on a wild pitch in the 6th and Kyle Davis added an RBI single not long after. Tovalin scored the last run of the evening in the 7th on another wild pitch that Colton Shaver stole 2nd on. Arauz (2-R HR, 2 R), Tovalin (2-R HR, 3 R), and Gabriel Bracamonte (3B, R) all finished with 2 hits on the night.

J.B. Bukauskas makes his Tri-City debut in the series finale. First pitch is at 6:35 Eastern.

Elizabethton 6, Greeneville 1

W- Edwar Colina (3-3)
L- Jheyson Caraballo (1-2)

Greeneville home runs: None.

The Twins scored twice... in three consecutive innings to take the opener.

Jheyson Caraballo and Gerardo Bojorquez pitched 4 innings apiece. Caraballo allowed 4 runs on 7 hits (2-run homer), walked 2, and struck out 5. Bojorquez allowed 2 runs on 5 hits and fanned 5.

Jose Benjamin spoiled the shutout with a pinch-hit RBI single in the 8th inning. Patrick Mathis went 2-4 with a double.

Hansel Paulino takes on Brusdar Graterol in game 2. First pitch is at 7:00 Eastern.

GCL Astros 4, GCL Nationals 0

W- Maikel Sepulveda (5-3)
L- Tomás Alastre (2-1)

GCL home runs: Juan Piñeda (2, 3 season; solo in 3rd)

The Palm Beach Stros shut out their complex mates on Wednesday, holding the Nationals to 4 hits.

Maikel Sepulveda allowed 3 hits and struck out 2 in 5 innings. Austin Kerns was the first man out of the GCLstros bullpen and went 3 innings, allowing a hit, walking 1, and striking out 1. Brendan Feldmann struck out 2 in a 1-2-3 9th to complete the shutout.

Carlos Machado went 2-4 and opened the scoring with an RBI single in the 1st inning. After Machado's single, Angel Tejeda scored on Trent Woodward's groundout. Juan Piñeda smacked a homer to start the 3rd. César Cortez walked to lead off the 4th, stole 2nd, then scored on two straight wild pitches. Piñeda finished 3-4 on the day.

DSL Astros Blue 16, DSL Braves 2

W- Jose Antonio Hernandez (3-2)
L- Luis De Jesus (2-4)

Blue home runs: None.

Team Blue only had one extra-base hit, but they still managed to score 16 runs thanks to 8 walks, 13 hits, and 5 Braves errors.

Antonio Pujols allowed 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4 in 4 innings. Jose Antonio Hernandez was the first man out of the Blue team bullpen and went 3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits, walking 1, and striking out 2. Christopher Javier walked 1 and fanned 3 over the last 2 innings.

DSL Astros Orange 3, DSL Indians/Brewers 0

W- Fredy Medina (4-2)

L- Henry Medina (3-4)
S- Cristofer Melendez (2)

Orange home runs: Ramiro Rodriguez (5, solo in 5th), Marco Van Der Wijst (1, solo in 5th)

Team Orange could only push across 3 runs with their 13 hits, but they also shut out the Brewdians.

Ramiro Rodriguez and Marco Van Der Wijst launched back-to-back solo homers in the 5th to break a 0-0 tie and Deury Carrasco stole home in the 8th. Rodriguez and Van Der Wijst both finished 2-3. Sean Mendoza went 3-5, while Carrasco and Jose Castillo both went 2-4. Carrasco had 2 steals, giving him 21 on the year.

Wender Oberto allowed 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4 in 3 innings. Fredy Medina tagged in for 4 no-hit innings, walking 2 and striking out 6. Cristofer Melendez allowed a hit and struck out 2 in the final 2 innings for the save.

Wednesday's Stars

DSL Astros Blue: W 16-2 @ DSL Braves—16 R, 13 H (12 singles, 1 double)

Ronaldo Urdaneta: 3-5, 2 RBI, R

Yorbin Ceuta: 3-5, 2B, 3 RBI, R

Rhandall Sanchez: 2-6, RBI, 3 R

DSL Astros Orange: W 3-0 vs. DSL Indians/Brewers

Ramiro Rodriguez and Marco Van Der Wijst: 2-3, solo HR each (Rodriguez: 5 HR, Van Der Wijst: 1 HR)

Deury Carrasco: 2-4, 2 SB (21); stole home in 8th inning

Fredy Medina: W (4-2), 4 IP, 2 BB, 6 K

Cristofer Melendez: Save (2), 2 IP, H, 2 K