What the Heck, Bobby?: Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Sunday, August 13, 2017

After a Saturday filled with doubleheaders, seven nine-inning games was a welcome sight.

Albuquerque 22, Fresno 1

I abstain, courteously.

Fresno and Albuquerque will conclude this series at 6:35 Mountain. Kent Emanuel takes the hill for the Grizzlies.

Springfield 7, Corpus Christi 5

W- Chris Ellis (5-6)
L- Josh James (4-5)
S- Landon Beck (5)

CC home runs: Trent Woodward (3, 2-run in 6th)

The Hooks suffered the sweep, although Saturday's game had a rather contentious ending. The Cardinals took control with 3 in the 5th to tie the game and then scored 4 more in the 6th to take the lead.

Brock Dykxhoorn went 5 innings and allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits (3-run homer), walked 2, and fanned 5. Josh James allowed 4 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits, walked 3, and struck out 2 in 2.2 innings, and Ryan Thompson retired all 4 Cardinals he faced, striking out 2 of them.

Jon Singleton put Corpus on the board first with an RBI single in the 1st. Singleton added another RBI single to his ledger in the 3rd inning and came around to score on Dex McCall's double. Trent Woodward whacked a 2-run homer in the 6th inning. Singleton went 2-3; McCall's RBI double and Woodward's blast were the other two Hooks hits.

After a day off, the Hooks will start a 3-game series in Tulsa on Tuesday.

Buies Creek 5, Down East 4 in 10 innings

W- Kevin Hill (1-0, 4-1 season)
L- Jacob Shortslef (0-4)

BC home runs: Anthony Hermelyn (3, solo in 4th)

The Carolina Stros walked off with the win to avoid the sweep. They fell behind 4-0 but scored the last 5 runs of the day.

Anthony Hermelyn put Buies Creek on the board by homering to start the bottom of the 4th. Yordan Alvarez kicked off the bottom of the 6th with a double and Hermelyn joined him on the bases by singling. Taylor Jones walked to load the bases for Carmen Benedetti, who hit an RBI single to prompt a pitching change. Randy César greeted new Down East pitcher Jeff Springs with a 2-run single that tied the game at 4.

Myles Straw, who came on to pinch-hit for Benedetti in the 8th, singled to lead off the bottom of the 10th and when he gets on base, he can pretty much score on any kind of base hit. Randy César successfully tested that theory by ripping the double that allowed Straw to score the winning run. Alvarez (2B, R, SB), Hermelyn (solo HR, 2 R), and César (2B, 3 RBI) all went 3-5 on the afternoon.

Jorge Alcala went 4.2 innings and allowed 4 runs on 6 hits (solo homer), walked 4, and struck out 4. Sean Stutzman and Kevin Hill picked him up with 5.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Stutzman allowed a hit and struck out 5 in 3.1 innings, while Hill allowed 2 hits and struck out 2 in 2 innings.

Buies Creek will hit the road this week. Their first stop is Lynchburg, Virginia, where they'll play 4 with the Hillcats. Matt Bower will start game 1 against Triston McKenzie; first pitch is at 6:30 Eastern.

Cedar Rapids 7, Quad Cities 6

W- Patrick McGuff (2-2)
L- Salvador Montaño (5-3)

QC home runs: Troy Sieber (6, solo in 1st), Chas McCormick (1, grand slam in 3rd), Luis Payano (1, 4 season; solo in 3rd)

The Banditos were stunned in the bottom of the 9th as the Kernels scored 4 to steal the win.

All 6 Quad Cities runs scored on the three home runs you see above. Troy Sieber opened the scoring with his solo blast in the 1st inning. Chas McCormick's first pro homer was a grand slam and one batter later, Luis Payano followed with a solo shot of his own. Daz Cameron went 3-4 with a double and scored a run.

Gabriel Valdez pitched 3 innings and allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 3 hits (2-run homer) and struck out 5. Jesús Balaguer was the first man out of the Quad Cities bullpen and went 2 innings, allowing a hit and striking out 4. Nathan Thompson pitched 3 scoreless, but then he ran into trouble in the 9th. He allowed 2 runs, both of which were inherited runners that were charged to him, 2 hits, walked 2, and struck out 1. Salvador Montaño couldn't salvage the situation; he allowed the tying and winning runs on 2 hits and walked 2. Neither Thompson nor Montaño recorded an out in the 9th.

Kit Scheetz makes his Quad Cities debut as the Banditos begin a 4-game series against Peoria at 6:35. He'll face Ian Oxnevad.

Williamsport 5, Tri-City 2

W- David Parkinson (1-1)

L- Juan Robles (1-2)
S- Randy Alcantara (3)

TC home runs: None.

The Crosscutters seized control with a 4-run 5th inning to foil the ValleyCats' bid to sweep the series.

In his ValleyCats debut, Adam Bleday allowed a hit and struck out 2 in 2 scoreless innings. Alex House allowed a run on 2 hits, walked 2, and struck out 2 in the 3rd inning. Juan Robles went 2 innings and allowed 4 runs on 2 hits, walked 2, and struck out 3. Parker Mushinski pitched the last 3 innings, allowing a hit, walking 1, and striking out 6.

Colton Shaver put Tri-City on the board with a sac fly in the 4th and Corey Julks hit an RBI single in the 8th inning. Andy Piñeda finished 2-4 with a triple and scored a run.

The 2017 New York-Penn League All-Star Game will take place on Tuesday at Joe Bruno Stadium, home of the ValleyCats. Tri-City will be represented by Hunter Martin, Andy Piñeda, J.J. Matijevic, and Reggie Johnson. Martin replaced Nathan Thompson, who was just promoted to Quad Cities.

Greeneville 5, Kingsport 4

W- Dariel Aquino (2-1)

L- Yeudy Colon (0-2)

Greeneville home runs: Martin Figueroa (1, solo in 6th)

The Appy Astros got on the board in their series with the K-Mets by scoring 3 after stretch time to take the lead.

Francisco Villegas went 3 innings and allowed 2 runs on 4 hits while striking out 1. Maikel Sepulveda allowed 2 runs on 4 hits, walked 4, and struck out 3 in 3.1 innings, and Dariel Aquino walked 1 and struck out 4 over 2.2 scoreless to get the win.

Brody Westmoreland opened the scoring with an RBI single in the 1st inning. This would be Greeneville's only scoring play until the 6th; in the meantime, Kingsport took a 3-1 lead. Martin Figueroa launched a solo homer in the 6th to get the Appy Astros back on the board.

Cody Bohanek reached on an error with 2 outs in the 7th to keep the inning alive. Gilberto Celestino joined him on the bases by drawing a walk. Bohanek scored on a Roman Garcia RBI single. Celestino, who advanced to 3rd on the base hit, scored the tying run on a wild pitch. Westmoreland ripped an RBI double that turned out to be the game-winner. Garcia, Westmoreland, and Reiny Beltre all finished with 2 hits on the evening.

Gerardo Bojorquez will face Joe Cavallaro in the series finale. First pitch is at 7:00 Eastern.

GCL Astros 2, GCL Mets 1

W- Matt Merrill (1-1)
L- Briam Campusano (2-3)
S- Brendan Feldmann (2)

GCL home runs: None.

The Astros withstood a 9th-inning rally from the Mets to get the victory.

Enmanuel Valdez went 2-4 and opened the scoring with an RBI single in the 5th inning. He doubled in the 8th and scored the Palm Beach Stros' other run on a double play. Andres Santana also went 2-4.

Juan Pablo Lopez allowed 3 hits and struck out 1 over 4 scoreless. Matt Merrill was the first man out of the bullpen and allowed 2 hits while striking out 3 over 2 innings. Nivaldo Rodriguez allowed a run on 2 hits, walked 2, and struck out 3 in 2.2 innings. Brendan Feldmann got the last out of the game without any further incident.

Sunday's Stars

All photos are from Jayne unless stated otherwise.

Juan Pablo Lopez, LHP, GCL Astros: 4 IP, 3 H, K

Matt Merrill, RHP, GCL Astros: W (1-1), 2 IP, 2 H, 3 K