What the Heck, Bobby?: Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Fresno 11, Las Vegas 4

W- Trent Thornton (1-1)
L- A.J. Griffin (0-2)

Fresno home runs: Drew Ferguson (1, 2-run in 1st), J.D. Davis (1, solo in 7th)

Fresno wasted little time in imposing their will on this game with an 8-run 1st inning.

Tony Kemp walked to lead off the game and Drew Ferguson followed by whacking a two-run homer to open the scoring. The inning suddenly looked like it was on the verge of stopping there because Kyle Tucker popped out and Tyler White lined out, but A.J. Reed walked to keep the inning moving. He advanced to third on a J.D. Davis single and scored on a Jon Kemmer single. Stubbs stole second and Jack Mayfield worked a walk to load the bases for Kemp, who hit a two-run single. Ferguson capped off the early onslaught with a two-run triple.

That triple would be the Grizzlies' last scoring play until the 7th, when Davis launched a solo homer. Stubbs capped off the evening with a two-run double. Davis (solo HR, 3 R) and Kemp (2 RBI, 2 R, SB) had three hits apiece, while Ferguson (3B, 2-R HR, 4 RBI) and Stubbs (2B, 3 RBI, R, SB) both finished 2-5.

Trent Thornton went 5.1 innings and allowed 3 runs (1 inherited runner charged to him) on 2 hits, walked 4, and struck out 3. Andrew Thome was the first man out of the Fresno bullpen and got the last two outs of the 6th; he allowed a hit, walked two, and struck out one. Buddy Boshers struck out two in a 1-2-3 7th but ran into trouble in the 8th as a single and a couple of walks loaded the bases. Jacob Dorris took ownership of the last two innings and although he issued a bases-loaded walk that allowed one of Boshers' runners to score, no further damage was inflicted. Dorris walked 3 and struck out 3 in his two innings of work.

Cy Sneed faces Chris Flexen in game 2 of this series. First pitch is at 7:05 Pacific.

Arkansas 6, Corpus Christi 2

W- Chase De Jong (1-1)
L- Framber Valdez (0-1)
S- Matt Festa (1)

CC home runs: Nick Tanielu (2, solo in 7th)

The Hooks managed to cut their deficit to one run in the 7th, but the Travelers scored twice in three consecutive innings to foil their bid to sweep the series.

All three Corpus runs came in that 7th inning and pulled them to within one, at 4-3. Nick Tanielu led off the inning with a homer to put the Hooks on the board. Randy César followed by drawing a walk and one batter later, Jamie Ritchie ripped a double to bring him in. Ritchie wound up scoring on a wild pitch that Stephen Wrenn swung at and missed. He and Tanielu both finished 2-4 on the night.

Josh James allowed 4 hits and struck out 7 over 5 shutout innings. Framber Valdez tagged in for 3 innings but got roughed up to the tune of 6 runs on 9 hits; he also issued a walk and struck out 2. Brendan Feldmann worked around a hit to throw a scoreless 9th, striking out 2.

Corpus Christi has the day off. Tomorrow, they'll kick off the Texas League iteration of the Lone Star Series with a four-game set in Frisco. Brock Dykxhoorn is scheduled to face Collin Wiles.

Buies Creek 6, Myrtle Beach 2

W- Ronel Blanco (1-0)
L- Ryan Kellogg (0-1)

BC home runs: None.

The Carolina Stros' shutout streak went by the wayside... their winning streak did not. After the Pelicans scored first, Buies Creek finished the game on a 6-1 run.

Hector Perez allowed a run on 2 hits, walked 4, and struck out 7 in 4.2 innings. Ronel Blanco tagged in for 3.1 no-hit innings, walking 1 and striking out 4. Kit Scheetz allowed a run on a sac fly, a double, and issued a walk in the 9th.

Buies Creek took the lead with a 3-run 6th inning that very nearly ended up scoreless, thanks to a double play. Ronnie Dawson kept the inning alive by drawing a walk and moved to third on a Josh Rojas single. Rojas stole second (4) and Abraham Toro got hit by a pitch to load the bases for Troy Sieber, who came through with a two-run single. One batter later, Toro scored on a wild pitch. Another wild pitch in the 7th allowed Kristian Trompiz to score, and in the 8th, Chas McCormick ripped an RBI double, and he came around to score on a single from Trompiz. Sieber and McCormick had two hits apiece.

Brandon Bielak will face Jose Paulino as Buies Creek looks for the sweep. First pitch is at 7:00 Eastern.

Peoria 6, Quad Cities 2

W- Zach Prendergast (2-0)
L- Yohan Ramirez (1-1)

QC home runs: None.

It all went horribly wrong for the Banditos late as the Chiefs scored all six of their runs in the top of the 8th inning to seize control. At least they finally got to play baseball again after being forced to take the weekend off because the weather is stupid.

Quad Cities scored their two runs without utilizing a hit to do so in either instance. Cody Bohanek scored the first run of the evening when he stole home in the 1st inning and Adrian Tovalin was plunked with the bases loaded in the 3rd.

Cristian Javier allowed a hit, walked 4, and struck out 6 over 4 shutout innings. Carlos Hiraldo bridged the gap between Javier and Yohan Ramirez by throwing a 1-2-3 5th in his season debut. Ramirez threw two scoreless innings to start off his night, but everything unraveled for him in the 8th. Ultimately, he allowed 3 runs (2 inherited runners charged to him) on 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 2 in 2+ innings. Carlos Sanabria took ownership of the 8th, but did not fare much better. In addition to allowing the two runners he inherited from Ramirez to score, he allowed three more runs (all of which were unearned) on 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 2. Cole Watts worked around a couple of walks to throw a scoreless 9th, striking out one.

Parker Mushinski will take on Jake Walsh in game 2 of this series. First pitch is at 6:35.

Tuesday's Stars

All photos are from Jayne unless stated otherwise.