Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for June 29-July 1, 2018

I sincerely apologize for this dereliction of duty. On the final weekend of June, I head up to College Station to take in the Texas State 7-on-7 Football Tournament. It is also usually my excuse to go on a long roadtrip. My mother's birthday also usually falls in the same time frame, so I have been spending this weekend celebrating her and recovering from 15 hours and a skosh over 580 miles on the road.

Here's what happened on the Astros farm as the calendar turns from June to July. In the interest of time, I'll only highlight standout performances from each game.

Fresno

The Grizzlies got blanked 4-0 to open their series with Sacramento on Friday then rebounded for a 4-3 victory on Saturday. The RiverCats re-took the series lead with a 3-1 win on Sunday.

Trent Thornton struck out a career-high 11 batters on Thursday but a total absence of run support meant that he could only get the loss. He allowed four runs, three on a homer, four hits, and walked one in his six innings of work. Ralph Garza Jr. followed him with two scoreless out of the bullpen; he did not allow a hit, walked one, and struck out two. Myles Straw went 2-4 with a double.

J.D. Davis slammed two home runs (7) on Friday to carry the Grizzlies to the 4-3 win. Their other run came on a Jon Kemmer RBI double in the 2nd inning. Straw finished 2-5 with another double.

Straw finished 4-5 and scored Fresno's only run in the 3-1 loss. He also stole a base, giving him 44 on the year. Josh James dominated until it suddenly unraveled on him in the 6th. James threw 5+ innings and allowed three runs (two inherited runners charged to him), a hit, walked three, and struck out a dozen.

Brock Dykxhoorn will face a rehabbing Jeff Samardzija in game four of this series. First pitch is at 7:05 Pacific.

Corpus Christi

The Hooks dropped the first leg of their tour of Arkansas. On Friday, they walked off with a 2-1 loss in North Little Rock. They managed to avoid a sweep with a 6-3 win on Saturday and then opened up the second leg of their tour with a 5-2 victory in Northwest Arkansas. With Sunday's win, the Hooks are the first AA team to 50 wins this season.

Yordan Alvarez doubled and scored Corpus Christi's only run on Friday on a base hit from Lorenzo Quintana. Akeem Bostick allowed four hits, walked one, and struck out four over five shutout frames but did not factor into the decision.

Alvarez whacked a solo home run (11) and drove in another run with a double on Saturday. Ryne Birk scored a couple of runs. Forrest Whitley has suddenly encountered some turbulence after being darn near untouchable to start the season. The three runs he allowed came on a home run in the 1st inning. To his credit, he settled down and kept the Travs at bay the rest of the way.

Whitley went four innings and allowed three other hits, walked one, and struck out five. Brandon Bielak was a winner in his Texas League debut as he allowed three hits, walked three, and struck out five in 4.2 innings of work. Erasmo Pinales got the final out to get the save.

Andy Piñeda got his shot and made the most of his opportunity as he smacked two home runs after coming on for Carmen Benedetti in the 2nd inning in Springdale. Entering this game, Piñeda had two career home runs. He matched that total on Sunday in just his second game above the short-season leagues. Piñeda smacked a solo homer in the 4th and launched a two-run homer in the 6th inning. Josh Rojas went 2-4 and opened the scoring with a solo blast in the 2nd inning. Rojas now has six home runs with Corpus and seven on the year. Chas McCormick reached in all of his plate appearances, going 3-3 with a couple of walks. McCormick also stole a base, giving him four with the Hooks and 11 on the year. Corbin Martin allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits, walked one, and struck out five over six innings to earn the win. Joe Smith's rehab continued as he worked around a hit to throw a scoreless 7th.

Corpus continues its series with Northwest Arkansas at 6:35 as Ryan Hartman takes on Scot Blewett.

Buies Creek

What a week for Buies Creek. They completed a five-game sweep of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans on Friday with a 2-0 victory and have taken the first two games of their series against the Carolina Mudcats with a 7-3 win on Saturday and a 3-1 win on Sunday.

Abraham Toro (13) and Osvaldo Duarte (3) smacked solo homers that accounted for all of the scoring on Friday. Abdiel Saldaña allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out five over five shutout innings and Patrick Sandoval allowed two hits while striking out three over the final four innings to complete the shutout in his Carolina League debut.

The Carolina Stros scored all seven of their runs in the final three innings to snatch a win on Saturday. Ronnie Dawson doubled twice, drove in two, and scored twice. Chuckie Robinson smacked a solo homer, his 3rd home run of the season. Brandon Bailey went 6.1 innings and allowed two runs on eight hits, walked two, and struck out seven.

Duarte had a huge Sunday as he went 3-4 with a solo blast (4), drove in two of the three Buies Creek runs, scored two of the three Buies Creek runs, stole two bases (14) and accounted for three of the four Buies Creek hits. Brady Rodgers allowed a run on four hits and struck out two in four innings as he continues to make his way back from Tommy John surgery. Brett Adcock allowed a hit, walked two, and struck out one in five innings.

Buies Creek and Carolina will resume their series at 7:00 Eastern.

Quad Cities

After dropping their first game in Kane County, the Banditos bounced back to take the final three games of the series, winning 10-3 on Friday, 4-1 on Saturday, and 3-2 on Sunday.

Quad Cities ran roughshod on Friday with eight runs in the opening frame. Miguelangel Sierra smacked a two-run homer, his 7th of the season. Everyone had a hit before the 1st inning came to a close. Seth Beer ripped a two-run double in that huge 1st inning and drove in the final run of the night on a groundout. Enoli Paredes allowed four hits, walked two, and struck out seven over 5.2 shutout innings to earn the win. Tanner Duncan pitched two perfect innings to close it out, striking out three.

Jonathan Lacroix finished 2-3 and smacked a solo homer, his first of the season, in the 4-1 win. In his Midwest League debut, Chad Donato allowed a run on five hits, walked one, and struck out seven in six innings. Carlos Sanabria allowed a hit, walked one, and struck out three over the last three innings.

Beer finished 4-5 with an RBI single on Sunday. Chandler Taylor clubbed a solo homer in the 6th, his second homer of the year. Peter Solomon allowed two runs on five hits, walked one, and struck out three in five innings. Parker Mushinski struck out two over three innings; the only baserunner he allowed reached on an error. Brendan Feldmann struck out two in a 1-2-3 9th to get the save.

Quad Cities will start a four-game series with Beloit at 7:00. The first two games will take place in Beloit.

Tri-City

The ValleyCats allowed two runs in the 9th in a 4-3 loss to Hudson Valley on Friday. They avoided the sweep with a 9-2 victory over the Renegades on Saturday and walked off with a 9-8 loss in 11 innings in Vermont.

Cody Deason allowed a hit over two scoreless innings in his pro debut on Friday. Austin Hansen also threw two scoreless innings, allowing two hits, walking one, and striking out three. Enmanuel Valdez went 2-4 with a double, an RBI base hit, and scored twice.

Trey Dawson went 4-4 with a couple of doubles, drove in two, scored three runs of his own, and stole two bases in the 9-2 win on Saturday. Gilberto Celestino finished 3-5 and ripped a couple of doubles of his own, drove in two, scored twice, and stole a base. Felipe Tejada allowed three hits, walked one, and struck out four over five shutout innings. Devin Conn struck out three in two perfect innings to close it out.

Luis Encarnación smacked a solo homer (2) in the 2nd and cleared the bases with a double in the 6th inning. Brett Conine made his pro debut on Sunday and allowed two unearned runs, two hits, walked one, and struck out three.

Jose Luis Hernandez will get the start as his rehab continues. First pitch is at 7:05 Eastern.

GCL Astros

The Palm Beach Stros broke a 4-4 tie in emphatic fashion by scoring three in the 7th and four in the 8th to run away with an 11-4 win over the Cardinals on Friday and then they dropped a 6-4 decision to the Marlins on Sunday.

Deury Carrasco was huge on Friday as he finished 4-5, a homer shy of the cycle, drove in two, scored three runs, and stole a base. Freudis Nova went 2-5 with a double, two RBI, and scored twice. Wilyer Abreu went 3-4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. J.B. Bukauskas allowed two runs on five hits and struck out two in 1.2 innings. Angel Macuare got the win as he allowed a hit, walked three, and struck out three in 3.1 innings.

Nova finished 3-5 on Sunday with a double and scored a run, while Carrasco got a couple more base hits.

DSL Astros

The Academy blanked the Red Sox 4-0 on Friday and then they saw the wheels come out from under them as the Marlins scored five in the 11th to win 9-5 on Saturday. All nine runs that the DSL team surrendered on Saturday were unearned.

Yefri Carrillo went 2-4 with a triple on Friday. Rolando Espinosa stole home. Ernesto Jaquez allowed one hit, walked one, and struck out four over five shutout frames. Jose Antonio Hernandez went three innings and allowed a hit, walked three, and struck out three in three innings, and Jose Betances worked around a hit and a walk to complete the shutout.

Jose Alvarez went 3-3 with a double on Saturday, while Jeury Castillo drove in a couple of runs. Franny Cobos allowed a hit, walked one, and struck out three in three innings of work.