What the Heck, Bobby?: Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Saturday, July 28, 2018

Let's play two in Wilmington and Troy... again!

Fresno 3, Omaha 2

W- Brady Rodgers (1-1)
L- Zach Lovvorn (1-5)
S- Rogelio Armenteros (1)

Fresno home runs: None.

The Storm Chasers scored the first two runs of this game and the Grizzlies responded by scoring the last three.

Brady Rodgers turned in a solid outing as he went six innings and allowed two runs on four hits (solo homer), walked one, and struck out one. Rogelio Armenteros brought it home by not allowing a hit over the final three innings; he walked two and fanned five.

D.J. Fisher walked to keep the 3rd inning alive and scored Fresno's first run when he dashed home on a Jack Mayfield double. Jake Marisnick hit a double with one out in the 5th and scored on a single from A.J. Reed. Jake would strike again in the 6th when he ripped an RBI double that turned out to be the game-winning hit. Both of Jake's hits were doubles; Yordan Alvarez also finished with two hits on the evening.

Trent Thornton takes on Jake Kalish in game three of this series. First pitch is at 5:00 Pacific.

Corpus Christi 7, Midland 5

W- Erasmo Pinales (2-4)
L- Nolan Blackwood (5-3)

CC home runs: Lorenzo Quintana (11, solo in 4th), Alex De Goti (11, walk-off two-run in 9th)

The Hooks snapped a season-high six-game losing streak by stunning the Hounds with five runs in the final two innings of this game, culminating in Alex De Goti's walk-off shot in the bottom of the 9th.

Randy César hit a two-out double in the 1st and scored the first run of the evening on a double from Taylor Jones. Lorenzo Quintana smacked a solo homer in the 4th that tied the game at 2. This would be Corpus Christi's last scoring play until they came alive in the last two innings; in the meantime, Midland took a 5-2 lead.

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 8th, Aníbal Sierra hit an RBI single and De Goti scored another run when they tried to get Quintana at second. The game log says he "scored on the throw," it doesn't specify where the throw was going. Well, anyway. Stephen Wrenn got plunked to lead off the 9th; he got his revenge by stealing his way to third and scoring the tying run on a sac fly from Jones. Josh Rojas worked out a walk to bring up De Goti, who sent the Whataburger Field crowd home happy by launching a Nolan Blackwood offering into the South Texas night to win the game.

Jones finished 4-4 on the night. De Goti (2-R HR, 2 R) and Quintana (2B, solo HR) both finished with two hits, and Wrenn's two steals give him 36 on the season.

Brandon Bielak went six innings and allowed four runs on nine hits (solo homer), walked two, and struck out four. Alex Winkelman tagged in for 2.1 innings and allowed a run on two hits, walked two, and struck out five. Erasmo Pinales got the last two outs of the 9th, striking out one.

Hector Perez will start the finale of this series and he'll face Ben Bracewell at 6:05.

Game 1: Wilmington 1, Buies Creek 0

W- Gerson Garabito (5-6)
L- Cristian Javier (3-3, 5-5 season)
S- Tyler Zuber (6)

BC home runs: None.

There was one run in game one and it did not belong to the Carolina Stros. They outhit the Blue Rocks 7-2 but couldn't push any runs across. Bryan de la Cruz and Chuckie Robinson both went 2-3 in game one.

Cristian Javier went 5.2 innings and allowed that one run on a homer. He also allowed one other hit, walked two, and struck out eight. Tommy DeJuneas got the last out of the 6th.

Game 2: Buies Creek 3, Wilmington 0

W- Tyler Ivey (2-3, 3-6 season)
L- Daniel Tillo (2-2)
S- Colin McKee (5)

BC home runs: None.

The Carolina Stros held Wilmington to one run on three hits in the span of two games... and finished with a split in the doubleheader.

De La Cruz accounted for three of Buies Creek's four hits in game two; he hit an RBI single in the 1st and another RBI single in the 3rd inning. Before his second RBI base hit, Corey Julks scored on a wild pitch. The other hit belonged to Ronnie Dawson. The Carolina Stros walked eleven times and struck out only once in this game.

Tyler Ivey allowed a hit, walked two, and struck out eight over six shutout frames. Colin McKee struck out one in a 1-2-3 7th to complete the shutout.

Buies Creek and Wilmington will conclude this series at 1:35 Eastern.

Quad Cities 3, Cedar Rapids 2

W- Bryan Abreu (2-0, 4-0 season)
L- Blayne Enlow (2-3)
S- Chad Donato (2)

QC home runs: David Hensley (2, solo in 3rd)

Bryan Abreu mowed down the Kernels and Chad Donato held them off to secure the win.

Abreu went five innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits, walked two, and struck out a career-high 11, while Donato allowed a hit, walked one, and fanned four over the final four frames. Donato bounced back nicely after allowing four runs in each of his last two outings.

Miguelangel Sierra ripped a double with one out in the 2nd inning and he scored the game's first run on a single from Logan Mattix. Quad Cities scored twice in the 3rd as Marty Costes led off with a triple and scored on a Seth Beer groundout, and one batter later, David Hensley smacked a solo home run. Hensley and Mattix both finished with two hits on the night.

Parker Mushinski will take on Jordan Balazovic in the second and final game of the road leg of this four-game series. First pitch is at 2:05.

Staten Island 2, Tri-City 0

W- Nolan Martinez (4-0)
L- Brett Conine (1-1)

TC home runs: None.

Well, there was supposed to be a doubleheader, but the horrid weather continues to wreak havoc in upstate New York. ValleyCats management issued a letter of apology to the fans:

A letter to our fans from our General Manager Matt Callahan, regarding the circumstances surrounding Saturday night's ballgame. pic.twitter.com/znKgq5gHiD
— Tri-City ValleyCats (@ValleyCats) July 29, 2018

As for the game, both teams recorded five hits but only the Yankees were able to push across any runs.

All five Tri-City hits were singles; no one finished with more than one hit.

Brett Conine pitched well but could only take the loss. He allowed a run on three hits, walked one, and struck out eight over 4.2 innings. Devin Conn pitched 1.1 innings and allowed a run on two hits and walked one.

Weather permitting, the ValleyCats and Yankees will attempt to play a doubleheader with game one starting at 4:00.

GCL Astros 3, GCL Mets 2

W- Jose Bravo (1-3)
L- Ramón Guzmán (5-2)
S- Joey Gonzalez (1)

GCL home runs: Hector Martinez (2, solo in 8th)

Hector Martinez had a nice afternoon at the plate as he went 2-3 with an RBI double in the 6th and a solo homer in the 8th. Freudis Nova had an RBI base hit in the 6th.

Jose Bravo allowed a hit and struck out seven over five shutout innings. Fredy Medina cruised through three scoreless innings but the final out of the game eluded him. In 3.2 innings, Medina allowed two runs on four hits, walked one, and struck out three. Joey Gonzalez came on with two runners on and got that last out without incident.

DSL Astros 5, DSL Athletics 0

W- Valente Bellozo (2-1)
L- Stiven Montilla (0-2)
S- Alfredi Jimenez (2)

DSL home runs: None.

Valente Bellozo and Alfredi Jimenez shut the A's down as they combined on a one-hitter. Bellozo allowed that one hit and struck out three in his five innings. He allowed six runs, five of which were earned, during his pro debut on June 5. Since then, he's pitched 35.2 innings and has not allowed a run. Jimenez struck out seven over the last four innings; one of his strikeout victims reached base.

Yimmi Cortabarria and Jeury Castillo both went 2-3 on the day. Cortabarria drew a walk and scored twice; one of his runs came on a base hit from Castillo in the 8th inning.

Saturday's Stars

All photos are from Jayne unless stated otherwise.

DSL Astros pitchers: W 5-0 @ DSL Athletics
9 IP, H, 10 K
Valente Bellozo: W (2-1), 5 IP, H, 3 K
Alfredi Jimenez: Save (2), 4 IP, 7 K; one strikeout victim reached on passed ball

Hector Martinez, OF, GCL Astros: 2-3, 2B, solo HR (2), 2 RBI