What the Heck, Bobby?: Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Sunday, July 7, 2019

Round Rock 11, Oklahoma City 2

W- Brandon Bielak (6-3)
L- Dennis Santana (2-7)

RR home runs: Taylor Jones (16, 3-run in 4th)

The E-Train went off with eight in the 4th as they avoided the sweep in Oklahoma.

Brandon Bielak turned in six solid innings of one-run ball. He allowed four hits, one of which was a solo homer, walked one, and struck out eight. Colin McKee, Felipe Paulino, and Kent Emanuel all threw one inning to close it out. McKee allowed a solo homer and struck out one in the 7th, Paulino got two fly ball outs and a pop out in a 1-2-3 8th, and Emanuel finished things off by getting three groundouts in a 1-2-3 9th.

Alex De Goti opened the scoring with a two-run single in the 3rd inning. The real fun started one inning later.

Taylor Jones led off the 4th with an infield single. Drew Ferguson flew out, but Chas McCormick singled and Nick Tanielu walked to load the bases for Garrett Stubbs... who popped out in foul territory. It all fell to Jamie Ritchie, who came through with a two-run single and then an error on the play allowed Tanielu to score. Ritchie advanced to third on the play and he scored on a Josh Rojas single. Rojas stole second and then Alex De Goti joined him on the bases by drawing a walk. Jack Mayfield brought Rojas home with a double and in his second plate appearance of the inning, Jones clubbed a three-run home run. Rojas walked to lead off the 8th; he advanced on a balk and scored the final run of the day on a double from Jones.

Rojas finished 2-5 with a stolen base and scored three times. Ritchie also had two hits on the afternoon and Jones finished a triple shy of the cycle, driving in four.

The start of this week is the Triple-A All-Star break. The 2019 Triple-A All-Star Game will take place on Wednesday in El Paso and pits the best of the Pacific Coast League against their counterparts from the International League. Kyle Tucker will represent the Express on the PCL team.

Corpus Christi 6, Midland 2

W- Riley Ferrell (1-0)
L- John Gorman (4-5)

CC home runs: Lorenzo Quintana 2 (10; solo in 8th, walk-off grand slam in 9th), Ronnie Dawson (14, solo in 8th)

The Hooks scored all six of their runs in the final two innings to stun the Hounds in walk-off fashion and taking the series in the process.

Brandon Bailey started things off by allowing three hits, walking two, and striking out four in three innings. Carlos Sanabria was the first man out of the Corpus bullpen and he threw two innings, walking one and striking out one. Bryan Abreu pitched three innings and allowed two runs on four hits, walked three, and struck out two. And finally, Riley Ferrell worked around a walk to throw a scoreless 9th, striking out one.

Corpus tied the game in the 8th on a pair of solo homers from Lorenzo Quintana and Ronnie Dawson and won it in the 9th when Quintana launched a walk-off grand slam. Dawson and Quintana finished with two hits on the evening, along with Bryan de la Cruz, Granden Goetzman, and Stephen Wrenn.

The Hooks will make a return trip to Frisco on Monday for another edition of the Lone Star Series in the Texas League. Cristian Javier will start the opener and he'll take on Ronald Herrera at 7:05.

Potomac 4, Fayetteville 3

W- Jhonatan Germán (1-1)
L- Humberto Castellanos (3-2)

Fayetteville home runs: Ross Adolph (7, solo in 7th)

The Nationals scored in more innings than the Woodpeckers. They also walked off with the victory.

Chandler Taylor opened the scoring with an RBI single in the 1st. Jonathan Arauz added a sac fly in the 3rd and Ross Adolph connected on his first Carolina League home run in the 7th. Taylor finished 2-4 on the night.

Luis Garcia went five innings and allowed two runs on three hits, walked four, and struck out seven. Humberto Castellanos allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits, one of which was the walk-off solo homer. He also struck out three.

Shawn Dubin starts game two of this series. First pitch is at 7:05 Eastern.

Cedar Rapids 5, Quad Cities 2

W- Kai-wei Teng (3-0)
L- José Bravo (3-3)
S- Moisés Gomez (6)

QC home runs: None.

Cedar Rapids took control of this game by scoring twice in the 6th inning.

Carlos Machado grounded into a force out in the 3rd and an error on the play allowed César Salazar to score. Freúdis Nova drove in a run with a groundout in the 8th. Oscar Campos finished 2-4.

José Bravo allowed three runs on five hits (solo homer), walked two, and struck out six in 5.2 innings of work. Hunter Martin and Devin Conn pitched 1.2 innings apiece; Martin had an inherited runner charged to him and allowed a hit, and walked three. Conn allowed a run on a sac fly, a single, walked three, and struck out two.

Felipe Tejada will get the start as the Banditos look to avoid the sweep. He'll face Austin Schulfer at 6:35.

Brooklyn 6, Tri-City 2

W- Dan Goggin (1-0)
L- Jayson Schroeder (0-4)
S- Matt Mullenbach (1)

TC home runs: None.

It all unraveled on the ValleyCats when the Cyclones scored four in the 6th.

Blair Henley allowed two hits and struck out three over three scoreless innings in his New York-Penn League debut. Jayson Schroeder was the first man out of the Tri-City bullpen and he allowed four runs (one earned) on five hits, walked three, and struck out one in 2.2 innings. Shea Barry inherited two runners from Schroeder and he stranded them both. Barry went 2.1 innings and allowed a hit, walked one, and struck out three. Garrett Gayle allowed two runs on two hits, walked two, and struck out one in the 9th.

A.J. Lee singled in the 1st, advanced to second on a balk, moved to third on Nathan Perry's groundout, and scored the first run of the night on another balk. Luis Santana ripped a double in the 2nd and scored on a triple from Bryan Arias. A.J. Lee finished 2-3 and stole a base, his ninth of the season.

Angel Macuare will start game two of this series. First pitch is at 7:00 Eastern.

GCL Astros 6, GCL Cardinals 3

W- Jairo Lopez (1-0)
L- Luis Ortiz (0-3)
S- Christian Mejías (1)

GCL home runs: Adonis Giron (1, solo in 4th)

After an 0-6 start, the Palm Beach 'Stros have clawed their way to .500.

They fell behind 3-0 after the first half-inning but got right back into it with two runs in the bottom of the 1st. Yimmi Cortabarria hit an RBI single and he scored when Yeuris Ramírez was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Adonis Giron led off the 4th with a homer to tie the game at 3 and Cortabarria put the GCL squad in front by ripping an RBI double. In the 5th, Rolando Espinosa hit an RBI single and he scored when Gerry Castillo grounded into a force out. Giron and Cortabarria both finished 2-4 on the day.

Jairo Lopez shook off that tough 1st to go five innings. He allowed three runs on four hits, walked two, and struck out five. The bullpen closed it out with four scoreless. Kevin Dickey allowed a hit, walked three, and struck out two in 2.2 innings and Christian Mejías walked one and struck out two in 1.1 innings.

Sunday's Stars

All photos are from Jayne unless stated otherwise.