Happy Dominican Summer League Opening Day!
Oklahoma City 8, Memphis 6
W- Jorge De Leon (1-0, 2-2 season)
L- Kurt Heyer (0-2, 2-4 season)
S- Jason Stoffel (6)
OKC home runs: Jon Singleton (14, 2-run in 6th)
The RedHawks were down 5-0, but they fought back with 3 in the 3rd and the 4th to take a 6-5 lead. The Redbirds tied it with 1 in the top of the 6th, but Jay Sing quickly untied it by taking Kurt Heyer deep. That blast turned out to be the difference. And so, after dropping the first 3 games of the Omaha series, the RedHawks have now won 3 in a row.
Jake Buchanan got knocked around in his 5 innings; he allowed 5 runs on 9 hits, walked 1, and struck out 3. Jorge De Leon went 2.2 innings and allowed a run (the tying run in the 6th) on 4 hits and struck out 3. Kevin Chapman came on with 2 outs and a runner on in the 8th and promptly issued 2 walks to load the bases. Nothing came of it as he struck out Scott Moore to end the inning. Jason Stoffel closed the door with a 1-2-3 9th.
The RedHawks' 3 in the 3rd came in the form of a Kiké Hernandez RBI double and a couple of RBI singles from Adron Chambers and Max Stassi. Their 3 in the 4th came off a couple of bases-loaded walks to Chambers and Jon Singleton and a Domingo Santana RBI single. And of course, Singleton's home run turned out to be the game-winning hit. Ronald Torreyes finished 3-4 with a run scored. He's struck out 7 times in 198 plate appearances. That's a 3.5% strikeout rate. Three and a half percent!!!!!!!!!
In game 3 of this series, Paul Clemens will take on Nick Greenwood. First pitch is at 6:05.
Corpus Christi 11, Northwest Arkansas 2
W- Travis Ballew (3-1)
L- Cody Fassold (1-2)
CC home runs: Preston Tucker 2 (13; 2-run in 1st, solo in 7th), Delino DeShields (5, 2-run in 6th), René Garcia (4, solo in 7th)
The Hooks rattled off 9 unanswered after the Naturals tied the game at 2 in the 5th.
Jordan Jankowski had a solid start; he allowed 2 runs on 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 5 in 5 innings of work. The bullpen finished it off with 4 scoreless: Travis Ballew and Andrew Robinson worked 2 apiece. Ballew allowed 2 hits and struck out 2, while Robinson issued a walk and fanned 1.
After Northwest Arkansas opened the scoring with a run in the 1st, Preston Tucker gave Corpus the lead with his first homer of the night, a 2-run blast off Sam Selman. Those 2 runs would be the Hooks' only runs of the game until the 6th, when Delino DeShields ripped the 2-run homer that gave them the lead. Corpus got 2 solo shots from Tucker (his 2nd of the game) and René Garcia (4) in the 7th inning, and they buried the Naturals with a 5-run 8th, getting RBI doubles from Nolan Fontana and Jonathan Meyer, a bases-loaded walk from Leo Heras, and a force out from Garcia that allowed Tucker to score. An error also allowed Jio Mier to come home with the final run of the evening. DeShields' blast was his only hit of the night, but he also scored twice and added 2 steals (21). Fontana finished 2-3 with 2 runs scored and 2 walks. Joining him in the 2-hit club was Meyer and Joe Sclafani. Tucker finished 4-5 with a double and 3 runs scored to go along with his 2 blasts.
The Hooks will look for the sweep as Kyle Smith takes on Andy Ferguson. First pitch is at 6:10.
Rancho Cucamonga 16, Lancaster 13
W- Freddie Cabrera (2-1)
L- Mark Appel (0-1)
Lancaster home runs: Roberto Peña (4, 2-run in 4th), Ruben Sosa (1, 3-run in 7th)
The Lancaster Effect was in full force as a 20 MPH wind out to right field led to 6 home runs between the two clubs. However, 4 of them were hit to left field.
To say that Mark Appel was greeted rudely in his return to the California League could be an understatement. But then again, it was his first start back and he entered this game with just 13 innings pitched. He only lasted 1.1 innings and allowed 10 runs on 10 hits (3 homers, all of which were multi-run homers), walked 1, and struck out 2. Yes, it is an appalling line, but the vast majority of his pitches were fastballs, and the slider here and there. I'm not going to speculate on anything here. He'll be fine. We're probably not going to remember this when he just threw a perfect game against the A's on July 12, 2017.
Zach Morton was the first man out of the bullpen; he went 3.1 innings and allowed 5 runs on 8 hits (3-run homer), walked 2, and struck out 2. Brian Holmes pitched the final 4.1 innings and allowed a run on 2 hits and struck out 7.
Yeah, it got out of hand early, but the JetHawks still fought. After they fell behind 16-2, they scored 11 unanswered. No quit, and definitely no lack of effort on this club. Being down 10-0 and 16-2 can really be demoralizing and can really foster a feeling of total and absolute defeat. Well, the JetHawks didn't get that memo, and I'm sure they don't want that memo either. They could've shut up shop and moved on to the next game. But they fought to the end. They found ways to get themselves back in the game. They seriously threatened to tie the game, and maybe even had a chance to win with that 7-run 9th. That's why you're taught to keep playing until they it's over.
In the 4th, Roberto Peña finally put the JetHawks on the board with a 2-run homer (4), his 2nd straight game with a home run. Jordan Scott went 2-5 with 3 RBI; his 1st run batted in came on an RBI single in the 6th. Ruben Sosa added a 3-run homer (1) later on. That was the first ball that he sent out of the park as a professional; his other homer, which came last July 24 when he was with OKC, was of the inside-the-park variety.
They scored a touchdown in the bottom of the 9th. The JetHawks got 4 RBI singles from Rio Ruiz, Danry Vásquez, Conrad Gregor, and Tony Kemp. Scott added a 2-run double, and Carlos Correa grounded into a force out that allowed Kemp to score. Everyone in the lineup had a hit, while Carlos Perdomo was the only member of the starting 9+1 to not score. Rio and Danry had 3 hits apiece. Kemp, Sosa, Correa, Gregor, and Scott had 2 each.
Gonzalo Sañudo will take on Jharel Cotton in the series finale. First pitch is at 2:00 Pacific.
Quad Cities 4, Wisconsin 3
W- Evan Grills (2-1)
L- Zach Quintana (0-4)
S- Frederick Tiburcio (2)
QC home runs: None.
That's 5 straight wins for the Banditos as they used a 3-run 4th to take a 4-2 lead and got some solid pitching the rest of the way.
Evan Grills had a bare minimum quality start, allowing 8 hits (solo homer) and striking out 7. Frederick Tiburcio finished with a 3-inning save and allowed 2 hits while striking out 1.
The offense did a great job waiting out the shakiness of the Timber Rattlers' pitching staff and wound up drawing 10 walks. Tanner Mathis put QC on the board in the 3rd with an RBI groundout. In the 4th, Chan-Jong Moon ripped a 2-run triple, and Mathis brought him home with a single. Yup, those two were responsible for all the runs batted in for this game .James Ramsay went 3-4 with a double and scored the first Bandits run of the game on Mathis' groundout. Mathis and Jack Mayfield had 2 hits apiece.
In the middle game of this series, Kevin Comer will take on Victor Diaz at 1:05.
DSL Astros Blue 7, DSL Indians 2
W- Salvador Montaño (1-0)
L- Ramon Tineo (0-1)
Blue home runs: Wander Franco (1, 3-run in 8th)
The Blue team got their 7 runs in the final 2 innings to come out on top in their season opener. Wander Franco, who signed for $575,000 in the previous July 2 signing period, put them on the board and in front with a 3-run homer (1) in the 8th. They tacked on 4 more in the 9th on a pair of RBI singles from Edgar Lorenzo and Franco. An error allowed Connor MacDonald to reach, as Franco and Nestor Tejada scored. Yes, it may be the lowest level of minor league baseball, but Franco emphatically announced his arrival on the pro scene, finishing a triple shy of the cycle, scoring 2 runs, and driving in 4. Marcos Almonte went 2-4 with a double and 2 runs scored out of the leadoff spot. Joan Mauricio, who recieved the largest bonus in the last July 2 period ($600,000), was 2-3 with a pair of triples and scored a run. Nestor Tejada was 1-4 with 2 runs scored.
Albert Abreu started out with 5 shutout innings, allowing just 1 hit, walking 2, and striking out 5. Salvador Montaño went 2 innings and gave up an unearned run on a hit and struck out 1. Jose Rosario got 2 outs (1 via strikeout) in the 8th, but also gave up a run on 2 hits. Josue Uribe struck out the only batter he faced, and Gabriel Pirela worked around a walk to throw a scoreless 9th.
How did the Orange team fare in their inaugural game?
DSL Angels 12, DSL Astros Orange 3
W- Junior Pimentel (1-0)
L- Edwin Villarroel (0-1)
Orange home runs: Cristopher Luciano (1, solo in 5th)
As for the other Academy squad, they were the victims of a 9-0 run, which came after they had tied the game at 3 with 2 runs in the 5th inning.
Cristopher Luciano had a pretty good birthday: First game, first home run. He hit an RBI single in the 2nd to get the Orange team on the board. He went deep with 1 out in the 5th. Later in the inning, Osvaldo Duarte added an RBI single. Luciano went 2-3 with a run scored, as did Frankeny Fernandez.
Starlyng Sanchez went 4 innings and allowed 3 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits, walked 2, and struck out 3. Edwin Villarroel pitched 2 innings and gave up 4 runs (3 earned) on 3 hits and walked 2. Joel Belboder allowed 3 runs on 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 2 in the 7th. Gabriel Valdez pitched the final 2 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits and striking out 1.
The Dominican Summer League has every Sunday off. On Monday, the Blue team will host the Indians, and the Orange team will travel to the Angels' complex.
Three Stars: Position Players
3.
Jon Singleton, 1B, Oklahoma City
2-4, 2-R HR (14), 3 RBI
2.
Preston Tucker, RF/1B, Corpus Christi
4-5, 2B, 2 HR (13), 3 R
1.
Photo courtesy of Bryan Green
I would like to say thanks to Mr. Green for allowing me to use his excellent pictures. They've been extremely helpful when I want to put names to faces, especially guys in the GCL or the Academy.
Wander Franco, 3B, DSL Astros Blue
3-5, 2B, 3-R HR (1), 4 RBI; professional debut
Three Stars: Pitchers
3. I'm glad Jayne got these 3 guys all in 1 picture. #efficiency
Jordan Jankowski (far left), RHP, Corpus Christi
5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 5 K
Travis Ballew (far right), RHP, Corpus Christi
W (3-1), 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K
Andrew Robinson (2nd from left), RHP, Corpus Christi
2 IP, BB, K
2.
Brian Holmes, LHP, Lancaster
4.1 IP, 2 H, ER, 7 K
1.
pic.twitter.com/G42QPqz4pS
— Albert abreu (@Albert26Abreu) November 27, 2013
Albert Abreu, RHP, DSL Astros Blue
5 IP, H, 2 BB, 5 K; professional debut
