Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Nashville 2, Fresno 1

W- Dillon Overton (2-4)
L- Tommy Shirley (3-3)
S- J.B. Wendelken (3)

Fresno home runs: None.

The Grizzlies were swept in a series for the first time this season as their bats went quiet once again. They've gone 2-9 in their last 11 games.

Max Stassi tripled with 1 out in the 2nd and scored Fresno's only run on an Andrew Aplin groundout. Stassi finished 2-4. They stranded runners on the corners to end an 8th-inning threat.

Tommy Shirley went 5.2 innings and allowed 2 runs (1 inherited runner charged to him) on 6 hits, walked 1, and struck out 1. Reymin Guduan pitched 0.2 innings (final out of the 6th, first out of the 7th) and was greeted rather rudely by Matt Olson, who hit a go-ahead RBI ground-rule double to put the Sounds in front. Guduan issued an intentional walk to load the bases, but he got out of the inning by striking out Bryan Anderson. After Guduan got the first out of the 7th, Jandel Gustave came in, and he got a popout and a flyout to end the inning. James Hoyt struck out 2 in a 1-2-3 8th.

Fresno has Wednesday off. Joe Musgrove will start the first game in Memphis on Thursday.

Corpus Christi 2, San Antonio 1 in 13 innings

W- Aaron West (1-0)
L- Rafael De Paula (0-1)
S- Brendan McCurry (6)

CC home runs: Trent Woodward (1, solo in 13th)

Trent Woodward's blast in the top of the 13th and some clutch defense in the bottom half of the inning proved to be the difference in this game. The Hooks extended their winning streak to 8 games as they've really come alive this month.

Alex Bregman put Corpus on the board first with an RBI groundout in the 5th. The Missions tied the game at 1 in the 6th, and that's where it stood until the 13th inning. Conrad Gregor led off and was the first casualty of the inning after he flew out. Trent Woodward, who was 0-5 at the time, stepped in and proceeded to give the Hooks the lead by sending a Rafael De Paula offering into the night.

Chase McDonald and Roberto Peña both had 2 hits, while Chan-Jong Moon went 3-5 with a stolen base (4). Teoscar Hernandez stole 2 bases (12).

Francis Martes turned in 6 solid innings, allowing a run on 4 hits, walking 1, and striking out 5. Angel Heredia and Aaron West followed with 3 scoreless innings; Heredia, who was making his Texas League debut, allowed 2 hits and struck out 4, while West fanned 2 over 3 perfect innings.

Brendan McCurry was summoned for the save in the 13th. He retired the first man he faced, but then, things got a bit hairy as the next two batters singled off of him. Nelson Ward hit a third consecutive single, and Nick Schulz, who hit the first single, decided to test Teoscar. It did not end well for Schulz, who was cut down at home. After that scare, McCurry pulled himself together and struck out Gabriel Quintana to end the game.

The series continues later this morning. Cy Sneed will start for Corpus; he'll face Bryan Rodriguez at 11:05 A.M.

Lancaster 5, Inland Empire 3

W- Josh James (3-1)
L- Jose Molina (1-2)

Lancaster home runs: None.

A 3-run bottom of the 8th tipped the scales of this game in the JetHawks' favor.

Garrett Stubbs went 2-4 and opened the scoring with a 2-run single in the 3rd. However, Inland Empire quickly responded by scoring 3 in the top of the 4th to take the lead, and that's where this game stood until the bottom of the 8th.

Kristian Trompiz led off the inning with a single. Bobby Boyd followed by legging out a bunt single. Stubbs was the first casualty of the inning, but Drew Ferguson got plunked to load the bases. Nick Tanielu came up and tied the game with a sac fly. Brooks Marlow was next, and he came through with what turned out to be the game-winning hit, a 2-run double. That's a nice way to make a first impression on your new team. Bobby Boyd finished 3-4 with a double and 2 runs scored. Trompiz also scored 2 runs.

Trent Thornton went 5 innings and allowed 3 runs on 6 hits and fanned 4. Josh James shut the 66ers down in his 4 innings, allowing just 1 hit while striking out 5.

Scott Weathersby will start game 2 of this series. He'll face Jason Hoppe at 6:35 Pacific.

Clinton 6, Quad Cities 0

W- Zack Littell (2-4)
L- Chris Murphy (3-3)

QC home runs: None.

The Banditos' bats went quiet as they dropped the first of this 3-game series to the LumberKings.

Osvaldo Duarte singled and stole a base (5), while Keach Ballard singled and walked in his season debut.

Chris Murphy went 2.1 innings and allowed 4 runs on 7 hits, walked 3, and struck out 1. Adam Whitt allowed a hit and struck out 2 over 2.2 scoreless, and Yoanys Quiala went 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, walking 2, and striking out 3.

Kevin McCanna will start for Quad Cities tonight. He'll take on Kyle Wilcox at 7.

Three Stars (in Two)

2.

 

Angel Heredia and Aaron West, RHPs, Corpus Christi

Heredia: 3 IP, 2 H, 4 K; Texas League debut

West: W (1-0), 3 IP, 2 K

1.

Josh James, RHP, Lancaster

W (3-1), 4 IP, H, 5 K

Honorable Mentions

James Hoyt, RHP, Fresno: IP, 2 K
- James Hoyt just continues to mow down the Pacific Coast League.

Francis Martes, RHP, Corpus Christi: 6 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 5 K
- Martes turned in his best outing of the year. He's looking to right the ship after stumbling out of the gate.

Teoscar Hernandez, OF, Corpus Christi: 1-4, 2 SB (12), outfield assist to prevent tying run from scoring in 13th inning
- Teoscar came up huge on defense to protect the Hooks' lead. That play was a real boost for Brendan McCurry, who was on the ropes at the time.

Brooks Marlow, 2B, Lancaster: Go-ahead 2-R 2B in 8th; California League debut
Trent Woodward, C, Corpus Christi: Go-ahead solo HR (1) in 13th
- Marlow and Woodward came through in the clutch to help their teams win.

Bobby Boyd, OF, Lancaster: 3-4, 2B, 2 R
- Boyd is currently on a 9-game hitting streak. I'd like to see him improve that K:BB ratio a bit, because he can legitimately create chaos on the basepaths.

Adam Whitt, RHP, Quad Cities: 2.2 IP, H, 2 K
- Good outing from Whitt, who is also looking to bounce back from a tough start to his campaign.

Happy Birthday - 7/22

Wishing a Very Happy Birthday to ...

RHP Angel Heredia (23)
Heredia was born in Palenque, Dominican Republic on July 22, 1992 and first played in the Pirates organization as a shortstop. He signed with the Astros in 2012 and is currently playing for the Low A Quad Cities River Bandits.

Angel Heredia - July 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Tweet of the Day

We've resumed at Modern Woodmen Park as Angel Heredia records a 58 minute strikeout (was a 1-1 count before the delay).

— #VoteMWP (@QCRiverBandits) June 21, 2015

Happy Birthday - 7/22

Happy Birthday to ~

RHP Angel Heredia (22)
The Dominican-born Heredia has a few holes in his resume. He played shortstop in the Pirates organization in 2009 when he was 16, but there is no record of him playing in 2010 or 2011. He was apparently picked up by the Astros at some point prior to the 2012 season, this time as a pitcher. This is Heredia's first season pitching in the U.S. In 10 games for Greeneville, he is 3-1 with a 2.87 ERA and a 1.340 WHIP.

One former Astro celebrates the day as well ~

1B/C Cliff Johnson (67)
Drafted by Houston in the fifth round in 1966, Johnson did not make his major league debut until six years later. He played in 376 games for Houston from September 1972 until his trade to the Yankees in June of 1977, hitting .256/.370/.471. As a player without a fixed position, Johnson was often used as a pinch hitter until moving to the American League where he was often used as a DH with modest success.

And according to this very silly Baseball Card Theater video from ex-pat Astros fan T. Sean Shannon, Cliff Johnson didn't smile a lot.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Friday's Games

Jayne has already posted a look at the playoff picture for the Astros Minor League affiliates as they sit today. Check it out here.

Greeneville Astros 5, Danville Braves 3
With their win on Friday, Greeneville is locked in to their second winning season in a row. Luis Ordosgoitti (1-0) collected his first win in the Appalachian League after pitching five innings and allowing a run on five hits, three walks and three strikeouts. Jordan Mills the final two and two-thirds, picking up his second save. Mills allowed three hits and walked three as he struck out three. Chase McDonald (3X4 2R HR 3RBI) was the only Astro with more than a hit Friday and also the only one with an extra base hit. McDonald homered in the third, tacking two runs onto the scoreboard.

GCL Braves, GCL Astros

-Suspended

This game was tied 8-8 before being called due to rain. It is scheduled to be completed today.

DSL Mariners 2, DSL Astros 4

The DSL Astros are now on a three game winning streak after their win on Friday. Juan Delis (3-3), the fourth pitcher in the game for the Astros, entered in the sixth for two innings of work, allowing just two hits and striking out one to pick up the win. Angel Heredia earned his 13th save after coming on in the ninth. Brauly Mejia (2X3 2RBI) and Arturo Michelena (2X3 R RBI BB) both had a pair of hits in the game. Mejia knocked in the first two runs for his team with an RBI single in the first.

Staten Island Yankees 6, Tri-City ValleyCats 11

Tri-City was outhit 14-13 and still outscored the Yankees by five runs. This was thanks in large part to a nine-run third inning. The Valley Cats hit nine consecutive singles to lead off the inning, without recording an out, forcing the early retirement of the Yankees starting pitcher after the eighth hit. D'Andre Toney (2X5 R 2B 2RBI) recorded two hits and four RBI in the third inning alone. Here's a look at that crazy inning:

Tri-City Bottom of the 3rd

• Jack Mayfield singles on a line drive to right fielder Yeicok Calderon.
• Jake Rodriguez singles on a ground ball to left fielder Daniel Lopez. Jack Mayfield to 2nd.
• Chan Moon singles on a ground ball to shortstop John Murphy. Jack Mayfield to 3rd. Jake Rodriguez to 2nd.
• D'Andre Toney singles on a line drive to left fielder Daniel Lopez. Jack Mayfield scores. Jake Rodriguez to 3rd. Chan Moon to 2nd.
• James Ramsay singles on a line drive to left fielder Daniel Lopez. Jake Rodriguez scores. Chan Moon scores. D'Andre Toney to 2nd.
• With Tyler White batting, D'Andre Toney steals (13) 3rd base. James Ramsay steals (5) 2nd base.
• Tyler White singles on a ground ball to left fielder Daniel Lopez. D'Andre Toney scores. James Ramsay to 3rd.
• Conrad Gregor singles on a ground ball to second baseman Derek Toadvine. James Ramsay scores. Tyler White to 2nd.
• Michael Martinez singles on a line drive to left fielder Daniel Lopez. Tyler White scores. Conrad Gregor to 2nd.
• Pitching Change: Sam Agnew-Wieland replaces Conner Kendrick.
• Ronnie Mitchell singles on a ground ball to left fielder Daniel Lopez. Conrad Gregor scores. Michael Martinez to 2nd.
• Jack Mayfield reaches on a force attempt, fielding error by shortstop John Murphy. Michael Martinez to 3rd. Ronnie Mitchell to 2nd.
• Jake Rodriguez strikes out swinging.
• Chan Moon grounds into a force out, first baseman Mike Ford to shortstop John Murphy. Michael Martinez scores. Ronnie Mitchell to 3rd. Jack Mayfield out at 2nd. Chan Moon to 1st.
• D'Andre Toney doubles (6) on a line drive to left fielder Daniel Lopez. Ronnie Mitchell scores. Chan Moon to 3rd.
• James Ramsay grounds out, second baseman Derek Toadvine to first baseman Mike Ford.

Conrad Gregor (2X4 2R HR 3RBI SO) added a little padding in the sixth inning by hitting a two-run shot that scored Tyler White (2X5 2R RBI). Troy Scribner threw the first four innings without incident, striking out five and allowing four hits. Upon entering the fifth he faced a little trouble and he ended up with four runs, six hits, three walks and five Ks on the day. Kyle Westwood (2-1) pitched the final four innings and picked up the win. Westwood tallied two runs (1ER) on six hits, walked one and struck out one.

Cedar Rapids Kernels 2, Quad Cities River Bandits 3

Quad Cities fought from behind to take this game and move their magic number to three. They came from behind in the seventh when Jordan Scott hit an RBI single to put the River Bandits ahead. Teoscar Hernandez was the only Quad Cities player with multiple hits, going two-for-four with a runs scored and a strikeout. Joe Bircher pitched the first five and two-thirds, giving up two runs on seven hits and striking out two. Andrew Walter (1-0) finished the game and took the win, allowing only a hit in his time as he K-ed five.

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 3, Lancaster JetHawks 4 (10)

Lancaster saw this game tied at three in the fifth and won it in the 10th inning when Delino DeShields (1X4 2R 3B BB) led off with a hit to the wall in right. The outfielder caught the ball, crashed into the wall and dropped the ball then fumbled with the pickup all while DeShields was rounding the bases. DeShields would score on the play for the walk off win and his hit would go down as a triple, he scored on an error. Kyle Smith was on the mound for the first six frames and in that time he allowed three runs on seven hits, walked one and struck out six. Kenny Long (1-0) worked a perfect 10th and picked up the win, striking out one. MP Cokinos went three-for-four at the plate with two runs scored and a pair of RBI on his homer in the first inning to get Lancaster on the board.

Midland RockHounds 3, Corpus Christi Hooks 4

The Hooks came back to win this game on Friday, scoring unanswered runs in the bottom of the sixth and seventh before walking off in the ninth. In the bottom of the ninth, the Hooks loaded the bases by drawing two walks and being issued an intentional walk. Erik Castro (2X2 RBI 3BB) then singled to win the game at home. Matt Duffy (1X4 R HR RBI) began the comeback in the sixth with his 23rd (LAN & CC combined) home run of the year.  Mike Foltynewicz started on the mound for Corpus Christi and through four and two-thirds frames allowed three runs, four hits, walked four and struck out the same. Jonas Dufek (6-0) picked up the win after facing just one batter to end the ninth.

Oklahoma City RedHawks 4, Round Rock Express 2

The RedHawks didn't allow the Express to score outside of the third inning in their win on Friday. Oklahoma City didn't score until the sixth when Trevor Crowe (1X4 R HR RBI SO) and George Springer (1X4 R HR 2RBI 2SO) both went yard. Springer's homer was a two-run shot and moved him to 37/41 in the chase for a 40/40 season. The only RedHawk with multiple hits in the game was Jimmy Paredes who finished the game at two-for-four with a double and a couple strikeouts. Asher Wojciechowski (9-6) took the hill for the first six and two-thirds and earned the win, recording two runs, seven hits, a walk and six Ks. Jorge De Leon faced the final three batters of the game in perfect fashion and picked up his fifth save.

Player of the Day: Delino DeShields and Erik Castro have both earned a spot on the throne today for inducing walk off wins on Friday. Chase McDonald also deserves a spot up there for his tremendous offensive play yesterday.

Pitcher of the Day: I am bucking convention, as I often do, and awarding the honors to Angel Heredia for picking up his 13th save yesterday in the DSL. 13 saves in the DSL is a pretty admirable feat. 

Astros Minor League Recaps

Monday's Games

Tuscon over Oklahoma City 7-5
Paul Clemens got the start and the loss as he gave up seven runs (five earned) on eight hits and three walks over five and a third. Eric Berger (2.2IP 1H 1BB 3SO) took it the rest of the way with an effective relief outing. Down 7-0, the Redhawks finally managed to get on the board in the sixth with two scoring on a Jon Singleton RBI single. The final three came across in the eighth on a two-run Brandon Laird home run and a Che-Hsuan Lin RBI single. This is the RedHawks third loss in a row and their division lead over Albuquerque has dwindled to two games.

Wisconsin over Quad Cities 9-1
Mark Appel got roughed up to the tune of seven runs on nine hits over three and a third innings. He struck out two. Mitch Lambson provided three and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief before giving way to Jamaine Cotton for the final two frames. Cotton allowed two unearned runs. The offense only managed four hits with Austin Elkins getting half of them. Elkins also drove in the only River Bandits run in the eighth with an RBI double.

Johnson City over Greeneville 7-5 (completion of 7/22 suspended game)
Jandel Gustave (4IP 8H 5R/4ER 4BB 5SO HR) had started this one back on July 22nd and had faced four batters in the fifth without recording an out before he was taken out in favor of Raul Rivera. With the bases loaded, Rivera struck out one batter before the game was suspended. Fast forward three weeks and Rivera was tasked with basically starting a game with the bases loaded, one out and a one run lead. Rivera allowed one of those runners to score and two of his own in the seventh, but he gets a big old asterisk on this loss -- tough way to come in the game. It did not help that, despite doubles from Angel Ibanez and Raul Rivera, the offense wasn't able to cross the plate again after the game re-commenced.

Greeneville over Johnson City 8-4 in 7 innings
Starter Edison Frias (5IP 9H 4R 3SO) got the win and was followed by a scoreless inning apiece from Sebastian Kessay and Chris Munnelly. Greeneville was down 3-0 after the first, but came back and chipped away at that lead, and then some. Wallace Gonzalez (2x4 2-2B 2RBI R) doubled in two runners in the second. Three more scored in the third on a Marc Wik (2x2 2BB RBI 3R) RBI single and a two-run line drive single off the wall from Christian Moronta (2x4 2RBI SB). It was Darwin Rivera's (2x4 2B 2RBI) turn in the fifth as he singled in a pair. Wik scored the final run in the seventh.

GCL Astros over GCL Tigers 3-2
Luis Ordosgoitti put up a very nice start as he works his way back from injury, allowing only one unearned run on three hits and two walks while striking out six. Matt Heidenreich pitched a perfect inning in his latest rehab appearance. Jorge Perez allowed the second Tigers run and was followed by Erick Gonzalez who earned the win in relief as the Astros scored the go-ahead run in the eighth. The offense took advantage of a little wildness from Tigers pitching. Yonathan Mejia doubled to start the seventh and then Jean Batista reached on a hit by pitch. Two wild pitches and a sac fly later, both had scored. Similarly, Javaris Reynolds singled to start the eighth, moved to second on a sac bunt, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a passed ball. Jason Martin also doubled in the game and Jose Solano went two-for-three.

DSL Astros over DSL Royals 3-0
Harold Arauz (W, 6IP 1H 1BB 4SO), Cristhopher Santamaria (2IP 2SO) and Angel Heredia (1IP 1SO) combined to one-hit the Royals. Arauz actually gave up a single to the first batter of the game and a walk to the second batter of the game, but then settled in the rest of the way. The only other baserunners in the game were in the fifth and seventh as Arauz and Santamaria each hit a batter. Hector Roa (2x4 2B RBI R) doubled in the first Astros run in the fourth. Marlon Avea drove in one in the sixth and Randy Cesar had an RBI double in the seventh. Luis Payano was two-for-three and scored a run, and Brauly Mejia went three-for-four with a double and a run.

Player of the Day: Marc Wik got on base every time up last night, drove in one and scored three times. You can't do much more than that to help your team win. In his last 10 games, Wik is hitting .345/.513/.414).

Pitcher of the Day: Harold Arauz, Cristhopher Santamaria and Angel Heredia share the honors today for their combined one-hitter. Nice job guys!!!

Happy Birthday - 7/22

RHP Angel Heredia (21)
The Dominican-born Heredia has a few holes in his resume. He played shortstop in the Pirates organization in 2009 when he was 16, but there is no record of him playing in 2010 or 2011. He was apparently picked up by the Astros at some point prior to the 2012 season, this time as a pitcher. He spent the majority of 2012 on the restricted list for PEDs and only pitched in eight games for the DSL Astros toward the end of last season. This year, he is again with the DSL team and was named to the All-Star squad. In 14 games this season, he is 2-2 with a 1.66 ERA and a 1.338 WHIP.

One former Astro with a birthday today ~

1B/C Cliff Johnson (66)
Drafted by Houston in the fifth round in 1966, Johnson did not make his major league debut until six years later. He played in 376 games for Houston from September 1972 until his trade to the Yankees in June of 1977, hitting .256/.370/.471. As a player without a fixed position, Johnson was often used as a pinch hitter until moving to the American League where he was often used as a DH with modest success.

And according to this very silly Baseball Card Theater video from ex-pat Astros fan T. Sean Shannon, Cliff Johnson didn't smile a lot.

Roster Moves

Oklahoma City
RHP Aneury Rodriguez was placed on the Temporary Inactive List.
RHP Hector Ambriz was activated from the DL.

Corpus Christi
C Jair (Jay) Fernandez was assigned from Oklahoma City to Corpus Christi.

Lexington
C Ryan McCurdy was assigned from Corpus Christi to Lexington.

DSL
Angel Heredia was activated from the restricted list.
LHP Erick Hurtado was assigned to the DSL.
RHP Jesus Castillo was assigned to the DSL.

Happy Birthday - 7/22

RHP Angel Heredia (20)
I know virtually nothing about Heredia other than that he was born in the Dominican Republic, he played shortstop in the Pirates organization in 2009 when he was 16, he was picked up at some point during the off-season by the Astros and converted to a pitcher and he got popped for PEDs and is currently on the restricted list. He should be eligible to come off the restricted list for the DSL Astros in 10 more games.

One former Astro with a birthday today ~

1B/C Cliff Johnson (65)
Drafted by Houston in the fifth round in 1966, Johnson did not make his major league debut until six years later. He played in 376 games for Houston from September 1972 until his trade to the Yankees in June of 1977, hitting .256/.370/.471. As a player without a fixed position, Johnson was often used as a pinch hitter until moving to the American League where he was often used as a DH with modest success.

Roster Moves - 3/15

RHP Angel Heredia of the DSL Astros suspended 50 games for PED's.

I forgot to post this yesterday, but frankly, I have never heard of this guy.  He's not in my database.  He hasn't played since 2009 and that was for the Pirates as a shortstop.  Baseball America, my normal go to on all minor league transactions, has no record of Houston picking up Heredia.  So apparently, at some point Houston picked up the 19-year old pitching convert and he got popped for PED's.  Now you know as much as I do.