Roster Moves

OKLAHOMA CITY
2B Raoul Torrez assigned from Lancaster to Oklahoma City

LANCASTER
C Tyler Heineman activated from the DL
RHP Tyson Perez placed on the Temporary Inactive List

QUAD CITIES
DH Chase Davidson assigned from Quad Cities to Extended Spring Training
LHP Colton Cain assigned from Quad Cities to Extended Spring Training
3B Ryan Dineen assigned from Extended Spring Training to Quad Cities (just sent to EST 4 days prior)
C Miles Hamblin assigned from Extended Spring Training to Quad Cities

Also, Grant Hogue tweeted today that he was moving on. Hogue is a terrific individual that was well loved by teammates and fans alike. I met him on a couple of occasions and could see why. Those who are privileged to have Grant in their midst next will definitely be the richer for it.

Roster Moves

I missed this Baseball America transaction post from over the weekend. Apparently, Kyle Weiland is NOT a figment of our imagination:

Placed on 7-day DL: RHP Murilo Gouvea, RHP Chia-Jen Lo, RHP Kyle Weiland, LHP Sergio Escalona, LHP Kenny Long, C Max Stassi, 3B Andy Simunic, 3B Brandon Wikoff, OF Grant Hogue, OF Telvin Nash

In addition, RHP Edgar Gonzalez was claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays and 2B/LF Ruben Sosa was assigned to Oklahoma City.

Rumors have been floating about Paul Clemens coming to Houston, but nothing official has been announced by the team.

UPDATES:

• RHP Paul Clemens is indeed headed to Seattle to join the team as RHP Josh Fields goes on the DL with forearm tightness.
• RHP Ross Seaton is being sent to Oklahoma City from Corpus Christi.
• RHP Carlos Quevedo is being sent to Corpus Christi from Lancaster.
• RHP Michael Dimock is headed from Extended Spring Training to Quad Cities.
• According to Daniel Makarewicz (who covers the Quad Cities team), RHP Jordan Jankowski is being sent from Quad Cities back to Extended Spring Training.
• LHP Tommy Shirley activated from the temporary inactive list for Lancaster.

Tweets of the Day

Drew Muren ‏@justDREWit88

That game was insane! Never seen such a crazy game with so many momentum swings in my life!! #WINNING #2weekhawks

Grant Hogue ‏@grant_hogue

HEART ATTACK HAWKS!!!!!

Jiovanni Mier ‏@JioMier

WOW!!! Talk about playoff atmosphere!! Huge Win for the Hawks

Jason Schwartz ‏@jasondschwartz

Hard to find words to sum up that #JetHawks game. Never felt so tired/drained after a broadcast. So happy for the team, such a gutsy win.

Tweet of the Day

Grant Hogue ‏@grant_hogue

Unreal game tonight at the Hangar. Don't sleep on the HAWKS!!! Gotta keep it rolling tomorrow.... #Schooning #twoweekhawks

Roster Moves

Oklahoma City
RHP Enerio del Rosario was assigned from Houston to Oklahoma City to make room for new signing RHP Chuckie Fick.

Corpus Christi
According to Greg Rajan, C Ryan McCurdy is being assigned from Lexington to Corpus Christi. Expect to see Rene Garcia placed on the DL after an apparent knee injury during Friday's game.

Lancaster
RHP R.J. Alaniz was placed on the 7-day DL (yes, he was just recently activated from the DL).
CF Grant Hogue was placed on the 7-day DL.
1B Rafy Valenzuela was activated from the temporary inactive list.
RHP Jason Chowning was released.
OF Telvin Nash was placed on the 7-day DL.
According to Greg Rajan, OF Drew Muren is being assigned from Corpus Christi to Lancaster.

GCL
RHP Krishawn Holley was assigned to the GCL.

DSL
RHP Francisco Baso was assigned to the DSL.

Tweet of the Day

Grant Hogue ‏@grant_hogue

Get to the field for a 2:00 stretch, or I guess when the choppa gets through drying the outfield. #hangwithemhttp://lockerz.com/s/224719654

Minor League Schedule and Recaps

[Note: If you're reading this from RSS, you may have missed the standings I put on the front page. As of this morning, seven of eight Astros minor league affiliates are at .500 or better. Corpus Christi is now tied for first place in the overall standings while lagging by only one game behind the Missions in the second half race.]

Sunday's Games

Asheville	Lexington	12:35 CST MiLB.tv	Winkler, Daniel (8-5, 4.75)
Greeneville	Kingsport	4:00 CST	Ramirez, Francis (1-0, 5.14)	Morris, Akeel (0-2, 10.29)
Tri-City	Lowell	4:05 CST	West, Aaron (1-0, 0.00)	Velette, Raynel (1-1, 4.35)
NW Arkansas	Corpus Christi	6:05 CST MiLB.tv	Marimon, Sugar Ray (0-0, 1.50)	Cosart, Jarred (4-4, 3.65)
Memphis	Oklahoma City	6:05 CST MiLB.tv	Lyons, Tyler (0-2, 7.47)	Galarraga, Armando (1-1, 2.16)
Lancaster	Modesto	8:05 CST	Tropeano, Nick (0-0, -.--)

Saturday's Results

DSL Astros over DSL Indians 3-2
Juan Hernandez gave up two runs in his five inning start, but Javier Saucedo got the win in relief as the Astros scored late. Randy Cesar (3x4), Jarico Reynoso (2x3, 3B), and Frederick Serrano (2x4, 2B) all had good days at the plate. The winning run came in courtesy of an Arturo Michelina walk-off single.

GCL Astros over GCL Nationals 3-2
Michael Feliz (W, 2-0) didn't get the start but did the heavy lifting, pitching six innings and allowing two runs. Erick Gonzalez got his third save of the season. Franny Polanco was three-for-three with two RBIs; Wallace Gonzalez was two-for-three with a double and a triple; and Darwin Rivera hit a solo home run.

Tri-City over Connecticut 14-5
Tri-City has now won eight in a row and they completely dominated Connecticut, leading from the first inning on and putting up three four-run innings. And I'm sure that starting pitcher Vincent Velasquez couldn't have been happier. Velasquez earned his second win, as he allowed one run on six hits with two walks and seven strikeouts over six innings. Relievers Brad Propst and Jamaine Cotton each allowed two runs. Big nights at the plate for Austin Elkins (3x4, 2R), Dan Gulbransen (3x3, 2B, HR, 5RBI, 2BB, 2R), Jesse Wierzbicki (2x4, BB, 2R); Joe Sclafini (2x4, 2RBI); and Jobduan Morales with a grand slam.

Asheville over Lexington 13-8
A seven-run seventh inning by Asheville was the nail in Lexington's coffin. Mike Foltynewicz (L, 9-2) had a rare subpar outing in his first loss since his first start of the season as he allowed six runs (five earned) over his six innings. Nate Pettus only managed to get one out in the seventh while allowing seven runs. He was quickly bailed out by Mitch Lambson in his first appearance since his promotion to Lexington. Luis Alvarez, a catcher, also pitched an inning and allowed no hits or runs. Matt Duffy was three-for-five with three RBIs; Justin Gominsky had two doubles; Roberto Pena was two-for-five with two runs; Ruben Sosa got two runs in his first appearance for Lexington; and Delino DeShields stole three bases to increase his season total to 57.


Memphis over Oklahoma City 20-6
Apparently, the Redhawks heard about Lexington having a catcher pitch in their game, so they decided to have a left fielder pitch in theirs! After a complete implosion by the OKC pitching staff, left fielder J.B. Shuck came in with one on and no outs, induced a double play and a ground out and got out of the inning unscathed. Which is more than can be said for OKC's other pitchers for the night. Brian Bass was charged with the loss after allowing six runs (one earned) over 4.2 innings. Brandon Barnes, Mike Hessman and J.B. Shuck were all two-for-five, with Barnes and Hessman hitting home runs.

Corpus Christi over Northwest Arkansas 13-7
The Hooks were gifted with lots of hits and lots of walks allowed by the opposing pitchers. As a matter of fact, four of the Hooks runs scored via the bases loaded walk. Really, that happened. Bobby Doran got his second win in as many starts for the Hooks as he put up a quality start. There were too many terrific hitting performances to list them all, but Austin Wates' three hits, and Jose Martinez' five RBIs and home run stood out.

Lancaster over Rancho Cucamonga 8-7
Lancaster struck early and hung on late. It looked as though this might be another one of "those" nights for Lancaster as starter Zach Grimmett (W, 3-5) gave up two in the top of the first, but he settled down nicely and allowed only two more runs over his next five. In the meantime the JetHawks bats went to work and chased out Rancho Cucamonga starter Angel Sanchez after only 2.2 innings as Lancaster scored all eight of their runs in the first three innings. Kirk Clark made it a bit more interesting than I would have liked by allowing three runs in relief to make it a one-run game, but Andrew Robinson nailed it down with his fifth save. Offensively, it was the Grant Hogue show as he went four-for-four with a triple, RBI, walk and scored three runs. Hogue is now hitting .611 for the JetHawks in 13 games. Kike Hernandez (two-for-three with a triple) and Domingo Santana (two-for-four with an RBI) also had good nights.

Game of the Day
Greeneville over Danville 13-4
This was a nice comeback for Greeneville after the 17-inning loss in their previous outing. The Astros led from the second inning on as the bats broke out in a big way. Richard Rodriguez earned his second win of the season. Jose Monzon provided some excitement with a three-run inside the park home run.

What went right: Hitting and lots of it.

What went wrong: 0-fer from Brian Blasik, lowering his batting average all the way down to .372.

Richard Rodriguez (W, 2-0) - 6IP 6H 2R 2BB 9SO
Scott Zuloaga - 2IP 4H 2R 0BB 2SO
Jordan Jankowski - 1IP 0H 0R 0BB 1SO

Ernesto Genoves - 3x5 2-2B RBI 2R
Mike Martinez - 2x3 HR 2RBI 2R
Ariel Ovando - 3x5 RBI SO 2R
Angel Ibanez - 2x4 RBI SO 2R
Jose Monzon - 3x4 HR 4RBI R
Jean Batista - 1x5 HR 2RBI R

Players of the Day: There were too many terrific performances to chose from. Let's let Dan Gulbransen's five RBIs, Jose Martinez' five RBIs, Jose Monzon's inside the park home run; Jobduan Morales' grand slam; and Grant Hogue's four-for-four night all share in the glory.

Pitchers of the Day: Vincent Velasquez edges out Richard Rodriguez, but J.B. Shuck and Luis Alvarez should also get honorable mention.

Happy Birthday - 6/26

OF Grant Hogue (26)
Drafted by Houston in the 35th round in 2009 out of Mississippi State, Hogue has struggled with staying off the DL so far this season. Starting the season on the DL with a hand injury, Hogue wasn't activated at Lancaster until May 30th. After going on a 10-game tear in which he hit .571/.613/.786, he ended up back on the DL with a hamstring injury. His career minor league batting line to date is .287/.359/.355. He was just activated from the DL on Monday but didn't see any action in Monday's game.

Roster Moves - 6/24

Oklahoma City
RHP Chris Hicks was released.

Lancaster
OF Grant Hogue was activated from the DL.

Roster Moves - 6/10

Oklahoma City
LHP Fernando Abad was sent to OKC for a rehab assignment.

Lancaster
*OF Emilio King was assigned to Lancaster from Extended Spring Training.
OF Grant Hogue was placed on the 7-day DL.
OF Domingo Santana was activated from the DL.
RHP Ruben Alaniz was placed on the temporary inactive list.

*Note: I think that King is most likely temporary at Lancaster as Springer has been day-to-day with a hip flexor injury.

Greeneville
D'Andre Toney was acquired as the PTBNL in the Quintero/Bourgeois trade with Kansas City and assigned to Greeneville.

We should find out much more about where players are being assigned over the next couple of days as Tri-City and GCL players report on Tuesday and Greeneville players report on Wednesday.

Minor League Schedule and Results

FRIDAY'S GAMES

Rome at Lexington at 6:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Navery Moore (3-1, 3.28) and RHP Nick Tropeano (3-3, 3.05)
Available on MiLB.tv

Nashville at Oklahoma City at 7:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Wily Peralta (1-6, 6.52) and RHP Paul Clemens (5-4, 6.66)
Available on MiLB.tv

Corpus Christi at Arkansas at 7:10 CST
Probable Pitchers: LHP Brett Oberholtzer (2-3, 5.61) and RHP John Helwig (2-3, 4.14)

Lancaster at Visalia at 9:00 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Bobby Doran (4-3, 3.48) and LHP Andrew Chafin (3-0, 2.91)

THURSDAY'S RESULTS

Oklahoma City over Nashville 4-1
For someone who started the season at HiA Lancaster, Wes Musick (W, 1-1) has shown that he is quite comfortable hanging with the big boys at AAA, thank you very much. Musick allowed one run and no walks on seven hits over six innings before turning things over to Mickey Storey who pitched two perfect innings in relief. Jose Valdez recorded his 11th save of the season. Brett Wallace hit his ninth home run of the season. Scott Moore had two hits with a double. Fernando Martinez one-upped him by getting two hits with a triple. Oklahoma City led from the third inning on, and Nashville never threatened thanks to some great pitching.

Rome over Lexington 10-9 in 14 innings
This one was a heartbreaker as Lexington battled from behind twice (including a six run frame), but ultimately fell short as they couldn't convert extra inning runners in scoring position to actual runs. Lexington used seven pitchers in this one. Starter Jonas Dufek gave up six runs (five earned) on eight hits, two walks and a home run over 5.2 innings followed by Nathan Pettus getting a key out. Carlos Quevedo gave up two runs and was charged with a blown save and Murilo Gouvea allowed one run in his one inning of work. Jason Chowning pitched two scoreless innings with three strikeouts (and owes Chris Epps dinner for corralling a wind-driven fly ball that almost left the yard). Euris Quezada (L, 0-2) pitched 3.2 innings and, thanks to four walks, had to pitch his way out of trouble several times. In the 14th, a throwing error and a wild pitch by Quezada led to the winning run and his ouster. Evan Grills got the fiinal out, but Lexington was unable to come back in the bottom of the frame. Chris Epps went four-for-six with a walk and scored two runs; Mike Kvasnicka hit his fifth home run; Zach Johnson was three-for-five with his 53rd RBI; Drew Muren, Kvasnicka and Chan Moon had two RBIs a piece; and Delino DeShields hit two doubles. Phew! Just two more extra inning games to recap!!!!

Corpus Christi over Arkansas 5-2 in 15 innings
Corpus Christi one-upped Lexington by going 15 innings and getting the win. Unlike the high-scoring Lexington game, though, this one was a pitcher's duel; it was 1-1 after two innings and it remained 1-1 until the 15th inning. Jose Cisnero had his best start of the season, pitching a strong seven innings and giving up only one unearned run on five hits and a walk with seven strikeouts. Kevin Chapman pitched two scoreless innings, followed by Erick Abreu (W, 5-1) who allowed only two hits and a walk over five scoreless innings of relief. Jason Stoffel closed it out, allowing one run on two hits. Chris Wallace hit his third home run of the season and that was all the Hooks got until the 15th when three singles, two doubles (Jair Fernandez and Jose Martinez) and a sac fly resulted in four runs. Austin Wates was two-for-six with a double, sac fly and a stolen base; Martinez had two RBIs; Jonathan Villar stole his 22nd bag; and Adam Bailey had a less than stellar season debut for the Hooks, going hitless in six at bats with two strikeouts. Phew! Just one more extra inning game to go and I'm starting on my second pot of coffee (really).

GAME OF THE DAY
Lancaster over Visalia 7-6 in 13 innings

Just 13 innings? Slackers! David Martinez gave up a home run in the first and a home run in the sixth; in between he pretty much dominated. After Martinez started to struggle in the sixth, Jose Trinidad took over with 2.2 scoreless innings. Kirk Clark wasn't able to convert the save opportunity as Visalia matched Lancaster run for run in the ninth and tenth innings. Andrew Robinson got the win in relief and Pat Urckfitz got the eventual save three hours and forty-seven minutes after first pitch. Grant Hogue scored the winning run in his first game this season at Lancaster with a ground rule double, advancing on a ground out and scoring on a wild pitch. Telvin Nash hit his 14th home run of the season.

David Martinez - 5.1IP 4H 3R 1BB 3SO 2HR
Jose Trinidad - 2.2IP 2H 0R 0BB 1SO
Kirk Clark (BS, 3) - 2IP 3H 3R 0BB 2SO 2HR
Andrew Robinson (W, 1-1) - 2IP 3H 0R 0BB 2SO
Pat Urckfitz (S, 4) - 1IP 1H 0R 0BB 2SO

Domingo Santana - 1x5 2B 2RBI 3SO
Telvin Nash - 1x4 HR RBI 3SO R
Grant Hogue - 1x2 2B R
Ben Heath - 2x5 BB SO R

PITCHER OF THE DAY
Jose Cisnero pitched seven innings for the first time this season and came back nicely after some recent tough starts.

PLAYER OF THE DAY
Grant Hogue is my man for getting the winning run in Lancaster and ending the madness after fifteen hours and nine minutes of Astros minor league baseball played through 51 innings on one crazy night.

Roster Moves - 5/29

Oklahoma City
RHP Jordan Lyles was optioned back to Oklahoma City from Houston.
RHP Chris Hicks was activated from the DL and assigned from Corpus Christi to Oklahoma City.

Corpus Christi
CONFIRMED Unconfirmed, but according to numerous player tweets it looks as though OF Adam Bailey will be sent from Lancaster to Corpus Christi on Wednesday (and will play at Lancaster tonight).

Lancaster
CONFIRMED Also, not confirmed by the Astros, but OF Grant Hogue confirmed in a tweet to Bryan Trostel of Astros County that he was being assigned from Extended Spring Training to Lancaster. He had started the season on the DL after breaking a hamate bone in Spring Training. Updated to Add: This move is not official until Wednesday as well.