Happy Birthday - 10/14

OF Jarrod McKinney (23)
Originally from Hughes Springs, Texas (which I determined is pretty much precisely in the middle of nowhere near the Arkansas and Louisiana borders), McKinney was drafted in the 31st round in 2011 out of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.  In 48 games for Tri-City this season, he hit .224/.312/.360.

Former Astros with birthdays today:

RHP Alberto Arias (29)
From the Dominican Republic, he was originally signed as a NDFA by Colorado and was picked up by Houston in 2008 as a waiver claim. In 45 appearances for Houston in 2008 and 2009, Arias had a 3.86 ERA and a 1.584 WHIP.

SS,2B Kiko Garcia (59)
Originally drafted by the Orioles in the third round in 1971, Garcia came to Houston in an April 1981 trade with Baltimore. In 82 games for the Astros in 1981 and 1982, Garcia hit .250/.295/.325.

C Carl Nichols (50)
A fourth round pick by Baltimore in 1980, Nichols came to Houston in a March 1989 trade and played for the Astros for three seasons, from 1989 to 1991. In 60 games, he hit .186/.271/.239. After his retirement, he coached at the Urban Youth Academy in Compton, California.

IF Dave Hajek (45)
Signed by Houston as an amateur free agent in 1989, Hajek got a couple of cups of coffee as he played in a total of 13 games for the Astros in 1995 and 1996, hitting .250/.400/.333. In 10 minor league seasons, he hit  .301/.344/.408. In 2012, he was a minor league infield coordinator for the Rockies.

Minor League Recaps

Friday's Recaps

DSL Mariners DSL Astros

-Cancelled

GCL Astros 1 GCL Nationals 2 (8)

GCL was 3-hit shutout in their first game of the day, Friday. Not all was lost however, because they still managed to score a run on a trio of hits with Juan Santana's RBI single to score Ydarqi Marte in the 6th inning. Erick Gonzalez picked up his third blown save in the 7th frame after giving up a run on a couple hits. Rodney Quintero (0-3) took the loss, pitching just 2 outs in the 8th. Quintero walked a batter, struck 1 out, allowed 1 hit and the game-winning run during that time.

GCL Astros 3 GCL Nationals 6

GCL scored 3 in the 5th inning in this one, but starting pitcher Enderson Franco (3-2) allowed 6 runs (5ER) on 11 hits through 7 and it wasn't enough.  Franco also walked a pair and struck out 6. Teoscar Hernandez had a multi-hit night, batting 2 for 4 with a double, solo homer and run scored.

Greeneville Astros 1 Danville Braves 7

Greeneville got on the board with a run in the first on Friday, but that was the only score.  The Astros had 4 hits all night and Terrell Joyce had 3 of them, going 3 for 3 at the plate.  Greenville fell behind after a 5 run 3rd inning in which starting pitcher Kevin Comer (3-4) allowed all those runs on 6 hits with a walk and 3 Ks. Comer took the loss.  Carlos Correa had the other hit of the game, going 1 for 3 with a walk.

Vermont Lake Monsters 4 Tri-City ValleyCats 7

Two words: Jarrod McKinney.  McKinney batted 2 for 3 Friday and both of his hits were homers.  The first was a 2-run shot in the second inning and the next was a solo knock in the fourth.  Preston Tucker (2X4, RBI) and Jesse Wierzbicki (2X3, 2B) both scored runs as well.  Aaron West got the start and went 4 innings on the mound allowing 2 runs on 7 hits, walking 1 and striking out 3.  Jamaine Cotton (2-1) came on for the next 3 frames and picked up the win, allowing 1 run on 4 hits with 4 Ks.

Charleston RiverDogs 3 Lexington Legends 2

Lexington scored a couple runs in the fifth inning but that wasn’t enough to offset the 3 runs Jonas Dufek (6-4) allowed through the first 6 innings on Friday at home.  Dufek collected the runs on just 5 hits and a walk while striking out 8 batters and logging the loss.  Chan Moon went 2 for 4 at the plate and now has a .270 average in 173 Abs for Lexington. The Legends didn’t record an extra base hit in the game.

Lake Elsinore Storm 4 Lancaster JetHawks 9

This game was scoreless until the fourth inning when Erik Castro hit a 2-out, solo HR.  Castro ended up hitting 2 for 4 with a run scored and 2 RBI, bringing his season total to 100.  Grant Hogue hit 1 for 2 with a double, RBI, walk and 2 stolen bases.  Delino DeShields didn’t have a hit in the game but drew a walk, scored 2 runs and stole 3 bases of his own, bringing his record setting total to 96 for the season.   On the mound Blair Walters (2-2) had a nice outing, earning the “W” after pitching 7 innings and allowing just 2 runs on 6 hits, 1 walk and K-ing 5.

Midland RockHounds 4 Corpus Christi Hooks 2

This game was the completion of the game from the previous night, which saw a power outage at the park and dancing by Kiké Hernandez and Andy Simunic.  Rob Rasmussen had a shutout going through 5 innings Thursday when the game was called.  Jake Buchanan (5-7) picked up the last 4 innings on Friday and allowed 4 runs on 6 hits, walked 2 and K-ed 3 while recording the loss and his first blown save.  George Springer finished 3 for 4 at the plate with a run scored and Jonathan Singleton hit 2 for 4 with a RBI.

Midland RockHounds 6 Corpus Christi Hooks 7

This game saw Corpus Christi scrapping back the entire time to even the score and finally score the winning run on Jonathan Singleton’s solo, walk off homerun to lead off the ninth inning.  According to Greg Rajan of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Singleton’s said it was his first walk off homer ever.  Singleton ended up 2 for 5 in the game with 2 runs scored.  Jake Goebbert was on at the plate too, hitting 2 for 3 with a double, 2 runs scored and a walk.  Ben Orloff got in on the action too, batting 3 for 4 with a run scored and a RBI. Jason Stoffel (2-1) collected the win after going the last frame on the mound.  In his time, Stoffel gave up a hit and struck out 2.

Oklahoma City RedHawks 3 Iowa Cubs 5

The RedHawks got on the board first Friday but were playing catch up the rest of game and ended up a few runs short.  Starting pitcher Edgar Gonzalez got Oklahoma City started strong, only being charged with a pair of runs (1ER) while walking 2 and striking out the same.  Brian Sanches came on to pitch 2 outs in the seventh inning and in his time allowed 2 runs on 3 hits.  Sanches picked up his second blown save and moved his record to 1-3 with the loss.  Jimmy Paredes was on fire offensively Friday, hitting 3 for 4 with a 2-bagger, run scored and a RBI.  Paredes also stole his 36^th base of the year in the game.  Matt Downs batted 2 for 3 with a run scored and a walk.

Player of the Day:  Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a 3-way tie.  ‘Lino DeShields stole 3 bases Friday and earned a share of the title with Mr. Jon Singleton who hit not only the game winner in walk off fashion, but also the first walk off of his career.  Equal amongst these guys is Jarrod McKinney who hit 2 for 3 on Friday, both hits being taters for a total of 3 runs.

Pitcher of the Day:  Jamaine Cotton, come on down.  Cotton earned his second “W” of the season Friday after logging 3 innings of work and allowing just a single run on 4 hits in that time.  Cotton also struck out 4 and made every female in the front row swoon.

   

Minor League Recaps

Thursday's Games

DSL Astros over DSL Mariners 1-0 in 7 innings (Game 1)
Francisco Baso (one inning), Rayderson Chevalier (3.2 innings) and Angel Heredia (2.1 innings) combined for the shut out with Chevalier getting the win. The Astros only got two hits (to the Mariners four hits) but made them count as a Jean Carlos Cortorreal single was followed by a Luis Reynoso RBI double.

DSL Astros over DSL Mariners 9-1 in 7 innings (Game 2)
One win is rare for this DSL team. Two wins is worth a party! Especially a nice lopsided win like this. Edwin Villarroel pitched five innings and allowed one run (none earned) on six hits to get his third win of the season. Harold Arauz and Javier Saucedo pitched the final two innings of hitless ball. The Astros scored in every inning. Really. Standouts were Mesac Laguna as he went two-for-four with a home run, three RBI and scored two runs and Jean Carlos Cortorreal who went one-for-three with two RBI and a walk.

GCL Cardinals over GCL Astros 7-1
Kyle Hallock got his first rehab start and gave up one unearned run over two-thirds of an inning. Edison Frias then followed pitching the bulk of the game and he was very effective as he allowed one run on four hits and no walks with six strikeouts in seven and a third. Juan Mojica got in to a heap of trouble in his third of an inning and ended up getting charged with five runs (four earned) as Ambiorix de Leon was unable to keep two of his runners from scoring. The offense won't take long to write about. Juan Santana got a hit to break up a combined no-hit bid with one out in the eighth. Carlos Correa hit a single in the ninth. Yonathan Mejia drove him in with another single.

Pulaski over Greeneville 9-8 in 10 innings
Michael Feliz got the start giving up three runs on six hits over four and a third innings. Four pitchers came on in relief -- Mike Hauschild was the only one who didn't allow a run. Euris Quezada was charged with the blown save and the loss. It's a shame that the bullpen couldn't hang on to this one because there were some very good offensive performances from Angel Ibanez (2x3 3B RBI BB 2R), Brian Blasik (3x6 RBI R) and Michael Martinez (2x5 RBI BB R). D'Andre Toney hit a two-run shot and Ernesto Genoves had a solo home run.

Tri-City over Aberdeen 12-2 (completed early)
Brian Holmes caught up with teammate Aaron West in getting his sixth win of the season and John Neely pitched the final three as each allowed one run on two hits. Jarrod McKinney put the ValleyCats in the catbird seat in the third inning with his first home run of his professional career, a grand slam to give Tri-City a 7-1 lead. Catfish Elkins was one-for-two with three walks, an RBI and scored three times. Neiko Johnson and Jobduan Morales each drove in two.

West Virginia over Lexington 8-3
Luis Ordosgoitti (L, 5-4) got banged up a bit as he allowed five runs on eight hits in four and a third innings. Gabriel Garcia added on another three before Mitch Lambson and Tommy Shirley shut the door. The Legends didn't manage to get on the board until the sixth when they scored via a Delino DeShields long ball and a Brandon Meredith two-run bomb. The Legends only collected five hits; two of them belonged to Meredith. DeShields swiped his 83rd bag of the season. He is only four away from tying the all-time Astros minor league record.

High Desert over Lancaster 7-5
Tyson Perez allowed five runs (four earned) on nine hits over seven innings and Brad Dydalewicz pitched a perfect frame as the JetHawks scrambled from behind to tie things up in the top of the ninth. Unfortunately, Carlos Quevedo allowed two runs in the bottom of the ninth and was charged with the loss. Erik Castro (21st) and Domingo Santana (18th) hit back to back shots; Roberto Pena hit a two-run single; and Chris Epps hit a triple and was driven in with a Rafy Valenzuela sac fly. Castro and Drew Muren each had two hits.

Arkansas over Corpus Christi 10-4
Asher Wojciechowski got his first loss for the Hooks as he allowed six runs (three earned) on five hits over three innings. Adalberto Flores added on another four in his four innings of work. Kevin Chapman and Jason Stoffel each pitched a scoreless frame. Corpus was never really in this one after Arkansas scored six in the fourth to take an 8-1 lead. Jake Goebbert was two-for-three with a double, walk and scored three runs and Adam Bailey was two-for-four with two doubles and two RBI. George Springer popped out in a pinch hit appearance in his AA debut.

Oklahoma City - Off Day

Player of the Day: A grand salami for your first professional home run? Jarrod McKinney, you're my man.

Pitcher of the Day: The DSL pitching staff deserves kudos for allowing only one total run in two games. Nicely done!

Happy Birthday - 10/14

RHP Alberto Arias (28)
The oft-injured Arias hasn't pitched for Houston since 2009 when he went 2-1 with a 3.35 ERA in 42 appearances over 45.2 innings.  From the Dominican Republic, he was originally signed as a NDFA by Colorado and was picked up by Houston in 2008 as a waiver claim.

OF Jarrod McKinney (22)
Originally from Texas, Jarrod was drafted in the 31st round in 2011 out of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.  In 35 games with the GCL Astros, he hit only .182, but he did manage to hit .263 in 16 away games.

Former Astros with birthdays today:

SS,3B Kiko Garcia (58)
Played for Houston in 1981 and 1982

C Carl Nichols (49)
Played for Houston in 1989 to 1991

IF Dave Hajek (44)
Played in 13 games for Houston in 1995 and 1996