Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Thursday, August 8, 2019

Let's play two in Hudson Valley and the Gulf Coast League (ugh)!

Round Rock 12, El Paso 11

W- Cy Sneed (7-6)
L- Carl Edwards Jr. (2-1)

RR home runs: Taylor Jones (19, solo in 6th), Jack Mayfield (21, 2-run in 8th)

Two games in which both teams reached double figures in runs. Just your garden-variety Triple-A series. The difference here was Round Rock's run in the 3rd inning.

Everyone in the Round Rock lineup scored a run. Jack Mayfield finished a double shy of the cycle.

In contrast to Wednesday, when José Urquidy was shelled, Kent Emanuel managed to hold out for a nice outing (relatively speaking). Emanuel allowed four runs (three earned) on nine hits (two solo homers) and struck out three in 5.2 innings.

Ryan Hartman takes on Bryan Mitchell in game three. First pitch is at 7:05 Mountain.

Midland 5, Corpus Christi 4

W- Zack Erwin (6-2)
L- Tommy DeJuneas (3-6)

CC home runs: Stephen Wrenn (6, solo in 2nd)

The Hooks scored two in the 8th to take a 3-2 lead and got an insurance run in the 9th to extend their lead to two runs. Unfortunately, they ended up walking off with a loss after the RockHounds scored three in the bottom of the 9th.

Stephen Wrenn finished 2-4 and he smacked a solo homer in the 2nd inning. Bryan de la Cruz scored on an error following a Colton Shaver lineout and then Jake Adams ripped an RBI double in the 8th. De La Cruz, who went 3-5, added an RBI single in the 9th.

Brandon Bailey allowed two runs on five hits, walked three, and struck out three in 4.2 innings. Chad Donato tagged in for 3.1 scoreless, allowing three hits, walking two, and striking out five. Midland walked it off against Tommy DeJuneas in the 9th.

Game two of this series will start at 7:00.

Wilmington 3, Fayetteville 1

W- Kris Bubic (5-3)
L- J.P. France (4-8)

Fayetteville home runs: None.

The Woodpeckers were shackled by Kris Bubic, who struck out eleven in a complete-game effort.

J.P. France went five innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits (two-run homer), walked one, and struck out four. Leovanny Rodriguez allowed two hits and struck out four in three scoreless innings of relief and César Rosado allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out one in a scoreless 9th.

Michael Papierski hit a sac fly in the 9th for Fayetteville's only run.

Fayetteville will now begin a series in Winston-Salem. First pitch is at 7:00 Eastern.

Quad Cities 8, Clinton 4

W- Layne Henderson (3-3)
L- Remey Reed (2-1)
S- José Alberto Rivera (1)

QC home runs: Freúdis Nova (3, solo in 2nd), Grae Kessinger (2, 2-run in 3rd)

The Banditos used a six-run 3rd inning to propel themselves to a victory.

Jonathan Bermúdez wasn't at his sharpest as he allowed four runs on three hits, walked five, and struck out two in 3.2 innings. The bullpen, however, was up to the task as Layne Henderson and José Alberto Rivera combined to strike out 11 over the final 5.1 innings. Henderson got Bermúdez out of a bases-loaded predicament and went on to allow two hits, walk one, and strike out five in 2.1 innings. Rivera took over for the last three innings, walking one and striking out six.

Freúdis Nova put Quad Cities on the board by leading off the 2nd with a home run. Austin Dennis led off the 3rd with a double and Wilyer Abreu brought him in with a double of his own. Alex McKenna singled, stole second, and then Oscar Campos ripped a two-run double. Freúdis followed with an RBI single and then Grae Kessinger smacked a two-run shot. Michael Wielansky hit an RBI single in the 5th inning. Nova, Wielansky, Dennis, and McKenna all finished with two hits on the evening.

Matt Ruppenthal will be on the mound as Quad Cities looks for the sweep. He'll take on Jake Walters at 6:35.

Tri-City

Not a pleasant day for the ValleyCats as they were swept in their twinbill with Hudson Valley. The Renegades took game one by a final of 9-3 and won game two 2-1.

Joe Perez whacked a two-run homer in the first game, which now gives him six home runs on the year. Korey Lee drove in a run with a groundout in the 6th. Jairo Lopez allowed a run on two hits, walked two, and struck out five in 3.2 innings of relief.

C.J. Stubbs' sac fly in the 1st was the only Tri-City run in game two. Christian Mejías allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits, walked two, and struck out three in five innings of work.

Kyle Serrano will start game three of this series. First pitch is at 7:00 Eastern.

GCL Astros

The Palm Beach 'Stros wound up splitting their doubleheader with the Marlins, winning game one 4-2 and dropping the second game by a final score of 5-4.

Alfredo Angarita and Sean Mendoza scored on wild pitches in the 1st and the 2nd, respectively. Franklin Pinto hit an RBI single in the 6th and he came around to score on Mendoza's single. Brady Rodgers continued his rehab with 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out three.

In the second game, José Álvarez launched a three-run home run in the 1st; that was the first longball of his pro career. Álvarez reached on an error in the 3rd which allowed Yefri Carrillo to score. Ryan Gusto, the Astros' 11th-round pick from this year's MLB Draft, made his pro debut in this game and he allowed a hit and struck out three over two scoreless innings.

DSL Astros 4, DSL Royals1 2

W- Jeremy Molero (4-0)
L- Darwin Feliz (2-3)

DSL home runs: None.

The Dominican 'Stros scored three in the top of the 9th to take the lead and the game.

Sebastian Grullón hit an RBI single in the 6th. Andrés Monzón tied the game when he stole home as part of a double steal with Ayendy Ortiz, who scored the go-ahead run on Ricardo Balogh's RBI single. Balogh scored the final run of the day on Grullón's second RBI single of the game. Grullón, Carlos Hurtado, and Frank Perez finished with two hits on the afternoon.

Daniel Bello allowed two runs on two hits, walked three, and struck out four in four innings. Jeremy Molero shut it down by allowing just one hit, walking one, and striking out eight in five innings.

Thursday's Stars

All photos are from Jayne unless stated otherwise.

Sebastian Grullón, IF, DSL Astros: 2-4, 2 RBI singles
Jeremy Molero, RHP, DSL Astros: W (4-0), 5 IP, H, BB, 8 K

José Alvarez, C, GCL Astros: 1-3, 3-R HR (1)
Ryan Gusto, RHP, GCL Astros: 2 IP, H, 3 K; pro debut

Quad Cities River Bandits bullpen

5.1 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 11 K

Layne Henderson: W (3-3), 2.1 IP, 2 H, BB, 5 K

José Alberto Rivera: Save (1), 3 IP, BB, 6 K

Freúdis Nova, IF, Quad Cities

2-4, solo HR (3), 2 RBI, 2 R

Chad Donato (left), RHP, Corpus Christi

3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K

Bryan de la Cruz's photo is his mugshot on MiLB.com.

Bryan de la Cruz, OF, and Stephen Wrenn, OF, Corpus Christi

De La Cruz: 3-5, RBI, R

Wrenn: 2-4, solo HR (6)

Leovanny Rodriguez, RHP, Fayetteville

3 IP, 2 H, 4 K

Myles Straw, UTIL, Jack Mayfield, IF, and Abraham Toro, 3B, Round Rock

Straw: 3-6, 2 RBI, 2 R

Mayfield: 3-4, 2-R HR (21), 4 RBI; double shy of cycle

Toro: 5-6, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Quad Cities sweep!

Round Rock 9, Omaha 8 (10 innings)

W- Tanner Duncan (2-0, 2-2 season)
L- Andrés Machado (1-2)

RR home runs: Taylor Jones (15, 3-run in 5th), Chas McCormick (4, 8 season; solo in 8th)

The E-Train fought back from an 8-1 deficit to walk off with a victory. After dropping the first game of this series, Round Rock took the next four.

Alex De Goti put the Express on the board with a sac fly in the 4th inning. The Storm Chasers went off for four in the top of the 5th to take an 8-1 lead but Taylor Jones whacked a three-run homer in the bottom of the 5th to help spark a comeback effort. Round Rock got three more in the 6th to get back into it as Jamie Ritchie ripped an RBI double and Chas McCormick followed with a two-run double. McCormick tied it in the 8th by smacking a home run to lead off the inning.

Garrett Stubbs started off the 10th in scoring position and moved to third on Ritchie's fly ball out to right. McCormick coaxed a walk and then Derek Fisher was intentionally walked to load the bases for Jack Mayfield, who picked the perfect time to snap an 0-5 night as he laced a ball to left field to complete the comeback. Jones and McCormick both had two hits and three runs batted in. Fisher and Ritchie also finished with two hits on the night.

Akeem Bostick bore the brunt of Omaha's assault as he allowed four home runs, including a grand slam, in his five innings. Fortunately, the bullpen picked him up with five scoreless innings to close things out. Joe Smith allowed a hit and struck out two in the 6th. Brendan McCurry and Tanner Duncan pitched two innings apiece with identical lines; they both walked one and struck out two during their time on the mound.

The Express will head up to Oklahoma City for their final series before the Triple-A All-Star break. There's a doubleheader on Friday to make up a game that was postponed on April 30. Rogelio Armenteros will start game one and he'll face Daniel Corcino at 7:05.

Frisco 11, Corpus Christi 10

W- Jonathan Hernandez (3-7)
L- J.B. Bukauskas (0-4)
S- Emmanuel Clase (5)

CC home runs: Seth Beer (9, 18 season; solo in 2nd), Lorenzo Quintana (6, 8 season; grand slam in 9th)

The Hooks scored in more innings than the Roughriders did, but unfortunately, one of the two innings in which Frisco scored involved seven runs. Corpus got a grand slam to cut the deficit to one run, but that was as close as they could get.

Cristian Javier continued his habit of being unhittable as he allowed just one hit, walked three, and struck out eight over five shutout innings. J.B. Bukauskas and Layne Henderson... didn't fare as well as Javier did. Riley Ferrell issued a couple of walks and struck out one in a scoreless 9th.

Seth Beer led off the 2nd with a homer and Aníbal Sierra ripped a two-run double later in the inning. Sierra drove in another run with a groundout in the 4th. Beer added an RBI single to his ledger in the 7th and Stephen Wrenn hit a sac fly. The Hooks loaded the bases to lead off the 9th but were in danger of leaving the inning empty-handed until Lorenzo Quintana launched a grand slam while they down to their final out. Unfortunately, they couldn't get the tying run on base.

Beer and Quintana both finished 4-5 on the night. Colton Shaver went 2-4 and both of his hits were doubles.

The Hooks return home to start a four-game set with Midland tonight at 6:15. Yohan Ramirez will start game one.

Salem 2, Fayetteville 1

W- Andrew Politi (4-1)
L- Shawn Dubin (2-4, 3-4 season)

Fayetteville home runs: Jake Adams (13, solo in 4th)

The Woodpeckers got swept in front of the home crowd. The end of June and the start of July has not been a kind stretch for Fayetteville as they've lost eight of their last nine.

Jake Adams clubbed a solo homer in the 4th for Fayetteville's only run in this game. Jonathan Arauz went 2-4 and was the only player on either side to finish with a multi-hit game.

Brett Conine rebounded nicely from his worst outing of the season as he allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out seven over five shutout frames. Shawn Dubin wasn't terrible in his four innings, but he got nipped for a couple of runs. Dubin allowed four hits, walked one, and struck out six.

The Woodpeckers will look to rebound as they begin a three-game series in Winston-Salem. Leovanny Rodríguez will start game one and he'll take on Jonathan Stiever at 6:30 Eastern.

Quad Cities 4, Wisconsin 0

W- Felipe Tejada (4-0)
L- Scott Sunitsch (6-8)

QC home runs: Austin Dennis (1, 2-run in 3rd)

The Banditos earned the sweep thanks to a stellar pitching performance; Felipe Tejada and Devin Conn joined forces to throw a two-hit shutout.

Tejada threw seven shutout innings, allowing two hits, walking three, and striking out eight. Conn finished the shutout by striking out two over two scoreless; he faced two over the minimum because he hit two batters.

Austin Dennis is probably better known for his speed on the bases, but he opened the scoring by launching a two-run homer in the 3rd. Quad Cities got two more in the 6th on a pair of RBI singles from David Hensley and Jonathan Lacroix. Hensley, Oscar Campos, and Alex McKenna all finished with two hits on the night.

The Banditos are home and they'll start a two-game series with Beloit tonight at 6:35. Cody Deason will get the start and he'll face Aiden McIntyre.

Staten Island 5, Tri-City 2

W- Abismael Villaman (1-0)
L- Guadalupe Chavez (0-1)

TC home runs: None.

The ValleyCats were kept in check on offense as they dropped the series.

They spoiled the shutout with a couple of runs in the 9th as Nathan Perry scored on a wild pitch and Grae Kessinger scored on Luis Santana's groundout. Perry went 2-2 with a double.

Lupe Chavez went 3.2 innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits (two-run homer), walked one, and struck out five. Juan Pablo Lopez got 4.1 innings and he allowed two runs on three hits, walked two, and struck out eight.

The ValleyCats are back home and they'll begin a three-game series with the Hudson Valley Renegades in a rematch of last year's NYPL Championship Series. First pitch is at 6:30 Eastern.

DSL Astros 6, DSL Marlins 4

W- Ricardo León (1-1)
L- Luis Lopez (0-1)
S- José Betances (1)

DSL home runs: Miguel Palma (3, 2-run in 7th)

Miguel Palma's one-man rally spurred the Dominican 'Stros to a victory.

Jeremy Molero and Ricardo León pitched four innings apiece. Molero allowed three hits, one of which was a solo homer, walked two, and struck out seven. León allowed three runs, two of which came on a double, walked five, and struck out seven. José Betances worked around a couple of hits and a bases-loading walk to get the save, striking out two in the 9th.

Palma found himself involved in all but one scoring play for the Dominican 'Stros. He reached on an error in the 2nd that allowed Omar Díaz to score. He launched a two-run homer in the 7th that cut the deficit to one run and then he put them in front with a two-run single in the 8th. Sebastian Grullón tacked on some insurance with an RBI single. Palma and Grullón both had two hits on the day.

The Dominican 'Stros will travel to the Royals complex for a game at 11:30 AM Atlantic.

Wednesday's Stars

All photos are from Jayne unless stated otherwise.

Miguel Palma, C, DSL Astros: 2-5, 2-R HR (3), 5 RBI
Jeremy Molero, RHP, DSL Astros: 4 IP, 3 H (solo HR allowed), 2 BB, 7 K

Quad Cities River Bandits pitchers: W 4-0 @ Wisconsin

9 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 10 K

Felipe Tejada: W (4-0), 7 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 8 K

Devin Conn: 2 IP, 2 HB, 2 K

Brett Conine, RHP, Fayetteville

5 IP, 2 H, BB, 7 K

Cristian Javier, RHP, Corpus Christi

5 IP, H, 3 BB, 8 K

Seth Beer, 1B/OF, and Lorenzo Quintana, C, Corpus Christi

Beer: 4-5, solo HR (9, 18 season), 2 RBI, 2 R

Quintana: 4-5, 2B, Grand Slam (6, 8 season), 3 R

Taylor Jones, 1B/OF, and Chas McCormick, OF, Round Rock

Jones: 2-4, 3-R HR (15)

McCormick: 2-5, 2B, solo HR (4, 8 season), 3 RBI

Joe Smith's photo taken by Bryan Green.

Round Rock Express bullpen

5 IP, H, 2 BB, 4 K

Joe Smith: IP, H, 2 K

Brendan McCurry: 2 IP, BB, K

Tanner Duncan: W (2-0, 2-2 season), 2 IP, BB, K

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Tuesday, June 4, 2019

The Astros' upper-level affiliates did battle with their counterparts from the A's system on Tuesday.

Las Vegas 19, Round Rock 9

W- Miguel Romero (2-0)
L- Brandon Bielak (0-1, 3-1 season)

RR home runs: Kyle Tucker 2 (18; solo in 5th, solo in 7th), Yordan Alvarez (22, 3-run in 1st), Taylor Jones (11, solo in 8th)

Well... this probably wasn't the start to their roadtrip that the Express envisioned.

At least Yordan Alvarez homered. He now has 22 home runs on the season. Kyle Tucker also homered. Twice! He now has 18 home runs. Taylor Jones also hit a home run to give him 11 on the season. Alex De Goti finished 3-5, a home run shy of the cycle, and scored twice.

The pitchers got battered as they allowed all 19 runs in the first four innings. Ralph Garza Jr. brought some semblance of order as he struck out four over two perfect innings and Lorenzo Quintana worked around a hit to throw a scoreless 8th.

Akeem Bostick will face Parker Dunshee in game two. First pitch is at 7:05 Pacific.

Midland 4, Corpus Christi 2

W- Zack Erwin (3-2)
L- Carlos Sanabria (3-1, 5-1 season)
S- Kyle Finnegan (7)

CC home runs: None.

The RockHounds scored three in the top of the 8th to snatch this game from the Hooks' grasp.

Corpus got their two runs in the 3rd on a pair of RBI singles from Abraham Toro and Seth Beer. Toro finished 2-4 on the evening.

Brandon Bailey allowed four hits and struck out two over five shutout innings. Unfortunately, the bullpen made a hash of things to finish out the game. Miguel Figueroa allowed a run on two hits in the 6th. Carlos Sanabria got 1.1 innings and he allowed three unearned runs (two inherited runners charged to him), a hit, walked two, and struck out two. Colin McKee allowed a hit and struck out one in 1.2 innings.

Carson LaRue will start the series finale and he'll take on Brian Howard at 6:15.

Winston-Salem 7, Fayetteville 5

W- John Parke (3-2)
L- J.P. France (1-5)
S- José Nin (5)

Fayetteville home runs: Marty Costes (1, 3 season; 3-run in 1st)

The Woodpeckers fell behind 6-0 after one half-inning and they nearly managed to erase it before ultimately falling short. Four errors did not help their cause and as a result, they got swept.

They got three of those runs back in the bottom of the 1st when Marty Costes whacked his first Carolina League home run. Costes scored on a single from Scott Manea in the 6th. The Woodpeckers loaded the bases in the 9th but all they could get out of it was a Colton Shaver RBI walk. Costes finished 2-4 on the night.

J.P. France failed to get out of the first inning. He allowed five unearned runs on three hits, one of which was a grand slam, walked one, and the two outs he recorded both came via the strikeout. Tanner Duncan was the first man out of the Fayetteville bullpen and he allowed two runs on two hits (solo homer), walked one, and struck out three in 2.2 innings. Leovanny Rodríguez followed with three scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out two. César Rosado allowed a hit and struck out four over the final 2.2 innings.

The Woodpeckers have Wednesday off as they head up to Wilmington, Delaware, where they'll start a four-game series with the Blue Rocks on Thursday.

Peoria 12, Quad Cities 5

W- Colin Schmid (3-1)
L- José Bravo (0-1, 2-2 season)

QC home runs: Ross Adolph (3, 2-run in 6th)

The Banditos got out to a quick start but the Chiefs swiftly seized control of this game. This series is being played in Peoria because the flood waters are still hanging around Modern Woodmen Park.

Quad Cities got three in the 1st on an RBI single from David Hensley and a two-run single from Michael Wielansky. Ross Adolph went 2-4 and smacked a two-run home run in the 6th inning.

José Bravo went three innings and allowed seven runs on six hits (two and three-run homers), walked two, and struck out one. Joey Gonzalez was the first man out of the Quad Cities bullpen and he allowed a run on a solo homer, one other hit, walked one, and struck out four in two innings. Jayson Schroeder was next and in 1.1 innings, he allowed two runs on two hits, walked three, and struck out two. Devin Conn allowed two runs on three hits, walked two, and struck out two in 2.2 innings.

Game two of this home series in the opponent's ballpark starts at 6:35.

DSL Astros 2, DSL Rays1 0

W- Jeremy Molero (1-0)
L- Justino Dominguez (0-1)
S- Ricardo León (1)

DSL home runs: None.

There was only one scoring play in this game and it belonged to the DSL Astros.

Cristian Gonzalez went 2-4 and his two-run double in the 5th was that one scoring play.

Jeremy Molero allowed two hits, walked two, and struck out three over five shutout innings. Ricardo León completed the shutout with four perfect innings, striking out four.

These two teams will go at it again at 11:30 AM Atlantic.

Tuesday's Stars

All photos are from Jayne unless stated otherwise.

Cristian Gonzalez, IF, DSL Astros: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Jeremy Molero, RHP, DSL Astros: W (1-0), 5 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K
Ricardo León, LHP, DSL Astros: Save (1), 4 IP, 4 K; perfect outing

Kyle Tucker, OF, and Alex De Goti, IF, Round Rock

Tucker: 2-4, 2 solo HR (18), 3 RBI

De Goti: 3-5, 2B, 3B, RBI, 2 R

Ralph Garza Jr., RHP, Round Rock

2 IP, 4 K; perfect outing

This is his mugshot on MiLB.com.

Ross Adolph, OF, Quad Cities

2-4, 2-R HR (3)

Brandon Bailey, RHP, Corpus Christi

5 IP, 4 H, 2 K

Marty Costes, OF, Fayetteville

2-4, 3-R HR (1, 3 season), 2 R

Leovanny Rodríguez, RHP, and César Rosado, RHP, Fayetteville

Rodríguez: 3 IP, 3 H, 2 K

Rosado: 2.2 IP, H, 4 K