Happy Birthday - 1/24

Happy Birthday to ~

C Jake Rodriguez (23)
Drafted by Houston in the 19th round in 2013 out of Oregon State University, Rodriguez played for Lancaster, Quad Cities and Tri-City in 2014. In 51 games, he hit .128/.195/.179.

RHP Juan Hernandez (22)
Signed as an international free agent from the Dominican Republic in 2012, Hernandez pitched for the DSL team until receiving an August promotion to the Gulf Coast League. In 13 games (two starts), he was 2-4 with a 6.82 ERA and a 1.848 WHIP.

RHP Carlos Sanabria (18)
An international free agent out of Venezuela, Sanabria spent his first professional season in the Dominican Summer League. In 15 appearances (three starts), Sanabria was 2-2 with a 2.82 ERA and a 1.617 WHIP.

Former Astros celebrating birthdays today ~

LF Sandy Valdespino (76)
Valdespino came to Houston in a December 1968 trade with Atlanta and played in 41 games for the Astros in 1969, hitting .244/.326/.277.

LHP Ross Powell (47)
Originally drafted by the Reds in the third round in 1989, Powell came to Houston from Pittsburgh in July 1995. In 27 games for Houston in 1994 and 1995, he had a 6.61 ERA and a 2.327 WHIP.

Happy Birthday - 1/24

Happy Birthday to ~

C Jake Rodriguez (22)
Drafted by Houston in the 19th round in 2013 out of Oregon State University, Rodriguez spent his first professional season with the Short Season A Tri-City team. In 32 games, he hit .209/.320/.291 and boasted a 47% caught stealing rate.

RHP Juan Hernandez (21)
Signed as an amateur free agent from the Dominican Republic in 2012, Hernandez played for the DSL Astros in 2013. In 14 games (7 starts), he was 1-0 with a 2.37 ERA and a 1.263 WHIP.

Former Astros celebrating birthdays today ~

LF Sandy Valdespino (75)
Valdespino came to Houston in a December 1968 trade with Atlanta and played in 41 games for the Astros in 1969, hitting .244/.326/.277.

LHP Ross Powell (46)
Originally drafted by the Reds in the third round in 1989, Powell came to Houston from Pittsburgh in July 1995. In 27 games for Houston in 1994 and 1995, he had a 6.61 ERA and a 2.327 WHIP.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Wednesday's Games

Tuscon over Oklahoma City 8-6
Bobby Doran put up a solid start (6IP 3H 2R 2BB 4SO), but Jason Stoffel was victimized in the seventh to the tune of three runs on three hits. Pat Urckfitz faced two batters in the eighth and struck both of them out. Hector Ambriz, tasked with getting the final out with a 6-5 lead in the frame, instead allowed a three-run home run to Cody Decker. Sigh. Trevor Crowe doubled in two of the four Oklahoma City runs in the second inning, and Ruben Sosa (3x4 2B 2RBI 2R) singled in one run in the second and doubled in another in the fourth. Every RedHawks starter reached the hit column with George Springer, Brandon Laird, Jimmy Paredes and Rene Garcia having multi-hit games in addition to Sosa.

Northwest Arkansas over Corpus Christi 1-0
Nick Tropeano pitched a great game and came out of it with a complete game loss. He gave up six hits and two walks, struck out six and allowed the only run of the game on a solo home run. On the other side of the diamond, Northwest Arkansas used five pitchers and allowed only two Hooks hits, two Kike Hernandez singles. Sorry, Nick, sometimes life just isn't fair.

Lancaster over Inland Empire 6-5
Aaron West got the start and allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits over the first four and was followed by two and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief from Blair Walters. A two-run homer issued by Jordan Jankowski in the eighth inning earned him a blown save, but the 'Hawks came back and Travis Ballew was awarded a "W" in the ninth. The JetHawks did not reach the run column until the sixth inning when two of the four runs came across on a Nolan Fontana home run. They put up one more in the eighth and Joe Sclafani hit a walk-off single in the ninth scoring Brandon Meredith. Sclafani was four-for-five for the night with a triple, RBI, stolen base and two runs scored. Carlos Perdomo and Tyler Heineman each had multi-hit games as well.

Clinton over Quad Cities 9-7
Josh Hader's second start did not go quite as well as his first. After allowing back-to-back doubles to start the game, Hader issued four free passes, hit a batter and was charged with a wild pitch while only recording two outs. Daniel Minor came in to get a quick ground out to end the threat, but ultimately allowed two runs over his three and a third innings. Patrick Christensen allowed one unearned run in his two innings and Zach Morton was pegged with the loss as he gave up the final two runs in his two. Rio Ruiz (2x4 2B HR BB) got the first River Bandit run in the second on a solo homer. Four more scored in the third with help from a Terrell Joyce RBI double and three Clinton errors in the frame. Carlos Correa (3x4 BB 2RBI R) singled in the final two Bandits runs in the fourth. Tony Kemp went two-for-three with two walks and scored a run; and Bobby Borchering was two-for-four with a double and run scored.

Connecticut over Tri-City 4-2
Kyle Westwood pitched the first three and allowed one run on a hit and a walk while striking out four. Tanner Bushue followed and gave up three runs (two earned) in his two innings before giving way to scoreless outings from Tyler Brunnemann and J.D. Osborne. Mike Martinez (2x3 BB R) scored on a ground out in the second, and Tyler White singled in James Ramsay (1x4 R SB) in the third. Tri-City was limited to eight hits in the game, all singles.

Johnson City over Greeneville 9-4
Starter Enderson Franco had a no-hitter going through four innings, but ultimately allowed seven runs on seven hits and struck out six over six innings. Krishawn Holley allowed the next two runs in his inning before Gonzalo Sanudo came in to pitch a perfect ninth. Alfredo Gonzalez (2x3 HR BB 2RBI 2R) got his second home run in the last week and second of his career to start the scoring in the third. Marc Wik scored on a wild pitch in the sixth. And the final two runs scored on RBI singles from Gonzales and Tanner Mathis (2x4 BB RBI) in the ninth. Brian Holberton was two-for-four with a double. Angel Ibanez and Ariel Ovando doubled in the game as well.

GCL Yankees2 over GCL Astros 4-0
Francis Ramirez (5IP 3H 1BB 3SO) and Zach Dando (3IP 4H 2SO) pitched eight shutout innings before the wheels came off for Juan Santos inn the bottom of the ninth. Single, walk, intentional walk, grand slam, ouch. The Yankees2 team was dealing too. Jean Batista's single to lead off the second was the only Astros hit in the game.

DSL Astros over DSL Dodgers 12-0
This was a nice team effort from pitchers Gerardo Juarez (3IP 3H 1BB 5SO), Juan Hernandez (3IP 2H 1BB 2SO), Yhoan Acosta (2IP 1H 2SO) and Geronimo Franzua (1IP 1BB 1SO) as they combined in the shutout. Randy Cesar (3x4 2B HR BB RBI 3R) started the Astros offensive onslaught with a solo homer in the second and Jarico Reynoso (2x5 3RBI) ended the scoring with a two-RBI triple in the ninth. Jesus Bermejo went two-for-five with two RBI and two runs scored. Luis Payano, Brauly Mejia and Jean Carlos Cortrorreal each had multi-hit games as well.

Players of the Day: Joe Sclafani's four-for-five night was impressive enough, but now that Sclafani finally has enough at-bats to qualify as a league leader, you can see that his season as a whole has been pretty impressive. He ranks third in average in the California League, second in OBP and 11th in slugging. Randy Cesar, who lacked a triple to hit for the cycle, and scored thrice for the DSL shares the honors.

Pitchers of the Day: I've got to send some love to the Dominican Republic as the four pitchers combined in a six-hit shutout. A tip of the cap to righties Gerardo Juarez and Juan Hernandez, and lefties Yhoan Acosta and Geronimo Franzua on a great game.

Happy Birthday - 1/24

Happy Birthday to ~

CF Javaris Reynolds (20)
Drafted by the Astros out of high school in 2011 in the seventh round, Reynolds played in only 11 games for the GCL Astros in 2012, hitting .214/.333/.214. He last played on July 13th but was never placed on the DL.

2B Jose Martinez (27)
Signed as a minor league free agent in 2012, Martinez split his time between Corpus Christi (.304/.362/.464 with 21 doubles, four triples and 13 home runs in 107 games) and Oklahoma City (.205/.272/.260 with two doubles and a triple in 23 games). He played in Venezuela this winter, hitting .287/.358/.401 in 46 games.

D'Andre Toney (21)
Toney was the PTBNL in the trade that sent Humberto Quintero and Jason Bourgeois to the Royals. Originally drafted by Kansas City in the 14th round in 2011, Toney played in 59 games for the Greeneville Astros, hitting .252/.351/.326.

RHP Juan Hernandez (20)
Signed as an amateur free agent from the Dominican Republic in 2012, Hernandez spent his first professional season with the DSL Astros. In 13 games (11 starts), he was 0-4 with a 3.78 ERA and a 1.510 WHIP.

Former Astros with birthdays today

LF Sandy Valdespino (74)
Valdespino came to Houston in a December 1968 trade with Atlanta and played in 41 games for the Astros in 1969, hitting .244/.326/.277.

LHP Ross Powell (45)
Originally drafted by the Reds in the third round in 1989, Powell came to Houston from Pittsburgh in July 1995. In 27 games for Houston in 1994 and 1995, he had a 6.61 ERA and a 2.327 WHIP.

Minor League Schedule and Recaps

SATURDAY'S GAMES

 DSL Astros at DSL Athletics @ 9:30 CST

Asheville at Lexington @ 6:05 CST

Probable Pitchers: RHP Daniel Winkler (8-3, 4.93) & RHP Jonas Dufek (3-1, 5.28)

Available on MiLB.tv

Corpus Christi at Frisco @ 7:00 CST

Probable Pitchers: RHP Jose Cisnero  (3-6, 4.21) & Chad Bell (2-0, 1.77)

Available on MiLB.tv

Oklahoma City at Round Rock @ 7:05 CST

Probable Pitchers: Armando Galarraga (0-0, 0.00) & LHP Zach Jackson (2-7, 5.08)

Available on MiLB.tv

Inland Empire at Lancaster @ 9:00 CST

Probable Pitchers: RHP Lay Batista (3-5, 3.69) & RHP Bobby Doran (5-4, 3.79)

FRIDAY'S RECAPS

DSL Astros 3 DSL Indians 0

The DSL Astros played a relatively quiet game Friday until the 6th inning. Juan Hernandez allowed only 3 hits over 5 in his 3rd, and longest, outing of the season.  Javier Saucedo (W, 1-1) allowed just 3 hits as well and the duo combined for 9 shutout innings. Until the 6th the Astros only had two base runners, Jarico Reynoso in the 1st and Brian Pena in the 3rd, on with a walk and single respectively.  They loaded the bases in the 6th with no outs but failed to get any runners home. In the 7th the Astros had the bases juiced again, with 1 out, after the Indian's Juan Garcia intentionally walked Brauly Mejia.  Yoel Silfa drew a walk and Randy Cesar scored. After a pitching change by the Indians, Mesac Laguna scored the final run of the inning on a wild pitch.  The bats clearly weren't very hot Friday morning; Brian Pena (.357) went 1 for 3 and Brauly Mejia (.286) went 0 for 3 at the plate.

Asheville 5 Lexington 3

This is one of those games that the boxscore doesn't do justice. After falling behind Asheville 2-0 in the 2nd, Luis Cruz pitched 6 more scoreless innings for Lexington and didn't leave the game with a bad line. Cruz allowed 2 runs on 7 hits over 8.  However, he did have 2 wild pitches.  Delino DeShields went 2 for 4 at the plate, scored a run and swiped stolen bases number 44 & 45 for the season. DeShields also picked up his 29th RBI and Justin Gominsky, who also went 2 for 4, picked up his 7th RBI.  In the bottom of the 8th, the Legends came alive with 3 stolen bases and 2 runs aided by a couple throwing errors by Asheville catcher Ryan Casteel.  Lexington had 4 stolen bases in the game.  The bottom fell out in the top of the 9th, as Carlos Quevedo, who came in to replace Cruz, gave up the tie and a 3 run homer to Rosell Herrera.  The final out of the game was a fly out to deep center by Chan Moon that was 2 feet short of being a 2 run homer.

Corpus Christi 2 Frisco 3

This was another close game that was decided in the final innings on Friday night.  Ross Seaton pitched 7 innings allowing only 2 runs.  Seaton also struck out 7 Frisco batters, his best this season.  Carlos Lee, in his 2nd rehab game with the Hooks, went 2 for 3 (both singles) before coming out in the 7th. Jon Singleton went 1 for 4 and picked up his 41st RBI. Kody Hinze went 1 for 4 and hit his 7th home run (and 25th RBI) to tie the game at 2 in the top of the 7th inning.  Kevin Chapman came on to pitch in the 8th and hit the first batter he faced.  This was followed by a single and a walk to load the bases (it is worth noting that after reaching this point in the game Chapman gained about 2 mph on his fastball).  With one out, Frisco's Ryan Strausborger then grounded into a force out, the go-ahead run scored and then the 5-4-3-2 double play was completed at home to end the inning (it was just as odd to watch as to read, I assure you).

Oklahoma City 0 Round Rock 2

There's not much to say about this game except there's always tomorrow. Oklahoma City was shut out for the 2nd time in the last 3 games and the 4th time this season.  Brian Bass started the game for the RedHawks and after allowing 2 runs in the first, kept his remaining 5 innings scoreless.  He finished the 6th inning with 9 hits, 4 walks and 1 strike out.  Mickey Storey came on to pitch in the 7th and threw a couple of 1-2-3 innings while collecting 2 strike outs.  The bats were quiet as the RedHawks only collected 4 hits the whole game, 2 of which came in the top of the 9th.  The last hit belonging to Brad Snyder, allowing him to continue a 13 game hitting streak.

GAME OF THE DAY

Inland Empire 4 Lancaster 14

David Martinez got the win (2-3) and threw 7 shutout innings, giving up only 2 hits while striking out 5 Inland Empire batters.  Brad Dydalewicz replaced him in the 8th inning and Inland Empire finally got on the board with 4 runs.  That wasn't nearly enough however, as the JetHawks already had 13 runs by that point in the game and would score one more in the bottom of the 8th.  George Springer and Domingo Santana both went 3 for 4 with 4 RBI's between them. Erik Castro and Chris Epps both went 3 for 5 and collected 7 RBI's combined.  Epps hit the only home run of the game, his 2nd of the season for Lancaster (he also had 2 for Lexington this year).  Every JetHawk starting player got at least one hit, 6 had multiple hit games and all but Enrique Hernandez scored a run.  Lancaster scored in every inning except the 7th. 

What went right: What didn't? A season high 19 hits, 4 players with 3 hit nights, a shutout performance by the starting pitcher, Stormtroopers in attendance, and to top it all off, Lancaster defeated the "Empire" on Star Wars night.

What went wrong: Brad Dydalewicz did give up 4 runs in one inning. He has now allowed 11 earned runs over 11.2 innings pitched for a 8.49 ERA this season. 

David Martinez 7IP 2H 0R 0BB 5SO

Brad Dydalewicz 2IP 7H 4R 2BB 1SO 0HR 

Erik Castro 3x5 2B 3RBI BB SO 2R

Chris Epps 3x5 3B HR 4RBI SO 2R

Ben Heath 2x5 SO R

Domingo Santana 3X4 2B 3RBI BB 2R

George Springer 3X4 2B RBI BB SO 3R

Rafael Valenzuela 2X4 3B RBI R

Pitchers of the Day

David Martinez gets the honor for throwing 7 shutout innings and allowing only a pair of hits.  Honorable mention goes to Juan Hernandez and Javier Saucedo for the combination shutout in the DSL.

Players of the Day

Hats off to Brad Snyder for extending his hitting streak to 13 games and Delino Deshields for adding 2 more steals to bring his total to 45.  A tip of the cap to Jon Singleton as well for collecting his 41st RBI.