Happy Birthday - 5/29

Wishing a Very Happy Birthday to ...

OF Leo Heras (25)
Heras was born on May 29, 1990 in Tiajuana, Baja California, Mexico, and was signed as a Free Agent out of the Mexican League in August 2013. He is currently playing for the AA Corpus Christi Hooks team.

Leo Heras - May 2015

Photo by Jayne Hansen

RHP Harold Arauz (20)
Arauz was born on May 29, 1995 in Chiriqui, Panama and signed with the Astros in July 2011. In Arauz' third season in 2014, he played the bulk of the season for the Gulf Coast League Astros team before being promoted to the Rookie League Greeneville Astros in mid-August.

RHP Juan Delis (21)
Delis was born on May 29, 1994 in Corregimiento de Bella Vista, Panama and signed with the Astros in October 2010. Delis started the 2014 season playing for the Gulf Coast League Astros and was promoted to Greeneville in early August.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Thursday, April 16, 2015

Let's play.... 1.5 (I guess) in Quad Cities!

Fresno with the...

Organization sweep! Double brooms! 

 

Fresno 5, Salt Lake 4

W- Dan Straily (2-0)
L- Alex Sanabia (0-2)
S- James Hoyt (2)

Fresno home runs: None.

The Grizzlies stormed out of the gate with a huge 1st inning and held off the Bees to get the sweep.

Fresno put up 4 runs in the 1st on 3 straight doubles from Matt Duffy, Preston Tucker (his drove in 2), and Matt Dominguez. Nolan Fontana tripled to lead off the 4th and scored on an Alex Presley groundout. The two of them, along with Domingo Santana, finished with 2 hits. Everyone in the lineup had a hit except for Max Stassi, who went 0-1 as he walked, had a sacrifice, and got plunked.

Dan Straily went 5 innings and allowed 3 runs on 10 hits, walked 1, and struck out 2. Richard Rodriguez was the first man out; he allowed a run on 2 hits and walked 1. Darin Downs allowed a hit over 1.1 scoreless, and James Hoyt, in his first attempt to put that nightmare on Wednesday behind him, did so by working around a hit to record the final 2 outs of the game.

The Grizz hit the road for the first time this season; first stop, Sin City. Luis Cruz gets the start in game 1... he will take on Tyler Pill at 7:05 Pacific.

Corpus Christi 8, Springfield 0

W- Mark Appel (2-0)
L- Mike Mayers (0-2)

CC home runs: Telvin Nash (3, 3-run in 5th)

The Hooks, playing in front of their home crowd for the first time this season, put on a show on offense and their pitchers shut the Cardinals down.

A week ago, the Corpus offense torched Springfield starter Mike Mayers for 5 runs in 2 innings; this time, they knocked Mayers around for 5 runs in 4.1 innings. Leo Heras led off the 3rd with a triple. One batter later, Brandon Meredith got things started with a triple of his own to bring Heras home. Meredith came home on a Carlos Correa single. Telvin Nash struck out in his first 2 at-bats entering the 5th inning, but the third time proved to be the charm as he pulverized a Mayers pitch for a 3-run home run. Heras swatted another triple in the 8th; this one drove in a run. He would score on an error that allowed Meredith to reach. Tony Kemp ripped a double for the final Corpus run, as Meredith scored. Correa (RBI single), Heras (2 triples), and Meredith (RBI triple) all finished with 2 hits.

Mark Appel and two relievers combined on a 5-hitter. 2013's #1 tossed 5 shutout innings, allowing just 2 hits, walking 1, and striking out 4. Travis Ballew pitched 2 scoreless and allowed a hit, walked 1, and struck out 1. Dan Minor closed it out as he allowed 2 hits and struck out 2 over 2 scoreless.

Game 2 of this series has Kyle Westwood taking on Thomas Lee at 7:05.

Lancaster 10, High Desert 7

W- Michael Feliz (1-1)
L- Luis Parra (0-2)
S- Frederick Tiburcio (1)

Lancaster home runs: A.J. Reed (1, solo in 2nd), Chase McDonald (1, solo in 7th)

The JetHawks got the win in their first game away from The Hangar.

This was apparently a weird game all around. Let's let Jason Schwartz explain. The first two tweets happened in the middle of the 2nd inning.

Chaos mid inning here in HD as they let kids run the edge of infield dirt and they all just started running laps around the infield.
— Jason Schwartz (@jasondschwartz) April 17, 2015

One kid ran on to the infield dirt near shortstop and just started gyrating. Beyond bizarre.
— Jason Schwartz (@jasondschwartz) April 17, 2015

And then...

And now this… Was just informed there will be a planned military explosion at 8:30 a half mile from ballpark. Brace yourselves?
— Jason Schwartz (@jasondschwartz) April 17, 2015

Well, at about 9:50 Pacific time, we had that explosion.

Only an hour and 18 minutes late but we have our explosion. Beyond straightaway CF. Big mushroom cloud very visible.
— Jason Schwartz (@jasondschwartz) April 17, 2015

With that out of the way, let's get to the actual game. The JetHawks put up 6 in the 4th to take a 7-3 lead and got some runs late to reinforce that lead.

A.J. Reed put Lancaster on the board in the 2nd with his, and the JetHawks', first home run of the season. Think about it... the JetHawks played an entire homestand in one of the biggest hitter's parks in professional baseball without hitting a home run. And in their first road game, they hit their first 2 home runs of the season. Baseball!

In that 6-run 4th, Brett Phillips kicked things off with a 1-out double, and he came around to score on an error after a Chan-Jong Moon single. James Ramsay added an RBI double, and then Danry Vásquez followed that up with an RBI single; another error allowed Ramsay to come home. Reed ripped an RBI double, and Jose Fernandez finished off the scoring in the inning with an RBI single. Chase McDonald led off the top of the 7th with a homer, and then Phillips tripled with 1 out and scored on a Moon sac fly. J.D. Davis drove in the final Lancaster run of the evening with an RBI single in the 8th. Ramsay (2 2B, RBI, 2 R, SB [1]) and Phillips (2 2B, 3B, 2 R) both finished 3-5. Reed finished 2-4 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored, and everyone in the lineup had a hit. Davis and McDonald extended their hitting streaks to 5 games.

Zach Morton pitched 4 innings and allowed 5 runs on 7 hits (solo and 2-run homers), walked 2, and struck out 4. Michael Feliz tagged in for 3.2 innings and the only hit he allowed was a solo homer to Ryan Cordell in the 7th. Cordell also scored an unearned run off of him in the 5th after a Davis flub in the field. He walked 2 and struck out 6. Frederick Tiburcio got the 4-out save, striking out 1.

In game 2 of this series, Evan Grills and Troy Scribner will take on Tyler Smith at 6:35 Pacific.

Resumed game: Quad Cities 6, Beloit 4

W- Bryan Radziewski (1-0)
L- Kevin Johnson (0-1)
S- Keegan Yuhl (1)

QC home runs: D.J. Fisher (3, 2-run in 7th)

Beloit solved its lighting problems, and D.J. Fisher delivered an electric moment after the game resumed. OK, that was terrible. I'll stop.

After play resumed, the River Bandits got a couple of 2-run innings. In the 6th, they got a couple of RBI doubles from Mott Hyde and Bryan Muniz, who was making his season debut. Then, Fisher homered for the 3rd consecutive game with his 2-run blast in the 7th. He finished 2-4 with 2 runs scored. Alfredo Gonzalez went 2-4, and Jamie Ritchie scored 2 runs.

Chris Lee went 4 innings and allowed 3 runs (1 earned, 1 inherited runner charged to him) on 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4. When the game was suspended, there was a runner on 1st base for Beloit that Lee was responsible for. Bryan Radziewski allowed that run to score on a force out after play resumed. It was bit hairy as the Bandits committed 2 errors in the 5th inning, but other than that run, the Snappers offense was rendered useless by Radziewski, who struck out 6 over 4 near-perfect innings. Keegan Yuhl gave up a run on 2 doubles in the 9th, but he was able to close the game out.

Regularly scheduled game: Quad Cities 5, Beloit 1

W- Joe Musgrove (2-0)
L- Jordan Schwartz (0-1)
S- Eric Peterson (1)

QC home runs: None.

The Banditos also took the regularly scheduled game, which was shortened to 7 innings because of the suspension of Wednesday's game. They scored 1 run in 5 of the 7 innings.

Ryan Bottger grounded into a force out that scored Bobby Boyd in the 1st. Then, in the 2nd, Alex Hernandez hit an RBI single. He added another RBI single in the 4th. Mott Hyde chipped in an RBI single of his own in the 5th. Boyd tripled to lead off the 7th and scored the final run of the evening on a wild pitch. He, Hernandez, and Hyde had 2 hits apiece. Boyd also stole his 2nd base of the season, as did Jamie Ritchie.

Joe Musgrove turned in another fine start as he allowed just 1 run on 5 hits and struck out 5 over 5 innings. Eric Peterson finished it off with 2 perfect innings, striking out 3.

The River Bandits will look for the sweep as Dan Mengden and his 'stache take the mound at 6:30.

Three Stars: Position Players

Stats from the suspended game will be included.

3.

D.J. Fisher, OF, Quad Cities

2 games: 3-8, 2B, 2-R HR (3), 2 R

2. 

Leo Heras, OF, Corpus Christi

2-4, 2 3B, RBI, 2 R

1. 

James Ramsay, OF, Lancaster

3-5, 2 2B, RBI, 2 R

Brett Phillips, OF, Lancaster

3-5, 2 2B, 3B

Three Stars: Pitchers

Again, three really great performances on the mound. Of course, Bryan Radziewski did allow an inherited runner to score... but I'm a forgiving person.

Bryan Radziewski, LHP, Quad Cities

W (1-0), 4 IP, allowed inherited runner to score, 6 K

Mark Appel, RHP, Corpus Christi

W (2-0), 5 IP, 2 H, BB, 4 K

Joe Musgrove, RHP, Quad Cities

W (2-0), 5 IP, 5 H, ER, 5 K

Honorable Mentions

- Carlos Correa had that little mini-slump, but it appears that he's busted out of that brief lull to continue tearing the Texas League a new one.

- Brandon Meredith just keeps hitting. That Corpus lineup, top to bottom, has 9 guys who can, and on most nights, will absolutely put a beating on opposing pitchers.

- A.J. Reed has gotten off to a slow start; hopefully this solid game jump-starts his bat a bit.
- Bobby Boyd is showing that he could be an effective table-setter for Quad Cities.

- James Hoyt had a better showing as he looks to rebound from that disaster. As we know... every pitcher has had an outing like that as some point in their baseball life.

- Travis Ballew and Dan Minor were excellent as they completed the Corpus shutout.

- Michael Feliz wasn't fazed in his 2nd California League appearance. Obviously, the Cal League isn't an ideal pitching environment, but he's considered one of the elite pitching prospects in this organization and excelling in the Cal League will definitely confirm that status.

- Eric Peterson hasn't gotten much attention, but he posted fine numbers in Greeneville and could be one of those guys that might ascend rather quickly through the system.

Happy Birthday - 5/29

Happy Birthday to ~

OF Leo Heras (24)
Heras was in his seventh season with the Mexican League when his contract was purchased by the Astros in August of 2013. In his first 35 games at Corpus Christi this season, he is hitting .218/.350/.319.

OF Terrell Joyce (22)
Drafted by Houston in the 12th round in 2012 out of Florida College, Joyce played in 72 games with Quad Cities in 2013, hitting .186/.284/.283. I am assuming that he is currently in Extended Spring Training.

RHP Juan Delis (20)
Delis was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Panama and has now pitched for the DSL Astros for the last three seasons. In 13 appearances (18.2 innings) in 2013, Delis was -3 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.500 WHIP.

RHP Harold Arauz (19)
Arauz signed as a NDFA out of Panama in July 2011 and excelled in his second season for the DSL team in 2013. In sixteen games (12 starts), he was 5-0 with a 1.91 ERA and a 0.894 WHIP.

Two former Astros celebrate the day as well ~

LHP Trever Miller (41)

Originally drafted by Detroit in the first round in 1991, Miller first came to Houston in this trade:

December 10, 1996: Traded by the Detroit Tigers with Brad Ausmus, Jose Lima, C.J. Nitkowski and Daryle Ward to the Houston Astros for Doug Brocail, Brian Hunter, Todd Jones, Orlando Miller and cash.

He pitched on the major league level for Houston in 1998 and 1999 before being traded to Philadelphia in March of 2000. Miller came back to Houston for two additional seasons in 2006 and 2007. In 230 games for the Astros, he was 7-5 with a 3.96 ERA and a 1.435 WHIP. He holds the record for the most appearances in a season (76) without getting a decision in 2007.

3B Charlie Hayes (49)

A fourth round pick by the Giants in 1983, Hayes played in only 31 games for Houston at the end of his major league career in 2001. He played for seven teams over 14 seasons. His best season was in 1993 for Colorado when he hit .305/.355/.522 with 45 doubles, two triples and 25 home runs.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Saturday, May 17, 2014

Nashville 10, Oklahoma City 4

W- Alfredo Figaro (1-1)
L- Rudy Owens (2-3)

OKC home runs: None.

Welp.

The Sounds opened the scoring with 5 in the 3rd. OKC put up 3 in the top of the 4th, but Nashville responded with 4 more in the bottom of the inning to doom the RedHawks.

OKC's 3 in the 3rd came on RBI singles from Andy Simunic and Adron Chambers and a bases-loaded walk drawn by Domingo Santana. Gregorio Petit went 2-5 with an RBI single in the 7th. Chambers and Jonathan Meyer also had 2-hit nights.

Rudy Owens pitched just 3 innings and allowed 8 runs on 9 hits, walked 2, and struck out 1. Raúl Valdés came on and pitched 4 in relief, allowing a run on 3 hits while striking out 4. Chia-Jen Lo pitched the 8th and allowed a run on 2 hits, walked 2, and struck out 1.

In the series finale, Mike Foltynewicz will take on Jimmy Nelson at 2:05.

Corpus Christi 5, Midland 4

W- Andrew Robinson (4-0)
L- Ryan Dull (3-2)

CC home runs: Preston Tucker (8, 3-run in 3rd)

The Hooks walked off with a pair in the bottom of the 9th. This came after they squelched a Midland threat in the top of the inning that kept it a 1-run game.

After Kent Matthes hit a 3-run shot off Matt Heidenreich in the top of the 3rd which made it 4-0 RockHounds, Preston Tucker answered with a 3-run shot of his own (8) in the bottom of the inning to put Corpus on the board and make it a 1-run game. That's how it stood until the bottom of the 9th.

Nolan Fontana led off with a single, and then before you knew it, Andrew Aplin joined him on the bases with a walk. They would both advance on a sac bunt from Matt Duffy, and then Tucker was intentionally walked to set up a double play possibility at any base. Well, that turned out to work in the Hooks' favor, as a pair of singles from Joe Sclafani and Leo Heras tied the game, and won it, respectively. Fontana posted his 4th consecutive multi-walk game as he went 2-3 with a run scored and 2 walks. Aplin went 1-3 with 2 runs scored and 2 walks. In addition to his blast, Tucker also drew 2 walks. Sclafani went 2-5 to log his 6th straight multi-hit game, and Heras finished 4-5 with the game-winner.

Matt Heidenreich went 4 innings and allowed 4 runs on 6 hits (3-run homer), walked 4, and struck out 3. The bullpen picked him up as 2 relievers combined to throw 5 scoreless. Michael Dimock allowed a hit, walked 1, and struck out 3 over 3 scoreless. Dimock has made 7 appearances and has posted zeros in 6 of those 7. Andrew Robinson tagged in for 2 scoreless and gave up 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 3.

In game 3, Mike Hauschild and Luis Cruz will face Nate Long at 1:10.

Lancaster 10, Rancho Cucamonga 3

W- Lance McCullers (2-2)
L- Jharel Cotton (0-2)
S- Kent Emanuel (1)

Lancaster home runs: Jordan Scott (1, 3-run in 2nd)

The Quakes got 2 in the 1st off Lance McCullers, but Lancaster seized control of this one with a 10-1 run the rest of the way.

The JetHawks offense was powered by Jordan Scott, who at one point was their offense. He answered Corey Seager's 2-run shot off McCullers in the 1st with a 3-run homer in the 2nd, then added a 2-run triple in the 4th and, one batter later, scored on Roberto Peña's single. He also hit another triple in the 6th, but was thrown out at home on a fielder's choice.

Rio Ruiz was 2-4 with a 2-run single in the 5th and 2 runs scored. Lancaster got a pair in the 6th on an RBI single from Teoscar Hernandez, who scored on a Carlos Correa double. Correa's 2 hits were both doubles, while Hernandez and Scott also scored 2 runs.

Outside of the 2-run homer from Seager, McCullers was rather good in his 5 innings. He allowed just 2 other hits, walked 2, and struck out 9. Kent Emanuel tagged in to finish it out; he allowed a consolation solo homer to Chris Jacobs in the bottom of the 9th. In his 4 innings, Emanuel allowed one other hit, walked 1, and struck out 3.

Game 3 of this series features Chris Devenski on the mound as he takes on Tom Windle. First pitch is at 2:05 Pacific.

Kane County 3, Quad Cities 0

W- Tyler Skulina (2-1)
L- Andrew Thurman (2-3)
S- Nathan Dorris (2)

QC home runs: None.

The River Bandits did not have a hit, and they only had 3 baserunners: Chan-Jong Moon and Conrad Gregor walked, and Gregor also reached base after getting hit by Skulina.

Andrew Thurman went 4.1 innings and allowed 3 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits, walked 3, and struck out 4. Pat Christensen was the first man out and pitched 1.2 scoreless, allowing 2 hits and striking out 1. And, in his season debut, Frederick Tiburcio struck out 4 over 2 perfect innings.

In the series finale, Jandel Gustave will face Daury Torrez at 1:00.

Three Stars: Position Players

3.

Preston Tucker, OF, Corpus Christi

1-3, 3-R HR (8), 2 BB as the DH

2.

Leo Heras, LF, Corpus Christi

4-5, GW RBI single

1.

Jordan Scott, LF, Lancaster

3-4, 2 3B, 3-R HR (1), 5 RBI, 2 R

Three Stars: Pitchers

3.

Lance McCullers, RHP, Lancaster

W (2-2), 5 IP, 3 H (2-run HR), 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K

Photo courtesy of Bryan Green

Kent Emanuel, LHP, Lancaster

Save (1), 4 IP, 2 H (solo HR), ER, BB, 3 K

2.

Michael Dimock, RHP, Corpus Christi 

3 IP, H, BB, 3 K

Andrew Robinson, RHP, Corpus Christi

W (4-0), 2 IP, 2 H, BB, 3 K

1.

Photo courtesy of Bryan Green

Frederick Tiburcio, RHP, Quad Cities

2 IP, 4 K

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Saturday, April 26, 2014

Swept. Ugh.

Nashville 6, Oklahoma City 3

W- Brad Mills (2-0)
L- Ross Seaton (0-1 with OKC, 0-2 season)
S- Rob Wooten (4)

OKC home runs: Domingo Santana (2, 2-run in 4th)

Since taking the opener, the RedHawks have dropped the next 2. They outhit the Sounds 12-9 but got doubled up in the column that counts.

Their scoring was contained to 1 inning: the 4th. Gregorio Petit doubled to lead off the inning and scored on a Max Stassi sac fly. Jon Singleton singled in between those two plays and came home on a 2-run homer from Domingo Santana (2). Domingo finished 3-4 and is now hitting .293. Petit and Singleton had 2 hits apiece.

Ross Seaton, in his 1st AAA appearance of the season, went 3.1 innings and gave up 5 runs (4 earned) on 3 hits (all homers), walked 4, and struck out 1. Rhiner Cruz pitched 1.2 and allowed a run on 3 hits and struck out 1. Nick Tropeano finished with 4 scoreless, allowing 3 hits and walking 1.

The RedHawks will look for the split as the team of Bobby Doran and David Martinez take the mound to take on Jimmy Nelson. First pitch is at 2:05.


Frisco 3, Corpus Christi 2

W- Luke Jackson (3-0)
L- Brady Rodgers (1-2)
S- Matt West (3)

CC home runs: None.

Frisco got ahead with a pair in the 5th and tacked on another in the 6th as they drew even in the 4-game set.

Brady Rodgers pitched 5.2 innings and allowed 3 runs on 7 hits (solo homer), walked 1, and struck out 5. Alex Sogard allowed a hit and struck out 2 over 2.1 scoreless, and Travis Ballew tossed a 1-2-3 9th.

Joe Sclafani put the Hooks on the board first in the 2nd with an RBI single. Chris Epps hit an RBI double in the 8th. Leo Heras went 2-3 with a double, a walk, a steal (4), and a run scored; he scored on Sclafani's single. Heras seems to be getting himself going after a really slow start; he's now on a 5-game hitting streak. Rene Garcia got plunked in the 5th, and Hooks skipper Keith Bodie got really hot about that. He also made his displeasure of the umpiring known at a few points during the evening. Well, after a, um... spirited discussion, Bodie ended up getting tossed.

Game 3 will be the Hooks' penultimate Sunday day game. Aaron West and Kyle Lotzkar will be today's matchup. First pitch is at 1:10.

Rancho Cucamonga 3, Lancaster 0

W- Lindsey Caughel (1-2)
L- Chris Devenski (1-3)
S- Brian Smith (1)

Lancaster home runs: None.

The Jethawks had some opportunities to get on the board, so it wasn't like they were getting dominated on the offensive end. They had runners on the corners with 1 out in the 2nd, but Bobby Borchering was nailed at home attempting to turn Danry Vasquez's flyout into a sac fly. Vasquez's 1-out double was spoiled in the 5th, Carlos Perdomo was left at 2nd base in the 7th, and they left 2 runners in scoring position in the 8th. Perdomo, who went 3-4, was left at 2nd when Jake Rodriguez struck out looking to end the game.

Chris Devenski went 5 innings and allowed 3 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4. Josh Hader finished with 3 perfect innings, striking out 6.

In the series finale, Mike Hauschild will take on Tom Windle at 2:05 Pacific.

Peoria 3, Quad Cities 2

W- Joe Scanio (2-1)
L- Michael Feliz (1-1)
S- Kyle Barraclough (1)

QC home runs: None.

All the scoring was done in the first third of the game, with the Chiefs pulling ahead with 2 in the 3rd.

The River Bandits had some legit chances to put up some more runs in the first 3 innings; Chan-Jong Moon opened the scoring by dinking a single to score Brett Phillips, advanced station-to-station, and was left at 3rd base to end the 1st. After Tyler White singled to lead off the 2nd, he advanced to 3rd on a Jon Kemmer double and scored on a wild pitch. Kemmer wound up being left at 3rd. The River Bandits left the bases loaded in the 3rd when James Ramsay lined out to end the inning.

Brett Phillips tripled to lead off the game and scored on Moon's single. He now has a 5-game hitting streak.

Michael Feliz went 3 innings and allowed 3 runs on 4 hits, walked 4, and struck out 3. Zach Morton came out first and threw 2 scoreless, allowing a hit, walking 1, and striking out 1. Evan Grills allowed 2 hits and walked 1 over 2 scoreless, and Pat Christensen threw a 1-2-3 8th, striking out 1.

QC will look to avoid the sweep as Gonzalo Sañudo and Adrian Houser face off against Chase Brookshire at 2.

Three Stars

Some days, you really can find 3 standout performances.

3.

Leo Heras, LF, Corpus Christi

2-3, 2B, R, BB, SB (4)

2.

Domingo Santana, LF, Oklahoma City

3-4, 2-R HR (2)

1.

Photo courtesy of Bryan Green

Josh Hader, LHP, Lancaster

3 IP, 6 K

Hader, in 23.2 innings, now has a 35:5 K:BB ratio. That translates to a 13.58 K/9 figure. That's uh.... really good. 

Honorable Mentions: Nick Tropeano, Gregorio Petit, Jon Singleton, Zach Morton, Evan Grills, Pat Christensen

Astros Minor League Recaps

Monday's Games

For the latest update on the playoff picture, go here.

Nashville over Oklahoma City 6-3
Ross Seaton (4.1IP 9H 4R 2BB 4SO HR) took the loss and was followed by scoreless relief from Rhiner Cruz and Pat Urckfitz. Hector Ambriz allowed the final two runs across in the ninth. The RedHawks first run came in the fourth on a Jon Singleton (2x3 2BB 3RBI) RBI single. They didn't score again until the bottom of the ninth when Singleton drove in a pair. Jose Martinez was two-for-five with a double and a run scored, and Japhet Amador was two-for-five as well. George Springer went two-for-four with a walk, stolen base and run scored. He is now 37/43 in his quest to join the 40/40 club.

Corpus Christi over San Antonio 5-0
Luis Cruz, in only his second AA start, pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only two hits and one walk. He struck out 14 batters. Wow! Another newcomer to the team, Leo Heras (3x5 2B HR 4RBI 2R), made his presence known with a three-run home run in the third to get the Hooks on the board. RBI singles from Preston Tucker (2x4) in the eighth and from Heras in the ninth accounted for the final two runs. Erik Castro went two-for-four with two doubles, and Matt Duffy was also two-for-four and scored two runs.

Rancho Cucamonga over Lancaster 4-1
Vincent Velasquez was charged with the loss as he allowed four runs on five hits and four walks. He struck out seven in his five innings of work. Tyson Perez and Jordan Jankowski kept the Quakes from scoring again, but the 'Hawks bats were quiet as they only managed five singles and a Chris Epps double in the second. Epps went on to score on a Jesse Wierzbicki single and a throwing error. Carlos Perdomo was three-for-three and drew a walk.

Burlington over Quad Cities 3-2 in 10 innings
Quad Cities had a 1-0 shutout going from the second inning until the ninth, thanks to six excellent innings from Josh Hader (4H 0BB 6SO) and two scoreless frames from Zach Morton. The lone run allowed by Morton came in the bottom of the ninth and caused him to be charged with a blown save. Rio Ruiz singled in a run in the second and the Bandits didn't score again until the top of the 10th when Austin Elkins drove in Ruiz with an RBI double. Unfortunately, in the bottom of the frame, Patrick Christensen should have been out of it with a save, but between a wild pitch and a throwing error on a strikeout that should have been the third out, the inning continued and he allowed the Bees to come back for a walk-off win.

Brooklyn over Tri-City 8-1
Adrian Houser had a bad day at the office. In only one and a third innings, he was charged with six runs (three earned) on six hits and two hit batters. Randall Fant followed and allowed two of Houser's runners to score and one of his own before settling in nicely until the seventh inning when he was charged with another run. Zach Dando pitched a scoreless eighth. The only 'Cats run came across in the fifth as Jack Mayfield scored from third on a wild pitch. Tri-City was held to six singles in the game; Mayfield had two of them.

Greeneville over Bluefield 3-2
Nothing like winning two in a row against the team with the best record in the Appy League to get you just that much closer to a playoff berth, and winning it in walk-off fashion! Frederick Tiburcio (5.2IP 5H BB 6SO) gave up the only two Bluefield runs in the sixth and was followed by three and a third scoreless innings from Austin Chrismon. Thomas Lindauer (2x3 BB 2R) scored the first Astros run in the third and drove in the next one in the fourth, so it was only appropriate that he would score the winning run in the bottom of the ninth from second on a ground out and throwing error. Tanner Mathis went two-for-four; Brett Phillips and Brian Holberton both doubled in the game. Phillips is back in the line-up for the first time since August 8th. It will be invaluable to have him in the line-up for the playoff push.

GCL Tigers over GCL Astros 9-1
Joe Musgrove stretched it out to six innings in his latest start and was very effective, allowing only one run on four hits and two walks while striking out four. Unfortunately, the wheels came off the bus in the seventh for Juan Santos and Robert Corniel as eight runs (five earned) scored against the two pitchers in the inning. Jorge Perez allowed a walk, but nothing else in the eighth. The Astros were held to three hits, two of them from Yonathan Mejia who doubled in the second, and then singled and scored on a Jacob Nottingham double in the fourth.

Player of the Day: Leo Heras, come on down! Heras is hitting .412/.500/.824 in his first four games since joining the Hooks from the Mexican League.

Pitcher of the Day: For once, the choice is a no-brainer. Luis Cruz tosses a complete game shutout in only his second start since his promotion to AA. Wrap your head around that. I can't say I'm terribly surprised though. Cruz was, after all, one of the two pitchers that threw a combined no-hitter in May for Lancaster.

Astros Minor League Roster Moves

Oklahoma City
3B Raoul Torrez assigned from Corpus Christi to Oklahoma City
2B Ruben Sosa placed on the 7-day DL

Corpus Christi
C Luis Alvarez assigned from Lancaster to Corpus Christi
OF Leo Heras assigned to Corpus Christi

Greeneville
RHP Jose Montero assigned from the GCL to Greeneville

GCL
RHP Euris Quezada sent to GCL on a rehab assignement
RHP Robert Corniel assigned from the DSL to the GCL

Astros Minor League Roster Moves and Transactions

Oklahoma City/Houston
RHP Philip Humber assigned from Oklahoma City to Houston
SS Marwin Gonzalez assigned from Oklahoma City to Houston
RHP Jorge de Leon assigned from Houston to Oklahoma City

Corpus Christi
The Astros acquired rights to Leo Heras, an outfielder in the Mexican League, who reports have indicated will be assigned to Corpus Christi after passing his physical. Astros County and The Crawfish Boxes have more on the 23-year old lefty hitter.