Happy Birthday - 12/27

Happy Birthday to ~

RHP Tyson Perez (24)
Drafted in the 17th round in 2011 out of Fresno Community College, Perez appeared in 37 games (12 starts) for the Advanced A Lancaster JetHawks in 2013. In 112+ innings pitched, he was 4-5 with a 5.85 ERA and a 1.647 WHIP. As a reliever, Perez had a 4.29 ERA and a 1.302 WHIP.

RHP Patrick Christensen (23)
A 2013 27th round draft pick out of LaSalle University (Philadelphia), Christensen split his first professional season between Tri-City and Quad Cities, putting up a combined 2.57 ERA and a 1.000 WHIP. He walked only three batters in 28 innings pitched while striking out 38.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

1B Norm Larker (died March 12, 2007 at 76)
Drafted from the Dodgers in the 1961 expansion draft, Larker played in 147 games for the Colt .45's in 1962, hitting .263/.358/.374. Larker was an All-Star for the Dodgers in 1960 and won a World Series with that team in 1959.

OF Byron Browne (71)
Browne came to the Astros in a May 1968 trade with the Cubs and played in only 10 games for Houston that season, hitting .231/.412/.231, before being purchased by the Cardinals in February 1969.

CF Michael Bourn (31)
Originally drafted by the Phillies in the fourth round in 2003, Bourn came to Houston as part of the November 2007 trade that sent Brad Lidge to the Phillies. In 541 games played for the Astros from 2008 to 2011, Bourn hit .271/.337/.359 with 193 stolen bases. He won Gold Gloves in 2009 and 2010 for Houston and was an All-Star in 2010. In July 2011, he was traded to Atlanta where he earned another All-Star bid in 2012. He is currently with the Cleveland Indians.

SS Craig Reynolds (61)
A first round pick by the Pirates in 1971, Reynolds came to the Astros in a December 1978 trade with the Mariners. In 1170 games played for Houston from 1979 to 1989, he hit .252/.286/.345. Reynolds was an All-Star in 1978 for Seattle and in 1979 for Houston.

LHP Nate Bland (39)
Originally drafted by the Dodgers in the fourth round in 1993, Bland was drafted by Houston from the Mets in the December 2002 rule 5 draft. In 22 appearances for the Astros in 2003, he had a 5.75 ERA and a 1.672 WHIP.

Astros Minor League Playoff Recaps

Thursday's Games

The full postseason schedule and results can be found here.

Omaha over Oklahoma City 7-4
David Martinez allowed two unearned runs on four hits in his four and two-thirds innings of work. He was followed by Eric Berger who got roughed up to the tune of five runs (three earned) in his inning of work. Andrew Robinson and Wade LeBlanc pitched the final three and a third scoreless innings. Oklahoma City did all of their scoring in the fourth on an RBI single from Brandon Laird and a three-run homer from Jon Singleton. The only other extra-base hit was a Carlos Perez double. George Springer went 0-for-two with two walks and a stolen base.

San Antonio over Corpus Christi 2-0
Nick Tropeano threw seven innings and allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out seven. He was followed by Carlos Quevedo who extricated himself from a bases loaded situation in the eighth, but was pulled with two on and one out in the ninth. Kyle Hallock and Cameron Lamb were called upon for the final two outs. The Hooks only managed to get five singles in the game with Ronnie Torreyes getting two of them. Domingo Santana walked twice.

Quad Cities over Cedar Rapids 4-2
Joe Bircher (3H 1R 4SO) got the start and tossed a strong five innings, allowing only one run via a solo home run. He was followed by J.D. Osborne who gave up the final Kernels run in his two-thirds of an inning. Patrick Christensen (2.1IP 4SO) and Andrew Walter (1IP 1SO) followed with perfect outings. Quad Cities scored their first run in the second on a Roberto Pena RBI double scoring Rio Ruiz (2x3 BB 2R) and put three more up in the fourth on a Ruiz solo home run and a two-RBI single from Teoscar Hernandez (2x4). And that was ultimately all they needed as their pitching staff held the opposition to four hits.

Pulaski over Greeneville 6-5
Luis Ordosgoitti pitched the first five frames, allowing three runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out four. Joe Musgrove followed Ordosgoitti and allowed two runs (one earned) in the sixth before settling in for the seventh and eighth. Unfortunately, he allowed the final run in the bottom of the ninth to give Pulaski the victory. The Astros got on the board in a big way in the second as a Thomas Lindauer two-run double was quickly followed by a Tanner Mathis (2x4 2B HR) two-run homer. They scored another on an Ariel Ovando bases-loaded walk in the the third. But they weren't able to get another run across the rest of the way and fell just short.

Player of the Day: Rio Ruiz got better as the season unfolded and that hasn't changed in the postseason. Great game and great series!

Pitcher of the Day: The entire Quad Cities pitching staff gets my love today for their four-hitter. Nicely done, sirs!

Astros Minor League Roster Moves

Apparently, there are a number of roster moves coming down today. I will update this post as I find out more information. Here is what I know right now.

Corpus Christi
3B Matt Duffy assigned from Lancaster to Corpus Christi
LHP Sergio Escalona placed on the restricted list (suspended for 50 games for violating MLB's Drug program)
1B Zach Johnson released
IF Raoul Torrez assigned from Oklahoma City to Corpus Christi
SS Jio Mier placed on the 7-day DL

Lancaster
RHP Jordan Jankowski assigned from Quad Cities to Lancaster
OF Dan Gulbransen assigned from Quad Cities to Lancaster

Quad Cities
RHP Juri Perez released
RHP Patrick Christensen assigned from Tri-City to Quad Cities
2B Tony Kemp assigned from Tri-City to Quad Cities
RHP Zach Morton assigned from Tri-City to Quad Cities

Tri-City
3B/1B Tyler White assigned from Greeneville to Tri-City
RHP Tyler Brunnemann assigned from Greeneville to Tri-City
RHP Troy Scribner assigned from Greeneville to Tri-City

Greeneville
LHP Kevin Ferguson assigned from GCL to Greeneville