Happy Birthday - 1/31

Happy Birthday to ~

RHP Rayderson Chevalier (19)
One of the best names in the Astros minor league system, Chevalier signed with Houston as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2012. His second professional season with the DSL Astros was a good one. In 13 games (five starts), he was 4-2 with a 2.28 ERA and a 1.108 WHIP.

One former Astro celebrates today (you may have heard of him) ~

RHP Nolan Ryan (67)

Lynn Nolan Ryan (aka the Ryan Express) was drafted in the 12th round in 1965 by the Mets and signed as a free agent with Houston in November of 1979 where he pitched from 1980 to 1988.  Despite pitching for 27 seasons with a lifetime ERA of 3.19 and WHIP of 1.247, striking out 5714 batters, throwing 7 no-hitters and appearing in 8 All-Star games, he never once won the Cy Young Award.  He was, however, elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999 in his first year of eligibility with a whopping 98.8% of the vote.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Wednesday's Games

International League All-Stars over Pacific Coast League All-Stars 4-3
Jarred Cosart (1.2IP 3H 4R 2BB 1SO) started for the PCL and allowed four runs, three of those coming on a Tony Sanchez three-run home run in the second, and was pegged with the loss. Jason Stoffel pitched the fourth inning and allowed no hits or runs, walked a batter and struck out one.

Corpus Christi at Midland - Postponed

Lancaster over Inland Empire 11-5
Luis Cruz allowed five runs on nine hits and four walks while striking out four batters in his five innings of work. He was followed by one inning from Tyson Perez (2H 2BB 2SO) and three from T.J. Geith (1H 2SO). Geith inherited three runners from Perez in the seventh with no outs and retired the side on four pitches, inducing a double play and a ground out. The JetHawks cranked out 14 hits with all players collecting at least one. Everyone collected a run as well, except for Delino DeShields (2x5 2B 3RBI SB) who drove in three. But it was Brandon Meredith (2x3 2BB HR 4RBI 2R) who set the tone with a grand slam in the first inning. Nolan Fontana (2x5 R), Matt Duffy (2x5 2B RBI R) and M.P. Cokinos (2x5 2B R) had good nights at the plate as well.

Quad Cities over Fort Wayne 4-3
Lance McCullers gave up only two singles (and three walks) over his first six innings, before getting touched for a two-run home run in the seventh. He struck out eight in his six and a third innings. Mitch Lambson (1.2IP 1H 2SO) got the win in relief and Juan Minaya (1IP 1H 1R/0ER 2SO) got his third save. Jordan Scott was three-for-five with an RBI single, a stolen base and a run scored; Austin Elkins was 0-for-three, but walked twice, including a bases loaded walk in the seventh; and Jesse Wierzbicki had a sac fly RBI.

Auburn over Tri-City 3-1
Adrian Houser (3.2IP 5H 3R 2BB 3SO) got the start and the loss. Albert Minnis inherited bases loaded in the fourth, stranded the runners and pitched one and a third perfect innings of relief. He was followed by four innings from Tanner Bushue in which he allowed only one hit and struck out five batters. In six appearances, Bushue has walked three and struck out 23. The ValleyCats were held to five hits and scored their lone run in the fifth as Chan Moon singled in Jon Kemmer. Conrad Gregor had the only extra base hit, a double.

Princeton at Greeneville - Postponed

GCL Phillies over GCL Astros 9-1 over 7 innings (Game 1)
Joe Musgrove allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits over four innings, and Javier Lozano allowed three more runs (all unearned) in his two innings. Jason Martin drove in the only Astros run of the game with a double in the fifth. Jacob Nottingham doubled as well. Ydarqui Marte went two-for-three.

GCL Astros over GCL Phillies 3-1 in 7 innings (Game 2)
Agapito Barrios gave up the only Phillies run and three of their four hits allowed in the first inning and then settled in for four additional scoreless innings. Juan Santos and Chris Munnelly continued the scoreless streak with one perfect inning each. The Astros got one in the first as Alex Gonzalez scored on a throwing error and two more in the second on a Jose Solano home run. The Astros won despite managing only two hits in the game, the Solano homer and a Mesac Laguna double.

DSL Astros over DSL Indians 7-0
Great 1-2 combo with Rayderson Chevalier (5IP 4H 1BB 7SO) and Joselo Pinales (4IP 1H 1BB 5SO) combining for the shutout. Arturo Michelina went two-for-four with a triple, drove in three runs and scored one. Luis Payano (2x4 2B BB RBI 2R) and Randy Cesar (2x4 2B BB RBI R) had good days at the plate as well.

Player of the Day: Brandon Meredith has been en fuego. In addition to his great night last night, Meredith is hitting .405/.500/.730 over his last 10 games.

Pitchers of the Day: Rayderson Chevalier and Joselo Pinales get the WTHB honors for their combined shutout which featured 12 strikeouts between them. Chevalier has a 1.72 ERA and a 0.957 ERA in nine appearances. Pinales has a 0.63 ERA and a 0.837 WHIP in eight appearances. Honorable mention goes to T.J. Geith for his Houdini impression for Lancaster in the seventh inning last night.

Happy Birthday - 1/31

Happy Birthday to ~

RHP Rayderson Chevalier (18)
One of the best names in the Astros minor league system, Chevalier signed with Houston as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2012. In his first professional season with the DSL Astros, he was 3-3 in 15 games (five starts) with a 6.44 ERA and a 1.638 WHIP.

One former Astro with a birthday today (you may have heard of him)

RHP Nolan Ryan (66)

Lynn Nolan Ryan (aka the Ryan Express) was drafted in the 12th round in 1965 by the Mets and signed as a free agent with Houston in November of 1979 where he pitched from 1980 to 1988.  Despite pitching for 27 seasons with a lifetime ERA of 3.19 and WHIP of 1.247, striking out 5714 batters, throwing 7 no-hitters and appearing in 8 All-Star games, he never once won the Cy Young Award.  He was, however, elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999 in his first year of eligibility with a whopping 98.8% of the vote.

Minor League Results

Saturday’s Results

DSL Athletics 0 DSL Astros 4

This game was called in the 7^th due to rain but not before Rayderson Chevalier got a chance to go to work on the opponents.  Through 5 innings Chevalier only allowed 2 hits and struck out 8 batters. Chevalier moves to 2-1 on the season with this win.  True to form, the DSL Astros collected just 5 hits Saturday.  The difference Saturday was that the Astros took advantage of a walk and a throwing error in the 1^st inning and used good old-fashioned small ball in the 3^rd inning.

GCL Astros 4 GCL Nationals 3

The GCL Astros took the lead in the 1^st inning and never lost it Saturday.  The bats were hot for the Astros; every starter got a hit except for Juan Santana.  4 guys had multi hit games.   Yonathan Mejia and Brett Phillips both went 3 for 3 with a walk apiece. Wallace Gonzalez got in on the action too. Although he only went 1 for 4, his “1” was a home run in the 4^th inning.  That was Gonzalez’s 1^st career homer.  Reymin Guduan got the win Saturday after coming on in the 5^th for 2 and 2 thirds.  Guduan (1-1) didn’t allow any runs on 4 hits, struck out 3 and walked 2. Erick Gonzalez picked up his 7^th save after coming on allowing a run on 2 hits and issuing 2 walks.

Kingsport Mets 4 Greeneville Astros 13

This game was just a good, old-fashioned trouncing.  Greeneville was up by 10 runs before Kingsport even scored on Saturday. The Astros had 18 hits and 5 of those were homers.  Ariel Ovando tied for the biggest night with the stick, going 3 for 4 with 4 RBIs, a walk and a pair of 2-run homers.  Those were Ovando’s first 2 long balls this season.  With Ovando, was Jean Batista who hit 3 for 5 with a pair of RBIs; all 3 of his hits were doubles.  Adrian Houser (2-2) got the win after 5 and 2 thirds innings of work.  Houser allowed a couple runs on 4 hits, walked 2 and K-ed 7.  Scott Zuloaga took the mound for the final frame and had a strong showing, sending the final 3 batters down in order, striking out 1.

Some of the offensive highlights:

Jean Batista- 3X5 2R 3-2B 2RBI

Brian Blasik- 3X5 RBI

Ernesto Genoves- 3X5 3R HR RBI

Terrell Joyce- 2X5 2R HR RBI SO

Michael Martinez- 3X5 R HR 2RBI

Ariel Ovando- 3X4 4R 2HR 4RBI BB SO

Vermont Lake Monsters 3 Tri-City ValleyCats 7

Tri-City had control of this game almost the entire time.  The ValleyCats fell behind a run in the top of the 1^st but were up by 1 by the inning’s end and never looked back.  Dan Gulbransen had a good night at the dish, clubbing 2 of 4 with a homer and 2 RBI.  The ValleyCats were wearing down the base paths Saturday, with 4 stolen bases in the game.  Brian Holmes (3-1) had a great start and picked up the win Saturday after 7 innings of work.  Holmes gave up a run on 4 hits and struck out 8 batters. 

Lexington Legends 7 Greenville Drive 5
Lexington provided enough runs for Mike Foltynewicz to work comfortably Saturday and improve his record on the season to 11-2. Foltynewicz allowed 4 runs on 6 hits over 6 innings pitched and struck out 5.  By the time Foltynewicz allowed the 4th run, the Legends had 5 runs thanks to a 5 run 2^nd inning.  Delino DeShields went 3 for 5 with a double, a RBI and a run scored.  Brandon Meredith picked up his 9^th HR of the season with a 1-run solo-shot in the 8th.  Murillo Gouvea picked up his 2^nd save after allowing a run and striking 1 batter out.

Lancaster JetHawks 4 Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 2

The JetHawks utilized the long ball to get ahead in the first inning Saturday and it worked.  In the 1^st inning, Erik Castro hit a 2 run knock and Telvin Nash hit a solo shot and that was all the lead the JetHawks needed.  Tyson Perez (7-2) picked up the win after tossing the first 6 innings, allowing 2 runs (1ER) on 4 hits, walking 1 and striking out 2. Carlos Quevedo picked up his second save of the season after coming on in the 8^th and retiring the 6 batters he faced in a row, striking out 1. 

 
Frisco RoughRiders 0 Corpus Christi Hooks 3
Saturday, all in attendance at Whataburger Field witnessed the Jarred Cosart show.  Cosart (5-5) went 7 and 2 thirds scoreless, striking out 4, walking 3 and giving up just 3 hits.  Kevin Chapman preserved the shutout after coming on next and collected his first save.  Chapman didn't allow any hits or walks and retired all 4 batters he saw in order.  The bats weren't particularly hot for Corpus Christi Saturday, but they took advantage of a couple of errors to score their first 2 runs. Jake Goebbert and Rene Garcia both went 2 for 3 at the dish.
 
Oklahoma City RedHawks 2 Memphis Redbirds 6
Oklahoma City pitcher Sergio Perez gave up a run in the 1^st inning and a grand slam in the second inning. The RedHawks never recovered.  Perez picked up the loss moving him to 2-2 on the season after 3 innings of work.  Aneury Rodriguez clocked in for the next 3 frames and kept them scoreless, giving up just 2 hits with a single K.  All was not lost however; Jimmy Paredes finished the game a triple short of hitting for the cycle.  Paredes was 3 for 5 on the day.  Travis Buck batted 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and a RBI.
 
Player of the Day: I’m giving the honor to Ariel Ovando and Jean Batsista of Greeneville.  Ovando clubbed 2 2-run taters and Batista collected 3 doubles.  That’s award worthy any day.

Pitcher of the Day:  Jarred Cosart gets the honor today after shutting out Frisco for almost 8 innings.  Rayderson Chevalier gets a nod for doing the same thing in 5 innings in the DSL and for striking out 8 batters in the process.