Happy Birthday - 8/6

Wishing a Very Happy Birthday to ...

LHP Starlyng Sanchez (21)
Sanchez was born August 6, 1994 in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. He first played in the Astros system in 2013, and he is currently playing for the Rookie League Greeneville Astros.

Happy Birthday - 8/6

Happy Birthday to ~

LHP Starlyng Sanchez (20)
An international free agent from the Dominican Republic, Sanchez started his season with the DSL where he played until his July 18th promotion to the Gulf Coast League. For the season, his is 1-4 with a 6.87 ERA and a 1.816 WHIP in 11 games (8 starts).

One former Astro celebrates the day as well ~

2B Jim Pankovits (59)
A fourth round pick by Houston in 1976, Pankovits played in 316 games for Houston from 1984 to 1988, hitting .250/.307/.349. After his playing days, he managed in the minor leagues including a stint as the manager for the 2010 New York-Penn League Champion Tri-City team in 2010.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Friday's Games

Greeneville Astros 1, Pulaski Mariners 14
Greeneville gave up three four-run innings, 17 hits and committed 3 errors in their loss on Friday—their fourth loss in a row (the Astros still have a one-and-a-half game lead in their division). Five of the runs scored against them in the game were unearned. Jandel Gustave (2-3) worked the first three innings and picked up his third loss of the season. Gustave was charged with five runs (1ER), eight hits (HR) and struck out four. Raul Rivera, the fourth and final Greeneville pitcher of the game, allowed just a hit in his two and a third on the mound, striking out three. Rivera recorded an unearned run though on that hit, when a runner, who was on because of a throwing error, scored. Mark Wik (2X4 RBI BB) singled to drive in the Astros only run in the fifth, scoring Thomas Lindauer from second. Lindauer (2X3 R 2-2B BB) hit a double in the previous at bat and had two doubles on the day. Lindauer and Wik were two of only four Greeneville players with hits in the game and the only two with more than one.

GCL Astros 0, GCL Pirates 7

The Astros managed just three hits and were shut out on Friday. Starter Agapito Barrios took the loss, working just two and a third innings. In that time Barrios (3-5) allowed four runs on five hits (HR), walked three and struck out one. The Astros used five pitchers in the game and none lasted longer than two and a third. Justin Hess (1K) and Javier Lozano, who split the final two frames, didn't allow any hits. Although, Lozano did walk three in the final inning.

DSL Rays 4, DSL Astros 3

The DSL Astros were leading into the eighth inning when they allowed three runs. Unable to score outside of the third inning Friday, the Astros went on to lose for the first time in their last five games. The Astros one and two hitters, Luis Payano and Kristian Trompiz, both collected two hits in the game. Payano went two-for-four and scored a run. Trompiz knocked in two of his team's three runs with a triple in the third and also hit a double in the game, finishing at two-for-four as well. Starlyng Sanchez started on the mound and worked five innings, allowing just a hit, a walk and striking out six. Beginning with the last batter of the first frame, Sanchez retired nine in order before walking one in the fourth. He then retired the final four he faced in order.  Yonquelys Martinez (1-3), who pitched the final two innings, took the blown save (1) and the loss. Martinez entered the eighth with two runners aboard and gave up a homer to the first batter he faced. That was the only hit and run Martinez recorded in his outing.

Tri-City Valley Cats 4, Staten Island Yankees 1

The Valley Cats waited until the eighth inning to begin scoring, but seeing as how they only allowed the Yankees to score a single run in the fifth, that was fine for the win on Friday. Conrad Gregor (1X3 RBI SO) began the scoring in the eighth with a sacrifice fly to bring Jon Kemmer home (0X1 R BB). Tyler White (0X2 R 2BB) was still on base at that point, having drawn a walk earlier in the inning. The next batter, Michael Martinez (1X3 R HR 2RBI BB), then hit a home run to left field to put Tri-City ahead, 3-1. In the ninth, Chan Moon (1X3 R 3B BB SO)hit a triple and then promptly scored on a balk. The only Valley Cat with more than one hit in the game was Ernesto Genoves, who finished two-for-four at the plate with a double. Michael Feliz pitched the first five and two-thirds, giving up a run, three hits (HR), two walks and striking out seven. The win went to Richard Rodriguez (4-0), who followed Feliz, pitching into the eighth and allowing two hits while striking out a pair. J.D. Osbourne picked up his second save with the Valley Cats after taking the mound for the final two innings. Osbourne tallied a hit and three Ks.       

Quad Cities River Bandits 1, Clinton LumberKings 6

Quad Cities blanked their opponents in every inning except for the sixth when they allowed six runs, resulting in their fourth loss in a row, Friday. Chris Devenski started on the hill and through the first five allowed just a hit and a couple walks while striking out two. In the sixth inning however, Devenski (2-3) would be charged with five runs after giving up three doubles, a single and sac' bunt-hit while recording just an out, earning the loss. No River Bandit recorded multiple hits or extra-base hits in the game. The lone run came in the second inning when Rio Ruiz (1X4 RBI 2SO) singled, the third batter to do so in succession in the inning, bringing home Danny Vasquez (1X3 R BB).

High Desert Mavericks 11, Lancaster JetHawks 14

The JetHawks dropped eight runs on High Desert in the eighth inning and then rode Travis's Ballew's 20th save, second best in the California League, to the win. Besides the eight runs in eighth inning, Lancaster also had a five-run third inning. Four players had multi-hit performances and Andrew Aplin topped them all, going three-for-four, with two runs scored, two triples and four RBI. Luis Alvarez hit just one-for four in the game, but picked up four RBI of his own after hitting a grand slam in the eighth inning. Dan Gulbransen hit a three-RBI double in the third inning, finishing at two-for-five with a run scored. Kyle Smith had the start for the JetHawks and threw five and two-thirds, allowing five runs on seven hits, walking a trio and K-ing six along the way. Michael Dimock (4-0) came on to face the last batter of the seventh and stayed until the ninth, facing the minimum of four and striking out one before collecting the win. Here's a peak at the rest of the offense (it wouldn't all fit in here):  

Corpus Christi Hooks 8, Arkansas Travelers 2 (11)

Corpus Christi saw Arkansas tie this game in the ninth to force extras. In the 11th the Hooks scored six runs and Andrew Robinson shut Arkansas down for the win. Robinson (5-2) entered to pitch at the start of the 10th frame and faced seven batters through the final two innings, striking out two while allowing just a hit. David Rollins pitched the first six innings, recording a run, six hits, two walks and eight Ks. In the 11th Matt Duffy (2X4 2R 2HR 3RBI SO) hit his second homer of the night, scoring Domingo Santana to put Corpus Christi ahead. Four batters later and two outs into the inning, Max Stassi (2X5 R HR 4RBI SO) hit a grand slam to virtually seal the win. Domingo Santana (2X5 2R 2B HR RBI SO) also hit a home run in the game, in the fifth inning, breaking a scoring stalemate between the teams until that point. Drew Muren had a pair of hits in the game too, going two-for-four with a run scored, a double and a strikeout.

Albuquerque Isotopes 2, Oklahoma City RedHawks 3

The RedHawks came back to tie the game in the sixth and then scored what would be the winning run in the eighth on Friday. Eric Berger and Jorge Deleon combined to retire the final eight batters of the game and secure the win for the RedHawks. Berger (5-3) entered an out into the seventh and went on retire all five he faced, striking out two while picking up the win. Jorge De Leon earned his second save as a RedHawk, forcing all three he faced in the ninth into groundouts. David Martinez started and worked five and two-thirds, tallying two runs (1 ER) on a pair of hits, walking four and striking out six. Oklahoma City had just three hits in the game and George Springer (1X2 R HR RBI 2BB SO) used his only hit to get them on the board in the third frame, hitting home run number 34 (Corpus Christi and OKC combined) of the season. In the sixth, Jonathan Singleton (1X3 2B RBI BB) doubled, bringing Brandon Laird around to score after he drew a walk. Laird would (1X3 R RBI BB) single in the eighth, scoring Trevor Crowe (0X3 R SO), who was on board with a lead off walk, putting his team ahead.

Player of the Day: Friday was another one of those days where the Astros farm shone brightly and there were several outstanding performances. First off, Max Stassi and Luis Alvarez get the honors for going Grand Salami yesterday. Mat Duffy gets a nod for hitting two homers in his game as well. Andrew Aplin could have got a nod too just for hitting two triples, but along with that he recorded 4 RBI, pushing him past the 100 mark to 102 RBI on the year.

Pitcher of the Day: The DSL Astros may have not won on Friday but Starlyng Sanchez's performance was far from losing. Sanchez simply dominated for five innings, striking out six with only two base runners in that time.

Happy Birthday - 8/6

Happy Birthday to ~

LHP Starlyng Sanchez (19)
Sanchez is a recent addition to the DSL team. He has made four appearances out of the bullpen and has not allowed a run in four and a third innings.

LHP Kyle Hallock (25)
A 10th round draft pick by the Astros out of Kent State in 2011, Hallock missed most of the 2012 season after he had surgery to remove loose bodies from his pitching elbow. In 2013, he has been bounced around the system. A lot. Starting the season at Quad Cities, Hallock went first to AAA Oklahoma City, then to Hi-A Lancaster, then to AA Corpus Christi, then back to Lancaster and now is back with Corpus Christi once more. His season record to date is 5-4 with a 5.80 ERA and a 1.475 WHIP in 27 games (10 starts).

One former Astro with a birthday today ~

2B Jim Pankovits (58)
A fourth round pick by Houston in 1976, Pankovits played in 316 games for Houston from 1984 to 1988, hitting .250/.307/.349. After his playing days, he managed in the minor leagues including a stint as the manager for the 2010 New York-Penn League Champion Tri-City team in 2010.

Roster Moves

Aside from spot starters Bobby Doran, Brady Rodgers and David Rollins returning to their respective clubs after having very successful spot starts, there are two additional roster moves to report.

Greeneville
RHP Troy Scribner was promoted to Greeneville from the GCL and it is easy to see why. In eight appearances, he has a 1.26 ERA and a 0.663 WHIP. He has only walked three in 28.2 innings while striking out 42!!!

DSL Astros
LHP Starlyng Sanchez was assigned to the DSL club. I know nothing about him other than the fact that he will be 19 next week.

[UPDATED TO ADD] It was reported this morning that the Astros traded closer Jose Veras to the Detroit Tigers for OF prospect Danry Vasquez and a PTBNL. The 19-year old Vasquez was ranked in the top five of Detroit prospects by most pundits going in to the 2013 season. According to Brian McTaggart, Vasquez will report to Quad Cities.

[ALSO ADDED] The Astros transaction page shows that they have signed RHP Justin Hess out of Georgia Southern as a NDFA. He has been assigned to the GCL Astros.