In the upper minors, the Astros' affiliates squared off against two Royals affiliates.
Omaha 12, Fresno 5
W- John Lannan (7-7)
L- Keegan Yuhl (0-2, 8-5 season)
Fresno home runs: Yulieski Gurriel (1, 2 season; solo in 4th)
One inning can change the momentum of a baseball game. Unfortunately for the Tacos, the Storm Chasers battered them with a 9-run 4th inning.
Most of the damage was done by the top third of the lineup. Yulieski Gurriel put Fresno on the board with a home run to lead off the 4th inning. He added an RBI single to his ledger in the 5th, and Jon Kemmer followed that up with an RBI double. In the 7th, Kemmer drove in another run with a groundout, and Danny Worth hit a sacrifice fly. Gurriel went 3-4 with 2 runs scored in his first AAA game, while Kemmer (2 2B, 2 RBI) and Colin Moran (2 R) both finished 2-5. Andrew Aplin was 2-4 with a run scored.
Keegan Yuhl went 3.1 innings and allowed 9 runs (7 earned, 3 inherited runners charged to him) on 7 hits, walked 2, and struck out 3. Chris Cotton was the first man out of the Fresno bullpen, and in 1.2 innings, he allowed one hit, which was a grand slam hit by Whit Merrifield that resulted in 3 runners getting charged to Yuhl, and struck out 1. Reymin Guduan pitched the final 4 innings and allowed 2 runs on 4 hits and walked 2.
Brady Rodgers will take on Luke Farrell in game 2 of this series. First pitch is at 7:05 Pacific.
Corpus Christi 7, Northwest Arkansas 2
W- Evan Grills (5-5, 8-6 season)
L- Josh Staumont (1-1)
CC home runs: J.D. Davis 2 (18; solo in 5th, solo in 9th), Garrett Stubbs (3, 9 season; 2-run in 4th)
The Hooks started off their tour of Arkansas by keeping the Naturals' offense in check in the series opener.
Evan Grills turned in 7 solid innings; the two runs he allowed came on a home run from Ryan O'Hearn. He allowed 3 other hits and struck out 3. Michael Freeman and Jacob Dorris both pitched a scoreless inning; Freeman struck out 1 in a 1-2-3 8th, and Dorris allowed a hit and struck out 1 in the 9th.
Nick Tanielu opened up the scoring with a 2-run single in the 3rd inning, and Chase McDonald added a sac fly later in the inning. Garrett Stubbs smacked a 2-run homer in the 4th, and J.D. Davis launched solo home runs in the 5th and the 9th. Davis was the only player in the Corpus lineup with a multi-hit game; he, Stubbs, and Bobby Boyd scored 2 runs apiece. Stubbs and Boyd also stole a base; for Stubbs, that was his 12th, while Boyd now has 34 on the year.
Kent Emanuel will start game 2 of this series. First pitch is at 7:05.
Lancaster 11, High Desert 8
W- Kevin McCanna (2-1, 4-4 season)
L- Felix Carvallo (6-3)
S- Andrew Thome (2, 6 season)
Lancaster home runs: None.
This has been a pretty interesting series for the JetHawks, as reported by Jason Schwartz. There was no internet at the ballpark on Monday, and the visiting clubhouse didn't have hot water either. Tuesday's game was played with an active wildfire raging in the vicinity, and it made for a pretty eerie pre-game scene.
Apocalyptic scene currently at Heritage Field. pic.twitter.com/cn321uXy9P— Jason Schwartz (@jasondschwartz) August 16, 2016
Decision has been made to play tonight's game. Hard to believe, but here we go... pic.twitter.com/KYEVt26hpT— Jason Schwartz (@jasondschwartz) August 17, 2016
After much deliberation, the game went on as scheduled, and the JetHawks swiftly erased a 7-1 deficit with an 8-run 5th inning.
Drew Ferguson opened up the scoring with an RBI single in the 1st inning. This would be Lancaster's only scoring play until that 8-run 5th; in the meantime, High Desert went on a 7-0 run.
Trent Woodward reached on an error to lead off the 5th inning. After Woodward advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch, Osvaldo Duarte joined him by reaching on another Mavs error, and Myles Straw walked to load the bases. Marc Wik went down on strikes for the first out, but Johnny Sewald kept the line moving with an RBI single. Ferguson followed with a 2-run single, and then Aaron Mizell walked to re-load the bases. Jamie Ritchie walked to bring in Sewald, and Jason Martin followed with a sac fly. In his second plate appearance of the inning, Woodward hit a 2-run single, and he scored the final run of the inning on a wild pitch. Straw drew a bases-loaded walk in the 7th, and later in the inning, Wik drove in the final run of the night with a sac fly.
Everyone in the JetHawks lineup had a hit except for Mizell, who still walked and scored a run in the 5th inning.
Rogelio Armenteros went 4 innings and allowed 7 runs on 8 hits (2 solos and a 2-run homer) and walked 2. Kevin McCanna tagged in for 3 innings, and he allowed a run on a groundout in the 5th, a single, walked 2, and struck out 2. Andrew Thome allowed a hit and struck out 1 over the final 2 innings to get the save.
Game 3, if conditions permit, will start at 7:05 Pacific. Akeem Bostick will face David Ledbetter.
Clinton 6, Quad Cities 2
W- Rohn Pierce (5-0)
L- Adam Whitt (3-6)
S- Joey Strain (9)
QC home runs: None.
For the second straight game, the Banditos could only score in one inning. They managed to tie the game in the 4th inning, but the LumberKings found some late offense to take Tuesday's contest.
Jake Rogers and Kristian Trompiz hit RBI singles in the 4th which accounted for the 2 Quad Cities runs. Dex McCall finished 2-3.
Agapito Barrios went 2.1 innings and had an inherited runner charged to him, walked 1, and struck out 2. Justin Ferrell tagged in for 2.2 innings and allowed a run on 4 hits, walked 1, and struck out 1. Adam Whitt was next, and in his 2.1 innings, he allowed 4 runs (2 inherited runners charged to him) on 4 hits (solo homer), walked 2, and struck out 4. David Schmidt got the final 2 outs of the 8th, allowing a hit, walking 2, and striking out 1.
In game 3 of this series, Matt Bower will take on Nick Wells. First pitch is at 6:30.
New York-Penn League All-Star Game
The South All-Stars topped the North 9-5. Taylor Jones entered the game in the 6th and was the DH the rest of the way, going 0-2. Chuckie Robinson went 0-2 after entering the game as a defensive replacement in the 5th inning. Enrique Chavez worked around a hit to throw a scoreless 5th, striking out 2.
The ValleyCats return to action tonight with a 3-game series against Aberdeen. Edgardo Sandoval will start game 1, and he'll take on Travis Seabrooke at 7:00 Eastern.
Greeneville 8, Kingsport 4
W- Luis Ramirez (1-1)
L- Sixto Torres (0-4)
S- Diogenes Almengo (3)
Greeneville home runs: Connor MacDonald (6, solo in 5th)
The Appy Astros stormed out of the gate with a 4-run 1st inning and withstood a game-tying rally in the middle stages of the game to earn the split in their series with Kingsport.
Stijn van der Meer scored the first run of the day on a botched force out attempt that saw Connor MacDonald reach base. Reiny Beltre followed with an RBI single, and then Frankeny Fernandez scored on a double play. MacDonald ended up scoring the final run of the opening frame on a wild pitch. Van der Meer hit RBI singles in the 4th and the 6th. MacDonald launched a solo homer in the 5th inning and drove in the final run of the day with a sac fly in the 7th.
Patrick Sandoval went 4 innings and allowed 4 runs on 5 hits (solo homer), walked 1, and struck out 7. Luis Ramirez bridged the gap with a scoreless 5th, allowing a hit and striking out 1, and Diogenes Almengo allowed a hit, walked 5, and struck out 3 over 4 scoreless.
After a day off, Greeneville will begin a 3-game series in Danville.
From July 29: DSL Red Sox1 5, DSL Astros Blue 4 in 17 innings
W- Geraldo Perez (3-0)
L- Yonatan Quintin (2-1)
Blue home runs: None.
The game resumed with both teams tied at 4... and it stayed that way until the Red Sox 1 walked off with the win in the bottom of the 17th.
Felipe Tejada, who has since moved on to the GCL, allowed one run on a sac fly, a single, walked 1, and struck out 4 in 6 innings. Carlos Perdomo allowed a game-tying 3-run homer to Eddy Reynoso in the 7th before play was halted. He allowed one other hit and walked 2 in the inning. Jheyson Caraballo came on after the restart and allowed 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4 in 5 scoreless innings. Robert Corniel allowed 3 hits and struck out 3 over 2 scoreless, and the winning run scored with 2 outs in the 17th off of Yonatan Quintin. In 2.2 innings, Quintin allowed that run, 2 hits, and struck out 3.
Nicolás Miranda went 3-7 with a double, an RBI, and scored a run. Ronny Jimenez and Angel Tejeda had 2 hits apiece.
DSL Rangers2 7, DSL Astros Orange 0
W- Luis Rosario (6-4)
L- Yohan Ramirez (1-1)
Orange home runs: None.
The Orange team was held to 7 hits and held off the scoreboard. Hector Martinez went 2-3 with a double.
Yohan Ramirez and Cristofer Melendez pitched 4 innings apiece; Ramirez allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits, walked 3, and struck out 3. Melendez allowed 3 runs on 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 5. Christopher Javier allowed a 2-run homer to Maxwell Morales in the 9th. He allowed two other hits, walked 1, and struck out 1.
Tuesday's Stars
Jheyson Caraballo, RHP, DSL Astros Blue: 5 IP, 2 H, BB, 4 K
This is his Twitter avatar
Yulieski Gurriel, IF, Fresno
3-4, 2B, solo HR (1, 2 season), 2 R
J.D. Davis, 3B, Corpus Christi
2-4, 2 solo HR (18)
Kevin McCanna, RHP, Lancaster
W (2-1, 4-4 season), 3 IP, H, ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Andrew Thome, RHP, Lancaster
Save (2, 6 season), 2 IP, H, K
Drew Ferguson, OF, Lancaster
2-5, 3 RBI, R
