Sunday, July 1, 2012

Minor League Schedule and Recaps

[Note: If you're reading this from RSS, you may have missed the standings I put on the front page. As of this morning, seven of eight Astros minor league affiliates are at .500 or better. Corpus Christi is now tied for first place in the overall standings while lagging by only one game behind the Missions in the second half race.]

Sunday's Games


Asheville
Lexington
12:35 CST
MiLB.tv

Greeneville
Kingsport
4:00 CST
Tri-City
Lowell
4:05 CST
NW Arkansas
Corpus Christi
6:05 CST
MiLB.tv
Memphis
Oklahoma City
6:05 CST
MiLB.tv
Lancaster
Modesto
8:05 CST
 Tropeano, Nick (0-0, -.--)

Saturday's Results

DSL Astros over DSL Indians 3-2
Juan Hernandez gave up two runs in his five inning start, but Javier Saucedo got the win in relief as the Astros scored late. Randy Cesar (3x4), Jarico Reynoso (2x3, 3B), and Frederick Serrano (2x4, 2B) all had good days at the plate. The winning run came in courtesy of an Arturo Michelina walk-off single.

GCL Astros over GCL Nationals 3-2
Michael Feliz (W, 2-0) didn't get the start but did the heavy lifting, pitching six innings and allowing two runs. Erick Gonzalez got his third save of the season. Franny Polanco was three-for-three with two RBIs; Wallace Gonzalez was two-for-three with a double and a triple; and Darwin Rivera hit a solo home run.

Tri-City over Connecticut 14-5
Tri-City has now won eight in a row and they completely dominated Connecticut, leading from the first inning on and putting up three four-run innings. And I'm sure that starting pitcher Vincent Velasquez couldn't have been happier. Velasquez earned his second win, as he allowed one run on six hits with two walks and seven strikeouts over six innings. Relievers Brad Propst and Jamaine Cotton each allowed two runs. Big nights at the plate for Austin Elkins (3x4, 2R), Dan Gulbransen (3x3, 2B, HR, 5RBI, 2BB, 2R), Jesse Wierzbicki (2x4, BB, 2R); Joe Sclafini (2x4, 2RBI); and Jobduan Morales with a grand slam.

Asheville over Lexington 13-8
A seven-run seventh inning by Asheville was the nail in Lexington's coffin. Mike Foltynewicz (L, 9-2) had a rare subpar outing in his first loss since his first start of the season as he allowed six runs (five earned) over his six innings. Nate Pettus only managed to get one out in the seventh while allowing seven runs. He was quickly bailed out by Mitch Lambson in his first appearance since his promotion to Lexington. Luis Alvarez, a catcher, also pitched an inning and allowed no hits or runs. Matt Duffy was three-for-five with three RBIs; Justin Gominsky had two doubles; Roberto Pena was two-for-five with two runs; Ruben Sosa got two runs in his first appearance for Lexington; and Delino DeShields stole three bases to increase his season total to 57.


Memphis over Oklahoma City 20-6
Apparently, the Redhawks heard about Lexington having a catcher pitch in their game, so they decided to have a left fielder pitch in theirs! After a complete implosion by the OKC pitching staff, left fielder J.B. Shuck came in with one on and no outs, induced a double play and a ground out and got out of the inning unscathed. Which is more than can be said for OKC's other pitchers for the night. Brian Bass was charged with the loss after allowing six runs (one earned) over 4.2 innings. Brandon Barnes, Mike Hessman and J.B. Shuck were all two-for-five, with Barnes and Hessman hitting home runs.

Corpus Christi over Northwest Arkansas 13-7
The Hooks were gifted with lots of hits and lots of walks allowed by the opposing pitchers. As a matter of fact, four of the Hooks runs scored via the bases loaded walk. Really, that happened. Bobby Doran got his second win in as many starts for the Hooks as he put up a quality start. There were too many terrific hitting performances to list them all, but Austin Wates' three hits, and Jose Martinez' five RBIs and home run stood out.

Lancaster over Rancho Cucamonga 8-7
Lancaster struck early and hung on late. It looked as though this might be another one of "those" nights for Lancaster as starter Zach Grimmett (W, 3-5) gave up two in the top of the first, but he settled down nicely and allowed only two more runs over his next five. In the meantime the JetHawks bats went to work and chased out Rancho Cucamonga starter Angel Sanchez after only 2.2 innings as Lancaster scored all eight of their runs in the first three innings. Kirk Clark made it a bit more interesting than I would have liked by allowing three runs in relief to make it a one-run game, but Andrew Robinson nailed it down with his fifth save. Offensively, it was the Grant Hogue show as he went four-for-four with a triple, RBI, walk and scored three runs. Hogue is now hitting .611 for the JetHawks in 13 games. Kike Hernandez (two-for-three with a triple) and Domingo Santana (two-for-four with an RBI) also had good nights.

Game of the Day
Greeneville over Danville 13-4
This was a nice comeback for Greeneville after the 17-inning loss in their previous outing. The Astros led from the second inning on as the bats broke out in a big way. Richard Rodriguez earned his second win of the season. Jose Monzon provided some excitement with a three-run inside the park home run.

What went right: Hitting and lots of it.

What went wrong: 0-fer from Brian Blasik, lowering his batting average all the way down to .372.

Richard Rodriguez (W, 2-0) - 6IP 6H 2R 2BB 9SO
Scott Zuloaga - 2IP 4H 2R 0BB 2SO
Jordan Jankowski - 1IP 0H 0R 0BB 1SO

Ernesto Genoves - 3x5 2-2B RBI 2R
Mike Martinez - 2x3 HR 2RBI 2R
Ariel Ovando - 3x5 RBI SO 2R
Angel Ibanez - 2x4 RBI SO 2R
Jose Monzon - 3x4 HR 4RBI R
Jean Batista - 1x5 HR 2RBI R

Players of the Day: There were too many terrific performances to chose from. Let's let Dan Gulbransen's five RBIs, Jose Martinez' five RBIs, Jose Monzon's inside the park home run; Jobduan Morales' grand slam; and Grant Hogue's four-for-four night all share in the glory.

Pitchers of the Day: Vincent Velasquez edges out Richard Rodriguez, but J.B. Shuck and Luis Alvarez should also get honorable mention.

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