Mark Appel got taken deep for a 2-run shot in Fort Wayne, but Carlos Correa wasn't having any of that crap. He responded with a 2-run shot of his own.
Jake Rodriguez hit his first pro homer for Tri-City, and in his first inning with the ValleyCats, J.D. Osborne struck out the side in order to save a 3-1 win.
It's hard to not be really excited about Correa, he doesn't have any visible flaws, no significant ones anyhow. The extra base pop has been coming along the last month or so. They say he may outgrow SS, but A-Rod and Cal Ripken were both massive and played the position well. Even if he does he seems to project as an excellent 3B also given his cannon. I don't get to see the games, but looking at the stats his approach appears to be extremely advanced and he's only 18. I'm sure the Astros are gonna err on the side of caution, but he's looking like a player that may force his way through the system fairly quickly. Don't wanna get ahead of things but early 2015 may be very realistic.
Friday Stories Let's play 2 in Memphis! And for that matter, let's play 2 in Corpus Christi! #1 picks take the field for Quad Cities. Recap Game 1: Oklahoma City 4, Memphis 1 The Redhawks were down 1-0, but a pair of 2-run homers turned out to be enough for them to take game 1. George Springer (8, 27 season) went deep in the 4th, and Jose Martinez provided the insurance in the 7th (2). Brandon Laird went 2-3. Brad Peacock went 6 2/3 and allowed a run on 5 hits and struck out 10. Josh Zeid got Thomas Pham to ground out to Martinez for the final out. Could OKC complete the sweep? Game 2: Memphis 5, Oklahoma City 1 No. The Redbirds jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the 1st and the Redhawks never really threatened. Science Guy allowed all the runs in his 3 innings. 2 of them were earned. He allowed 5 hits, walked 2, and struck out 1. Philip Humber struck out 2 in a 1-2-3 4th, Kevin Chapman struck out 2 in the 5th as he worked around a hit and a walk to retire the side, and Alex Sogard allowed a hit and fanned 1 in a scoreless 6th. Brandon Laird hit an RBI single in the 3rd. Tonight, Jake Buchanan will take on a rehabbing Chris Carpenter in game 3 of this series. First pitch is at 6:05. Game 1: Frisco 11, Corpus Christi 5 Well, all hell just broke loose. The Hooks had a 5-2 lead after the 4th, but Frisco scored 9 unanswered to take the first game of the twinbill. Rene Garcia opened the scoring with a 2-run homer (5) in the 1st. He had a 10-game hitting streak snapped in game 2. After the Roughriders tied it at 2 after the top of the 4th, Max Stassi hit a solo homer (8) with 1 out in the Corpus half to give them the lead. That was followed up by 2 RBI singles from Drew Muren and Garcia. Muren, Garcia, and Jonathan Meyer had 2 hits in this game. Mike Foltynewicz was roughed up in his 4 innings, as he allowed 5 runs (4 earned) on 4 hits (3-run homer), walked 2, and struck out 3. Folty also uncorked 2 wild ones and didn't retire anyone in the 5th. That 3-run shot he allowed? It tied the game at 5. Kenny Long got 2 outs in the 5th, but not before coughing up the lead, as he allowed a solo homer to Alex Buchholz. Carlos Quevedo was shelled in the final 2 1/3, as he gave up 5 (all in the 7th) on 4 hits (3-run homer). He walked 2 and struck out 1. Game 2: Corpus Christi 3, Frisco 2 The Hooks earned the split thanks to some late dramatics. Called on to pinch-hit, Domingo Santana played hero as he ripped a 2-run double the opposite way on the first pitch he saw from Alex Claudio with 2 outs in the 6th, which gave the Hooks a 3-2 lead. Those 2 RBIs were his first in a month. Before that, though, Drew Muren reached 2nd as Ryan Strausborger simply threw the ball away. It was a routine grounder, too. After Rene Garcia grounded out for the 2nd out, Preston Tucker made the Roughriders pay by smoking a double the other way, which allowed Muren to score easily. Jonathan Meyer drew a walk, and then Santana swung and asked questions later. When he was being interviewed by Hooks announcers Mike Coffin and Chris Blake during the postgame show, Domingo said he was gonna come out swinging at anything in the zone. And there you have it. David Martinez grinded it out as he went the distance. He allowed 2 runs on 8 hits and struck out 5. The series continues as Nick Tropeano will face Nick McBride at 7:05. Inland Empire 6, Lancaster 3 The Jethawks couldn't finish off the sweep, as they drew 11 walks, but couldn't punish the 66ers for issuing that many free passes. All 3 of their runs came in the 9th, as Tyler Heineman hit an RBI single, Brandon Meredith drew a bases-loaded walk, and M.P. Cokinos scored on an error. Nolan Fontana and Andrew Aplin drew 3 walks apiece. Has Aaron West had the crappiest luck or what? Well, in this outing, the free passes sort of bit him in the ass. But I think he'll be glad to get out of Lancaster next year. He went 5 and allowed 5 on 4 hits (2-run homer), walked 5, and struck out 5. Blair Walters allowed a run on 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4 in 2 innings. Cam Lamb worked around a hit and a walk to retire the side in the 8th, fanning 2. The Jethawks will wrap up this roadtrip with 3 in Bakersfield. Starters for both teams are TBA. First pitch is at 7:45 Pacific. Which means.... yay. 9:45 start here! Also, according to this release from Jason Schwartz, Minor League Opening Day 2014 will be on April 3. The Jethawks will open at home against Lake Elsinore that night. Quad Cities 6, Fort Wayne 3 Mark Appel gave up 2 homers, but his fellow #1 pick picked him up, and the River Bandits won their only series against the TinCaps this season. 2013's #1 went 4 innings and gave up 3 runs (all on homers) on 4 hits (2-run and solo) and struck out 4. Dan Minor got the win with 3 scoreless, allowing 3 hits and striking out 1. Jordan Jankowski picked up the save as he fanned 1 over 2 perfect innings. After Appel served up a 2-run shot to Corey Adamson in the 2nd, Carlos Correa decided that ish wasn't gonna fly. He responded with a 2-run shot (6) in the 3rd which tied the game. I think the offense was hell-bent on punishing Fort Wayne for that, so they dropped 3 more in the 4th, on a Bobby Borchering single, a Jordan Scott triple, and a Teoscar Hernandez sac fly. The TinCaps got 1 back on a solo homer from Gabe Quintana, but Minor and Jankowski punished them again for taking Appel deep. They tacked on 1 more in the 9th on a Rio Ruiz sac fly. Correa also hit a double in the inning. Everyone in the lineup had a hit except for the River, who had that sac fly and walked twice. The River Bandits will now travel to suburban Cleveland, where they will begin a 3-game series against the Lake County Captains. This will also be the only time that these two teams will meet this season. Chris Devenski will start the opener against Ryan Merritt. First pitch is at 7:00 Eastern. Tri-City 3, Auburn 1 The ValleyCats took 2 of 3 as they scored 3 unanswered, which was capped off by Jake Rodriguez's first professional home run. That homer was a 2-run shot in the 7th that broke a 1-1 tie, one of only 5 hits on the night for TC. James Ramsay tied it with an RBI single in the 5th. Kyle Westwood went 4 innings and allowed a run (on a solo homer to Cody Gunter) on 7 hits and struck out 2. Pat Christensen fanned 2 in a 1-2-3 5th. Chris Cotton tagged in to get the win, allowing 3 hits and fanning 2 over 3 scoreless. And in his Tri-City debut, J.D. Osborne struck out the side to seal the win. The ValleyCats will now host Hudson Valley for a 3-game set. It's a rematch of last year's New York-Penn League Championship Series, in which the Renegades topped Tri-City in 3 games. It's also Comic-Con and Star Wars night at the ballpark in Troy. First pitch is at 7:00 Eastern, and the starters for both sides are TBA. Greeneville 2, Princeton 1 Sweep!!! Tyler White had himself a night as he turned into the Appy Astros' entire offense last night. He hit an RBI double in the 1st to put Greeneville on the board first, and in a 1-1 game in the 8th, gave them the lead again on a solo homer (1, 2 season). Brett Phillips went 2-4. Frederick Tiburcio threw 6 innings and allowed a run on 6 hits and struck out 2. Austin Chrismon pitched 2 perfect frames for the W, striking out 1. And Gonzalo Sanudo struck out the side to end it, picking up his 4th save of the season. Greeneville will now begin a home-and-away set against Johnson City. They'll start with 3 there, and then on Tuesday, they'll do it again in Greeneville. Enderson Franco will start the opener against Dailyn Martinez. First pitch is at 6:00 Eastern. GCL Astros 4, GCL Yankees1 3 in 11 innings Ydarqui Marte put the Kissimmee Stros ahead in the 11th by smacking a 2-run homer. They had been leading 2-0 until the Yankees tied it in the 8th. Pedro Coa led off the 5th with a double and would score on a Jose Solano fielder's choice. Solano scored in the 8th on a Yonathan Mejia single. Mejia went 2-5, and Brett Booth went 2-3. Brian Holmes began his rehab with 2 perfect innings, striking out 3. Jose Montero pitched the next 5 1/3 and allowed 2 runs (1 earned, both inherited) on 4 hits and struck out 9. Chris Munnelly got the final 2 outs of the 8th, but not before an error by Solano allowed the Yankees to tie the game at 2. Munnelly walked 1. Erick Gonzalez went 2 1/3 and allowed a run (inherited), walked 1, and fanned 2. Zach Dando got the final 2 outs of the game, but it wasn't a cakewalk, as he allowed one of Gonzalez's runs to score, which made it a 1-run game. He allowed a hit and struck out 1. These two squads will be back at it in Kissimmee in a little bit. 10:00 AM Eastern. DSL Athletics 4, DSL Astros 3 in 10 innings The Academy scored 2 in the bottom of the 9th, but the A's got one of those runs back in the first extra frame... and that turned out to be all they needed. Jean Estrella went 3-5 with a run scored to raise his average to .294. He scored on an RBI single from Brian Peña in the 4th. Marlon Avea hit a pinch-hit 2-run single to tie it in the bottom of the 9th. Harold Arauz went 5 1/3 and gave up 3 runs on 4 hits (solo homer), walked 1, and struck out 4. Junior Garcia tagged in to throw 2 2/3 scoreless, allowing 2 hits, walking 1, and striking out 3. Angel Heredia gave up the winning run (earned) for the A's in the 10th. He went 2 innings, walked 1, and struck out 3.
Saturday Stories Wild one in Johnson City. Feeling like Troy Scribner could use a promotion. Upper-level clubs obliterated the opposition. Max Stassi on fire!!! Recap Oklahoma City 8, Memphis 1 The Redhawks pounded Chris Carpenter, got out to an 8-0 lead, and won rather handily last night. The offensive attack was paced by Robbie Grossman, who went 5-5 with an RBI bunt single in the 6th and scored twice. Carlos Perez went 2-4 with a 2-run single in the 2nd to open the scoring. He also scored on an error in the 6th. George Springer went 0-4, but still managed to drive in 2. He had an RBI groundout in the 3rd and a sac fly in the 6th. Marwin Gonzalez hit an RBI single in the 3rd. And finally, Brandon Laird hit an RBI double in the 6th. Jake Buchanan threw 6 shutout innings and allowed 5 hits, walked 4, and struck out 5. Rhiner Cruz allowed an unearned run on 2 hits, walked 2, and struck out 1 in 2 innings. And Alex Sogard closed it out, as he worked around a hit to do so. In the series finale, Wade LeBlanc will take on Boone Whiting. First pitch is at 6:05. Corpus Christi 9, Frisco 1 The Hooks battered the Roughriders, got a solid start from Nick Tropeano in the process, and Max Stassi can't seem to hit anything other than home runs. Trope allowed a run on 4 hits, walked 1, and struck out 5. Sergio Escalona allowed 2 hits in a scoreless 8th, and Andrew Robinson worked around a hit to close out the game. Erik Castro started things off with a 2-run double in the 1st. The Hooks opened the floodgates with 4 in the 3rd. Jonathan Meyer hit an RBI single, and then Castro followed suit. Max Stassi then hit a sac fly, and Castro scored on a fielder's choice as Enrique Hernandez reached. Also on the play, Domingo Santana foiled a double play. Stassi has now homered in 4 consecutive games. In fact, his last 4 hits have been home runs. This one (9) was a 2-run shot in the 5th, and Drew Muren wrapped it up with an RBI triple later in the inning. Castro finished 3-4. Meyer and Rene Garcia both went 2-5. The Hooks will wrap up this series, and they'll be looking to win it. Bobby Doran will take on Kevin Pucetas at 6:05. Bakersfield 6, Lancaster 3 In game #100 for the Jethawks, the Blaze jumped on Brady Rodgers early and often to take the opening game of this series. Oh yeah. Totally dig 9:45 starts. They were in the 4th and it was almost midnight. The Jethawks pounded out 12 hits, but they got doubled up in the column that matters. They were 1-14 with RISP last night and left 10 on base. Rodgers went 5 innings and allowed 5 runs on 7 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4. Tyson Perez tagged in for 3 innings and allowed a run on a hit (not a homer) and struck out 3. Matt Duffy went 2-3 with a 2-run homer (15) in the 4th. Chris Epps, Ryan McCurdy, and Carlos Perdomo all went 2-4. Delino DeShields was 3-5 with a double, a run scored, and 2 steals (34); the double led off the 7th. He proceeded to steal 3rd, and scored on a sac fly from Andrew Aplin. In the middle game of this series, Kyle Hallock will face Mike Dennhardt at 11:30 AM Pacific. Lake County 5, Quad Cities 3 The River Bandits attempted to come back from a 5-0 hole, but that proved to be too much to overcome. They had runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out, but Luis Alvarez struck out and Dan Gulbransen lined out to end it. Chris Devenski went 4 innings and gave up 5 runs on 9 hits (2 homers), walked 1, and struck out 7. Juri Perez tossed 4 scoreless, allowing 2 hits, walking 2, and fanning 2. QC got on the board in the 6th as Teoscar Hernandez hit a solo homer (7). Luis Alvarez went 3-4 with a solo homer (2, 3 season) in the 7th, and Rio Ruiz was 2-4 with an RBI single in the 9th. Joe Bircher, back from his rehab stint in Kissimmee, will be on the mound for Quad Cities in the middle game of this series. His opponent will be Luis Morel. First pitch is at 7:00 Eastern. Hudson Valley 7, Tri-City 5 The Renegades got 5 in the 7th off of Zach Morton to steal the series opener. Mike Martinez was 3-4 with a 2-run homer (4) in the 1st and added an RBI single in the 5th. James Ramsay went 2-3 with an RBI single in the 3rd, and Tony Kemp scored on a wild pitch in the 3rd. Randall Fant allowed 2 runs on 7 hits, walked 2, and fanned 1 in 5 innings. Richard Rodriguez allowed a hit in a scoreless 6th. As for Morton, only one of those 5 runs he gave up in the 7th was earned. He allowed 3 hits and struck out 1 in 3 innings. In the middle game of this series, Evan Grills and Kevin Comer will go up against Eli Echarry. First pitch is at 5:00 Eastern. Greeneville 11, Johnson City 10 in 10 innings The Appy Astros put up double-digit runs despite only getting 7 hits. They're also now on a 9-game winning streak, which is a record for them. If you enjoy good pitching, this was definitely not one of these games. Enderson Franco only lasted 1 2/3; he allowed 4 runs on a hit (not a grand slam), walked 4, and struck out 3. Christian Garcia went 2 2/3 and allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits, walked 2, and fanned 1. Gerardo Ramirez allowed a run (on a solo homer) on 5 hits and struck out 1 in 2 2/3. Raul Rivera gave up 2 runs on 2 hits in the 8th, and Tyler Brunnemann got the win as he struck out 2 in 2 perfect innings. Well, he did plunk 2 guys and uncorked a wild one in those 2 innings. I asked Kevin Goldstein about Brunnemann a couple of weeks ago, as I thought that he had better stuff than a typical 40th-round pick. He didn't delve into details but gave me an idea of what to expect. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/itsDTrain">@itsDTrain</a> Some velo, some movement and excellent location.</p>— Kevin Goldstein (@Kevin_Goldstein) <a href="https://twitter.com/Kevin_Goldstein/statuses/354776691580743682">July 10, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> The Appy Astros took advantage of 4 JC errors to steal this one. Tanner Mathis reached on one of those errors to begin the game and he would score on a wild pitch to put Greeneville on the board first. Brian Holberton led off the 2nd with his first pro homer, and in the 3rd, Tyler White hit an RBI double and scored on an error. White scored on another error in the 5th, after he had drawn a 1-out walk earlier in the frame. In the 7th, Angel Ibañez and Jack Mayfield hit sac flies, while Juan Santana hit an RBI single. Mayfield's sac fly gave Greeneville an 8-7 lead. The Cardinals got 1 in the bottom of the 7th and 2 in the 8th to take the lead. In the 9th, Darwin Rivera and Holberton were the first two casualties of the inning, but Ibañez reached on an error which should have ended the game. Santana proceeded to make the Cardinals pay with a 2-run homer (1) off of Norge Paredes. After Brett Phillips hit a 1-out double in the 10th, White hit the go-ahead sac fly to bring him home. Mathis Watch: 19 BB, 4 K. He was 1-5 with a walk, 2 runs scored and 2 steals (5). In the middle game of the series, Chris Lee will take on Hansel De Los Santos at 6:00 Eastern. GCL Yankees1 2, GCL Astros 1 The Kissimmee Stros couldn't quite muster up an answer for Gosuke Katoh's 2-run triple in the 1st. Don't let the obviously Japanese name fool you, he's from California and was the Yankees' 2nd-round pick last month. Brett Booth was 2-4 with a double and scored the only run on a Jake Nottingham infield single in the 4th. Nottingham was not credited with an RBI on the play. Troy Scribner was the hard-luck loser, as he allowed that 2-run triple in the 1st. 1 of those runs was earned. He went 6 innings, allowed 4 other hits, walked 1, and struck out 10. He now owns a 36:2 K:BB ratio in 23.2 innings this season. Juan Carlos Santos walked 2 and fanned 2 over 2 scoreless innings, and Zach Dando struck out 1 in a 1-2-3 9th.
Unlike you, I'm not overly concerned. He's young for the level, working his way back into game shape, and has barely over 100 at-bats at AAA. NOT A BIG DEAL.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Astros DFA Pena, Cedeno. Villar recalled.</p>— Brian T. Smith (@ChronAstros) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChronAstros/statuses/359070943630475266">July 21, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Jonathan Villar will be Astros' starting shortstop.</p>— Brian T. Smith (@ChronAstros) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChronAstros/statuses/359071318139863042">July 21, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
