On the strength of s 5-run 7th inning, OKC turned a 3-2 deficit to Albuquerque into a 7-3 lead. They added one more for good measure, although Jose Valdez made things a little more interesting. However, David Carpenter shut the door to preserve an 8-6 victory. Brian Bogusevic and Anderson Hernandez each went 3-4 and drove in 2 runs. The Hairless One got a bare minimum quality start, allowing 8 hits (1 homer), 2 walks, and struck out 4. He also chipped in 2 hits at the plate. Valdez got all 4 of his outs via strikeout, but he allowed a solo homer and 2 other runs with 1 out in the 9th. However, Carpenter ensured the victory with his 8th save of the season. Corpus lost to San Antonio once again, this one by a 7-3 score. Pinch-hitting in the 7th, Jimmy Paredes hit a 2-run homer, his 5th of the season. Brandon Wikoff started for him at 3rd and went 0-4 with a walk. The fact that he's cooling off isn't surprising (average at .361), but he's still showing great discipline at the plate, with 19 walks to only 8 strikeouts. His 5 extra-base hits in 45 games have already exceeded the 3 he put up in 113 at Lancaster last season. In his Hooks debut, Chris Wallace went 0-3 with an RBI, a walk, and a K. Jonnathan Aristil got the loss, allowing 7 runs on 7 hits in only 2 1/3. The Hooks bullpen played damage control, stopping the Missions and limiting them to 4 hits the rest of the way. Hooks fun facts: T.J. Steele is hitting .130 this month. He hasn't drawn a walk yet, while striking out 22 times. His OBP on the season is .230, and he is slugging .309. That's a .539 OPS, for the arithmetically challenged. He's got 7 walks and 68 strikeouts which is an appalling 1:14 BB:K ratio. Lancaster dropped their first game after their All-Star break, losing 7-5 to RC. The story of the night was Jio Mier making his Jethawks debut. Starting at short and hitting 2nd, he went 2-4 with an RBI single and scored once. Austin Wates had 2 RBI, and Jose Thompson had an RBI double. Andy Robinson took the loss, allowing 5 runs (4 earned) on 6 hits in 2 2/3. He walked 2 while failing to record a strikeout. Lexington also dropped their first game after their All-Star break, getting beat by Greenville 8-2. Adam Bailey's 2-run homer in the 1st was all the Legends could muster in support of Ruben Alaniz, who went 5 innings, allowing 5 hits, 5 runs (1 earned), 2 walks, and struck out 6 to get the loss. The homer was Bailey's 14th on the season. He is now hitting .292, with 14 homers and 46 RBI. Though his discipline needs a little work, it's not like he's going all-out every time, as he draws 1 walk for every 3 Ks (16 BB, 48 K). I expect him to be in Lancaster by season's end. And I also expect Austin Wates to move up at some point. That is, whenever the Astros get around to promoting their players... Chia-Jen Lo made his first appearance since Tommy John surgery cut his 2010 with Corpus short. Pitching the 6th, he allowed a solo homer (the only hit and run he allowed), a walk, and struck out 2 in his return. Tri-City allowed Lowell to tie the game at 2 in the top of the 8th, but the ValleyCats retook the lead with 1 of their own in the bottom half. The 3-2 margin would hold up, and they are back to .500 in the early going. John Hinson had the only RBI, when the Spinners forced out Hector Rodriguez at 2nd, allowing Brandon Meredith to score and Hinson to reach 1st. Miles Hamblin stole home in the 7th, and Justin Gominsky scored the go-ahead run when Matt Duffy grounded into a double play in the 8th. Juri Perez rebounded from a poor first start by holding Lowell to 2 hits in 5 shutout innings, walking 1 and fanning 9. However, he was denied the win as Brad James, who is also attempting a comeback from Tommy John surgery blew it in the 8th, then stole the win for himself. Greeneville was swept in their first series of the season, getting blanked 5-0 in Bristol. The G-Stros were hitless until Jose Vargas singled with 2 outs in the 7th. Luis Ordosgoitti allowed 5 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits in 5 2/3. He walked 1 and fanned 7. Brad Propst, the 38th-rounder from this year making his pro debut, got the last out in the 6th and allowed 3 runs which were charged to Ordosgoitti. He allowed 4 hits and struck out 4 in 2 1/3. The Gulf Coast Astros were off yesterday. The Academy defeated the Cardinals 9-5. Juan Santana went 3-4 with 2 doubles and an RBI. Teoscar Hernandez went 2-5 with an RBI. Yoel Silfa went 2-3 with an RBI and scored 3 times. Marlon Avea and Mario Gonzalez (who tripled) each had 2 RBI. Luis Abad allowed a run on 2 hits and struck out 3..... but he walked 5 and only went 3 innings. Samil De Los Santos, the 3rd pitcher in, got the win, pitching 1 2/3 innings, allowing 2 hits, and striking out 4.
In their home opener, Greeneville will play host to the Johnson City Cardinals tonight at 7 Eastern. They are looking to rebound after suffering a sweep at the hands of Bristol.
Stros are truly amazing, Carpenter has been the lone bright spot at AAA and yet he still rots there. Our bullpen is bad and all this guy does is throw scoreless frames.
Nothing yet. It doesn't matter if he's 17 or 117, a talented guy like Ovando should be in there everyday. Either he's being eased into an everyday role, or they want to use the first couple of weeks to assess everyone before setting a lineup going forward.
Brian Esposito celebrated his promotion with a huge night at the plate. The career .216 hitter went 3-3, a triple shy of the cycle, with a solo homer, drove in 2 more runs, and scored twice as OKC downed Albuquerque 11-7. Collin DeLome and Drew Locke added solo homers of their own. J.B. Shuck drove in 2, as did DeLome. Nelson Figueroa served up 3 homers and allowed 6 runs in 6, along with 8 other hits, but the gratuitous run support allowed him to get the win. Corpus topped Frisco and a rehabbing Brandon Webb 4-2. Jimmy Van Ostrand's 2-run homer in the 4th proved to be the difference. Jonathan Gaston and Chris Wallace drove a run each to constitute the Hooks' 4 runs. Jonathan Villar left in the 3rd inning after going 0-2. Unclear of what happened, as he grounded into a double play to end the 2nd. Either he was ejected or injured. Brandon Wikoff replaced him and also went 0-2. Jimmy Paredes scored twice. Ross Seaton allowed 2 runs on 3 hits in 6 innings to get the win. He walked 1 and struck out 5. Paredes drew even with Villar after he stole 2nd. They both have 24 steals apiece. Lancaster lost in extras, walking off 4-3 losers to RC in 12. David Flores and Rene Garcia each drove in a run. Jose Thompson scored 2 runs and Jonathan Meyer scored the other. Jose Cisnero allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits in 5 2/3. He walked 4 and fanned only 1. Kirk Clark allowed a walk-off homer to Angelo Songco to get the loss. Lexington trailed Greenville 3-0 entering the bottom of the 8th. They turned that into a 4-3 victory, scoring 2 each in the 8th and 9th. Emilio King started the comeback with a solo homer, his 4th. After he was hit by a pitch, Delino DeShields stole 2nd, #13 on the year. He came home when Enrique Hernandez singled. In the 9th, after Mike Kvasnicka stole 2nd, Ben Orloff reached on a bunt single, and Kvasnicka scored on the ensuing error. Shortly after, Orloff was caught stealing 2nd. Tyler Burnett then hit a single. Roberto Pena struck out for out #2. Enter King, who ignited the comeback. Burnett stole 2nd, then King sprayed a single to left, and Burnett scored the winning run. Luis Cruz and Jason Chowning held the Drive to 3 hits. Cruz allowed 2 hits (1 homer to Miles Head and a double to Sean Coyle before the homer) and 2 runs (both on the homer) in 7 innings, striking out 7. Chowning also allowed a solo homer, the only hit and run he allowed in 2 innings. He walked 1 and fanned 5 to get the victory. Delino DeShields went 0-3 with a strikeout. He's now down to .192. Tri-City triumphed in a wild one over Lowell, 12-8. They were down 7-4 after the 4th inning. The ValleyCats scored 4 in the 3rd and 5th, 1 in the 6th, and 3 in the 8th. Zach Johnson, Brandon Meredith, and Kellen Kiilsgaard tripled. Meredith and Miles Hamblin each drove in 2, Kiilsgaard drove in 3, Meredith, Johnson, and Matt Duffy (who went 4-5 with an RBI) scored twice, and Hamblin scored 3 times. Drew Muren had a hat trick, going 0-5. Jonas Dufek allowed 7 runs (6 earned) on 8 hits (2 homers) in 3 2/3. He walked 1 and struck out 4. Kristian Bueno, from Calallen High School in Corpus Christi, got the win in relief, allowing 2 hits and striking out 3 in 1 1/3. Greeneville remains winless, falling 7-3 in their home opener to Johnson City. The inexplicable disappearance of Ariel Ovando remains inexplicable. Jordan Scott, Chase Davidson, and Jose Monzon drove in the 3 G-Stros runs. Ricardo Batista shut down the Cards, holding them to 2 hits in 5 innings, walking 3 and striking out 2. He left with a 2-0 lead. Unfortunately, the bullpen failed him, as Zach Dando, the 32nd-rounder making his pro debut, allowed JC to take the lead in the 6th, being charged with all 3 runs (2 earned), allowing 2 hits, and striking out 1. The loss was charged to Jeremiah Meiners, as he allowed JC to retake the lead after the G-Stros tied the game at 3 in the 7th. He allowed 1 hit (not a homer) and 1 run in 1 1/3. Not a day to remember for Chris Epps, as he earned himself a platinum sombrero, going 0-5 with 5 strikeouts. He did draw a walk to avoid a titanium sombrero, though. The Gulf Coasters beat the Nationals 6-4 in 10. Yonathan Mejia drove in 2 runs. Enderson Franco, making his US debut, was a bit shaky, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits in 4 1/3, walking 4 and striking out 2. Blake Ford won again in relief, striking out 3 while only allowing 1 hit in 2 innings. The academy broke a 7-7 tie with the Pirates by scoring 2 in the top of the 9th. 7 different guys drove in 1 run a piece, led by Yoel Silfa, who went 4-5. Mario Gonzalez drove in 2. Geronimo Franzua allowed 3 hits and 3 runs (2 earned) in 5 1/3. He walked 3 and fanned 2. Kelvin Santana allowed 2 hits, 1 walk, and struck out 2, getting the win in relief.
Ben Heath was apparently demoted to Lexington. Last night, as the DH, he hit 4th for the Legends and went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts. I guess he was the one going the other way when Jio Mier got the call? And still no explanation as to why Ovando isn't playing...
Yea, no idea what was behind the demotion. He wasn't destroying Lancaster, like Hinze, but his numbers were respectable. I understand if they want to keep him there all year but to move him back down is puzzling.
Ross Seaton allowed 2 runs on 3 hits in 6 innings to get the win. He walked 1 and struck out 5. Seaton occasionally shows promise. Seaton seeking more consistency, better results at Double-A Corpus Christi June 23, 2011 9:57 am CT CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- Astros pitching prospect Ross Seaton, who currently ranks eighth in the Texas League with 77 2/3 innings pitched, continues to show glimpses of his overall talent and potential at Double-A Corpus Christi this season. Seaton, 21, admits it has been a bumpy road as a starting pitcher at the Double-A level for the first time, but he knows his talent and repertoire matches up or exceeds the majority of the competition. His statistics won't jump off the page at this point, especially a 2-5 record with a 5.91 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 14 starts for the Hooks. However, scouts, front-office personnel and those associated with the Astros' minor league system recognize that when the present-day Seaton meets the type of pitcher he's capable of growing into, it's going to make for one incredible long-term asset. As a former third-round supplemental pick (109th overall) by Houston out of Second Baptist High School in Sugar Land in 2008, Seaton knows it's time to step up and produce results in order to possibly earn a promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City. "What I want to do is start getting results," Seaton said. "I'm showing positive glimpses by having good games, and then I'll have a few bad ones. It's time to get more consistent, instead of stringing two or three good starts together, and then having a bad one. "Becoming more consistent is my big goal." His resiliency and perseverance won't allow him to stay down, as he's got a tremendous relationship with Hooks manager Tom Lawless and pitching coach Don Alexander -- both of whom coached Seaton in the same respective positions last season at High-A Lancaster. Seaton worked closely with Alexander in 2010 on improving his mechanics and delivery, but now the young right-hander finds himself focusing more on the mentality and situational aspects of pitching. "Last year, we did a lot of mechanical stuff and worked on my delivery," Seaton said. "This year, the delivery is pretty solid and now it's more of the mental stuff. I'm starting to realize in situations when to throw a certain pitch, who is at the plate, who is hitting behind them and how to make and execute my pitches, accordingly. I'm just trying to focus on executing one pitch at a time. "That's the biggest thing." Despite graduating to the next level each year, Seaton has watched his stock as a Baseball America top 10 prospect in the Astros' farm system slip significantly, since being rated No. 3 overall in 2009. He didn't crack the top 10 in Baseball America's 2011 ranking of the best players in Houston's minor league system, which was released in January.
#freedallas Another stellar performance from him tonight. Does he have to throw like 3 perfect games in a row just or something to get promoted to OKC? #freeariel Seriously, you pay him $2.6 million to play 1 game and bench him for the rest of the week?
OKC dropped the opener of their series with Round Rock, walking off with a 4-3 loss. Brian Bogusevic had 2 RBI; J.B. Shuck scored twice and Collin DeLome scored the other run. The only blemish on Andy Van Hekken was a 2-run homer in the 5th he allowed to Chad Tracy. That swing tied the game at 2. He allowed 10 hits, walked 1, and struck out 8 in 7 innings. The nightmare start to Pat Urckfitz's AAA tenure continues, as he allowed 5 hits and 2 runs in 1 1/3 innings of relief. And Dallas Keuchel continues to deal. He held Frisco to 6 hits and a single solitary run in 7 innings, walking 1 and fanning 6 as he improved to .500 (6-6) on the season. He lowered his ERA to 2.72 tonight. Corpus fell behind 1-0 to Frisco, then rattled off 7 unanswered for the win. J.D. Martinez turned in a 2-homer night. He had a 2-run homer in the 4th, then added a solo shot in the 8th for the icing. Martinez and Jonathan Gaston went back-to-back in the 4th. Chris Wallace and Jimmy Van Ostrand went 2-4, with Wallace driving in 1 and JVO notching 2 RBI. #freedallas Lancaster got smacked around by RC to the tune of 13-4. Golden sombrero for Kody Hinze. Rene Garcia drove in 2 runs. Zach Grimmett allowed 7 hits (3 homers), 6 runs (5 earned), and struck out 2 in 3 2/3 to get the loss. Will Kody Hinze ever be promoted? Stay tuned to find out.... #freekody Lexington fell 5-2 to Greenville. Tyler Burnett and Roberto Pena drove in a run apiece. Delino DeShields went 1-4 with a strikeout to raise his average to .193. Carlos Quevedo took the loss, allowing 4 runs on 8 hits (1 homer) in 5 2/3. He walked 2 and struck out 3. Tri-City swept Lowell out of the NY Capital Region, winning the finale 6-4. Matt Duffy and Zach Johnson each drove in a run, and Neiko Johnson had a sac fly and an RBI double. Everyone had a hit except for Zach Johnson, who had 2. Who is this Kellen Kiilsgaard? He had a 2-run triple which was part of a 3-run 3rd for the ValleyCats. Euris Quezada went 4 innings, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 7 hits, walking and striking out 4. Dayan Diaz got the win after pitching 3 stellar innings of relief, allowing only 2 hits while fanning 5. Greeneville is still searching for that first win, losing 6-3 to Johnson City. Darwin Rivera drove in 2 and Chase Hamilton drove in the other. Tyson Perez went 3 innings in his debut, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, with 1 strikeout. The loss went to Danilo Del Rio, who allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 3 hits in 3 innings of relief. He walked 1 and struck out 3. Once again, no Ariel Ovando in the lineup. Still in the dark on what in the world is going on with him. The Gulf Coasters triumphed over the Marlins 5-2 in a game that was called after 6 innings. Yonathan Mejia and Chris Epps drove in 2 runs apiece. Adrian Houser made his debut, going 2 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, walking 2, and fanning 1. Casey Fien, who is on a rehab assignment before rejoining OKC, got the win, pitching 1 inning of relief, allowing 1 hit and striking out 1. The Academy's game was also called after the 6th, as they lost 8-7 to the Rays. Mario Gonzalez drove in 2, Yoel Silfa and Mesac Laguna drove in 1 apiece, and Michael Medina had a 2-run homer. Teoscar Hernandez went 3-3 and scored twice. Ambiorix De Leon allowed 5 runs on 4 hits in 4 2/3, walking 4 and striking out 6. Andres Feliz, who got the loss, only recorded 1 out, via strikeout, allowing 2 homers in the 6th.
Ovando has an elbow injury; he's day-to-day. http://twitter.com/#!/GvilleAstros/status/84850017852076032
Keuchel is slated to pitch in the Texas League All-Star Game in a few days and Ovando has a minor elbow injury. People need to chill.
