Tuesday Stories Day games were forgettable. How did the evening games go for the organization? An old friend is haunting the Hooks. George Springer haunted Midland. Recap Albuquerque 12, Oklahoma City 2 Well, the Redhawks had to settle for a split, but they fell behind 8-0 after the 2nd and were never in this game. Jimmy Paredes scored both runs for OKC, as he hit a solo home run (3) in the 5th and scored on an error in the 7th. Jake Elmore went 3-5, and Robbie Grossman was 2-5 with a double. Jordan Lyles only lasted 1 inning, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits and walking 1. C.J. Fick pitched 3 innings and allowed 3 runs on 5 hits, walked 2, and struck out 2. Science Guy pitched 3 innings as well, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and walking 2. Lance Day finished it out, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits and walking 1 in the 8th. OKC will be heading home to begin an 8-game homestand. They will be welcoming New Orleans to Bricktown for 4 on Thursday starting at 7:05. Wes Musick and Jarred Cosart will be taking on Brad Hand. Corpus Christi 7, Midland 6 in 10 innings Really topsy-turvy affair. Business really picked up late, thanks to their old pal Jake Goebbert. He went 3-5 with a homer, 2 RBI and scored twice. Not the sharpest of nights for Nick Tropeano, as he allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits, walked 3, and struck out 3 in 3 innings. Alex Sogard was effective in bridging the gam, allowing a hit, walking 1, and striking out 4 over 2 scoreless. Bobby Doran went 2 1/3 and allowed a run (on a solo homer) on 3 hits, walked 2, and struck out 4. Jason Stoffel came on to try to close out a 6-4 win... he couldn't. Stoffel allowed 2 unearned runs on 2 hits and struck out 2. Pat Urckfitz got the victory, throwing 1 1/3 scoreless, walking 1 and striking out 4. Big night for George Springer, as he went 3-4 with 2 homers (6). His first blast was a 2-run shot in the 5th, and his 2nd was a solo job in the 9th. He scored 3 times, added a steal (4), and drew a walk. Jonathan Meyer hit a sac fly in the 4th, Michael Burgess scored on a wild pitch in the 8th, and Ben Orloff hit 2 sac flies. His first came in the 6th and gave Corpus a 4-3 lead. The other happened in the 10th and allowed the Hooks to retake the lead, 7-6. Game 3 of this series will take place at 6:30. Asher Wojciechowski and David Martinez will be on the mound for Corpus. Opposing them for Midland will be Carlos Hernandez. No, not the former Astros top prospect. This Carlos Hernandez is from Santa Clara, California. Lancaster 5, Lake Elsinore 4 The Jethawks win their first game in a place where they won once all last season. Telvin Nash, fresh off the DL, went 1-3 with an RBI single in the 6th, drew a walk, and struck out once in his season debut. M.P. Cokinos was 2-4 with a 2-run single in the 2nd. Preston Tucker had an RBI groundout in the 6th and Andrew Aplin hit a sac fly in the 7th. Nolan Fontana went 3-4 with a walk and a run scored. Brady Rodgers allowed 2 runs on 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4 in 5 innings. Chris Devenski tagged in for 3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits and walking 2. After Devenski allowed a baserunner to lead off the 9th, Kenny Long came on for his 2013 debut. And well, he picked up right where he left off, getting the save in a 1-2-3 9th inning. He struck out 1. Tyson Perez and David Rollins will be tomorrow's pairing in the middle game. Their opponent will be Frank Garces. First pitch 6:05 Pacific. Wisconsin 9, Quad Cities 1 The Timber Rattlers salvaged a game in the series by jumping all over Colton Cain for 5 runs in the 6th, busting this game wide open. Chase Davidson was 2-4 with a solo shot (1) in the 6th that tied the game. But, that was short-lived. Terrell Joyce had a double and 2 steals (3). Mike Hauschild had a good outing, as he allowed an unearned run on 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4 in 5 innings. Can't say the same about Cain. He only got 2 outs (both via strikeout) in the 6th and was charged with all 5 (2 inherited) Wisconsin runs. He allowed 4 hits and walked 1. Gera Sanchez finished it out, allowing 3 runs of his own on 6 hits and striking out 4 in 2 1/3. The River Bandits return home to a flooded city. Their homestand will go as scheduled, however. On Thursday, they will be opening a 3-game set with Lansing at 7. The team of Jordan Jankowski and Brian Holmes will face Roberto Osuna, the nephew of former MLB reliever Antonio Osuna. Three Stars 3. Alex Sogard and Pat Urckfitz, P, Corpus Christi Sogard: 2 IP, H, BB, 4 K Urckfitz: W(1-0), 1.1 IP, BB, 4 K Only two pitchers who weren't scored on. Sogard had a nice outing to pick up Nick Tropeano, and Urckfitz 2. Jimmy Paredes, 3B/OF, Oklahoma City 2-4, HR (3), 2 R Ever get the feeling that he doesn't have much left to prove in AAA? 1. George Springer, CF, Corpus Christi 3-4, 2 HR (6), 3 RBI, 3 R, SB (4), BB I don't know about you guys, but if the season is FUBAR by July, I think people may start clamoring to see him in Houston. Honorable Mentions Robbie Grossman, CF, Oklahoma City: Congratulations on the promotion. For Cypress! Jake Elmore, 2B, Oklahoma City: Could he be the next man up? Chase Davidson, 1B/DH, Quad Cities: Good game for him. Still pretty obvious that he's trying to get back into game shape. That strikeout rate though... Kenny Long, P, Lancaster: <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Felt great to back out there in a real game. I'm back at it in Lancaster</p>— Kenny Long (@Booogggie) <a href="https://twitter.com/Booogggie/status/326910955789352960">April 24, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Telvin Nash, 1B, Lancaster: And another "welcome back" goes out to Mr. Nash. Let's hope he doesn't strikeout 200 times this year. Mike Hauschild, P, Quad Cities: After working exclusively as a reliever in Greeneville, he hasn't shown very many signs of rust in transitioning back into a starting role. Goats What is wrong with Jordan Lyles right now? And the wheels fell off for Colton Cain.
He is what he is. Too bad we don't really have space for him. I guess he could have replaced Maxwell, but they went with Grossman instead. Wish they would callup Elmore and release Cedeno.
I'm thinking Lyles didn't take it so well when he lost what was considered a pretty safe spot in the Astros rotation and hasn't figured out a way to recover. If there's no injury, he needs to get his s*** together if he wants another shot this season.
They did change something with his mechanics. I don't think it has to do with not making the rotation. He was getting shelled in ST for a different reason. Something isn't right.
I don't think his bat is good enough at any position besides 2nd base without being better disciplined. Even then, he is fringe MLB.
At 3B or CF, his bat will play. He's actually very similar to Chris Johnson who isn't good defensively, but is regarded highly enough to be our starting 3B, then get traded for to be another team's starting 3B, and then get traded to another team to be their 3B. Personally, I think he is a waste at 2B. What a waste of speed and arm strength. If he can improve, it will be defensively.
I did not know Johnson was still starting much less doing as well as he is. I hate the AL. Johnson has a little more pop than Paredes. I did not realize he was as bad in minors as he was as far as BB%. I would expect Paredes to be a little worse than Johnson has been for his career, not including this one.
Power is slightly less (though Paredes should have more than he does), but has +speed. He'll probably never be anything other than a fringe starter, but you need those kind of guys too. At this point they seem to be focused on him being a super utility guy.
I guess I see him as being more valuable as utility guy than fringe starter unless he becomes a good defensive 2B and is traded. I would have no problem with him as backup infielder for next 5+ years. Dominguez is too good defensively to give up 3B and Altuve and Springer (knocks on wood) block him at 2B and CF.
For those interested, Asher puts his scoreless streak on the line tonight. I will have it up in the background during the HOU/OKC match up... http://www.milb.com/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2013_04_24_coraax_mroaax_1&mode=gameday
Just following along on gameday, but Wojo has left quite a few balls up today. Still getting tons of swings and misses though.
Wednesday Stories Light slate on the farm. Asher Wojciechowski looked to keep his scoreless streak alive in Midland. Recap Oklahoma City was off The Redhawks will be hosting New Orleans for 4 in Bricktown. First pitch is at 7:05, with Wes Musick and Jarred Cosart facing Brad Hand. Corpus Christi 6, Midland 3 Better late than never. The Hooks got 4 in the 7th to take a 4-2 lead, and after the Rockhounds got 1 back in the bottom of the inning, Corpus put the game away with 2 in the 8th. Asher Wojciechowski's scoreless streak spanned 33 innings. It was snapped by an Anthony Aliotti sac fly in the 3rd. Darwin Perez scored in the 5th on a force play. Wojo got through 5, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits, walking 2, and striking out 6. His ERA ballooned to 0.78 after this outing. David Martinez allowed an unearned run on 3 hits, walked 2, and struck out 2 in 3 1/3. He ran into a bit of trouble as he left Jason Stoffel with runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out in the 9th. However, Stoffel snuffed out the potential rally for his 4th save of the year. Here's what happened in the 7th: George Springer doubled, and Carlos Perez walked with 1 out in the 7th. Springer would score on Jonathan Meyer's single. Then, Rene Garcia, who went 3-4, singled to load the bases. Jio Mier would bring home Perez and Meyer with a 2-run single. And Michael Burgess hit into a fielder's choice, allowing Garcia to score. Perez would go on to hit a 2-run homer (1) in the 8th. The series finale has R.J. Alaniz and Matt Heidenreich going up against Murphy Smith. First pitch is at 7. Lancaster 8, Lake Elsinore 4 The Jethawks have now won more games in Lake Elsinore this season than they did all of last season. Both teams did all their scoring in the first 4 innings. Every Jethawk had at least 1 hit except for Delino DeShields (who walked) and Brandon Meredith (who walked, was hit by a pitch twice, and scored). Matt Duffy, after missing a week with a sprained ankle, made his return to the lineup, going 3-5 with an RBI single in the 1st and scoring twice. Telvin Nash went 2-3 with an RBI double in the 3rd, scored twice, and walked twice. The best part of his line: no strikeouts. He would come home on a double from Chris Epps, who went 2-5 with another RBI double in the 4th. Nolan Fontana was 2-3 with a 2-run single in the 3rd, scored a run, and walked 3 times. Preston Tucker had an RBI double of his own in the 4th, and Ryan McCurdy's RBI groundout brought Nash home in the 4th. Tyson Perez allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits, walked 2, and struck out 3 in his 5 innings. David Rollins bounced back extremely well from a poor start his last time out, as he allowed a hit and fanned 3 in 4 scoreless innings. The series finale pits Aaron West and Luis Cruz against James Needy. First pitch is at 7:05 Pacific. Quad Cities was off They'll be kicking off a homestand with a 3-game set against the Lansing Lugnuts. First pitch is at 7. Jordan Jankowski and Brian Holmes will face Roberto Osuna. It will also be Manti Te'o Night at Modern Woodmen Park. What will that entail? From the River Bandits' Facebook page: No mentions of Lennay, unfortunately. Maybe "she's" in the "special tributes" section? Three Stars 3. Asher Wojciechowski, P, Corpus Christi 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K Did you that this was the 4th time he's allowed at least 5 hits in a start at the Double-A level? You could say that Wojo got shellacked in this outing. 2. Nolan Fontana, SS, Lancaster 2-3, 2 RBI, 3 BB, R Nice to see him getting the free passes after that alarming 3-game walkless streak. His OBP is now a cool .500. 1. David Rollins, P, Lancaster Save (2), 4 IP, H, 3 K No love for Rollins, xcrunner? Honorable Mentions Telvin Nash, 1B/DH, Lancaster: Baseball Gods, please exorcise Telvin of the strikeout demons. Oh, wait... I was saving that for the event in which I named him goat of the night. Anyway, nice to see him back in action. Matt Duffy, 3B, Lancaster: All he's done in his career is hit. Sure, he's old for A-ball, but he could find himself in Corpus by mid-season. David Martinez, P, Corpus Christi: The less-celebrated partner had a nice outing himself. There's something about guys who manage to survive Lancaster... Chris Epps, OF, Lancaster: He's a good organizational bat. Really took advantage of his situation once he got moved to Lancaster last season. Goat Both teams won, and there weren't really any horrendous individual performances tonight. So, no goat.
