Danry Vasquez hit 2 homeruns today and Rio Ruiz got 2 hits in 3 AB (and a BB). Also josh hader allowed 6 walks in 4.2 innings, has he always struggled with control? I thought he had great control, or was that Smith?
Huge outing for Velasquez. 6 innings 8 strikeouts and 1 ER against a lineup with Matt Kemp and top prospect Corey Seager.
ValleyCats Head Home with Division Lead After splitting a weekend series in Lowell, the ValleyCats head home with a 1/2 game lead over the Spinners in the Stedler Divsion. Tri-City finishes the season with three games at home against Brooklyn Monday-Wednesday.
Sunday Stories Playoff time in the Appalachians! Tri-City's season on the line. Thank you, Jose Veras. Recap Oklahoma City 5, Memphis 4 in 11 innings OKC was down 4-0 with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th. All of a sudden, they found themselves in extra innings, and they eventually walked off with a win. Japhet Amador singled to lead off the 9th and was lifted for Ruben Sosa to pinch-run. Unfortunately, Jonathan Singleton grounded into a double play. Che-Hsuan Lin restarted the rally with a double and moved to 3rd on a Carlos Perez single. Then, Jimmy Paredes hit an RBI double to put OKC on the board, and Jose Martinez hit a 3-run homer (6) to tie the game. Martinez, who went 3-6, was the hero as he delivered the winning RBI single in the 11th. Paredes was 3-5. Blair Walters went 4 1/3 innings and allowed 2 rusn on 4 hits, walked 3, and fanned 4. Pat Urckfitz pitched 2 1/3 scoreless, allowing 2 hits and fanning 2. Jose Cisnero pitched 1 1/3 innings and allowed a hit, a walk, and struck out 2. Hector Ambriz pitched 2 innings and allowed 2 runs on 5 hits and struck out 1. The Redhawks' season finale is currently in progress. No George Springer, so his 40/40 chase is over. San Antonio 13, Corpus Christi 9 The Hooks were buried by an 8-run 5th. They mounted a late rally that fell short. David Rollins and T.J. Geith bore the brunt of the San Antonio assault. Rollins only lasted 4 1/3 innings and allowed 8 runs (2 inherited) on 10 hits (7 singles, a double, and 2 solo homers), walked 3, and struck out 4. Geith gave up 5 runs on 5 hits (2-run homer) in 2 2/3 innings. Cam Lamb threw a 1-2-3 8th, and Carlos Quevedo had a 1-2-3 9th. Domingo Santana scored the Hooks' first run by scoring on a double play in the 2nd. Luis Alvarez followed with a 2-run homer (1, 7 season). Michael Burgess hit a 2-run homer (12) in the 6th. Preston Tucker went 2-5 with a solo homer (10, 25 season) in the 8th and a 2-run double in the 9th. Burgess hit an RBI groundout in the bottom of the 9th. Tucker, Santana, Burgess, and Ronald Torreyes had 2 hits each. In the season finale, R.J. Alaniz will face Donn Roach. First pitch is at 4:05. Rancho Cucamonga 2, Lancaster 1 in 10 innings Travis Ballew gave up a leadoff double in the 10th and allowed the winning hit, a single from Chris O'Brien. Brandon Meredith hit a solo homer (16) with 2 outs in the 4th. Dan Gulbransen was 2-5. Vince Velasquez was excellent in his 6 innings, as he allowed a run on 2 hits, walked 1, and fanned 8. Kenny Long allowed 2 hits in 1 1/3 scoreless. Ballew allowed the winning run on 2 hits (all in the 10th) and struck out 4. The season finale has Aaron West taking on Gustavo Gomez. First pitch is at 2:05 Pacific. I imagine that West won't be going for very long. Quad Cities 8, Beloit 7 The River Bandits staved off a 5-run 7th from the Snappers to take the penultimate game of the regular season. The Bandits busted out for 6 in the 3rd. Austin Elkins singled and Jordan Scott walked to open the inning, then Teoscar Hernandez hit an infield single. The ensuing error allowed Elkins to score. Carlos Correa followed up with a 2-run single, and Danry Vasquez hit the first of his 2 homers. Rio Ruiz then doubled, moved to 3rd on a Bobby Borchering single, and scored on a Roberto Peña sac bunt. Vasquez led off the 5th with his 2nd homer (9) of the game, and Borchering hit an RBI triple. Both of Vasquez's hits were homers; both of Ruiz's hits were doubles. Borchering also had him a 2-hit night. Josh Hader went 4 2/3 innings and allowed 2 runs on 2 hits, walked 6, and fanned 4. Pat Christensen went 1 1/3 scoreless, allowing 3 hits and fanning 2. Jorge Perez got 2 outs in the 7th, but gave up 5 runs on 5 hits (3-run homer), walked 1, and struck out 1. Andrew Walter restored order to the game, allowing a hit over the final 2 1/3. In the regular season finale, Dan Minor will face Deyvi Jimenez. First pitch is at 1:00. Tri-City 7, Lowell 4 The ValleyCats jumped back into the lead in the Stedler Division as Michael Feliz grinded out a solid inning. Feliz shook off a 4-run 1st and shut the Spinners down for the duration of his outing. Ultimately, he allowed 5 hits (all singles), walked 2, and struck out a career-high 10 in 7 innings. Gonzalo Sanudo pitched the final 2 innings, allowing a hit, walking 1 eek, and striking out 4. After Lowell's 4-run 1st, it was all Tri-City from there, as all 7 of their runs were unanswered. They responded with 4 in the 3rd to tie. Jon Kemmer walked, and a pair of singles from Jake Rodriguez and Chan-Jong Moon loaded the bases with no outs. James Ramsay put TC on the board with an RBI single, and then Ryan Dineen added a sac fly. Tyler White walked to re-load the bases, and finally, Conrad Gregor tied the game with a 2-run single. White hit a 1-out single in the 7th and moved to 3rd on Gregor's double. Ronnie Mitchell beat out an infield single to bring White home and put the Cats ahead. In the 8th, White reached on an error that allowed Moon to score, and Gregor hit a sac fly. Ramsay, Gregor, and Mitchell had 2 hits apiece. Moon was 3-4 with a double and scored twice. The ValleyCats will face Brooklyn in the final series of the season. In the opener, Kyle Westwood will face Dawrin Frias (yes, that's how he spells it). First pitch is at 5:00 Eastern. Appalachian League Playoffs, West Division Finals, Game 1: Kingsport 3, Greeneville 1 The K-Mets take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-3. The winner of this series will face Pulaski for all the marbles. Kingsport's bats worked early, while Greeneville had to lament some missed opportunities to put up some runs. They had runners on the corners in the 3rd, wasted a 1-out double from Juan Santana in the 4th, and had runners on the corners again in the 5th. In the 7th, Brian Holberton hit an RBI double. Brett Phillips went 3-4 and scored on the play. Jandel Gustave went 5 innings and gave up 3 runs on 5 hits, walked 2, and struck out 7. Joe Musgrove followed with 4 perfect innings, striking out 4. The series shifts to Kingsport, and the Appy Astros are in win-or-go-home mode. In game 2, Chris Lee will take on Carlos Gomez. First pitch is at 7:00 Eastern.
How about Kyle Westwood, ERA down to 0.81. Kinda snuck up on me. Good thing too, I wasn't sure we had enough organizational pitching depth :grin:
I really like his groundout/airout ratio. Baseball America described him as a "potential senior sign with upside." Stuff wise (again, according to BA), Westwood is a low-90s guy, but has hit 94-95 on occasion. He throws a changeup and a curveball, all "solid swing-and-miss stuff" when healthy.
Monday Stories Wrapping up the regular season. The fight to the finish begins for Tri-City. Recap Oklahoma City 2, Memphis 1 The Redhawks closed out the regular season in the win column in walk-off fashion, as Jonathan Singleton clubbed an RBI double in the bottom of the 9th. He finished 2-4. Jose Martinez hit an RBI single in the 1st. Ross Seaton pitched 8 innings and allowed a run on 8 hits and struck out 2. Jason Stoffel allowed a hit and walked 1 in a scoreless 9th. OKC will now face Omaha in the Pacific Coast League American Conference Championship series. This is a best-of-5 series. Since this is an odd-numbered year, games 1 and 2 will be in Oklahoma City, and games 3-5 will be in Omaha. The Storm Chasers topped Round Rock 8-4 to win the PCL American North by 1 game over the Redbirds. The series begins on Wednesday, at 7:05. Corpus Christi 7, San Antonio 6 With the win, the Hooks took both halves of the Texas League season. They had to hang on for this, though. 2 errors in the top of the 9th almost doomed them. The Hooks answered the Missions' field goal with a touchdown, scoring 7 unanswered to take a 7-3 lead. Luis Alvarez hit an RBI single in the 3rd and eventually scored on a sac fly from Enrique Hernandez. Domingo Santana had himself a day, as he went 3-4. He led off the 4th with a homer that tied the game at 3. In the 5th, Preston Tucker hit an RBI single to give Corpus the lead, and Santana crushed a 3-run homer for his 2nd of the day. The 2 blasts give him 25 on the season. Now, two questions. Given his numbers (.252/.345/.498 with 25 homers and 64 RBI in 112 games) this season as one of the youngest players in AA, would you be comfortable seeing Domingo Santana in OKC to begin next season? Or, would you rather see Santana go back to Corpus to begin 2014, with a midseason promotion to OKC? R.J. Alaniz went 5 1/3 innings and allowed 4 runs (1 earned) on 7 hits (solo homer), walked 1, and struck out 3. Alex Sogard pitched 2 2/3 innings and gave up an unearned run (inherited), walked 1, and struck out 2. Jonas Dufek allowed Sogard's runner to score on a force out in the 9th. He also allowed a run of his own when he uncorked a wild pitch. He struck out 1, and escaped any further damage by getting Adam Buschini to ground out to end the game. The Hooks and Missions aren't done with each other yet; after all, they'll be duking it out in the Texas League South Division series. The best-of-5 (2-2-1 format) series begins Wednesday in Corpus with Mike Foltynewicz on the mound for game 1. Lancaster 8, Rancho Cucamonga 1 The Jethawks flat-out dominated the Quakes to wrap up the season. Aaron West fired 5 shutout innings and allowed a pair of singles, walked 1, and fanned 8. Tyson Perez walked and struck out 2 in 2 1/3 scoreless, and Jordan Jankowski allowed a consolation run (in the bottom of the 9th) on 2 hits, walked 2, and struck out 2 in 2 innings. Delino DeShields went 2-3 with a solo homer (5) in the 4th, 2 walks, and 4 runs scored. After Joe Sclafani doubled to lead off the 3rd, he scored the first run of the day on an RBI single from Andrew Aplin. Aplin, who finished 3-5, added another RBI single in the 6th and an RBI double in the 8th. M.P. Cokinos hit an RBI single and Tyler Heineman added a sac fly in the 3rd. Chris Epps hit a pair of solo homers (16) in the 4th and the 6th. Because the Jethawks won both halves, they get a bye to the Divisional Finals. They await the winner of the mini-series between Rancho Cucamonga and Inland Empire, who clinched a playoff spot by finishing 2nd in the 1st half and the overall division standings. The Jethawks' next game will be on Saturday. Quad Cities 3, Beloit 2 The River Bandits closed out their season by taking 2 of 3 from the Snappers. Teoscar Hernandez led off the 3rd with his 13th homer of the season. Roberto Peña walked to begin the 4th, then advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch and made his way to 3rd on a Brian Blasik flyout. He scored the go-ahead run on a triple from Jordan Scott. Carlos Correa chipped in with an RBI single. Scott finished 2-4, adding another triple. Peña went 2-3. Dan Minor was solid on the mound. He went 6 innings and allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits and struck out 5. Jamaine Cotton allowed a hit and fanned 3 over 2 scoreless frames. Zach Morton put the wraps on the regular season with a 1-2-3 9th. The River Bandits will face Cedar Rapids in the 1st round of the Midwest League playoffs. The best-of-3 series begins Wednesday at Modern Woodmen Park. Tri-City 3, Brooklyn 1 The ValleyCats broke a 1-1 tie with 2 in the bottom of the 8th. With Lowell's 7-3 loss to Aberdeen, the ValleyCats can clinch the NYPL Stedler Division with a win or a Lowell loss on Tuesday. Tyler White and Ronnie Mitchell had a hand in all 3 Tri-City runs. Mitchell hit 2 sac flies, and both times, White scored. The first one came in the 4th and tied the game at 1. The second came in the 8th and turned out to be the insurance run. White was 3-3 with the go-ahead RBI double in the 8th. Conrad Gregor went 2-4. Kyle Westwood threw 7 excellent innings, allowing an unearned run on 3 hits, walking 1, and striking out 4. Charles Basford threw a 1-2-3 8th, and Tyler Brunnemann struck out 1 in a 1-2-3 9th to close it out. In the middle game of this series, Evan Grills will take on John Gant. The ValleyCats will be looking for a measure of retribution, as Gant threw a complete game shutout against them last Wednesday. First pitch is at 6:00 Eastern. Appalachian League Playoffs, West Division Finals Game 2: Greeneville 7, Kingsport 2 Series tied 1-1! The Appy Astros jumped out to a 4-0 lead on their way to forcing a decisive game 3 in Kingsport tomorrow. Ariel Ovando led off the 3rd with a homer (1, 6 reg. season/playoffs) to open the scoring. Thomas Lindauer doubled, then advanced to 3rd on a Brett Phillips bunt single. Tanner Mathis followed with an RBI double, and Juan Santana and Edwin Gomez chipped in with a pair of sac flies. Mathis added a solo shot (1, 2) with 1 out in the 5th. Ovando added a sac fly in the 8th, and Mathis scored on an error in the 9th. Santana grounded into a force out (Phillips out at 3rd), and the error allowed Mathis to score and Santana to advance to 3rd. Mathis finished 2-4 with 3 runs scored. Brian Holberton was 2-4. Thomas Lindauer went 3-4 with a double and a run scored. Chris Lee went 5 innings and allowed a solo homer to Yeixon Ruiz in the 5th. He gave up 4 other hits, walked 2, and fanned 4. Austin Chrismon went 3 innings and gave up a solo shot to Jeyckol De Leon in the 6th. Chrismon scattered 2 other hits and struck out 5. Gerardo Ramirez threw a 1-2-3 9th to close it out. The deciding game 3 will take place at 7:00 Eastern. Jandel Gustave is listed as the starter, but considering that he started game 1, I highly doubt that he'll start on a day's rest. So, I'll consider that a TBA. Whoever starts for Greeneville will take on Robert Whalen. The winner of tomorrow's game will face Pulaski in the Appalachian League Championship Series.
Agreed. No need to rush Santana given how young he is. The OPS is very good, but could be even better with a higher average, which he seems quite capable of.
I would also water the grass, as needed, in between home games. I know the Astros suck and there's not much to talk about and the only bright spot is the farm, but seriously? Let 'em play, watch it happen, talk about pertinent and interesting things and enjoy what is hopefully a rejuvenation of the franchise. Have you seen any quotes from the FO about Santana? Would be awesome to hear what their thoughts are.
Another uptick in velo for Aaron West. Morgan Ensberg (@MorganEnsberg): We have 2 dudes who throw 98 mph. Aaron West @Snacks_31 and Vincent Valasquez. Both starters. Watch yo back @Folty25!
Ensberg likes to exaggerate a little. I wouldn't take it as gospel. On the stadium gun West was sitting 93-95 and touching 96 in his most recent start. That's about in line with last year for him. The more encouraging thing is he's kept that velo into September.
West has hit 98 on the gun a couple of times this year. For the most part he sits 94-95 and sometimes when ending innings or when he really needs to reach back he throws 96-98. To me the real question is how accurate the minor league guns are.... Foltzy has hit 100 mph, West 98 mph, Vazquez 97-98 mph.... that is a lot of heat for one organization to have in the minors in the rotation, especially when none of those guys were close to that 12 months ago.
If you read Tellitlikeitis' post before mine, you would see that he asked if we should send him straight to AAA or keep him in AA for a while.
Seemed like the easy decision a couple of weeks ago, so I still think that is the choice. Lets see if he can dominate the Texas League to start next year. I thought Ruiz was destined to the same, but I think his turn around over the 2nd half made a promotion next year the best course of action.
