And...NiTro is gone after 3.1 shortly after giving up a bases clearing triple. He wasn't sharp at all tonight. Jose Cisnero replaces him.
In the top of the 8th, Springer starts a 2 out rally with a walk, followed up by a Singleton hr. Stassi doubled after but was stranded. It's now 7-3 express
Hader just struck out 4 in the 4th inning and is likely done for the night. He'll finish with 10 strikeouts and 4 wild pitches. 3 of those wild pitches came in the 4th and resulted in a run. His last 7 outs were strikeouts.
I like it. I was beginning to wonder if any of the vaunted SP prospects were gonna turn in a sick performance to open the year.
Chia-Jen Lo was removed from the 40-man, cleared waivers, and was outrighted to OKC. Roster at 39 at the moment.
Saturday Stories Let's play 2 in Davenport! Josh Hader: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/CtwJvgPJ9xw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Missed opportunities galore on offense. Recap Round Rock 7, Oklahoma City 4 The wheels fell of for Nick Tropeano as he was knocked out by a bases-clearing triple in the 4th inning. Tropeano went 3.1 innings and allowed 4 runs on 5 hits (solo homer), walked 4, and fanned 4. Jose Cisnero threw 1.2 scoreless, walking 1 and striking out 2. Collin McHugh tagged in for the final 3 innings and allowed 3 runs on 2 hits, walked 3, and struck out 2. Carlos Perez put OKC on the board first with a solo homer in the 3rd (1). Unfortunately, the Express ran off 7 unanswered after that. Jon Singleton hit a 2-run homer (1) in the 8th, and Ronald Torreyes had an RBI double in the 9th. The RedHawks will look for a split as David Martinez and Bobby Doran face Colby Lewis in the series finale. First pitch is at 1:05. Corpus Christi 7, Tulsa 4 The Hooks took 2 of 3 from their opening series as Luis Cruz topped Jonathan Gray. Cruz went 5 innings and allowed 2 runs on 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 5. Ross Seaton pitched the next 3.2 innings, allowing 2 runs (on a Ryan Casteel homer) on 4 hits, walking 2, and striking out 3. He left with the bases loaded and 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th. Andrew Robinson closed it out by striking out Taylor Featherston. Delino DeShields led off the game by getting plunked. He'd steal 2nd, advanced to 3rd when Gray threw the ball away trying to pick him off, and scored the first run on an Andrew Aplin sac fly. DeShields went 2-3 with 3 runs scored and stole 2 bases for the 2nd straight game. He's now got 4 steals on the year. Preston Tucker went 2-3 with a solo homer (1) to lead off the 2nd. Aplin would add a 2-run single in the 3rd. Rene Garcia extended the lead in the 7th with a 2-run homer (1); he finished 2-4 and also stole a base. DeShields scored the final Hooks run of the night on a Fontana single. Also, M.P. Cokinos had a 2-hit night. He scored on Garcia's homer. The Hooks will now travel to Springfield to play 3. Tom Shirley and Matt Heidenreich will take the mound for the opener, and they'll take on Sam Gaviglio at 4:10. Lake Elsinore 8, Lancaster 7 Sadly, Hader's dominant outing couldn't hold up, as the JetHawks blew a 5-0 lead. In case you missed it, Hader absolutely mowed down the Storm in his 4 innings. He allowed a run on a wild pitch, 4 hits, and struck out 10. Hader's last 7 outs were strikeouts. Jason Schwartz mentioned on the Lancaster broadcast that JetHawks starters have now struck out 24 in 12 innings of work. There was a catch to Hader's outing as well... he was completely wild. 4 wild pitches! 3 of them came in the 4th and one of them resulted in a run. In all, both teams combined for 7 wild pitches: 3 from Lake Elsinore starter Colin Rea, and Hader's 4 wild ones. But despite all of that, Hader did not issue a single walk. Unfortunately, Dan Minor and Chris Devenski both got knocked around, and as a result, the JetHawks coughed up the lead. Minor came on for the 5th and allowed 3 runs on 3 hits (2-run homer). Devenski was the piggybacker and allowed 4 runs on 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 3 in 3 innings. Jamaine Cotton allowed a hit and walked 2 in the 9th, but nothing came of those. Tony Kemp put Lancaster on the board first in the first by drawing a leadoff walk, advancing to 3rd on a couple of groundouts, and scoring on a wild pitch. That was the only JetHawks run that was not batted in. The JetHawks' 6 RBI all came from the bottom third of the order. Jake Rodriguez added a 2-run single in the 2nd, and Dan Gulbransen hit a 2-run double in the 3rd. Gulbransen finished 3-5 and hit another double in the 5th. This was a game where the JetHawks really could've blown the lid off this game early; they left the bases loaded in the 2nd and 3rd and also left runners on the corners in the 7th inning. Jordan Scott went 1-3 with an RBI groundout in the 5th and an RBI single in the 9th to make it a 1-run game, but he ended up being the final out of the game as he attempted to stretch the single into a double. Danry Vasquez went 3-5 with 4 runs scored. Mark Appel will make his season debut, and he'll be teaming up with Mike Hauschild to take on Ruben Mejia in the series finale. First pitch is at 2:00 Pacific. Game 1: Quad Cities 2, Kane County 1 The River Bandits walked off with a victory in the first game of this doubleheader with 2 in the bottom of the 7th. Jack Mayfield singlehandedly tied the game as he hit a leadoff double, advanced to 3rd on a passed ball, and scored on a wild pitch. Two walks and another wild pitch put runners on 2nd and 3rd for Tyler White, who delivered the winning single. Kent Emanuel threw 4 solid innings in his season debut; he allowed an unearned run on 2 hits and struck out 2. Jandel Gustave pitched 3 innings for the win; he was a hit batter away from being perfect. Now on to game 2. Game 2: Kane County 5, Quad Cities 4 in 10 innings QC had to settle for the split, but they had their shots to walk off with another win in the nightcap too. They had their chances for more runs, as well. Again, the River Bandits trailed for a significant portion of the game before they mounted a late rally to tie. Before that, they had the bases loaded with no outs in the 3rd, but all they could muster up was a sac fly from James Ramsay. The bases were reloaded with 2 outs, but Chase McDonald grounded out to end the inning. In the 6th, Jon Kemmer and Austin Elkins led off with singles, and they both advanced on a Tanner Mathis groundout. Chan-Jong Moon walked to load the bases, and a balk brought Kemmer home and advanced everyone. Ramsay walked to reload the bases, and Jack Mayfield hit a 2-run single to tie the game at 4. Mayfield ended up getting thrown out in a rundown to end the inning. Kemmer, Elkins, Mathis, Jobduan Morales, and Moon all had 2 hits. Conrad Gregor was 1-3 with 3 walks and 2 strikeouts. Michael Feliz went 3 innings and allowed 2 runs (both on solo homers), 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4 in his MWL debut. Evan Grills tagged in and allowed 2 unearned runs on 4 hits and struck out 2 in 3 innings. Andrew Walter struck out 1 over 2 perfect innings, and Chris Cotton, who was saddled with the loss, allowed an unearned run on 2 hits and struck out 3 in 2 innings. In the series finale, Adrian Houser and Gonzalo Sanudo will take on Juan Carlos Paniagua. First pitch is at 1:15. Three Stars 3. Rene Garcia, C, Corpus Christi 2-4, 2-R HR (1), SB Because catcher stealing a base is always fun to see or listen to. It's amazing how catcher has suddenly become a position of strength in this system. 2 (tie). Kent Emanuel, LHP, and Jandel Gustave, RHP, Quad Cities Emanuel: 4 IP, 2 H, unearned run, 2 K Gustave: W (1-0), 3 IP If it weren't for Hader quieting the Storm, these two would've been #1. Gustave's looking to build upon his excellent 2013 campaign in Greeneville. Emanuel had a fine season debut. After taking it easy last year, he'll look to begin his ascent of the Astros system in 2014. 1. Josh Hader, LHP, Lancaster 4 IP, 4 H, ER, 10 K Despite all that wildness, he didn't issue a walk. Lake Elsinore hitters had one hell of a time trying to make any contact off of him. By the way, tomorrow is his birthday. Honorable Mentions Delino DeShields, CF, Corpus Christi: Wreaking havoc on the basepaths as usual. Luis Cruz, P, Corpus Christi: Matched Jonathan Gray pitch-for-pitch in a very fine outing. Nolan Fontana, SS, Corpus Christi: Not a make-or-break year, but certainly an important one for Fontana. His patience is elite, but can he be a threat with the bat? Games like this one are an encouraging sign. Jose Cisnero, P, Oklahoma City: Another solid relief outing as he'll be vying for another shot at Houston. Goats Well, Dan Minor and Chris Devenski blew it.
OKC's lineup today: <iframe src="//instagram.com/p/mdJJY0IdE2/embed/" width="612" height="710" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true"></iframe>
tellitlikeitis - I appreciate the effort you put into these recaps, however, I must ask, how did this happen? He'd steal 2nd, advance to 3rd on a Nolan Fontana ground-rule double Shouldn't he have scored?
Here is the recap from the CC Hooks web site: http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140406&content_id=71128790&fext=.jsp&vkey=recap&sid=t482
When OKC plays Round Rock, does anyone else always have to take a second to realize OKC is our club? I swear this is the 4th year now, and I still check their side of the box score first. Hopefully Nolan gives us our club back pretty soon.
Unfortunately, it's pretty obvious when you're at the game. There were some wearing Astros gear but openly cheering for the Redhawks got me some looks. Only weird because I live 5 minutes from the stadium and I now completely ignore them unless OKC is in town. I really hope the Astros can find a way back to Round Rock. It's the perfect situation.
Correa is going to be one heck of a player. Last year he started off very slow so it's great to see him hot right out of the gate.
