OKC is still holding down last place in the PCL American Southern division at 10-15. Game 3 of their 4-game set with Nashville will be at 7:05. Corpus Christi is in 3rd place in the Texas League South, at 11-14. The 2nd game of their weekday series with Midland will be at 7:05. Lancaster is 4th in the Cali League South, at 12-14. They continue their series against Rancho Cucamonga at 7 PM Pacific. Lexington has moved into 1st in the Sally League South, with a record of 15-11. They'll have Wednesday off before heading to Hagerstown to face Bryce Harper and the Suns.
Jordan Lyles took the hill tonight for OKC against Nashville and had another strong outing. 6 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, and 9 K's. He didn't factor into the decision as Drew Locke goes deep in the 10th. Redhawks walk off with a 4-3 victory. Sergio Escalona got the win in relief. Lyles' ERA is now 3.55. Corpus Christi defeated Midland 4-2. Andrew Simunic went 3-4, while Wladimir Sutil, J.D. Martinez, and Jimmy Van Ostrand drove in a run each. Xavier Cedeno, the winner, allowed 1 run over 5 innings despite walking 5. And Lancaster got throttled by RC 10-1. Luis Cruz, making his season debut, gets greeted rudely by the Quakes, being rocked to the tune of 7 earned runs in 2 2/3 innings. Ben Heath drove in the only run. Lexington had the night off.
Lyles is coming along nicely. His peripheral stats look much better this year. WHIP down to 1.29 K:BB up to 3.5 His ERA in 12 total triple-A starts is 4.45. He won't get called up anytime soon. He's starting to get the hang of AAA but he needs more time there. He's averaging less than 5 2/3's innings per start and he could stand to raise his K/9 greater than 6.3.
All of that has improved in his last 3 starts. He has gone 19 innings in his last 3 starts, striking out 20, with only 13 hits allowed. He's coming along nicely, I hope they don't rush him up anytime soon. If Aneury Rodriguez can be a serviceable to solid starter, the Stros won't need him unless there are injuries to the starting staff.
OKC gets a walk-off win for the 2nd night in a row against Nashville. They rally from a 3-0 deficit in the bottom of the 7th and score 1, 2, and 1 in the final 3 frames. Brandon Barnes ignited the rally with a homer in the 7th and Brian Dopirak closed the game with a pinch-hit double, scoring Anderson Hernandez. Drew Locke went 2-3 with an RBI. Tonight's starter, Sergio Perez, went 6 innings, allowing 4 hits, 2 earned runs, and walked 4. The Hooks bullpen coughed up a 5-3 lead in the 7th to Midland, allowing the RockHounds to score 3 in the top half. There would be no dramatics at Whataburger Field tonight, as CC loses 6-5. David Flores, fresh off a collision with Dallas Keuchel a few nights ago, came in as a defensive sub at 1B, as J.D. Martinez left the game with an injury. He proceeded to hit a 2-run homer. Jimmy Van Ostrand moved to left field and chipped in 2 RBI of his own. Matt Nevarez lost the lead and was saddled with the loss, giving up 3 runs in 1.2 innings. Starter Jonnathan Aristil went 5, allowing 5 hits, 3 earned runs, 4 walks, and struck out 6. Not a great night for Lancaster pitching... oh right, it's the Cali League. They lost an 11-7 lead in the 8th on the way to being defeated by RC 17-11. Jose Altuve's in a bit of a slump... 0-5 today, dropping his average to .407. Austin Wates went 4-5 with 2 doubles and scored twice. Kody Hinze and Jonathan Meyer each hit a 3-run homer. Oddly enough, Altuve is the only Jethawk hitting over .300 right now. Robert Donovan, the starter, and Zach Grimmett, who was the first reliever, each gave up 7 hits and 6 earned runs in 4.2 and 2.2 innings respectively. Grimmett ended up taking the loss. Kirk Clark, who came in after Grimmett, served up 5 hits and 5 runs in his inning of work. His ERA ballooned from .87 to 4.76. Yuck. Lexington traveled to Hagerstown to face some guy named Bryce Harper. He hit a 2-run homer in the 3rd, but the guy behind him, David Freitas, nudged him out of the spotlight with a 7th inning grand slam that doomed the Legends. The Suns came out on top, 8-2. Juan Minaya took the loss, allowing 3 earned runs (and an unearned run) in 5 innings. He walked 1 and K'd 5. Tyler Burnett went 3-4 with an RBI. Delino DeShields went 2-5 with a double and an RBI. He's now hitting .236.
nice! i think we're going to go down there right before our anniversary (and yours!) and go to a game as well. we were gonna go to louisiana, but i don't want to risk her going into labor early and having a baby there. we'd just give it up for adoption at that point.
taking a trip to Mustang Island/Padre/Corpus....the Hooks were a big part of the draw (that, and we had to plan summer vacation at the last minute, and this was intensely easy)
OKC was in Omaha tonight to begin a series with the Omaha Royal.... I mean, Storm Chasers. Ryan Rowland-Smith took the hill tonight and allowed 1 run in his 6.1 innings of work tonight, walking none and striking out 4. He got the win. A bit of a sigh of relief as there was no Eric Hosmer for Omaha, who's moved on to Kansas City. Collin DeLome and Brian Dopirak each had solo homers in the Redhawks' 3-2 victory. And the Corpus Christi bullpen blew another lead. This time, a grand slam from Midland 3B Stephen Parker in the 7th doomed the Hooks, as they coughed up a 5-3 lead on the way to losing 7-5 to Midland. Wladimir Sutil homered tonight. This marks the first time in his professional career that he has hit more than 1 in a season. J.D. Martinez was not in the lineup tonight due to a pulled hamstring from last night. Getting the start in left was Jacob Goebbert, who was called up from Lancaster. Batting 5th, he went 2-4 with a double and an RBI single, driving in Jonathan Gaston, and scored once. Brandon Wikoff also went 2-4 and drove in a run of his own. Ross Seaton started tonight, allowing 4 runs (1 of them occurred on the grand slam) in 6.2 innings and striking out 2. Daniel Meszaros took the loss, as his 2 earned runs came off the grand slam. David Berner, the first reliever, got tagged with the other, as his batter reached. Lancaster scored 2 in the bottom of the 8th to defeat Inland Empire 5-4. Everybody had a hit; Rene Garcia and Grant Hogue had 2. Hogue and Jose Altuve each drove in 2 runs. Altuve still leads the Minors in hits, but his recent slump has seen his average dip to .402. And someone tell Jake Buchanan that the Cali League is a hitter's haven. He went 5, allowing 5 hits, 4 runs (2 earned), walked 2, and struck out 3. His line to this point is as follows: 3-1, 1.70 ERA, 37.1 IP, 23 H, 8 R (6 earned), 9 BB, and 20 K. WHIP is .86, and he's allowing a .180 batting average against. An error-fest in Hagerstown tonight... Lexington had 3, Hagerstown had 4. As was the case yesterday, the combo of Bryce Harper and the less-heralded David Freitas flustered the Legends. They combined to go 4-7, with Freitas driving in 2 runs. That Harper guy's hitting .368 right now. Legends scored 2 in the 7th to make it a 3-2 game, but the Suns scored 2 of their own in the bottom half to seal the game. Jhonny Medrano 2-4 with an RBI. Delino DeShields went 0-3, but walked twice, had an RBI, and stole his 7th base. He's now hitting .228. Mike Foltynewicz is still searching for his first win as a pro. (0-3 in Greeneville, now 0-5 after today) He went 5, allowing 8 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), walked 2, and struck out 4. Legends lose 5-2. Standings OKC still in last place at 13-15, 5 games behind Round Rock in the division. Corpus Christi is 12-16, tied with Frisco for 3rd (basically last), 6 games behind San Antonio. Lancaster is 13-16, moving into a tie with Inland Empire for 2nd. They are 5 games behind Rancho Cucamonga. Lexington drops into a 3-way tie for 1st with Asheville and Greenville. All 3 teams are 15-13.
A solo shot from Mike Moustakas and a 2-run homer from Lance Zawadzki doomed OKC tonight as they fell 3-1 to the Omaha Storm Chasers. Brandon Barnes drove in the only run. Douglas Arguello had a decent outing, but took the loss, allowing 2 runs in 5 innings. The Hooks traveled to San Antonio to begin a series with the Missions, the top offense in the Texas League. And the Missions offense was as good as advertised as they battered CC 10-1. Jared Goebbert, making his 2nd straight start in left for the injured J.D. Martinez, went 2-4 and drove in the only Hooks run. Shane Wolf took the loss, going 5 innings and allowing 9 hits and 5 runs (3 earned). Lancaster defeated Inland Empire 6-3. Jonathan Meyer (2-run) and Kody Hinze (solo) homered for the Jethawks. Jose Altuve went 0-4, dropping his average to .388. Bobby Doran recorded his first win on the season, allowing 4 hits and 3 runs (2 earned) in 7 strong innings. He walked and struck out 1. Lexington parlayed a 5-run 5th into an 8-6 victory over Hagerstown. Chris Wallace and Emilio King had solo homers for the Legends. Adam Bailey went 2-6 with 2 RBI. Tanner Bushue improves to 5-0 on the season with 6 solid innings, allowing 5 hits and 2 runs. He walked 2 and K'd 4. His ERA is now 3.11, his WHIP is now 1.10, and he's allowing a .239 average against. Still getting it done, despite his strikeout rate taking a hit from last season. Side note: Bryce Harper went 2-5 against the Legends today. He's on a 10-game hit streak, raising his average to .370. Apparently he needed to be fitted for contacts. Either way, a promotion seems to be in his not-so-distant future, as he's just mashed Low-A pitching to this point.
Apparently he was originally a catcher when he was first signed out of the Dominican, and that's where he primarily played with the Dominican League club. He's making the transition to the outfield here in the US. He's been pretty meh offensively prior to bursting on the scene in Lexington. That might be putting it a bit nicely. He hit .254 with a homer and 20 RBI in 42 games with the Gulf Coast League team in 2009 as a 19-year old. Last year for Greeneville in the Appy League, he hit .210 with a homer and 10 RBI in 63 games. I assume that he's becoming an outfielder because he must have a pretty good arm. He's primarily a right fielder, but I see he played left today in that shootout against Hagerstown.
A Brian Dopirak 2-run homer was all the offense for OKC.... unfortunately, they gave up 5 to Omaha in the 1st. Redhawks lose 10-2. Henry Villar took his lumps, allowing 7 hits and 7 runs (5 earned) in 5. Jason Michaels was the DH and went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts. Corpus Christi gets blown out again by San Antonio 9-1. The only RBI came from Jimmy Van Ostrand. Kyle Greenwalt allowed 10 hits and 8 runs in 5 innings of work. Lancaster scored 3 in the bottom of the 7th to take a 5-4 lead over Inland Empire, and that was the final outcome. Austin Wates went 1-4 with 2 RBI, while Grant Hogue, Jose Altuve, and Kody Hinze drove in one each. Jose Cisnero couldn't get out of the 2nd, going 1.1 innings, allowing 4 runs and 4 hits, walking 4, and striking out 2. Wander Alvino got the win in relief, pitching 2 no-hit innings, walking 2 and striking out 3. A wild one in Hagerstown today. 23 runs, 24 hits, and 3 errors. Unfortunately for Lexington, they scored 11 to the Suns' 12. Delino DeShields Jr. easily had his best game as a pro, going 3-4, a triple shy of the cycle, and scoring 3 times. He raised his average to .250. Jio Mier went 2-5, both doubles, scored twice, and drove in 2. He also stole his 2nd base of the season. Adam Bailey hit his 8th homer of the season, a 2-run shot in the top of the 1st. And Emilio King with his 2nd homer in as many games for the Legends. This one was a 2-run homer. He also had a 2-run single scoring Dan Adamson and Mike Kvasnicka. Unfortunately, the pitchers got mauled. Brad Dydalewicz gave up 7 runs on 4 hits in 1.1 innings, walking 4 and striking out 1. Amazingly, he didn't get tagged with the loss. Yordany Ramirez took it, allowing 4 runs and 3 hits in 2.2 innings of relief. Bryce Harper went 2-5 with an RBI. His hitting streak is now 12 games.
Two top pitchers took the mound in Omaha today... Mike Montgomery for the Storm Chasers, and our very own Jordan Lyles. Lyles didn't look particularly sharp today, going 5.1, allowing 6 hits and 5 runs. Season high 6 walks, compared to 3 strikeouts. However the Redhawks' bats bailed him out, as Robinson Cancel homered. Drew Locke had a solo homer, drove in another run, and scored twice. Koby Clemens had 2 RBI. OKC won 8-5 as Fernando Rodriguez got the win in relief. The Hooks are probably glad they're getting out of San Antonio, as they lose 5-2 to the Missions. RBIs came from Wladimir Sutil and Jonathan Gaston. Xavier Cedeno with the quality start, going 7 and giving up 3 runs, walking 2 and striking out 7. He took the loss though. Jimmy Paredes cooling off a bit... his average dropped to .275 after going 0-4 today. Lancaster had today off. Legends began a series in Kannapolis today, losing to the Intimidators 9-6. Carlos Quevedo got rocked today, as he gave up 8 runs (7 earned) on 10 hits in 3 2/3. 2 RBI for Chris Wallace. Delino DeShields went 0-5 with an RBI. He also had a hat trick today, and is now hitting .238. 4 runs in the top of the 8th came off a DeShields sac fly, Chris Wallace reaching on an error scoring Emilio King and Jio Mier, and Adam Bailey scoring on a wild pitch.
As reported earlier by Zachary Levine (and relayed to us by rockets934life), Sergio Escalona is on his way to Cincinnati as we speak.
What a night for Tommy Manzella. In OKC's 10-5 victory over Tacoma, he hit for the cycle, going 4-4 with 3 RBI and capping it with an 8th-inning solo shot. Anderson Hernandez and Brandon Barnes also had solo homers. Drew Locke left in the 3rd due to an injury. Before that, he went 1-2 with and RBI. J.B. Shuck came in to play left field, while Jason Michaels moved to right. Everyone had an RBI except for Brian Dopirak and Robinson Cancel. Sergio Perez got the win, going 5.1 innings, allowing 9 hits, 3 runs, walking 4, and recording 3 K's. Great night at the plate for T.J. Steele of the Hooks, as he went 3-3 with 2 RBI. Unfortunately, CC loses to San Antonio 7-3. Jonnathan Aristil allowed 3 hits and struck out 8 in 5 innings of work..... but he gave up 4 runs and walked 5. He got the loss. Lancaster allows a 5-spot in the bottom of the 6th to San Jose, turning a 4-3 lead into a 9-6 loss. Jonathan Villar went 2-4 with a double and 2 RBI. Jose Altuve, Austin Wates, Jonathan Meyer, and Ben Heath drove in one run each. Altuve went 2-4, raising his average to .391. Wes Musick was the culprit in San Jose's big inning. He gave up 5 hits and 5 runs in 1.1 innings of relief. Luis Cruz, the starter, lasted 4 innings, allowing 5 hits and 3 runs. He walked 1 and struck out 2. Lexington lost 7-3 to Kannapolis. RBIs came from Delino DeShields, Mike Kvasnicka, and Bryce Lane. DeShields is now hitting .236. Juan Minaya fell to 0-3 on the season, allowing 7 hits and 3 runs in 5.2 innings. He walked 2 and struck out 1.
