AAA: Round Rock 6, at El Paso (SDG) 7
Round Rock: 14 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 46-42, 5 GB
SP Cole Ragans: 6 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 6 SO, 91 P / 64 S, 4.31 ERA
CF Bubba Thompson: 2-5, 2B, .302/.351/.468
3B Ezequiel Duran: 3-5, 2B, BB, .282/.325/.521
LF Nick Solak: 3-5, 2 2B, .287/.374/.473
Through the 3rd, Cole Ragans didn’t allow a baserunner or a ball out of the infield. In the 4th, five of the first six batters reached, and three would score. Then, Ragans retired seven of eight (the other reaching on an error), again with nothing hit to the outfield.
Ezequiel Duran’s exit velocities: 110.2, 106.7, 103.6, 96.6, 85.0.
AA: Frisco 11, Midland (OAK) 10 (11)
Frisco: 13 hits, 8 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 5 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 9-7, 3 GB, 45-40 overall
SP Tim Brennan: 5 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 4 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 80 P / 52 S, 3.65 ERA
RP Fernery Ozuna: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 3.03 ERA
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 2-4, HR (9), 2 BB, .325/.373/.461
1B Blaine Crim: 2-5, HR (13), SB (3), .271/.339/.461
RF Kellen Strahm: 2-3, 2B, 2 BB, .273/.405/.364
3B Trey Hair: 1-4, HR (14), .244/.307/.517
The Riders trailed 10-4 in the 8th and stormed back. Mere hours after I mentioned Blaine Crim’s dry spell, he knocked his 13th homer. Annoyed at being tied, Trey Hair hit his 14th.
In the 11th, a Strahm-to-Biggers-to-Procyshen relay tagged out the go-ahead runner at the plate. That runner appeared to be very safe, but oh well.
In the bottom of the 11th, Justin Foscue struck out in a ten-pitch duel, but the final pitch short-hopped the catcher, who then threw too close to Foscue for the first baseman to handle cleanly. The ball skipped away, allowing gift-runner Blaine Crim to score all the way from second to end the game.
Youngest Texas League hitters:
IF Jordan Walker (STL), 5/22/02
IF Masyn Winn (STL), 3/21/02
IF Malcolm Nunez (STL), 3/09/01
OF Jose Barrosa (ARI), 2/17/01
OF Andy Page (LAD), 12/08/00
IF Daniel Ozoria (MIN), 8/24/00
IF Jordan Diaz (OAK), 8/13/00
OF Tirso Ornelas (SDG), 3/11/00
IF Jonathan Ornelas (TEX), 5/26/00
C David Garcia (TEX), 2/06/00
High-A: Hickory 11, Wilmington (WAS) 18
Hickory: 15 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 15 hits, 16 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 7-12, 7 GB, 45-40 overall
SP Nick Krauth: 3 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 5 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 79 P / 50 S, 6.17 ERA
RP Theo McDowell: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Frainyer Chavez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0.00 ERA
RF Aaron Zavala: 2-5, 2B, HR (9), BB, .268/.421/.428
C Cody Freeman: 3-5, 2 HR (11), .244/.331/.411
CF Evan Carter: 4-5, 2B, 2 HR (7), .265/.365/.455
DH Thomas Saggese: 2-4, 2B, BB, .299/.351/.462
LF Trevor Hauver: 1-4, HR (9), BB, .216/.378/.390
A catastrophic night for the pitching staff. After a couple of high-scoring games including rain delay that truncated Ricky Vanasco’ start, Hickory really needed some innings from Nick Krauth and didn’t get them. He’s a sturdy lad, but a 36-pitch 3rd than ran his count to 79 spelled the end. John Matthews followed with his worst pro outing (0.1 IP, 7 R). Destin Dotson retired five of 12 batters and walked five. Spencer Mraz retired three of ten batters and walked five. Finally, Theo McDowell produced an ordinary two innings, and infielder Frainyer Chavez needed just eight pitches to complete the 9th.
All told, even with Chavez’s efficiency, Hickory threw 251 pitches including 123 out of the strike zone.
Credit the offense for remaining engaged. Down 18-1 in the 7th, the Crawdads clubbed five homers across the 7th and 8th. Two came off ex-Ranger Eris Filpo, a 2019 minor league Rule 5 pick released in May. Evan Carter had his first multi-homer game.
Low-A: Down East 6, Columbia (KAN) 3
Down East: 9 hits, 9 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 11-7, 2.5 GB, 44-40 overall
SP Josh Stephan: 5 IP, 6 H (2 HR), 2 R, 2 BB, 6 SO, 88 P / 50 S, 3.74 ERA
RP Florencio Serrano: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 3.00 ERA
SS Maximo Acosta: 2-5, 2 2B, .268/.355/.370
1B Liam Hicks: 1-3, 2B, BB, .167/.385/.222
3B Miguel Villarroel: 2-3, BB
LF Zion Bannister: 1-2, 2 BB
22-year-old Florencio Serrano made his first full-season appearance in 11 months. He had an internal brace procedure on his elbow last August and began pitching with the rookies three weeks ago. Serrano is best known for having his original contract with the Cubs voided for signing bonus complications, and he later signed with Texas. Serrano struck out 29 against eight walks in 28.1 innings with a 1.27 ERA for the same team last year.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Miller
AA: Weems
Hi-A: Kindreich
Lo-A: TBD (Bratt)