AAA: Round Rock 5, at Sugar Land (HOU) 6
Round Rock: 10 hits, 6 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 2 walks, 15 strikeouts
Record: 55-48, 7 GB
SP Kolby Allard: 4 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 3 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 6 SO, 92 P / 59 S, 4.25 ERA
RP Daniel Robert: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 5.25 ERA
RP Nick Snyder: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 6.14 ERA
RF Josh Sale: 3-4, 2B, BB, .262/.370/.482
DH Sam Huff: 2-5, HR (16), .265/.342/.559
3B Andy Ibanez: 2-5, HR (5), .258/.314/.426
In the 8th, Sugar Land scored twice off Yerry Rodriguez. A error didn’t help, but Rodriguez walked one, hit another, and missed on 18 of 36 pitches. Rodriguez was a starter when added to the 40, but now he’s deep into his second option year in a relief role. With so many relievers and spot-starters bouncing between AAA and the Majors, 40-man space is more precious than ever, so spots aren’t in abundance for relievers who aren’t contributing to the big-league club. I’m not suggesting he’s in imminent danger of losing his roster spot; not long ago, I had half an idea that he might be heading up. But, the likelihood of him being on the 40 and still waiting for his MLB debut at this time next year is close to nil.
AA: Frisco 6, Amarillo (ARI) 5
Frisco: 13 hits, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 19-12, 1 GB, 55-45 overall
SP Jack Leiter: 5 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 3 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 89 P / 51 S, 5.77 ERA
RP Grant Wolfram: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 5.14 ERA
RP Grant Anderson: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.12 ERA
R Aaron Zavala: 3-4, 2B, .429/.538/.810
1B Blaine Crim: 3-4, .282/.347/.462
3B Justin Foscue: 1-4, HR (8), .281/.363/.467
2B Luisangel Acuna: 2-4, 2B
Through 4.2 innings, Jack Leiter was at a spiffy 64 pitches and had allowed two hits and a walk while striking out three. Then: double by ex-Ranger Ti’Quan Forbes, eight-pitch walk, five-pitch walk (including a wild pitch), single, and finally a strikeout. Leiter has the worst strand rate (56%) in the system among starting pitchers because of nights like these.
Justin Foscue is now up to four homers in a week-and-a-half since my podcast partners wondered where his power was. Early returns on Aaron Zavala and Luisangel Acuna in AA are excellent.
High-A: Hickory 7, Asheville (HOU) 9
Hickory: 9 hits, 7 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 15-19, 8 GB, 53-47 overall
SP Brandon Webb: 2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 43 P / 30 S, 6.75 ERA
RP TK Roby: 3.2 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 4 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 5.38 ERA
LF Alejandro Osuna: 1-4, HR (1)
CF Evan Carter: 3-4, 2B, BB, 2 SB (19), .275/.370/.472
Working in the back end of a tandem role for the first time this season, TK Roby issued three walks for the first time since mid-May. The pitching staff has averaged an even five walks per game since the All-Star break compared to 3.5 before.
Low-A: Down East 10, Fredericksburg (WAS) 9 (10)
Down East: 11 hits, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 7 walks, 16 strikeouts
Record: 16-17, 7 GB, 49-50 overall
SP Gavin Collyer: 4.1 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 3 R, 2 BB, 9 SO, 88 P / 54 S, 4.44 ERA
RP Dylan MacLean: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2.95 ERA
DH Daniel Mateo: 3-5, 3B, SB (36), .282/.322/.420
1B Liam Hicks: 2-4, HR (2), BB, .286/.436/.500
3B Miguel Villarroel: 1-2, 2B, BB, HBP, .325/.400/.450
A two-out single in the 10th by Zion Bannister plated the winner. Down East lost an early 6-0 lead and trailed by a run in the 10th before scoring twice. Gavin Collyer struck out his first four opponents swinging and also fanned the side in the 3rd.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Winn
AA: Bradford
Hi-A: Vanasco
Lo-A: Stephan
Five Years Ago Yesterday
“A.J. Alexy was a little wild but ultimately effective. I’ll probably be typing some variant on that for a while.” Across five low-A innings, Alexy walked four and struck out five in his organizational debut.