AAA: Round Rock 18, at Albuquerque (COL) 7
Round Rock: 21 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 66-56, 4 GB
SP AJ Alexy: 3 IP, 1 H (1 HR), 1 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 40 P / 27 S, 6.16 ERA
RP Daniel Robert: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 6.16 ERA
LF Josh Smith: 4-6, 3 2B, 3B, .284/.380/.467
C Sam Huff: 3-6, 2 HR (20), .261/.339/.539
DH Josh Sale: 2-5, 2B, HR (9), .249/.360/.455
3B Davis Wendzel: 2-4, 2B, HR (11), BB, .212/.293/.389
The Express slugged a softball-esque .978 last night. Six singles, ten doubles, a triple, four homers. The ten doubles might be the most as a Texas affiliate, but the Express tallied 11 in 2019 during their one-year return to the Astros.
Josh Smith has five doubles, a triple, and homer in his last two nights. As I mentioned yesterday, yes, it’s Albuquerque, but he’s hitting the ball with purpose. Okay, one double was a 69 MPH flare.
One of Sam Huff’s homers might have been aided by the location. He hit a ball 90.9 off the bat at 37 degrees that squeaked just inside the right foul pole. From 2019-present in MLB, 83 batters have launched a ball at that speed/angle. Only one cleared the fence, and only four traveled farther than his 351 feet. Huff’s other blast was typical: 102 MPH, 35 degrees, 410 feet.
AJ Alexy surrendered a solo homer to 2019 1st-rounder Michael Toglia and nothing else. Toglia later homered off Fernery Ozuna and Yerry Rodriguez.
Josh Jung had the night off.
AA: Frisco 6, Wichita (MIN) 8
Frisco: 14 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 27-22, 1 GB, 63-55 overall
SP Avery Weems: 2.1 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 50 P / 34 S, 5.29 ERA
2B Justin Foscue: 2-4, HBP, .281/.362/.459
1B Blaine Crim: 3-4, 2B, BB, .277/.348/.444
SS Luisangel Acuna: 3-5, .228/.307/.380
C David Garcia: 3-4, .220/.293/.345
Frisco’s share of the division lead lasted a day. After two brisk innings, Avery Weems couldn’t get anyone out, eventually allowing a season-high six runs (four earned).
I realized that I’d stopped mentioning Justin Foscue. As in 2021, his ultra-hot streak has been followed by crickets. He’s hitting .220/.286/.260 in his last 13 games, hardly ever striking out but just not causing much damage.
High-A: Hickory 1, at Hudson Valley (NYY) 15
Hickory: 2 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 24 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 24-29, 10 GB, 62-57 overall
SP Ricky Vanasco: 5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 7 SO, 90 P / 56 S, 4.65 ERA
A day after Down East’s 23-8 loss at Fredericksburg, Hickory suffered the same fate, allowing 14 runs across innings 6-8. Hopefully, this type of blowout won’t make its way up to Frisco today.
Low-A: Down East 4, at Fredericksburg (WAS) 6
Down East: 4 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 6 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 27-26, 6.5 GB, 60-59 overall
SP Josh Gessner: 4 IP, 7 H (1 HR), 5 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 73 P / 40 S, 5.11 ERA
RP Damian Mendoza: 2.2 IP, 1 H (1 HR), 1 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 2.03 ERA
RP Alberto Mota: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 2.57 ERA
1B Liam Hicks: 1-3, 2B, BB, .244/.415/.385
I’d never say never, especially in light of Down East’s astonishing 2017 division title run occasionally appearing in the “five years ago” segments, but the likelihood of recovering 6.5 games in a span of 13 seems remote. Maintaining a record above .500 might be the better goal.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Allard
AA: Kelly
Hi-A: TBD (Acker)
Lo-A: TBD (Garcia)
Five Years Ago Yesterday
With a 5-0 loss at Nashville, Round Rock concluded the road schedule with a league-worst 23-45 record. The Express returned to a stadium damaged enough by Harvey to cancel that night’s contest. Visiting Colorado Springs was forced to fly to Dallas and charter a bus down I-35. Frisco was safe in Midland.