AAA: Round Rock 5, @ Sugar Land (HOU) 8
Round Rock: 6 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 26-21, 4.5 GB
SP Johnny Cueto: 5 IP, 8 H (1 HR), 4 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 82 P / 54 S, 4.00 ERA
RP Brock Burke: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Antoine Kelly: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 5.14 ERA
The Space Cowboys squared up against Johnny Cueto pretty well. The better news is Antoine Kelly is back in action after his fearful mid-at-bat exit last week.
Dustin Harris has played center field the past two days. While not the ideal situation, he’s made progress on the grass. If he ends up hitting well enough to play in the Majors, his outfield defense won’t be a limiting factor.
All Round Rock’s hits were singles, of which Davis Wendzel had two.
AA: Frisco 4, Midland (OAK) 2 (7)
Frisco: 7 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 25-15
SP Ryan Garcia: 5 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 2 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 81 P / 49 S, 4.86 ERA
RP Robby Ahlstrom: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 4.86 ERA
DH Liam Hicks: 2-2, BB, .254/.356/.313
Ryan Garcia produced a third straight five-inning, two-run start. The 2019 2nd-rounder had a very rough 2023, such that I wondered about his status in the organization, but he’s been much more effective in a second shot in AA. He’s still more walk-prone than you’d like but as clamped down on the extra-base hits.
Like Round Rock, Frisco collected only singles.
AA: Frisco 0, Midland (OAK) 11 (5)
Frisco: 1 hit, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts
Record: 25-16, 1.5 GB
SP Ben Anderson: 1.1 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 6 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 51 P / 32 S, 5.01 ERA
Per Collin County Recreational Athletic League rules, the game was called by run rule after five innings. Or maybe it rained. Oft-injured 2021 first-rounder Gunnar Hoagland threw an abbreviated one-hit shutout.
Hi-A: wet
So I guess we’ve got one of those years in which the Carolinas receive rain every day, and the only question is whether it interferes with baseball. Between them, Hickory and Down East and endured eight postponements, a suspended game and a cancellation.
Lo-A: Down East 9, @ Charleston (TAM) 5 (10)
Down East: 8 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 22-19, 4.5 GB
SP Paul Bonzagni: 4 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 4 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 69 P / 46 S, 2.81 ERA
RP Ivan Oviedo: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Kohl Drake: 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 2.63 ERA
DH Arturo Disla: 2-5, 2B, .272/.381/.424
Down 4-2 in the 9th, Down East tied the game and scored five more in the 10th on just three hits and a slew of Charleston wildness: three walks, two balks, two wild pitches, two errors, a hit batter. Kohl Drake had a day, pitching in tandem-starter mode but allowing only two runners while facing several closer-level high-leverage situations.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Garabito
AA: Krauth
Hi-A: Montalvo / TBA
Lo-A: TBA
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Reed Garrett returned to the Rangers from Detroit, which had claimed him in the Rule 5 draft but waived him after some rough outings.