Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 1, at Salt Lake (LAA) 11
Round Rock: 5 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 19 hits, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 35-31, 7 GB, 66-75 overall, elimination number 2
SP Anthony Veneziano: 1.2 IP, 8 H (1 HR), 5 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 51 P / 32 S, 3.06 ERA
RP Marc Church: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 6.82 ERA
RP John King: 2 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 4.50 ERA
2B John Taylor: 2-4, .245/.379/.385
3B Josh Jung: 0-2, HBP
Josh Jung was hit by a pitch and removed the next inning. The pitch appeared to sneak under his left arm and catch him in the chest. Absent other news, I’m inclined to think he’s okay and was done for the night anyway since he was playing in the field for the first time.
We have a John King sighting.
Opponents missed on nine of twelve swings at Marc Church’s slider, which is 2024 Kumar Rocker territory. In what I assume are his final weeks in the organization, Church is veering ever more violently between outings of utter dominance and paucity.
OKC won a 12th straight. Round Rock needs to win five of the remaining nine to avoid being the first Texas AAA team in 29 years to finish at least ten games below .500. 
AA: Frisco 1, at Wichita (MIN) 3
Frisco: 6 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Record: 32-34, 71-63 overall, first-half champion
SP Cole Stasio: 5 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 2 HBP, 6 SO, 69 P / 48 S, 5.11 ERA
RP Joey Danielson: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 5.23 ERA
3B Rafe Perich: 2-4, .316/.400/.566
RF Yeison Morrobel: 2-4, 2B, .327/.367/.482
CF Paxton Kling: 1-3, BB, SB (2)
Offseason pickup Cole Stasio finished the regular season on a strong note. He’s pitched better than his 5.11 ERA, which is inflated by 11 runs (half in total) in two of his 19 outings. 
Lo-A Semifinals: Hickory 4, at Charleston (TAM) 3
Hickory: 7 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Best-of-three series tied 1-1
SP Evan Siary: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 SO, 85 P / 65 S
RP William Privette: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 SO
RP JD McReynolds: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SO
RP Jesus Lafalaise: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 SO
LF Paulino Santana: 1-3, BB, SB
1B Kaden Carpenter: 3-4, 2 2B, HR
DH Deward Tovar: 1-4, 2B
Evan Siary was nearly perfect in a must-win game, retiring his first 16 opponents and completing strikeouts on two fastballs, two cutters, two curves and a slider. His only trouble came in the the 6th. With two out and a runner on first (reaching on an honest single), catcher Sebastian Baquera called for a pitchout at the last possible moment and stepped to the opposite side of the batter, but Siary’s pitch cut inside and at best grazed Baquera’s mitt on the way to the backstop.
That incident set the tone for the final three innings, all too jittery for my taste, particularly in light of what happened to the Rangers after Jacob deGrom’s stellar six innings earlier in the day. Charleston would have 11 plate appearances with the tying run at the plate. William Privette didn’t have it, surrendering two walks and two lined hits, the last of which resulted in one run and a critical Santana-to-Castillo-to-Baquera out at the plate. JD McReynolds secured the last out of the 7th but ran into his own trouble in the 8th, yielding a single, walk and run-scoring double. Jesus Lafalaise, using a fastball that touched 98, generated a couple of groundouts to strand two that inning. Sticking to the script, Lafalaise had an uneasy 9th, allowing a run on a single, wild pitch and groundout before inducing a game-ending comebacker.
Thursday was Kaden Carpenter Night. This summer’s ninth-round pick blasted a two-run homer in the 1st off Aidan Cremarosa, against whom opponents slugged only .303 this season. In the 8th, Carpenter doubled in Yolfran Castillo. Between those events, Deward Tovar doubled home speedy Jay McQueen from first.
Tonight, Charleston starter Jordi Infante has a 1.98 ERA but scant experience at the level and no more than three innings in any outing. I expect Moises Morales to start for Hickory.
Houston-affiliated Fayetteville swept Fredericksburg in the other series.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Pence
AA: Brand
Lo-A: probably Morales
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Despite three strong innings from Cole Winn, Frisco lost to fall outside of a playoff spot for the first time all season. Round Rock’s Josh Jung homered, singled and walked. Slowed by injury, he was virtually certain not to make his MLB debut in 2021, and he wouldn’t. In six full seasons, Jung has played in 546 games, 91 per.
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