Mateo keeps 'Hounds alive in Texas League
With time running out on Double-A Midland, Jorge Mateo keyed a big rally that helped even things up in the best-of-5 Texas League semifinals.The fourth-ranked A's prospect delivered a bases-clearing double in a five-run eighth inning as the RockHounds pulled out a 6-3 victory over San Antonio on Saturday at
With time running out on Double-A Midland,
The fourth-ranked A's prospect delivered a bases-clearing double in a five-run eighth inning as the RockHounds pulled out a 6-3 victory over San Antonio on Saturday at Security Bank Ballpark, forcing a decisive fifth game.
Gameday box score
"I was proud of the way our guys dug in when it mattered the most," Midland manager Fran Riordan said. "We had our best at-bats when our season was on the line. It just says a lot about how they handled their business all year."
Down 3-1 in the eighth, Midland began its rally with consecutive walks by A's No. 14 prospect
"We just needed baserunners. If you're going to get to those guys, you need to get on base," Riordan said. "Our guys did a really good job of just seeing some pitches and taking some quality pitches that they made that were just off the plate. Next thing you know, it's a big inning for us."
Mateo fell into an 0-2 hole against the San Antonio right-hander but caught a slider up in the zone and pulled it into the left field corner to clear the bases.
"He didn't panic in the moment, he didn't try to do too much in the moment and it was just a really, really good swing in a really, really good at-bat," Riordan said. "The energy in our dugout was amped up a little bit and then we just continued to have quality at-bats. Everyone just did a really good job fighting."
A's No. 17 prospect
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The Missions put together three consecutive hits and a sacrifice fly to open the game against A's No. 19 prospect
"A younger Filmeyer would have let things speed up on him and let things kind of snowball out of control," Riordan said. "He did a great job of staying in the moment and not letting his emotions get the best of him. For him to give that kind of effort after a rocky first inning was huge for our club."
Mateo also singled twice, stole two bases and scored twice. Rosa drove in a pair of runs, giving him a league-leading 11 postseason RBIs.
Padres No. 4 prospect
The deciding game in the South Division finals is Sunday in San Antonio.
In other playoff action:
Tulsa 16, Northwest Arkansas 8
Gerard Gilberto is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow and interact with him on Twitter, @GerardGilberto4.