"That's Baseball" - Stu Paul
The San Antonio Missions' inimitable number two radio man put it perfectly - - - this game was baseball, classically illogical.
Through seven innings:
- Each team had three run-producing swings
- The RockHounds had at least one base runner in every inning, while the Missions had gone up-and-down in order five times
- The 'Hounds had out-hit the Missions, 10-6, and had committed one error to the Missions' two
- The score? San Antonio 8, RockHounds 3
Each of the 'Hounds' RBI swings came on a ground out, while San Antonio got a pair of two run singles (Jose Rondon and Auston Bousfield) and a grand slam from Nick Torres (see "Stat of the Day, Part 2", below).
The RockHounds scored twice in the second, but the Missions answered, batting around in the home half of the inning. The two-run singles from Rondon and Bousfield both came with two out and all four runs (thanks to an error early in the inning) were unearned.
The 'Hounds loaded the bases with consecutive singles with one out in the first, but failed to score. After the Missions took the 4-2 advantage in the second, the RockHounds had men on base in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh, but plated only one run (on Brett Vertigan's second RBI ground out of the game in the fourth). They stranded seven base runners over that stretch (and grounded into one double play) before Torres broke the game open in the home half of the seventh. The Missions added two in the eighth to produce the final margin.
The RockHounds
… are 8-7 (5-1 at Security Bank Ballpark and 3-6 on the road) … have dropped two straight and are 1-2 in the series at San Antonio.
… remain three games behind first-place Frisco (11-4) after the RoughRiders dropped a 3-2 decision at Corpus Christi. The Hooks (9-6) trail Frisco by two games with San Antonio (7-8) four games back.
… conclude their series with the Missions in San Antonio on Sunday afternoon (2:05 p.m.). The 'Hounds then move on to Corpus Christi for a four-game set with the Hooks (Double-A Affiliate of the Houston Astros) Monday through Thursday (game time each evening is 7:05 p.m.).
Kibbles & Bits
STAT OF THE DAY The Missions' consecutive wins over the RockHounds mark the first such occurrence since last May, when San Antonio won back-to-back games at Security Bank Ballpark (May 16-17). That's a pretty remarkable stat, as the division rivals meet 32 times each season (thanks to Missions Radio Voice Mike Saeger for sharing the knowledge).
STAT OF THE DAY, Part 2 The seventh-inning grand slam that broke the game open was the first of Nick Torres' career. It was also not only the first grand slam allowed by Trey Cochran-Gill … it was the first home run of any kind Cochran-Gill had allowed as a pro (120.1 innings since making his professional debut in 2014).
STAT OF THE DAY, Part 3 Dylan Covey took the loss for the RockHounds … and lowered his ERA by nearly two points in the process. The right-hander entered the game at 4.15 and exited, having not allowed an earned run over six innings, at 2.45.
STAT OF THE DAY, Part 4 Franklin Barreto's night at the plate was a bright spot, as Oakland's top prospect went 3-for-4, scoring two runs. He broke out of an 0-for-13 slump, and did so with each of his three hits coming with two strikes in the count (and each at bat that started with an 0-2 count).