Tourists Fall in 11-Inning Thriller, 3-2, as Huezo Joins 20-40 Club

FREDERICK, Md. — There were enough storylines Wednesday night to fill a novel. A bullpen catcher turned unlikely hero. A 20-40 club entry. A double play to escape a bases loaded tenth inning jam, and a walkoff single in the eleventh that ended it all.

Frederick edged Asheville 3-2 in eleven innings, handing the Tourists back to back losses to open the series. But the box score tells only part of the story.

Asheville starter Javier Perez was outstanding. The right-hander went five innings, allowing just two runs on two hits while striking out five. He now has 23 strikeouts in 14.2 innings for Asheville. Anthony Cruz and Jackson Wells followed with two scoreless innings each to keep the Tourists in it deep into the night.

Frederick struck first in the third. Enddy Azocar, more on him later, doubled to score two and put the Keys ahead 2-0.

Then Alexi Quiroz stepped to the plate in the fifth.

The 19-year-old had played in just three total games all season. All in the Florida Complex League. One in May, one in June and one in July. For most of the year he had functioned essentially as a bullpen catcher throughout the Astros organization. Wednesday night he was randomly inserted into the Asheville lineup. He promptly launched a towering shot to left field to cut the deficit to 2-1. It was just his second professional home run and his first outside of the Dominican Summer League. It was the kind of moment that makes baseball special.

Anthony Huezo made his own moment in the eighth. He launched his sixth home run of the season to left field to tie the game at two. But the number attached to the blast was what made it remarkable. With that swing, Huezo officially joined the 20-40 club. That’s 20 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season. He is just the third player in all of baseball to accomplish that this season, joining top prospects Eric Hartman of the Braves and Theo Gillen of the Rays. No player in the major leagues has done it this year. Huezo's name has been put in elite company.

The tenth inning was one of the most tense sequences of August. Max Martin came in to pitch the tenth. Ryan Stafford led off with a bunt single, then Asheville manager Nate Shaver wisely issued an intentional walk to load the bases and create force out opportunities at every base. That brought Enddy Azocar to the plate.

Azocar is worth knowing. Earlier this month he dominated Asheville during the Greenville series, hitting .560 over six games with three home runs and double-digit RBIs in what became a sweep. That performance earned him South Atlantic League Hitter of the Week honors. The very next day he was traded as part of the blockbuster deal that sent All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman from the Orioles to the Red Sox, with Azocar assigned to the Orioles' Frederick affiliate. So there he stood, facing a full count with the bases loaded and the game on the line.

Martin got him to roll over to shortstop. Brandon Nigh threw home to get the runner from third, and the relay to first was in time to complete the double play. The next batter popped up and Asheville had escaped.

But the Tourists struck out three times in the eleventh and couldn't push anything across. Randal Diaz singled to left in the bottom half to score Jaiden Lo Re and end it. 3-2 Frederick.

John Garcia went 3-for-4 for Asheville's only multi-hit game on the night.

Asheville and Frederick meet again Thursday night. Adam Shoemaker takes the ball for the Tourists against Frederick's Stephen Still. First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m.