San Antonio Blows Ninth Inning Lead, Lose on Walk-off Grand Slam

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Missions held the lead against Corpus Christi for the first eight innings of the ballgame. The bullpen allowed seven runs to score in the ninth, including a walk-off grand slam. The Hooks win the game by a final score of 9-5.

Aaron Leasher was originally scheduled to pitch today’s game, but the left-hander was called up to Triple-A El Paso. Brandon Komar made the start for the Missions in his place.

The Missions offense provided Komar with some early run support. Jose Azocar hit a first inning home run to give San Antonio a 1-0 lead. It was his sixth long ball of the season.

San Antonio added an insurance run in the third inning. Allen Cordoba drove in Azocar with an RBI double. This improved their lead to 2-0.

The Corpus Christi Hooks plated their first run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Norel Gonzalez connected on a solo home run off Komar to make it a 2-1 ballgame.

Komar, in his first start, lasted 3.2 innings while allowing one earned run and striking out five batters. He was replaced by Carlos Belen.

The Missions added runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings to increase their lead. In the fifth, Ben Ruta drove in a with a sacrifice fly. Chandler Seagle drove in his 11th run of the season with a single in the sixth inning. Lastly, Cordoba drove in his second run of the game with a sacrifice fly in the seventh. The Missions had a 5-2 lead.

Meanwhile, the Hooks scored their second run of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. Gonzalez hit his second home run of the game, this time off Belen. This made it a 4-2 game at the time.

In the ninth inning, the Missions used three different pitchers to try to save the game and eventually try to force extra innings. Joe Beimel began the inning and was relieved after walking two of the three batters he faced. Jose Quezada came on to relieve Beimel. He recorded his first blown save of the season after previously converting nine save attempts. He allowed four earned runs on two hits and two walks.

With a tie game, two outs, and the bases loaded, Fred Schlichtholz came on to pitch. Facing Scott Schreiber, the first pitch Schlichtholz threw was unloaded over the center field wall for a walk-off grand slam.

Post-Game Notes

· With the loss, San Antonio falls to 31-34 on the season

· Eguy Rosario (#18 Padres prospect): 2-5, 2B, R, K

· Jose Quezada: 1st blown save of the season

The Missions return to action on Tuesday, July 20th for a six-game homestand against the Springfield Cardinals. The pitching matchups have not been decided yet. First pitch for Tuesday night’s game is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

The San Antonio Missions are the Double-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres. This is the 115th professional season for the San Antonio Missions. Tickets are on sale now at the Wolff Stadium Box Office or online at samissions.com. Season seat memberships are available now by calling 210-675-PARK (7275).