Astros, Blue Jays Split Two
July 30, 2016 - Appalachian League (ApL)
Greeneville Astros News Release
Bluefield, WV - The Greeneville Astros (19 -17) and Bluefield Blue Jays (17-17) battled their way to a split in two extra-inning games on Friday at Bowen Field. The Astros won game one, which was the completion of Thursday's suspended game, in the 10th inning. Then, in the scheduled seven-inning contest, the Blue Jays prevailed in the eighth.
Both games were decided by a single run, just like each of the last four contests between the two teams. Furthermore, three of their five match-ups have now gone into extra innings including a 20-inning marathon on July 17th at Pioneer Park.
The suspended game, which halted on Thursday due to rain, was picked up in the bottom of the fourth inning with the Astros leading 1-0. The lone score came on a Bryan De La Cruz RBI ground out in the top of the fourth just before play was interrupted. Meanwhile, Astros starting pitcher Jorge Alcala had pitched three shutout innings with four strikeouts while allowing just two hits and two walks.
The Blue Jays quickly evened the game as play resumed on Friday. Juandy Mendoza led off the bottom of the fourth with a double, stole third, and scored on an Earl Burl III sacrifice fly.
In the top of the sixth, the Astros regained the lead when Connor MacDonald scored on a wild pitch after getting on with a double and moving to third on an error. For MacDonald, it was his team-leading seventh double of the year and extended his hit streak to nine games before it was snapped in the second game.
Just like two innings before, the Blue Jays responded in the bottom of the sixth inning as Bradley Jones evened the score at 2-2 with a solo home run.
The tie game would not last long as the Astros took the lead back again in the seventh inning. First, Jonathan Arauz drew a walk to lead off the inning. Ruben Castro, who went three-for-three in the game, followed with a sacrifice bunt. Then, Miguelangel Sierra stepped up and hit his 10th home run of the season to score two, put the Astros up 4-2, and tie him for the league-lead in homers.
Although the Astros maintained their two-run lead through the top of the eighth, the Blue Jays once again came back to tie the score in the bottom of the inning. Following a leadoff walk from Burl, Levi Scott connected on a two-run home run to make the score 4-4 and ultimately send the game into extra innings.
In the 10th inning, Troy Sieber hit a one-out double to get the Astros a runner in scoring position. Then, with De La Cruz at the plate, Sieber advanced to third and then scored the go-ahead run on two wild pitches to put the Astros up 5-4.
Astros reliever Devon Carr entered the game in the bottom of the inning and forced the Blue Jays to go three up, three down to end the game and pick up his first save. Meanwhile, Devin Raftery (3-0) was credited with the win after pitching the previous two innings and surrendering one run on two hits with two strikeouts.
After a temporary delay due to more rain between games, the two teams went back at it for the regularly scheduled contest with a 10:10pm start.
The Astros struck first again with a run in the second inning. Sieber and Abraham Toro each connected on singles to start the inning. Then De La Cruz had a sacrifice bunt to move the runners. Finally, Gabriel Bracamonte hit a sacrifice fly to bring Sieber home.
Similar to the earlier contest, the Blue Jays managed to tie the game a short while later. In the bottom of the third, with two outs, Nick Sinay scored after he and Kalik May had back-to-back singles combined with an Astros fielding error.
The rest of the scheduled seven-inning contest remained scoreless in large part because of the pitching. Cristian Javier, who was making his Greeneville debut, started the game and struck out seven over four innings with one unearned run on three hits. Meanwhile, Blue Jays starter Kyle Weatherly went five innings and allowed one run on five hits with three strikeouts.
With no more serious scoring threats before the end of the seventh inning, the game headed into extra innings again. However, in the bottom of the eighth, Sinay singled with one out and moved to third after consecutive walks. Then, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring Sinay in and give the Blue Jays a 2-1 win.
The winning pitcher for the Blue Jays was Angel Alicea. The recent 20th round selection went the final three innings and surrendered just one hit and one walk while striking out six.
On the season, the Astros moved to a 3-3 record in a league-high six extra inning games, with two of those wins coming against the Blue Jays.
The Astros clinched the season series against the Blue Jays by virtue of sweeping their three games in Greeneville and winning the suspended game. However, the deciding game of the current three-game set will take place on Saturday at 7:05pm.
The Astros will send left-hander Carlos Hiraldo to the mound. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays starting pitcher is scheduled to be Jose Espada.
The Astros are the Appalachian League affiliate of the Houston Astros. For more information, please visit www.greenevilleastros.com or call (423) 638-0411.
Appalachian League Stories from July 30, 2016
- Six-Run Eighth Inning Lifts Astros - Greeneville Astros
- Humphreys Pitches Well But Cards Take 4-1 Decision - Kingsport Axmen
- Astros, Blue Jays Split Two - Greeneville Astros
- Strong Pitching Enables Split with JC in Double Header - Kingsport Axmen
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
