TL1 San Antonio Missions

Carrillo's Half-Dozen

Published on July 20, 2009 under Texas League (TL1)
San Antonio Missions News Release


Missions starter Cesar Carrillo hasn't needed too much run support over the five-game winning streak he brought into Sunday night. So when the Missions jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, six in a row was almost a given. The lanky righty cruised through seven innings to guide San Antonio to their second straight win and a split of the four-game set with Midland, 7-1.

Carrillo (8-4) scattered six hits and a walk over 7.0 innings pitched, allowing just a single run while fanning three to win his sixth game in as many starts. He threw a season-high 103 pitches, two shy of the team-high for the year, set by Ernesto Freiri June 7th in a 3-2 loss at Arkansas. The quality outing saved a shorthanded Missions bullpen that had combined to throw 8.2 innings over the previous two nights.

"I knew I had to go deep into the game, and I was able to go out and get the job done," said Carrillo, who trotted back out to the mound for his seventh inning of work with 90 pitches already under his belt.

The importance of the outing, and of Carrillo's place in the rotation, was not lost on Missions skipper Terry Kennedy.

"It's nice to have a stopper. Everybody refers to the closer as the stopper, but sometimes you have a guy in the rotation," explained Kennedy. "When his turn comes around, you know he's going to do the job. When you've got a guy like that, it's a wonderful thing."

The Missions scored first for the 59th time in 92 games, as Craig Cooper plated a pair on a one-out double in the bottom of the first. Luis Durango led off the inning with a single up the middle and Eric Sogard followed with a walk. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch from Midland starter Travis Banwart (6-5), and after Lance Zawadzki fouled out to third, Cooper laced a two-base hit over the head of Cory Wimberly in center to give San Antonio a 2-0 lead.

Durango exited the game after flying out to left to end the bottom of the second. He is listed as day-to-day with a stiff lower back.

San Antonio opened the game up with a four-run bottom of the third, highlighted by Logan Forsythe's first Texas League home run, a towering blast to left that split the white Ford Ranger pick-up truck and silver Volvo S-80 parked on the berm in advance of Used Car Giveaway Night, this Friday, July 24th. Forsythe hit eight home runs in 66 games for Lake Elsinore prior to his call-up.

The Missions pushed their final run across in the fourth. Anthony Contreras led off with a double and Seth Johnston, who entered the game for Durango in the third inning, followed with a bloop single, moving Contreras to third. Eric Sogard then drilled a solid single to right to score Contreras.

Contreras, hitting in the nine-hole as the Missions designated hitter, went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a run scored. Even though all 10 Missions who batted in the game reached safely, Contreras was the only player to log a multi-hit game for the home side.

Midland scored their only run on a two-out, bloop single by Cory Wimberly, scoring Michael Affronti. That brought up Josh Horton, who homered Saturday night and had hit two balls deep to center in his first two at-bats, with a chance to get the RockHounds back in the game. But Carrillo induced Horton into a routine fly out to Cedric Hunter in center to limit the damage.

Scott Rice pitched the final 2.0 innings of hitless ball, allowing one walk while striking out two.

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Texas League Stories from July 20, 2009


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