Greeneville Bats Explode as Astros Best Rays
July 1, 2015 - Appalachian League (ApL)
Greeneville Astros News Release
Princeton, WV - The Greeneville Astros entered Tuesday's game looking to get back into the series with the Princeton Rays after losing their first matchup 4-2 on Monday. The Astros, owners of a 4-3 record, entered the ballgame in a three-way tie for first in the Appalachian League West standings; the Rays, also with a 4-3 record, were tied for first place in the Appalachian League East with the Bluefield Blue Jays.
The game got off to a rough start for the Astros as the Rays' starting pitcher, Jose Alvarado, struck out the first four batters he faced. Greeneville, who plated seven runs on Opening Day against the Pirates in Bristol, had struggled to replicate those same offensive numbers in recent games, scoring only three runs in the last two games combined.
Yhoan Acosta got the start for the Astros on the mound. In his one previous outing, Acosta had been sensational, holding the Bristol Pirates to just one run across five innings, earning a 1.80 ERA. This time around Acosta was hit harder, allowing three earned runs on four hits and seeing his ERA jump to 4.32.
Juan Delis came into the game in the bottom of the fourth inning and went for one full, striking out a pair. Cristhopher Santamaria, the man Greeneville has consistently turned to in pressure situations, took over or Delis in the bottom of the fifth. With one out and two men on base, he forced a groundball double play to keep a run from scoring and get the Astros out of the inning.
The Rays got on the board first in the bottom of inning number one thanks to a two-run homer off the bat of catcher David Rodriguez. It was the first home run of the year for Rodriguez, who had shown signs of power in the past, blasting 12 home runs and collecting 29 RBI's in the Venezuelan Summer League in 2013.
The Astros bounced back in the top of the second inning and produced a run to bring the score to 2-1. Randy Cesar started the rally with a one-out single up the middle, and was moved to second on a groundball to the right side off the bat of Justin Garcia, who made his second start of the season in left field. Kevin Martir then came through with the crucial line drive single past the second baseman Blake Butera to bring Cesar all the way home to score.
The Astros put on an offensive clinic in the top half of the third inning to tie up the game and then give themselves the lead. Luis Payano, playing the role of second leadoff hitter in the number nine hole, got himself on base to start off the inning with a groundball up the middle. Confident in his own speed, and in the speed of Payano at first, Osvaldo Duarte then came up and laid down a bunt, beating out the throw to first base for a single. With runners on first and second and nobody out, manager Lamarr Rogers played small-ball and signaled to Ford Stainback to lay down a sacrifice bunt, which he executed flawlessly, moving Payano and Duarte to third and second, respectively.
The Rays decided to shy away from pitching to the number three hitter Aaron Mizell, who had gone two-for-four in the game the night before, and intentionally walked him to load up the bases. Connor Goedert then wore one for the team, getting hit with a pitch and forcing in the tying run from third base. With the bases once again loaded, Randy Cesar came up and hit a monster opposite field home run for a grand slam and gave the Astros a 6-2 lead. For Cesar it was his first home run of the season, and his second in an Astros uniform. The grand slam was the eighth in Greeneville Astros history.
The Astros scored another run in the top of the fifth thanks to the combination of the red-hot Connor Goedert and designated hitter Kevin Martir. Goedert, who entered the game ranked fourth in the league in batting average hitting .476, singled to start off the inning, extending his hit streak to seven games. He then recorded his first stolen base of the season, swiping second off of the right-hander Spencer Moran. Kevin Martir followed with a groundball to centerfielder Zacrey Law, plating Goedert from second for his second RBI of the game and third of the season.
Connor Goedert squared one up for his first home run of 2015 in the top of the seventh inning, scoring Mizell from first base and picking up his sixth and seventh RBI of the season. His offensive dominance didn't end there; in the eighth inning with the bases loaded once again for the Astros, Goedert smacked a line drive over the head of shortstop Peter Maris for his 11th hit in his last 15 at bats, scoring Osvaldo Duarte from third and tacking on his eighth RBI of the year.
Zac Grotz came in to pitch the sixth and seventh innings for Greeneville and maintained his flawless 0.00 ERA, eventually picking up his first win of the season. The right-hander has allowed just one hit over his five innings of work thus far, striking out three.
Jacob Dorris entered the game in the eighth and went 1-2-3 in his first inning of work. In the bottom of the ninth a run came across to score after a couple of walks and a hit batsman, bringing to score to 10-6. However, Dorris was able to buckle down and strike out Angel Perez for the last out of the ballgame to put a cherry on top of the W for the Astros.
The Astros' 10 runs and 15 hits set new season-highs for the club. The huge offensive performance was led by Osvaldo Duarte (2-5, 2 R), Aaron Mizell (2-4, 2 R), Connor Goedert (3-4, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R), Randy Cesar (2-5, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R), Kevin Martir (3-4, 2 RBI), and Luis Payano (2-4, 1 2B, 1 R).
With Tuesday night's victory, the Astros even up the series with Princeton at one game apiece. Wednesday's 11:00 AM game at Princeton will decide the series outcome, as Greeneville looks to win their third straight series to start the year.
The Astros are the Appalachian League affiliate of the Houston Astros. For more information, visit www.greenevilleastros.com or call (423) 638-0411.
Appalachian League Stories from July 1, 2015
- Danville Ends Four Game Skid - Danville Otterbots
- Astros Fall 7-5 to Rays to Close Series - Greeneville Astros
- Greeneville Bats Explode as Astros Best Rays - Greeneville Astros
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