TL San Antonio Missions

Leyba Homers and Drives in Four, Hooks Walk-Off Missions in the 9th

June 9, 2022 - Texas League (TL)
San Antonio Missions News Release


SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Missions started off Thursday night's ballgame by trailing to the Hooks early on. After a three-run homer from Domingo Leyba, the Missions held a 4-2 lead heading into the eighth inning. The Missions' bullpen stumbled down the stretch and eventually surrendered a walk-off three-run home run. San Antonio drops their second consecutive contest with tonight's final score of 7-4.

Jason Blanchard was the starting pitcher for the San Antonio Missions. The southpaw started off the game strong by striking out two of the first three batters he faced. The second inning saw the Hooks gain their first lead of the night. With two outs, Blanchard allowed a walk to Grae Kessinger. Kessinger then stole second base. Jordan Brewer drove him in with a single to left field. On the play, Brewer advanced to second base on a throwing error from Reinaldo Ilarraza. Jose Alvarez drove in Brewer with a single to right field. The Hooks took a 2-0 lead.

Adrian Chaidez was the starting pitcher for the Hooks. Chaidez allowed one base runner in each of the first two innings. He allowed a single to Connor Hollis in the first and he walked Juan Zabala in the second inning.

The Missions offense took control in the top of the third inning and claimed the lead. Kelvin Alarcon drew a lead-off walk and advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt from Ilarraza. Hollis drew a walk to put two runners on base. With two outs in the inning, Domingo Leyba left the yard with a line drive over the right field wall. His third long ball of the season made it a 3-2 Missions lead.

San Antonio had a chance to improve their lead in the top of the fourth inning. Thomas Milone started off the inning by drawing a walk. Zabala grounded into a double play to quickly put two outs on the board. Ike Freeman and Kelvin Alarcon drew back-to-back walks to place a runner in scoring position. Chandler Casey replaced Chaidez following the Alarcon walk. Casey struck out Ilarraza to leave the runners stranded.

The Missions added an insurance run in the top of the fifth inning. Hollis began the inning with a base hit and advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt from Ripken Reyes. Leyba drove in Hollis with a single to right field. The Missions improved their lead to 4-2.

Heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, Blanchard was replaced by Luis Madrazo. Madrazo, making his professional baseball debut, allowed a single to Kessinger and a double to Brewer. Alvarez grounded out and Kessinger came around to score. Madrazo was replaced by Tom Cosgrove. The southpaw struck out two batters while walking one batter in between.

Corpus Christi fought back to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth inning. Facing Mason Fox, Wilyer Abreu drew a walk and Luke Berryhill singled. Fox pitched out of the jam by getting Yainer Diaz to ground into a double play. Angel Felipe came on to replace Fox on the mound. With Abreu on third and two outs, Felipe allowed an RBI single to Justin Dirden. It was a 4-4 ballgame after eight innings of play.

San Antonio had a chance to regain the lead in the top of the ninth inning. Facing Julio Robaina, Ike Freeman started off the inning with a single and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Alarcon grounded out and moved Freeman to third base. Ilarraza grounded out and Freeman was forced to remain at third base. The Hooks chose to intentionally walk to Hollis to face Reyes. With the go-ahead run 90 feet away, Reyes grounded out to end the inning.

Felipe came back out to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning for the Missions. After retiring the first two batters of the inning, Felipe walked Brewer and Alvarez. With two runners on and two outs, Abreu won the game for the Hooks with a walk-off three-run home run over the left field wall. Corpus Christi wins the game 7-4.

Post-Game Notes

With the loss, San Antonio falls to 27-25 on the season

2nd walk-off loss of the season

Korry Howell (#13 Padres prospect): DNP

Kevin Kopps (#14 Padres prospect): DNP

The San Antonio Missions will continue their six-game series with the Corpus Christi Hooks on Friday, June 10th. Right-hander Lake Bachar (0-1, 3.86) is scheduled to start for the Missions. Right-hander Misael Tamarez (1-2, 3.79) is scheduled to start for the Hooks. First pitch is expected at 7:05 p.m. from Whataburger Field.

Check out the San Antonio Missions Statistics



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