Astros system goes 5-0 on Friday

The Astros got their seventh straight win with a 2-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in last night’s Civil Rights Game. In addition, all four of Houston’s minor league affiliates were also victorious.

The Astros got another outstanding pitching performance from Brett Oberholtzer. Houston’s starter allowed only one run and four hits. He didn’t walk a batter and needed only 81 pitches to get through seven innings.

The Astros’ game-winning rally came from a couple of unlikely sources when Robbie Grossman and Jonathan Villar hit back-to-back run producing doubles in the seventh inning. Grossman was in a 3 for 18 slump since his recent recall from AAA and Villar hadn’t had a hit in 26 at-bats.

Chad Qualls wrapped things up with his first 4-out save of the season. Qualls had two strikeouts, including the league’s homerun and RBI leader, Nelson Cruz.

Not to be outdone, the rest of the teams in the organization all posted big wins. Oklahoma City won by the same 2-1 score. An outstanding effort by starting pitcher Michael Foltynewicz set the stage for the RedHawks to win in walkoff fashion. Gregorio Petit came home on a Carlos Perez squeeze bunt, capping a 2-run rally and sending the RedHawks fans home happy.

Alex White, who is currently rehabbing from elbow ligament replacement surgery, picked up the win with a scoreless ninth. The RedHawks are now in a first place tie in the PCL’s  American Northern division.

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Corpus Christi had a less stressful evening with a 7-3 win over Northwest Arkansas. Mike Hauschild notched his first win of the year and Telvin Nash doubled and homered for the Hooks.

The Lancaster JetHawks also had a big night. Rio Ruiz had three hits and Carlos Correa drove in a pair of runs in a 9-1 win over Rancho Cucamonga. Josh Hader improved his record to 5-0 with a 7 & 2/3 inning performance that included nine strikeouts, one walk, four hits, and one run.  Mark Appel is scheduled to return to action when the JetHawks continue their series against the Quakes at 6:00 PDT. Lancaster currently enjoys a 2-game lead in their division.

Quad-Cities made it an organizational sweep with a 7-3 win over Beloit. A first inning grand slam by Ronnie Mitchell provided the margin of victory. It was the fourth straight game with a homer for Mitchell. The outfielder is channeling his inner George Springer, hitting six longballs in his last 10 games.