It was a warm afternoon Sunday at Wolff Stadium. Thanks to the San Antonio Missions fans who took the time to say hi. – photo by Joe Alexander
Month: June 2019
Nate Orf caps Missions’ 12th-inning rally
The Aces scored a run in the top of the 12th to take a 4-3 lead.
The Missions’ Mauricio Dubon delivered an RBI single to score Troy Stokes Jr. with the tieing run in the bottom of the 12th.
Orf lofted a fly ball to left field to bring home Jake Hager from third with the winning run.
Dubon finished the game with three hits including a double. David Freitas, who is batting .363, had a hit and two RBIs.
Missions reliever Alex Wilson (3-0) pitched the top of the 12th inning and got the win.
Mariners’ Felix Hernandez has abbreviated appearance against Missions
Hernandez played for the then-Double-A Missions in 2004 while coming up through the minors in the Seattle Mariners organization.
The 33-year-old right-hander from Venezuela has been pitching in the majors for the Mariners since 2005. His appearance in San Antonio on Friday for the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers was his first rehab game since going on the injured list on May 12.
Hernandez’s night was shorter than expected. There were reports that he would throw in the range of 55 to 65 pitches. Instead, Hernandez left the mound with one out in the third inning. He walked off with the Rainiers’ team trainer.
The Missions put up two runs on two hits and a walk against Hernandez, who threw a total of 31 pitches.
Media reports indicated Hernandez left the game due to fatigue.
Keston Hiura and Tyler Saladino hit home runs to pace the Missions to a 6-1 victory over the Rainers.
Keston Hiura leads Missions’ longball barrage
In the eight games since being optioned down from the Milwaukee Brewers, Hiura has added four home runs, 11 RBIs and hit 11-of-34 (.324).
That includes two home runs and five RBIs Thursday night as the Missions pounded the Tacoma Rainiers 15-1 at Wolff Stadium.
Both of Hiura’s homers came off Rainiers starting pitcher Justus Sheffield. Hiura hit a solo shot in the first inning in his first at-bat. He added a grand slam in the second inning. That boosted his team-leading home run total to 15 for the season.
Hiura had plenty of help in the hitting department as the Missions spent a big part of their night celebrating at the plate.
Tyler Saladino hit his 13th home run of the season, a leadoff shot in the second inning.
Mauricio Dubon hit a two-run homer in the third inning.
Lucas Erceg added a three-run homer in the seventh inning.
The Missions finished with 15 hits including doubles by Dubon and Troy Stokes Jr.
Missions starting pitcher Burch Smith (4-3) went five innings to get the win. He allowed one run on two hits and struck out 10 batters with two walks.
Brewers prospect Keston Hiura back in San Antonio
The Brewers needed reinforcements when injuries left the big league club short-handed in the infield.
Hiura showed he could hold his own, batting .281 with five home runs in 17 games.
But once Travis Shaw returned to the Brewers from an injury and rehab assignment, Hiura was optioned back to the Triple-A San Antonio Missions on June 3. The Missions were on the road at the time.
On Wednesday night, for the first time since his stint with the Brewers, Hiura was back playing on the Missions’ home field at Wolff Stadium.
He drew a media crowd before the game when he did a group interview in the Missions’ dugout. Then he had a hit and drove in a run in Wednesday’s 4-2, 10-inning loss to the Tacoma Rainiers.
In 43 games with the Missions this season, Hiura leads the team in home runs with 13, is second in batting at .331 and third in RBIs with 31.
Story by Jerry Briggs on milb.com
Brewers prospect and Missions outfielder Michael O’Neill
Through eight games, O’Neill is hitting .240 with two RBIs.
The 26-year-old right-hander started the season in Double-A Biloxi, where he batted .290 with four home runs in 45 games.
This is O’Neill’s seventh season of pro baseball, all in the minors. He was drafted by the New York Yankees in 2013.
He spent most of last year in the Texas League, including playing against the then-Double-A Missions. He hit .255 with 12 home runs and 39 RBIs in 121 games for the Texas Rangers’ farm club in Frisco. He became a free agent at the end of the season.
O’Neill was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers to a minor league contract on March 9.
Brewers call up Burch Smith from Missions
Smith was recalled by the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.
In Triple-A this season, Smith made eight starts and recorded a 3-2 record with a 2.45 ERA. The 6-foot-4 right-hander pitched 40 1/3 innings and allowed 11 earned runs on 27 hits with 45 strikeouts and 20 walks.
San Antonio Missions pitcher Jacob Barnes joins Milwaukee Brewers again
Barnes appeared in eight games for the Missions, all in relief. He had a 1-0 record with a 1.23 ERA. He converted in his only save opportunity.
The 6-foot-2 right-hander pitched in 16 games with the Brewers this season.
Barnes has made the move up and down between the majors and Triple-A a couple of times in 2019. He was optioned to the Missions on May 2. He was called back up to the Brewers on May 12. He was optioned to the Missions again on May 18.
Missions split series with Storm Chasers; Brewers announce roster moves
The game marked the final appearance in a Missions uniform for the Milwaukee Brewers’ Travis Shaw. He was rehabbing from an injury.
Shaw was 1-of-2 and walked while batting second as the designated hitter. Shaw played in 10 games with San Antonio and batted .235 with one home run.
David Freitas, Troy Stokes Jr. and Jake Hager had two RBIs each for the Missions on Sunday.
Missions starting pitcher Thomas Jankins (4-2) got the win. He went five innings and gave up two earned runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and no walks.
Roster moves
Missions right-handed pitcher Jacob Barnes was called up by the Brewers.
Missions right-handed pitcher Taylor Williams was called up by the Brewers.
Catcher Jacob Nottingham has been optioned from the Brewers back to the Missions.
When will the Brewers take another look at Aaron Wilkerson?
Before leaving in the bottom of the third inning, Chacín walked three men with the bases loaded.
Chacín, 3-7 on the season, went 0-4 in the month of May in five starts.
Last night in Triple-A, the San Antonio Missions’ Aaron Wilkerson threw seven scoreless innings and allowed one hit with six strikeouts and three walks.
Obviously, it’s a significant difference between playing in the bigs and the Pacific Coast League.
And in Wilkerson’s time with the Brewers earlier this season, he didn’t exactly tear it up. Wilkerson appeared in three games with Milwaukee and gave up six earned runs in 7 1/3 innings.
But since coming back to San Antonio, he has gotten in a groove and dominated. Here are his last three starts in the Pacific Coast League when he had three wins and gave up no earned runs:
May 31, San Antonio def. Omaha 3-0
win, 7.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 6 SO, 3 BB
May 25, San Antonio def. Memphis 4-0
win, 5.2 IP, 0R, 0 ER, 3 H, 8 SO, 2 BB
May 19, San Antonio def. Memphis 9-3
win, 6.0 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 7 SO, 1 BB
In all, the 6-foot-3 right-hander from Fort Worth has pitched in five games with San Antonio since coming back from Milwaukee. He has allowed one earned run in 28 innings in that stretch with 13 hits, 25 strikeouts and 9 walks.
Whether Wilkerson goes back up to Milwaukee in the near future will depend as much on the health and performance of the Brewers’ pitching staff as it does on his own stats.
For the time being, down in San Antonio, Wilkerson is doing his part.
More on Wilkerson and Travis Shaw
Story on milb.com
