Month: May 2021

Frisco pitching dominates series with Missions

The San Antonio Missions' Jack Suwinski (center) celebrates after hitting a ninth-inning home run against the Frisco RoughRiders on Sunday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
The Missions’ Jack Suwinski (center) celebrates after hitting a ninth-inning home run against Frisco on Sunday at Wolff Stadium.
The future of the Texas Rangers’ pitching staff looks bright, at least based on the recent performance of the Frisco RoughRiders.

The RoughRiders used strong pitching to take five of six games from the San Antonio Missions at Wolff Stadium. Frisco allowed a total of five runs in its five victories, including a 6-1 decision over the Missions on Sunday in the series finale.

In all, Frisco limited San Antonio to eight runs over the six-game series. Two of those runs were unearned in the Missions’ only victory of the week, leaving the RoughRiders’ pitching staff with a smooth 1.00 ERA in the series.

Frisco looked like it was headed for its second straight shutout victory on Sunday. The Missions’ only run came in the ninth inning on a solo home run by Jack Suwinski. The Missions finished with four hits, two of them in the last inning.

Frisco starter A.J. Alexy and first reliever Blake Bass combined to no-hit the Missions through the first five innings.

Saturday night, five Frisco pitchers combined for a shutout. In Tuesday night’s series opener, five Frisco pitchers threw a combined shutout and held the Missions to five hits.

Missions infielder and highly regarded San Diego Padres prospect CJ Abrams did not play Sunday. He left Saturday night’s game after it appeared he hurt his leg running to first on a ground ball.

The Missions are off Monday and begin a six-game road series against Northwest Arkansas on Tuesday. The Missions don’t return to Wolff Stadium until June 8.

San Antonio Missions shortstop Chris Givin snares a low line drive against the Frisco RoughRiders on Sunday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions shortstop Chris Givin snares a low line drive against Frisco on Sunday at Wolff Stadium.

Padres prospect CJ Abrams leaves game in Missions’ loss to Frisco

The San Antonio Missions' CJ Abrams hits a ground ball in the fifth inning of Saturday's loss to the Frisco RoughRiders at Wolff Stadium. Abrams was limping after running to first and left the game. - photo by Joe Alexander
The Missions’ CJ Abrams hits a ground ball in the fifth inning of Saturday’s loss to Frisco at Wolff Stadium. Abrams appeared to be limping after running to first and left the game.
Highly regarded San Diego Padres prospect CJ Abrams walked slowly off the field with a San Antonio Missions trainer after running out a fifth-inning ground ball Saturday night.

Abrams, who was playing shortstop, was replaced after the play at first. The Missions did not provide an update on his condition after the game.

It was that kind of frustrating night for the Missions as they lost to the Frisco RoughRiders 4-0 at Wolff Stadium.

The Missions left the bases loaded twice and stranded 14 runners for the game. They finished 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

Missions leadoff batter Jose Azocar had two hits and a walk, Kyle Overstreet had a hit and a walk and Eguy Rosario had a hit and a walk. Overstreet extended his hitting streak to six games.

Frisco leadoff batter Bubba Thompson led the RoughRiders with three hits and scored twice. Six Frisco pitchers combined to shut out the Missions.

The Missions are 1-4 in the current series against Frisco, with the final game scheduled for Sunday at 2:05 p.m. The Missions have been shut out twice and scored two runs twice in their losses in the series.

San Antonio Missions center fielder Jose Azocar tracks down a long fly ball against the Frisco RoughRiders on Saturday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions center fielder Jose Azocar tracks down a long fly ball against Frisco on Saturday at Wolff Stadium.

Missions’ Kyle Overstreet stays hot in loss to Frisco

The San Antonio Missions' Kyle Overstreet hits a leadoff double in the fourth inning against the Frisco RoughRiders on Friday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
The Missions’ Kyle Overstreet hits a leadoff double in the fourth inning against Frisco on Friday at Wolff Stadium.
Kyle Overstreet extended his hitting streak to five games and pounded out his third double in the last two games on Friday at Wolff Stadium.

Despite his hot hitting, the San Antonio Missions fell to the Frisco RoughRiders 6-2.

Overstreet has six hits over the last three games and is batting .368 on the season.

The Missions’ Jack Suwinski hit his first triple of the season. Suwinski and Overstreet also scored the Missions’ two runs.

CJ Abrams, the Missions’ top prospect, played second base instead of his usual shortstop. He went 0-for-3 but drew a walk to extend his on-base streak to 16 games.

Frisco scored six runs on six hits. RoughRiders right fielder Steele Walker, a native of Prosper, Texas, and former college star at Oklahoma, hit a fourth-inning home run.

The San Antonio Missions' Jack Suwinski slides into third base ahead of the tag with a fifth-inning triple against the Frisco RoughRiders on Friday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
The Missions’ Jack Suwinski slides into third base ahead of the tag with a fifth-inning triple against Frisco on Friday at Wolff Stadium.
The Frisco RoughRiders' Steele Walker is congratulated by Frisco manager and third base coach Jared Goedert as Walker rounds the bases on his fourth-inning home run against the San Antonio Missions on Friday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
The RoughRiders’ Steele Walker is congratulated by Frisco manager/third base coach Jared Goedert as Walker rounds the bases on his fourth-inning home run against the Missions on Friday at Wolff Stadium.

UTSA pitcher Daniel Garza photo gallery

UTSA freshman Daniel Garza pitching against TCU on March 10, 2021, at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander
UTSA freshman Daniel Garza pitching against TCU on March 10 at Roadrunner Field.
Daniel Garza is a freshman from Dobie High School in Houston.

The 5-foot-11 right-hander has made 12 appearances for UTSA this season, all in relief. He has a 1-1 record with a 5.14 ERA. He has struck out 22 batters in 21.0 innings.

Kyle Overstreet’s big hits, strong pitching help Missions nab first home win of season

Kyle Overstreet drove in the San Antonio Missions' first and last runs of the game in a 3-1 victory over the Frisco RoughRiders on Thursday, May 20, 2021, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Kyle Overstreet drove in the Missions’ first and last runs of the game in a 3-1 victory over Frisco on Thursday at Wolff Stadium.
Kyle Overstreet drove in two of the San Antonio Missions’ three runs on Thursday night.

San Antonio pitchers took care of the rest.

The Missions won at Wolff Stadium for the first time this season as they beat the Frisco RoughRiders 3-1.

Four Missions pitchers combined to limit Frisco to one hit and would have combined for a shutout if not for a ninth-inning error that allowed the RoughRiders’ leadoff hitter to reach base. That turned into Frisco’s only run of the night.

Missions starter Aaron Leasher went five innings and gave up one hit with five strikeouts to earn his first win of the season. James Reeves was the first Missions reliever and went two innings.

Nick Kuzia, who was transferred to San Antonio on Wednesday from Triple-A El Paso, pitched one inning to get the Missions to the ninth with a 3-0 lead. Jose Quezada pitched the final inning and got his second save of the summer.

Overstreet is batting a team-high .370 and had another big night at the plate. He finished with three hits, including two doubles, and two RBIs.

The right-handed hitting first baseman, who also plays third base and catcher, doubled in the first inning to drive in CJ Abramas with the first run of the game. The Missions led the rest of the way. Overstreet also drove in Abrams with the Missions’ final run in the bottom of the eight.

Missions center fielder Jack Suwinski had an RBI double in the eighth. He also had a diving catch in the outfield to take away a RoughRiders hit.

San Antonio Missions center fielder Jack Suwinski makes a diving catch in a 3-1 victory over the Frisco RoughRiders on Thursday, May 20, 2021, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions center fielder Jack Suwinski makes a diving catch Thursday at Wolff Stadium.

Rangers’ Brock Holt plays against Missions again

The Texas Rangers' Brock Holt playing for the Frisco Rough Riders against the San Antonio Missions on Wednesday, May 19, 2021, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
The Texas Rangers’ Brock Holt playing for Frisco against the San Antonio Missions on Wednesday at Wolff Stadium.
Texas Rangers third baseman played a second straight game at Wolff Stadium on Wednesday night as part of his rehab assignment with the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders.

Holt went scoreless against the Missions, but was making solid contact in his at-bats.

The 10-year major league veteran is working his way back from a hamstring injury. Reports indicated he would spend two games with the RoughRiders.

UTSA pitcher John Chomko photo gallery

UTSA's John Chomko pitching against Old Dominion on May 9 at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander
UTSA’s John Chomko pitching against Old Dominion on May 9 at Roadrunner Field.
John Chomko is a sophomore from Tomball, Texas.

The 6-foot-2 right-hander has made 12 appearances this season for UTSA including 4 starts.

Chomko compiled a 4.74 ERA and an 0-2 record with 25 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings. He recorded a save against UAB on May 2.

Frisco takes 2nd straight from Missions; Abrams stays hot

Jose Azocar drives in Michael Curry with the Missions' first run in the bottom of the second inning Wednesday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Jose Azocar drives in Michael Curry with the Missions’ first run in the bottom of the second inning Wednesday at Wolff Stadium. – photos by Joe Alexander
The Frisco RoughRiders beat the San Antonio Missions 8-2 on Wednesday night at Wolff Stadium.

The Missions have scored only two runs in the first two games of the series combined. Frisco and the Missions play the third in the six-game series on Thursday.

Missions shortstop CJ Abrams had three hits, a walk and an RBI. He is batting .333 on the season. Abrams is on a five-game hitting streak and is 9-of-21 (.429) over that stretch.

The Missions had 10 hits including doubles by Michael Curry and Jose Azocar but couldn’t put together a big inning.

Michael Curry heads for home with the Missions' first run in the bottom of the second inning Wednesday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Michael Curry heads for home with the Missions’ first run in the bottom of the second inning.

UTSA pitcher Grant Miller photo gallery

UTSA's Grant Miller pitching against TCU on March 10, 2021, at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander
UTSA’s Grant Miller pitching against TCU on March 10, 2021, at Roadrunner Field.
Grant Miller has pitched in 20 games this season for UTSA, matching Hunter Mason for most on the team.

Miller has made three starts and has a 1-3 record with a 7.04 ERA and one save.

The 6-foot-3 left-hander is a junior from Round Rock, where he earned all-district honors three times and all-state honors twice. He spent two years at McLennan Community College before coming to UTSA.

Texas Rangers prospect Hans Crouse makes Double-A debut pitching against Missions

Texas Rangers prospect Hans Crouse pitching for the Frisco RoughRiders against the San Antonio Missions at Wolff Stadium on May 18, 2021. - photo by Joe Alexander
Texas Rangers prospect Hans Crouse pitching for the Frisco RoughRiders against the San Antonio Missions at Wolff Stadium on May 18, 2021.
Four years ago, the Texas Rangers picked Hans Crouse in the second round of the amateur baseball draft.

The Rangers gave the high school pitcher from California a million-dollar-plus signing bonus that marked him as one of the team’s big hopes for the future.

Tuesday night, the 22-year-old Crouse pitched at the Double-A level for the first time as the Frisco RoughRiders’ starter against the San Antonio Missions at Wolff Stadium.

In his first game since Aug. 26, 2019, the 6-foot-4 right hander pitched one inning and retired the Missions in order while striking out one batter. According to the Prospect Times, Crouse threw 11 pitches, with eight of them strikes.

The Rangers already had another pitcher warming up when the game started, so it looks like the one-inning appearance was part of the team’s plan.

Crouse pitched in 19 games in 2019 in Class A ball, despite reportedly dealing with bone chips in his elbow. He recorded a 6-1 record with a 4.41 ERA. His last game before Tuesday night was August 26, 2019.