Author: Joe Alexander

Corey Ray back in Missions outfield

Missions outfielders Troy Stokes Jr. (8), Corey Ray (1) and Tyrone Taylor (15) stand for the National Anthem before Thursday's game at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions outfielders Troy Stokes Jr. (8), Corey Ray (1) and Tyrone Taylor (15) stand for the National Anthem before Thursday’s game at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe Alexander
The San Antonio Missions’ outfielders have been bogged down by injuries this season.

Corey Ray, Tyrone Taylor and Troy Stokes Jr. – the opening day starters – have all spent time on the injured list.

Ray was back in centerfield on Thursday night at Wolff Stadium. Ray went hitless in a 3-2 loss to the Sacramento River Cats, but looked solid on defense.

Here is a look at Ray’s recent transactions this season from milb.com:

– August 1, 2019 CF Corey Ray assigned to San Antonio Missions from Biloxi Shuckers.

– July 11, 2019 CF Corey Ray assigned to Biloxi Shuckers from San Antonio Missions.

– July 3, 2019 San Antonio Missions sent CF Corey Ray on a rehab assignment to AZL Brewers Gold.

– May 23, 2019 San Antonio Missions placed CF Corey Ray on the 7-day injured list.

– May 7, 2019 San Antonio Missions activated CF Corey Ray from the temporarily inactive list.

– May 4, 2019 San Antonio Missions placed CF Corey Ray on the temporarily inactive list.

– May 3, 2019 San Antonio Missions activated CF Corey Ray from the 7-day injured list.

– April 17, 2019 San Antonio Missions placed CF Corey Ray on the 7-day injured list.

Ray has played in 42 games so far this season – 26 for the Missions, 11 at Double-A Biloxi and 5 in the Arizona League.

Burch Smith has strong start in Missions loss

Burch Smith did not allow a run in 5 1/3 innings on Thursday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Burch Smith did not allow a run in 5 1/3 innings on Thursday at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe Alexander
San Antonio Missions pitcher Burch Smith had a perfect game working through five innings on Thursday at Wolff Stadium.

Smith left the game one out into the sixth inning. After getting the first out in the sixth, he gave up a groundball single and a walk.

The 6-foot-4 right-hander struck out four batters. He got a no-decision after leaving the game with a 2-0 lead but lowered his ERA to 2.34.

The Sacramento River Cats rallied for one run in the seventh inning and two in the eighth to beat the Missions 3-2.

The first Missions reliever, Miguel Sanchez, finished the sixth inning and pitched the seventh. He allowed one run on three hits.

Missions reliever Jimmy Nelson, who has been working his way back from a shoulder injury, entered the game at the beginning of the eighth inning. He recorded one out while giving up two runs on two hits and two walks with one strikeout. Nelson (3-1) took the loss.

Devin Williams was the Missions’ final pitcher of the night. Williams made his first appearance at Wolff Stadium and third career appearance in Triple-A after being called up from Double-A on July 26. He recorded five outs without allowing a base runner. He struck out three batters. The 6-foot-3 right-hander was throwing his fastball in the high 90s and hit 100 on the outfield radar at least once.

Missions relief pitcher Devin Williams made his first appearance at Wolff Stadium on Thursday. He was a recent call-up from Double-A. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions relief pitcher Devin Williams made his first appearance at Wolff Stadium on Thursday. He was a recent call-up from Double-A. – photo by Joe Alexander
Missions relief pitcher Jimmy Nelson gave up two runs in the eighth inning on Thursday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions relief pitcher Jimmy Nelson gave up two runs in the eighth inning on Thursday at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe Alexander

Mauricio Dubon leaves Missions, but doesn’t go far

Former San Antonio Missions shortstop Mauricio Dubon playing for the Sacramento River Cats on Wednesday at Wolff Stadium in his first game after being traded. - photo by Joe Alexander
Former San Antonio Missions shortstop Mauricio Dubon playing for the Sacramento River Cats on Wednesday at Wolff Stadium in his first game after being traded. – photo by Joe Alexander
As the San Antonio Missions took batting practice at Wolff Stadium, Mauricio Dubon walked out on the field and joined his friends and teammates.

Except they weren’t teammates anymore.

Dubon, the Missions’ regular shortstop, was part of a trade-deadline deal between the Milwaukee Brewers and San Francisco Giants.

As a coincidence of scheduling, the trade only sent Dubon from one side of Wolff Stadium to the other. The Missions, the Triple-A farm club of the Brewers, are in the middle of a series against the Sacramento River Cats, the Triple-A farm club of the Giants.

Dubon batted second and played shortstop for the Missions on Tuesday against the River Cats. He batted second and played shortstop for the River Cats on Wednesday against the Missions.

Dubon didn’t have a notable night at the plate in his Sacramento debut. He was hit by a pitch in his first at-bat and went 0-for-3. But he had a slick defensive play catching a looping line drive late and the River Cats beat the Missions 5-2.

In the trade that sent Dubon to the Giants organization, the Brewers acquired veteran left-handed pitcher Drew Pomeranz and right-handed pitcher Ray Black.

  • Photo gallery: Mauricio Dubon with the Missions

    • Missions shortstop Mauricio Dubon traded to Giants

    Missions shortstop Mauricio Dubon playing at Wolff Stadium this season. - photo by Joe Alexander
    Missions shortstop Mauricio Dubon playing at Wolff Stadium this season. – photo by Joe Alexander
    The Major League Baseball trade deadline hit the San Antonio Missions on Wednesday afternoon.

    With less than an hour remaining before the 3 p.m. (Central) deadline, it was reported that Missions shortstop and Milwaukee Brewers prospect Mauricio Dubon was part of a deal between the Brewers and San Francisco Giants.

    Dubon played 98 games for the Missions this season, batting .297 and hitting 16 home runs.

    The 25-year-old from Honduras made a brief appearance with the Brewers this season, becoming the first native of Honduras to play in the majors.

    Dubon was originally drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2013.

    In Tuesday’s deadline trade, Dubon went to the Giants in exchange for pitchers Drew Pomeranz and Ray Black. The Brewers badly needed pitching for the stretch run. Dubon is likely to have more opportunity to play in the majors with the Giants as a middle infielder than he was with the Brewers.

    Jake Hager is slotted to start for the Missions tonight against the Sacramento River Cats at Wolff Stadium.

    Trent Grisham, Hernan Perez power Missions past River Cats in series opener

    Hernan Perez (left) and David Freitas celebrate after Perez's fifth-inning home run. The San Antonio Missions to beat the Sacramento River Cats 8-4 Tuesday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
    Hernan Perez (left) and David Freitas celebrate after Perez’s fifth-inning home run. The Missions beat the Sacramento River Cats 8-4 Tuesday at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe Alexander
    The San Antonio Missions had 12 hits including three home runs to beat the Sacramento River Cats 8-4 Tuesday at Wolff Stadium.

    Trent Grisham homered twice and hit for the cycle and Hernan Perez had two hits including a home run. Grisham has 13 home runs since moving up from Double-A on June 20. Perez had five home runs in the last eight games.

    David Freitas had two hits, walked once and scored twice.

    Corbin Burnes started on the mound for the Missions and went two innings. The plan is for him to get reliever type innings, so the short was expected.

    Thomas Jankins, usually a starter, had the longest stint on the mound. Jankins (10-3) went five innings and allowed three runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks to earn the win.

    Alex Wilson and Angel Perdomo pitched one inning each to finish the game.

    Missions’ Grisham hits for the cycle

    The Missions' Trent Grisham had five hits including two home runs on Tuesday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
    The Missions’ Trent Grisham had five hits including two home runs on Tuesday at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe Alexander
    Trent Grisham does more than just hit home runs.

    The San Antonio Missions center field continued his run of power hitting on Tuesday by leading off the bottom of the first inning with a home run. He added another in the second – his 13th homer in 34 games in Triple-A.

    His two longballs were part of a 12-hit attack by the Missions in an 8-4 victory over the Sacramento River Cats at Wolff Stadium.

    Grisham added an RBI single in the fourth inning and his eighth double of the season in the sixth inning.

    That left Grisham with the hard part – hitting a triple – when he walked to the plate in the bottom of the seventh. Grisham pulled a 2-1 pitch down the right-field line and into the corner and used his centerfielder speed to record his third triple since joining the Missions.

    For the night, Grisham went 5-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBIs. His batting average in Triple-A is a team-leading .381.

    Missions relief pitcher Miguel Sanchez

    Miguel Sanchez pitching for the Missions at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
    Miguel Sanchez pitching for the Missions at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe Alexander
    Miguel Sanchez has been one of the the most versatile pitchers on the San Antonio Missions’ staff this season.

    Primarily a reliever, Sanchez has started five games and also has one save. The 6-foot-3 right-hander has made 30 appearances, thrown 51 2/3 innings and has a 4.18 ERA.

    Sanchez has a 4-4 record. He earned the win in the Missions’ 10-3 road victory over the Omaha Storm Chasers on Friday by throwing 1 2/3 scoreless innings in relief.

    The 25-year-old from the Dominican Republic was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2016 while serving in the Dominican Air Force.

    Read the story from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
    From the Dominican Air Force to Brewers camp, pitcher Miguel Sánchez is soaring

    Missions’ Mauricio Dubon homers in back-to-back games

    Missions shortstop Mauricio Dubon playing against the Iowa Cubs on Thursday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
    Missions shortstop Mauricio Dubon playing against the Iowa Cubs on Thursday at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe Alexander
    Mauricio Dubon has hit 16 home runs this season.

    Two of those have come at Wolff Stadium in the San Antonio Missions’ last two games.

    Dubon had a 15-game hitting streak with the Missions from June 28 to July 20. During that stretch he was out of the San Antonio lineup from July 7 to July 13 while he was up with the Milwaukee Brewers.

    Back with San Antonio, he has 10 hits in the last 10 games. He is hitting .299 on the season.

    Brewers’ Travis Shaw has probably played his last game for the Missions

    Travis Shaw playing for the San Antonio Missions on Wednesday night at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
    Travis Shaw playing for the San Antonio Missions on Wednesday night at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe Alexander
    Travis Shaw didn’t play in Thursday night’s San Antonio Missions game against the Iowa Cubs.

    By Thursday afternoon, there were media reports that Shaw will be called back up by the Milwaukee Brewers.

    If all goes as expected, Wednesday night at Wolff Stadium was Shaw’s last game in a Missions uniform and he will be on the Brewers’ active roster on Friday night when they open a big three-game homestand against the Chicago Cubs.

    The 29-year-old infielder played 57 games with the Brewers this season. He hit .164 with six home runs. He was optioned to Triple-A San Antonio on June 28.

    Shaw’s hitting was coming back around in recent games with the Missions. In his last 10 games he hit .323 (10-of-31) with four home runs and 12 RBIs. During that stretch Shaw looked like he was seeing the ball well and was consistently hitting the ball hard.

    Last season with the Brewers, Shaw hit .241 with 32 home runs in 152 games.

    Brewers’ Jimmy Nelson pitches in relief for Missions

    The Brewers' Jimmy Nelson pitches for the San Antonio Missions on Wednesday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
    The Brewers’ Jimmy Nelson pitches for the San Antonio Missions on Wednesday at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe Alexander
    Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jimmy Nelson made an appearance with the San Antonio Missions on Wednesday at Wolff Stadium as part of a rehab assignement.

    Nelson entered the game in the sixth inning. He pitched 1 1/3 innings. He allowed two earned runs on four hits including a home run. He walked one batter and had no strikeouts.