210GAMEDAY.COM | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
The Missions managed only three hits and struck out 13 times.
Robbie Podorsky accounted for the Missions’ only run. The leadoff batter opened the game with a single, stole second and scored on a hit by Kyle Overstreet. That gave the Missions a 1-0 lead, but they managed only one more hit the rest of the way.
The Hooks recorded only five hits, but blasted three home runs including two by David Hensley.
The Hooks beat the Missions 4-2 to even the series after the Missions won Tuesday night’s season opener.
The Missions strung together three hits in the fifth inning to score twice. But the Missions only had one other hit the rest of the night, that coming in the ninth inning.
Juan Fernandez ignited the Missions’ fifth-inning rally with a leadoff single. Mat Batten followed with a double to put two runners in scoring position with no outs.
The Hooks got the next two batters on a ground out and a strikeout. Robbie Podorsky, who had four hits in Tuesday’s opener, came through again with a two-out single to center that brought in both Fernandez and Batten.
The Hooks went in front for on a two-run homer by Grae Kessinger that gave Corpus Christi a 3-2 lead.
Three Hooks pitchers combined to allow four hits while striking out 17 Missions batters.
Random observations:
Missions second baseman Eguy Rosario is listed at 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds. That’s probably how big he was when he signed his first contract as a teenager. I’m guessing he is more like 5-11 and 190 pounds. He has some muscle on him.
Podorsky is one of the smaller guys on the team and looks like a contact hitter. Two games is a small sample size, but so far he is the Missions’ most consistent batter at putting the ball in play. He has five hits and three RBIs while batting in the No. 9 spot.
Fernandez looks like a guy who has fun playing the game. I think he will be a fan favorite in San Antonio.
The sun angles at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi are very different from Wolff Stadium in San Antonio. At Whataburger, the right fielder is staring into the sun as it sets over the grandstand. At the Wolff, the left fielder is the one fighting the sun before it sets.
Four Missions pitchers worked one inning each in relief in the Missions’ 8-3 victory over the Corpus Christi Hooks on Tuesday.
Missions starter Reiss Knehr went five innings before turning things over to the bullpen with San Antonio leading 5-2.
Things didn’t look so promising right after Knehr left the game. The Hooks’ first batter of the sixth inning, David Hensley, hit a home run off of Sam Williams. That cut the Missions’ lead to 5-3. But the Hooks didn’t record a hit the rest of the night.
Williams, a 6-foot-3 left-hander, got through the sixth inning with no more damage, allowing one walk with one strikeout.
Carlos Belen pitched the seventh. The 6-1 right-hander from the Dominican Republic struck out two batters with no walks.
Tom Cosgrove pitched the eighth. The 6-2 left-hander also struck out two batters with no walks.
Pedro Avila closed out the game. The 5-11 right-hander from Venezuela pitched the bottom of the ninth with no hits, no strikeouts and no walks.
For the game the Missions’ relievers allowed one run on one hit with five strikeouts and one walk in four innings.
The San Antonio Missions won their first game game since September 2019, beating the Corpus Christi Hooks 8-3 on opening night in Corpus Christi.
The return to action meant fun to a sold out but socially distant crowd. For minor league players, it means a return to the journey they hope leads to the major leagues.
Missions starting pitcher Reiss Knehr went five innings and allowed two runs to get the win. He gave up three hits and struck out five batters with three walks.
Robbie Podorsky, the No. 9 batter in the Missions’ batting order, led the team with four hits and scored twice. Cather Juan Fernandez had three hits, CJ Abrams, the team’s top prospect, had two. In all, seven different Missions batters had hits as the Missions out-hit the Hooks 13-4.
CJ Abrams and Eguy Rosario were both part of 2021 big league spring training with the San Diego Padres.
The two young infielders spent February and March with the Padres’ stars and first team in Peoria, Arizona.
When the San Antonio Missions open the season tomorrow, things are in place for Abrams and Rosario to be anchoring the middle of the San Antonio defense.
The Missions released their 2021 opening day rosters today. Abrams, ranked the No. 2 prospect in the Padres organization, and Rosario, ranked No. 18, are both on the list.
Abrams is a 20-year-old shortstop from Georgia and a first-round pick by the Padres in the 2019 draft coming out of high school. He is 6-foot-2 and bats left-handed.
Abrams played in 32 games in rookie league and two games in Single A in 2019 and batted .393 with three home runs and 22 RBIs.
Rosario is a 21-year-old second baseman from the Dominican Republic and bats right-handed. He has played in the minors and winter league since being a 16-year-old in 2016.
Rosario spent three games with the San Antonio Missions in 2018 after being called up from High-A. In 2019, he batted .278 in High A in seven home runs and 72 RBIs in 122 games.
The Missions’ roster also includes five pitchers from the Padres’ top 30 prospects.
Right-hander Reggie Lawson is the top rated Padres pitching prospect on the Missions’ roster at No. 8.
Right-handed Missions pitcher Efrain Contreras is No. 16 on the Padres’ prospect list.
Right-handed pitcher Mason Fox is No. 22 on the Padres’ prospect list.
Right-handed pitcher Jordan Humphreys (no, not the former Longhorns receiver) is No. 24 on the Padres’ prospect list.
Lefty Osvaldo Hernandez is No. 29 on the Padres’ prospect list.
The Missions open the season Tuesday night in Corpus Christi, weather permitting.
All prospect rankings from MLB Pipeline at mlbcom
The San Antonio Missions open their season on the road Tuesday against the Corpus Christi Hooks.
The Missions and Hooks will play a six-game series running through Sunday.
The Missions are the Double A farm club of the San Diego Padres. The Hooks are the Double A farm club of the Houston Astros.
Here is a link to a story with the Hooks’ preliminary roster:
cchooks.com
Here is a link to the Missions’ preliminary roster on the team’s website:
samissions.com
Rosters are preliminary, but at least give us some idea of who we have a chance to see this season. The Missions’ list includes two pitchers on the Padres’ 40-man roster:
Jordan Humphreys
Reggie Lawson
The Hooks’ list includes three Astros top prospects:
Pedro León, utility
Hunter Brown, pitcher
Grae Kessinger, infielder
The San Diego Padres infielder had 3,195 at-bats in 891 games over seven seasons in the Korean Baseball Organization. He recorded a .294 career batting average with 133 home runs in the KBO.
Kim batted .306 in 2020 with a career-high 30 home runs in 138 games. He has batted better than .300 in three of the last four seasons.
The 24-year-old native of Korea was signed by the Padres as a free agent on Dec. 31, 2020.
Mateo spent time in the big leagues last summer with the San Diego Padres and saw action in 22 games during the covid-shortened season. He earned his spot on this year’s Padres roster by batting .316 in the just completed big league spring training.
Mateo is officially listed as a shortstop but can also play second base and outfield. Since the Padres currently have only three outfielders listed on their active roster, that could be where he has the most opportunity.
The 6-footer from the Dominican Republic came to the Padres organization June 30, 2020 in a deal with the Oakland A’s. He made his major league debut on Aug. 13, playing for the Padres in a road game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Mateo has eight years of minor-league experience, including the 2019 season in the Pacific Coast League. He batted .289 with 19 home runs, 14 triples and 29 doubles in 119 games with the Las Vegas Aviators on the A’s organzation.
Mateo played in the Double-A Texas League in 2017 for Midland of the Oakland A’s organization. He batted .292 in with four home runs in 22 games with Midland. Mateo came to the A’s on July 31, 2017, as part of a four-player trade with the New York Yankees.
The 21-year-old infielder from the Dominican Republic was in the the Padres’ 2021 big league spring training camp as a non-roster invitee. He batted .219 with two home runs in 22 spring training games.
Rosario saw limited action with the San Antonio Missions in 2018, playing in three games in the Double-A Texas League. He spent most of 2018 in the Class-A Cal League and batted .239 with nine home runs in 121 games.
Rosario played in the Class-A Cal League again in 2019, batting .278 with seven home runs, eight triples and 25 doubles in 122 games.
Shaw spent 42 games with the Missions and batted .285 with 12 home runs.
The Brewers and Shaw parted ways after that season. He spent 2020 with the Toronto Blue Jays, batting .239 in 50 games.
Shaw is back with the Brewers in spring training this year. He played in 17 spring games and is projected to be the Brewers’ main third baseman when the season opens on Thursday.
The 6-foot-4 Shaw bats left-handed and throws right-handed. He has hit 105 career home runs in six seasons the majors. He spent three seasons with the Brewers and hit 31 home runs in 2017 and 32 home runs in 2018.
