210GAMEDAY.COM | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
The Missions created the Flying Chanclas uniforms as an alternative last season.
The Missions won the previous two games in the series with ninth-inning rallies.
The Missions briefly led after scoring three runs in the bottom of the second inning to take a 3-2 lead. Nate Orf had an RBI double, Cory Spangenberg had an RBI single and Jacob Nottingham had an RBI double.
The Redbirds tied it 3-3 with a run in the top of the third and took the lead with three runs in the top of the seventh.
For the second straight night, Dubon came through with a walk-off hit.
Dubon’s single to left with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth gave the San Antonio Missions a 6-5 victory over the Memphis Redbirds on Wednesday at Wolff Stadium.
The night before, the Missions won on his two-run hit in the bottom of the ninth.
This time the Missions went into the ninth inning tied 5-5. Cory Spangenberg led off the bottom of the inning with a double. Jacob Nottingham followed with a walk. Corey Ray walked with one out.
That brought Dubon to the plate. His hit to left field drove in Spangenberg with the game-ending run.
With Wednesday’s clutch hit, Dubon is 2-for-2 with 3 RBIs in the the ninth inning of the Missions’ two home games.
Roster update: The Missions added pitcher Taylor Williams, No. 21, right-hander, 5-foot-11, 195 pounds, Vancouver, WA, spent last season in Milwaukee (MLB) and Colorado Springs (AAA).
The game was the 2019 home opener for the Missions and their first game in San Antonio as a Triple-A team.
Missions shortstop Mauricio Dubon had the winning hit with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.
Missions third baseman Lucas Erceg, who had two home runs and drive in three runs earlier in the game, scored the tieing run and Jake Hager scored the winning run.
The Redbirds took a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the ninth.
Erceg walked to lead off the bottom of the ninth. Pinch-hitter Jake Hager produced a one-out single. Erceg and Hager advanced to third and second on a wild pitch.
Dubon came up with two outs and lashed a hit to center to drive in Erceg and Hager and end the game.
Brown pitched in 22 games, 21 starts, last season at Double-A Biloxi. He had a 9-1 record with a 2.44 ERA.
Tonight’s game is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. – weather permitting. The Missions and Dodgers split their first two games of the season. The Dodgers won 4-3 on Friday night.
The Missions and OKC Dodgers play again tonight at 7:05 p.m.
It was San Antonio’s first game in Triple-A.
Tyrone Taylor scored the Missions’ historic first run in Triple-A.
Taylor led off the second inning with a home run off of pitcher Clayton Kershaw. The Missions’ Troy Stokes scored later in the inning to give the Missions a 2-0 lead.
Kershaw, a Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, was starting for Oklahoma City on a rehab assignment.
The same teams meet again Friday night at 7:05 p.m. in Oklahoma City.
This is the Missions’ first season in Triple-A. The team is now a farm club of the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Missions’ first home game is April 9 at Wolff Stadium.
The Missions are coming off a stretch as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres.
“It should be better baseball – fewer mistakes, both mental and physical mistakes,” new Missions manager Rick Sweet said. “You’ll see older guys come through here.
“It’s a different ballgame here at times mostly because of the older players, veteran players.”
The Brewers’ Triple-A team moved to San Antonio from Colorado Springs. That leads to warmer weather at the beginning of the season and, of course, hotter weather late in the year.
“We’re very happy to be here,” Sweet said. “I’ve been in the game 45 years and I’ve never got to spend an extended time in Texas. I hear everything is bigger and better here so I’m looking forward to it.”
One of the biggest differences between Double-A and Triple-A is that as you go the next step up, you are only one step away from playing in the major leagues. Players can potentially be at Wolff Stadium one day and wearing a Milwaukee Brewers uniform the next.
“You’ll see guys with major league experience that have major league expectations,” Sweet said. “Once you get to Triple-A you’re this far away, you’re a hair away from that phone call.
“When you’re this close in Triple-A, it happens all the time.”
The list included:
Keston Hiura, infielder, No. 18, former 1st-round draft pick.
Corey Ray, outfielder, No. 9, former 1st-round draft pick.
Zack Brown, right-handed pitcher, No. 33, former 5th-round draft pick.
All three spent time last season with the Milwaukee Brewers’ Double-A team in Biloxi, Miss.
The Missions open the season – their first in Triple-A – on the road Thursday.
They got in some fielding and hitting work at Wolff Stadium before their opening five-game series in Oklahoma City.
The Missions play their first home game on April 9 – which is the first Two Dollar Tuesday promotion of the season.
