Ben Ruta made his Missions debut and played left field in Tuesday’s victory over Amarillo at Wolff Stadium.Ben Ruta and Kelvin Melean both saw their first action in San Antonio Missions uniforms on Tuesday night at Wolff Stadium.
Ruta started the season in Triple-A El Paso, where he hit .200 in 37 games. The 27-year-old outfielder was a 30th-round draft pick by the New York Yankees in 2016.
Melean played in 42 games and batted .272 this season at Class A Fort Wayne, and also played in one game with El Paso. The 22-year-old from Venezuela was signed by the San Diego Padres to a minor league contract in July 2015.
Ruta had one hit, one RBI and two walks as the Missions beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 5-4 in 10 innings on Tuesday. He batted second and played left field.
Melean had one hit and scored once. He batted eighth and played second base.
Allen Cordoba (left) and Jose Azocar celebrate after Azocar drove in Cordoba with the winning run with two outs in the 10th inning.Allen Cordoba drove in the tying run in the 10th inning and then scored the game-winner on a hit by Jose Azocar as the San Antonio Missions beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 5-4 Tuesday at Wolff Stadium.
The game was tied 3-3 after nine innings. The Sod Poodles scored in the top of the 10th to take a 4-3 lead.
Cordoba led off the bottom of the 10th with Juan Fernandez on second base. Cordoba doubled to bring in Fernandez and tie it 4-4. Cordoba got to third base on a passed ball.
Azocar’s hit to center brought Cordoba home from third to end the game.
In between Cordoba’s hit and Azocar’s hit, there was plenty of drama. Kelvin Melean lined out for the first out of the inning. Chandler Seagle was called out on strikes – then both Seagle and Missions manager Phillip Wellman were ejected from the game.
That left Cordoba on third base with two outs when Azocar came up to finish it off.
In addition to his winning hit, Azocar also scored two runs.
San Antonio Missions starting pitcher Aaron Leasher didn’t get a decision but had another strong outing. He went six innings and allowed one run on two hits with eight strikeouts and one walk. It was his sixth start in a row when he went at least five innings and allowed either zero or one earned run.
Nick Kuzia (2-4) pitched the ninth and 10th innings for the Missions and got the win.
Henry Henry pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief for the Missions on Sunday at Wolff Stadium.What started out as a real mess turned out to be competitive and entertaining – but still a loss for the San Antonio Missions.
After trailing 9-0 Sunday night, the Missions closed to within a run late. The Corpus Christi Hooks hung on for a 10-8 victory at Wolff Stadium.
The Missions’ last surge came in the bottom of the eighth. Chandler Seagle and Jack Suwinski both hit two-RBI singles to trim the lead to 9-8.
The Hooks took control of the game with five runs in the top of the first and four more in the top of the third to go up 9-0.
The Missions whittled away at the lead starting in the bottom of the third, when Jose Azocar hit a two-run homer and Allen Cordoba had a sacrifice fly. Yorman Rodriguez singled in Eguy Rosario in the bottom of the fifth to cut it to 9-4.
The Missions got some solid relief pitching as they closed the gap. Henry Henry entered the game in the third inning and pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings with one hit and two strikeouts. Carlos Belen held the Hooks scoreless in the seventh and eighth innings and recorded one strikeout.
Allen Cordoba – San Antonio Missions
Allen Cordoba – San Antonio Missions
Eguy Rosario – San Antonio Missions
Yorman Rodriguez – San Antonio Missions
Jack Suwinski – San Antonio Missions
Carlos Belen – San Antonio Missions
Jose Azocar – San Antonio Missions
Jack Suwinski – San Antonio Missions
Chandler Seagle, Jose Azocar – San Antonio Missions
San Antonio Missions shortstop and San Diego Padres prospect CJ Abrams playing against the Corpus Christi Hooks on Wednesday at Wolff Stadium.CJ Abrams made highlight plays this season as a batter, base stealer and infielder for the San Antonio Missions.
Abrams left Wednesday night’s game at Wolff Stadium after colliding with teammate Eguy Rosario while both were going after a ground ball up the middle.
It appears that was Abrams’ final game of the summer. Media covering the San Diego Padres reported on Sunday that he was diagnosed with a season-ending injury.
Missions outfielder Michael Curry hits a two-run homer down the left-field line in the fifth inning against Corpus Christi on Saturday at Wolff Stadium.Michael Curry has a July Fourth birthday.
That means if he is in the San Antonio Missions’ lineup on Sunday, he has a chance to celebrate his birthday with a home run for the third day in a row.
On Friday, Curry scored the Missions’ first run of the game with a solo homer. He followed that up on Saturday with a two-run shot for the Missions’ first runs of the game.
The Missions also got a combined shutout from Osvaldo Hernandez, James Reeves and Nick Kuzia for their third-straight victory, beating the Corpus Christi Hooks 3-0 Saturday at Wolff Stadium.
Curry turns 24 on Sunday. He hit his two-run shot on Saturday in the fifth inning with Yorman Rodriguez on base.
Hernandez went into Saturday’s game with a 1-4 record. Making his 11th start of the season, he pitched six innings and allowed four hits with four strikeouts and no walks to earn his second win.
Reeves held the Hooks hitless in the seventh and eighth innings, striking out five of the six batters he faced and lowering his ERA to 1.02. Kuzia pitched the ninth to pick up his second save of the season.
Olivier Basabe brought home the Missions’ other run of the game when he bunted in Rodriguez in the seventh inning. Rodriguez, in addition to scoring twice, also had three hits.
The Missions wrap up their six-game home series against the Hooks on Sunday. The Missions are off Monday and play six more home games against Amarillo beginning Tuesday.
Adrian Martinez started on the mound for the Missions and held the Hooks hitless for six innings Friday at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe AlexanderAdrian Martinez was a starter for the San Antonio Missions early in the season.
More recently, he was coming in a few innings later when the Missions used Reggie Lawson like an opener.
Martinez was back to being a starter on Friday night. The 6-foot-2 right-hander from Mexico pitched six hitless innings and struck out nine batters.
The Missions beat the Corpus Christi Hooks 3-1 at Wolff Stadium. The Missions have a modest two-game winning streak after going through a rough stretch that included a winless road series against Frisco.
Martinez (3-3) got the win. Mason Fox and Henry Henry followed with one inning each on the mound. Joe Beimel threw a 1-2-3 inning in the ninth for his first save of the season in only his second appearance, both coming this week.
Combined, the four Missions pitchers held the Hooks to two hits and two walks while striking out 10.
Missions batters had only four hits, but came through at the right time and took advantage of two Hooks errors.
Michael Curry hit his first home run of the season in the third inning for the Missions’ first run of the game.
Jack Suwinski smoked a ground ball down the first base line to drive in Jose Azocar in the fifth. Eguy Rosario scored in the eighth on a Juan Fernandez bunt combined with a Hooks error.
Michael Curry, Phillip Wellman – San Antonio Missions
Missions starting pitcher Reiss Knehr got the win in Thursday’s second game at Wolff Stadium.Reiss Knehr pitched five scoreless innings and led off a combined seven-inning shutout as the San Antonio Missions beat the Corpus Christi Hooks 3-0 in the second game of a doubleheader Thursday at Wolff Stadium.
The victory ended a nine-game Missions losing streak. The Hooks won Thursday’s first game 5-2.
Knehr (6-1) leads Missions pitchers in wins. He allowed two hits and struck out seven in five innings. James Reeves pitched the sixth. Nick Kuzia pitched the seventh for his first save of the season.
Jose Azocar’s broken bat single to left drove in Olivier Basabe and Chandler Seagle with the first runs of the game in the bottom of the third. Azocar also made a couple of catches against the fence later in the game.
Basabe, getting a start at second base with CJ Abrams out, drove in Allen Cordoba with the Missions’ final run in the bottom of the fourth. Abrams, who left Wednesday’s game after a collision with a teammate, did not see action in either game Thursday.
Missions center fielder Jose Azocar tracks down a fly ball on the warning track in Thursday’s second game at Wolff Stadium.
Joe Beimel, a 44-year-old who has pitched in 676 games in the majors, made his season debut on Wednesday night with the Missions at Wolff Stadium.Joe Beimel was drafted as a college player by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1998 – before some of his current San Antonio Missions teammates were born.
The 6-foot-3 left-hander pitched 917 games over his career in the minors and majors that ended in 2016 – until this week. The San Diego Padres signed Beimel to a minor-league contract on June 13 and assigned him to the Missions on Monday.
Wednesday night in the eighth inning at Wolff Stadium, Beimel walked out to the mound as part of a major league organization for the first time in five years. The 44-year-old pitched a 1-2-3 inning with one strikeout in a Double-A game, a Missions loss to the Corpus Christi Hooks.
Wednesday’s game was a possible first step back to the majors.
Beimel orignally made his pro debut in the minor leagues in rookie league in 1998 and made his Major League debut with the Pirates in 2001.
Over the next 15 years, he pitched in 676 games in the majors, all but 23 of those in relief. He spent time with the Pirates, Twins, Rays, Dodgers, Rockies, Nationals, Pirates (again) and Mariners. Beimel has a 29-34 record with five saves and a 4.06 ERA for his career.
Beimel’s final season in the majors was 2015, when he pitched in 53 games in relief with the Mariners.
In 2016 he pitched in 12 games for Triple-A Omaha. And that is where his career statistics ended – until Wednesday night.
Missions shortstop CJ Abrams is helped off the field in the ninth inning Wednesday at Wolff Stadium.San Antonio Missions star CJ Abrams left Wednesday’s game in the top of the ninth inning as the team lost to the Corpus Christi Hooks 4-0 at Wolff Stadium.
Abrams is one of the top prospects in the San Diego Padres organization. The 20-year-old shortstop collided with second baseman Eguy Rosario on a ground ball up the middle. Abrams was not putting any weight on his left leg as he was helped off the field.
The Missions’ offense managed only two hits on the night. It was the eighth-straight loss for the Missions, who were swept in their recent six-game road series against the Frisco RoughRiders.
There were some positive signs from the San Antonio pitching. Starter Aaron Leasher (4-3) took the loss, but pitched five innings and allowed one run on six hits with five strikeouts.
Former big league pitcher Joe Beimel made his season debut, going one scoreless inning in relief in the eighth. Beimel last pitched in the majors with the Seattle Mariners in 2015.
Joe Beimel made his season debut on Wednesday with the Missions at Wolff Stadium.
Jose Azocar of the Missions points to a teammate after scoring against Midland on June 11, at Wolff Stadium.Jose Azocar has settled into his spot as the San Antonio Missions’ leadoff hitter and center fielder.
The 25-year-old from Venezuela is currently on a seven-game hitting streak, batting 12-of-28 (.429) during that stretch including a home run Thursday night in Frisco.
Azocar is batting .276 on the season and has a .361 on-base percentage with three home runs, 18 RBIs and 21 walks in 44 games.
He was signed as a free agent to a minor league contract by the San Diego Padres in November 2020 after being in the Detroit Tigers Organization.
