Missions outfielder Trent Grisham hits an eighth-inning home run against the Round Rock Express on Friday at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe AlexanderTrent Grisham was leading the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers in home runs before he was promoted.
The 2015 first-round draft pick by the Milwaukee Brewers accelerated his home run rate when he reached Triple-A. He hit home runs in his first three games, all on the road, with the San Antonio Missions.
Friday night he played centerfield and hit his first home run at Wolff Stadium, the Missions’ home field. That was one of only four Missions hits in a 9-2 loss to the Round Rock Express.
The Fort Worth native is batting .286 with four home runs after seven games with the Missions.
Grisham, a 6-foot, 205-pound left-hander, played 63 games with the Shuckers this season and hit .254 with 13 home runs.
The Missions’ Keston Hiura, shown earlier this season, is expected to officially be called up by the Brewers on Friday. – photo by Joe AlexanderOn a night when the San Antonio Missions combined stellar pitching with couple of home runs, the biggest story was two players who weren’t at Thursday’s game.
Keston Hiura and Tyler Saladino packed their bags before the game and left Wolff Stadium. Next stop, the big leagues.
The Milwaukee Brewers are expected to announce on Friday that Hiura and Saladino are being called up. Both have spent time with the Brewers earlier this season. Speculation about when Hiura would be called back up has been constant since he was sent back to San Antonio.
Apparently the call came Thursday afternoon. Both players were at batting practice at Wolff Stadium. At about 4:20 p.m. Central time, Hiura walked off the field as teammates waved at him.
A short time after that a member of the gameday staff reported that Saladino had exited the stadium. A team official confirmed both players were headed up.
Hiura hit .329 in 57 games in Triple-A with a team-high 19 home runs. Saladino hit .288 in 67 games and was second on the team in homers with 14.
The Missions’ Tyler Saladino, shown earlier this season, is expected to officially be called up by the Brewers on Friday. – photo by Joe Alexander
By the way, Missions win
The Missions beat the Round Rock Express 3-0 on Thursday at Wolff Stadium.
Lucas Erceg and Jake Hager both homered for the Missions. Nate Orf drove in the other run.
Missions starting pitcher Burch Smith (6-3) went six innings and got the win. He allowed one hit with seven strikeouts and four walks. Deolis Guerra, Donnie Hart and Taylor Williams each pitched one inning in the combined shutout.
Missions starter Burch Smith pitched six innings and got the win against the Express on Thursday night at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe Alexander
Corbin Burns started for the Missions and pitched two scoreless innings on Wednesday at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe AlexanderRight-handed pitcher Corbin Burns started for the Missions on Wednesday in his first game since being sent down from the Milwaukee Brewers.
Burns had been used mostly as a reliever by the Brewers. Media reports from Milwaukee before the game indicated he would still throw limited innings in San Antonio.
Burns pitched two strong scoreless innings and struck out two batters in a 4-2 loss to the Round Rock Express at Wolff Stadium. He did not allow any hits or walks. He threw 24 pitches, 17 for strikes.
The Missions’ only runs came on a two-run homer by Troy Stokes Jr. in the fourth inning.
Corbin Burns
Corbin Burns
Corbin Burns
Corbin Burns
Corbin Burns
Corbin Burns
Troy Stokes Jr. and Nate Orf celebrate after both players scored on Stokes’ fourth-inning home run. – photo by Joe Alexander
Missions second baseman Keston Hiura playing against the Tacoma Rainiers on Wednesday at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe AlexanderKeston Hiura made his major league debut after being called up by the Milwaukee Brewers on May 14.
The Brewers needed reinforcements when injuries left the big league club short-handed in the infield.
Hiura showed he could hold his own, batting .281 with five home runs in 17 games.
But once Travis Shaw returned to the Brewers from an injury and rehab assignment, Hiura was optioned back to the Triple-A San Antonio Missions on June 3. The Missions were on the road at the time.
On Wednesday night, for the first time since his stint with the Brewers, Hiura was back playing on the Missions’ home field at Wolff Stadium.
He drew a media crowd before the game when he did a group interview in the Missions’ dugout. Then he had a hit and drove in a run in Wednesday’s 4-2, 10-inning loss to the Tacoma Rainiers.
In 43 games with the Missions this season, Hiura leads the team in home runs with 13, is second in batting at .331 and third in RBIs with 31.
Michael O’Neill playing for the San Antonio Missions at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe AlexanderMichael O’Neill joined Triple-A San Antonio on May 26 when the Missions were short on outfielders.
Through eight games, O’Neill is hitting .240 with two RBIs.
The 26-year-old right-hander started the season in Double-A Biloxi, where he batted .290 with four home runs in 45 games.
This is O’Neill’s seventh season of pro baseball, all in the minors. He was drafted by the New York Yankees in 2013.
He spent most of last year in the Texas League, including playing against the then-Double-A Missions. He hit .255 with 12 home runs and 39 RBIs in 121 games for the Texas Rangers’ farm club in Frisco. He became a free agent at the end of the season.
O’Neill was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers to a minor league contract on March 9.
Burch Smith pitching on June 1 at Wolff Stadium in his last start with the San Antonio Missions before being called up by the Milwaukee Brewers. – photo by Joe AlexanderBurch Smith pitched in eight games for the San Antonio Missions in the first two months of the season.
Smith was recalled by the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.
In Triple-A this season, Smith made eight starts and recorded a 3-2 record with a 2.45 ERA. The 6-foot-4 right-hander pitched 40 1/3 innings and allowed 11 earned runs on 27 hits with 45 strikeouts and 20 walks.
Jacob Barnes pitches for the Missions at Wolff Stadium on May 7. – photo by Joe AlexanderSan Antonio Missions pitcher Jacob Barnes was recalled by the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.
Barnes appeared in eight games for the Missions, all in relief. He had a 1-0 record with a 1.23 ERA. He converted in his only save opportunity.
The 6-foot-2 right-hander pitched in 16 games with the Brewers this season.
Barnes has made the move up and down between the majors and Triple-A a couple of times in 2019. He was optioned to the Missions on May 2. He was called back up to the Brewers on May 12. He was optioned to the Missions again on May 18.
Travis Shaw batting for the Missions at Wolff Stadium in his final game before returning to the Brewers. – photo by Joe AlexanderThe San Antonio Missions beat the Omaha Storm Chasers 8-3 Sunday at Wolff Stadium to earn a split of the four-game series.
The game marked the final appearance in a Missions uniform for the Milwaukee Brewers’ Travis Shaw. He was rehabbing from an injury.
Shaw was 1-of-2 and walked while batting second as the designated hitter. Shaw played in 10 games with San Antonio and batted .235 with one home run.
David Freitas, Troy Stokes Jr. and Jake Hager had two RBIs each for the Missions on Sunday.
Missions starting pitcher Thomas Jankins (4-2) got the win. He went five innings and gave up two earned runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and no walks.
Roster moves
Missions right-handed pitcher Jacob Barnes was called up by the Brewers.
Missions right-handed pitcher Taylor Williams was called up by the Brewers.
Catcher Jacob Nottingham has been optioned from the Brewers back to the Missions.
The San Antonio Missions’ Aaron Wilkerson pitches against the Omaha Storm Chasers on Friday at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe AlexanderLast night in Pittsburgh, Milwaukee Brewers starter Jhoulys Chacín gave up seven earned runs in less than three innings in a 9-4 loss to the Pirates.
Before leaving in the bottom of the third inning, Chacín walked three men with the bases loaded.
Chacín, 3-7 on the season, went 0-4 in the month of May in five starts.
Last night in Triple-A, the San Antonio Missions’ Aaron Wilkerson threw seven scoreless innings and allowed one hit with six strikeouts and three walks.
Obviously, it’s a significant difference between playing in the bigs and the Pacific Coast League.
And in Wilkerson’s time with the Brewers earlier this season, he didn’t exactly tear it up. Wilkerson appeared in three games with Milwaukee and gave up six earned runs in 7 1/3 innings.
But since coming back to San Antonio, he has gotten in a groove and dominated. Here are his last three starts in the Pacific Coast League when he had three wins and gave up no earned runs:
May 31, San Antonio def. Omaha 3-0
win, 7.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 6 SO, 3 BB
May 25, San Antonio def. Memphis 4-0
win, 5.2 IP, 0R, 0 ER, 3 H, 8 SO, 2 BB
May 19, San Antonio def. Memphis 9-3
win, 6.0 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 7 SO, 1 BB
In all, the 6-foot-3 right-hander from Fort Worth has pitched in five games with San Antonio since coming back from Milwaukee. He has allowed one earned run in 28 innings in that stretch with 13 hits, 25 strikeouts and 9 walks.
Whether Wilkerson goes back up to Milwaukee in the near future will depend as much on the health and performance of the Brewers’ pitching staff as it does on his own stats.
For the time being, down in San Antonio, Wilkerson is doing his part.
More on Wilkerson and Travis Shaw
Jerry Briggs of samissions.com takes a look at Travis Shaw and Aaron Wilkerson playing in San Antonio: Story on milb.com
The Brewers’ Travis Shaw playing for the Missions against Omaha on Friday at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe Alexander Travis Shaw had three hits including a solo home run on Friday in the San Antonio Missions’ 3-0 victory over the Omaha Storm Chasers at Wolff Stadium.
The Milwaukee Brewers infielder is with Triple-A San Antonio on a rehab assignment while coming back from a wrist injury. On Friday, he was 3-for-3 with a walk.
Shaw is hitting .438 (7-of-16) over his last five games with the Missions.
He is expected to rejoin the Brewers after the Missions’ current four-game series, which concludes Sunday.
