Missions pitchers Adrian Martinez, Osvaldo Hernandez dominate in sweep of Cardinals

San Antonio Missions right fielder Jack Suwinski had three hits Saturday including his 15th home run of the season. - photo by Joe Alexander
San Antonio Missions right fielder Jack Suwinski had three hits Saturday including his 15th home run of the season.
San Antonio Missions pitchers Adrian Martinez and Osvaldo Hernandez started combined shutouts in both halves of a doubleheader Saturday at Wolff Stadium.

The Missions won both seven-inning games 2-0.

Jack Suwinski scored three of the Missions’ four runs on the day. He went 3-for-4 in the doubleheader with his team-leading 15th home run, a walk and a hit-by-pitch.

The six-game series concludes on Sunday with a 6:05 p.m. first pitch.

FIRST GAME

Martinez (6-3) went six innings in the first game, allowing two hits with three strikeouts. Jose Quezada pitched the seventh for his 10th save of the season

Eguy Rosario led off the bottom of the first inning with his ninth home run. The Missions’ other run also came in the first when Kyle Overstreet drove in Suwinski.

SECOND GAME

Hernandez (3-6) went 5 2/3 innings in the second game, leaving with a 2-0 lead and a runner on second base. Pedro Avila got the final out of the sixth inning and retired the Cardinals in order in the seventh for his second save.

Suwinski hit a solo shot in the second inning. Allen Cordoba doubled in Suwinski in the bottom of the fourth for the second run.

Jordan Humphreys gets 1st win, Michael Curry homers as Missions blank Cardinals

San Antonio Missions starter Jordan Humphreys was the winning pitcher in Friday's victory over the Springfield Cardinals at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions starter Jordan Humphreys was the winning pitcher in Friday’s victory over the Springfield Cardinals at Wolff Stadium.
Jordan Humphreys pitched five scoreless innings to start off a combined shutout as the San Antonio Missions beat the Springfield Cardinals 4-0 on Friday at Wolff Stadium.

Brandon Komar went the next 2.0 innings, James Reeves pitched 2/3 of an inning and Nick Kuzia closed out the final 1 1/3 innings and picked up his his third save.

Kuzia entered the game in the eighth with the bases loaded and two outs and struck out the first batter he faced. He retired the Cardinals in order in the ninth.

The Missions’ scoring came on Jose Azocar’s two-run double off the wall in left in the third inning and Michael Curry’s third home run of the year coming with a runner on base in the fourth. Azocar has 12 hits in the last eight games and is batting .387 over that stretch.

Curry entered the game as a replacement after Dwanya Williams-Sutton limped off following what looked like a near collision with Eguy Rosario as they went after a shallow fly ball.

Jose Azocar, Eguy Rosario homer as Missions take first game of doubleheader

San Antonio Missions teammates celebrate after Jose Azocar (13) hit a three-run homer in the second inning of a 6-1 victory over the Amarillo Sod Poodles on Sunday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions teammates celebrate at home plate after Jose Azocar (13) hit a three-run homer in the second inning of a 6-1 victory over Amarillo on Sunday at Wolff Stadium.
The San Antonio Missions got two early home runs on the way to beating the Amarillo Sod Poodles 6-1 Sunday in the first game of a doubleheader at Wolff Stadium.

Missions starter Adrian Martinez (4-3) pitched six of the seven innings and allowed one run for the win. Over his last two starts he has pitched 12 innings and allowed one run combined while earning wins in both games.

Michael Curry started the Missions’ scoring with a two-run single in the second inning. Jose Azocar hit his fifth home run of the season later in the inning, good for three runs and a 5-0 Missions lead.

Eguy Rosario’s seventh home run of the season was a solo shot in the third inning and put the Missions up 6-0.

Amarillo’s Matt Tabor pitched a seven-inning no-hitter in the second game, a 6-0 Sod Poodles victory.

Juan Fernandez, Ben Ruta, Eguy Rosario key Missions’ ninth-inning rally

The San Antonio Missions shower Juan Fernandez with ice water after he had the game-winning hit Wednesday night at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
The Missions shower Juan Fernandez with ice water after he had the game-winning hit Wednesday night at Wolff Stadium.
The San Antonio Missions walked off the Amarillo Sod Poodles for the second straight night.

The Missions got three key hits to score twice in the bottom of the ninth and beat the Sod Poodles 7-6 Wednesday at Wolff Stadium.

Juan Fernandez ended it with a single through the right side with the bases loaded, two outs and the game tied in the ninth. That brought Eguy Rosario home and started a celebration that concluded with Fernandez getting doused with ice water by his teammates.

The Missions trailed 4-1 early in the game and rallied to take a 5-4 lead. The Sod Poodles scored two runs in the top of the ninth to lead 6-5.

Ben Ruta, in his second game with the Missions, led off the bottom of the ninth with a double. Ruta scored on Rosario’s single to tie it 6-6. Rosario ended up at second base when the Sod Poodles threw home to try to get Ruta. Rosario went to third on Kyle Overstreet’s ground out.

Jack Suwinski and Yorman Rodriguez drew intentional walks to load the bases and Allen Cordoba popped out to set up a two-out situation. That brought Fernandez to the plate with his chance to win it.

The Missions got strong relief pitching as they worked their way back from an early deficit. Brandon Komar took over in the fourth inning and threw four scoreless innings. Carlos Belen retired the Sod Poodles in order in the eighth inning and struck out two batters.

The Missions’ early runs came on an RBI single by Cordoba in the bottom of the second inning, a Suwinski sacrifice fly in the third, Ruta scored on a wild pitch in the third, and an RBI double by Jose Azocar and a sacrifice fly by Ruta in the fourth.

Missions rally but fall short against Hooks

Henry Henry pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless innings of relief for the San Antonio Missions on Sunday night at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
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.

Adrian Martinez unhittable in return to starter’s role as Missions win 2nd straight

Adrian Martinez started on the mound for the Missions and held the Hooks hitless for six innings Friday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Adrian Martinez started on the mound for the Missions and held the Hooks hitless for six innings Friday at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe Alexander
Adrian 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.

CJ Abrams hurt as Missions lose 8th straight

San Antonio Missions shortstop CJ Abrams is helped off the field in the ninth inning Wednesday night, June 30, 2021, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
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, June 30, 2021, with the San Antonio Missions at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Joe Beimel made his season debut on Wednesday with the Missions at Wolff Stadium.

Jack Suwinski, Missions rally past Naturals

San Antonio Missions left fielder Jack Suwinski drove in two runs including the game-winner in the bottom of the seventh in a 6-5 win over the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Saturday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions left fielder Jack Suwinski drove in two runs including the game-winner in the bottom of the seventh in a 6-5 win over the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Saturday at Wolff Stadium.
Jack Suwinski had three hits and drove in San Antonio’s first and last runs of the game as the Missions beat the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 6-5 on Saturday night at Wolff Stadium.

The Missions wore uniforms commemorating the San Antonio Black Aces of the Negro Leagues.

Northwest Arkansas led 3-0 in the middle of the sixth inning and 5-3 in the middle of the seventh. The Missions did all their scoring in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings with three runs in each frame.

Suwinski drove in Eguy Rosario with the Missions’ first run in the bottom of the sixth. Dwanya Williams-Sutton drove in Kyle Overstreet and Suwinski later in the inning to tie the game 3-3.

A Naturals error in the bottom of the seventh allowed Rosario to reach base and Chandler Seagle to score. Overstreet singled in Rosario from second to tie the game 5-5. Chris Givin pinch ran for Overstreet and Suwinski drove him in.

Suwinski’s game-winning double was the only extra-base hit of the game for the Missions, who finished with nine hits.

Reliever Nick Kuzia entered the game in the seventh. He pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings and got his first win of the season in 10 relief appearances. Jose Quezada pitched the ninth inning and picked up his eighth save of the season.

The Missions have won their last two games and seven of their last nine. The six-game Missions-Naturals series concludes Sunday with a 2:05 p.m. start.

CJ Abrams, Aaron Leasher help Missions get back on track to beat Naturals

San Antonio Missions shortstop CJ Abrams had four hits against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Friday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
San Antonio Missions shortstop CJ Abrams had four hits against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Friday at Wolff Stadium.
The San Antonio Missions combined strong starting pitching from Aaron Leasher with 17 hits to beat the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 14-6 on Friday at Wolff Stadium.

Leasher (4-2) pitched 5.0 innings. He allowed one run on two hits and struck out five to earn the win.

Highly regarded San Diego Padres prospect CJ Abrams led the Missions on offense with four hits, including two doubles, four RBIs and two runs scored.

Dwanya Williams-Sutton, in his second game with the Missions, had four hits and an RBI and scored three runs. Those were his first hits and first runs scored above the Class A level.

Eguy Rosario had two hits, including his second triple of the season, and three RBIs. He is batting .333 (12-of-36) in the current homestand.

Chandler Seagle had two hits, both doubles, two RBIs and three runs scored.

The Missions had been on a hot streak before losing the previous two games against the Naturals. The six-game series continues Saturday night and concludes with a 2:05 p.m. game Sunday.

Jack Suwinski, Missions stay hot in series opener against Naturals

Eguy Rosario slides into home to score the San Antonio Missions' first run of the game. The Missions beat the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 5-3 on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Eguy Rosario slides into home to score the Missions’ first run of the game.
Tuesday night in San Antonio followed a familiar pattern, and that’s a good thing for the Missions.

Jack Suwinski hit his 11th home run of the season and the Missions piled up 10 hits to beat the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 5-3 at Wolff Stadium in the opener of a six-game series.

The Missions have won five in a row and eight of their last nine. Suwinski has four home runs in the last three games.

Eguy Rosario had three hits and scored twice for the Missions and leadoff batter Jose Azocar had two hits and scored a run.

Rosario scored a rather unusual run in the bottom of the second inning. He broke from second base to steal third at the same moment as a wild pitch, allowing Rosario to come all the way around for the first run of the game.

Missions third baseman Allen Cordoba, in just his third game of the season, had a hit and a walk. He has had a hit or a walk or both in all three games. He also took a hard hit ball off his leg at or near his knee that was clearly painful, but he stayed in the game.

Missions starting pitcher Reggie Lawson, in his second game of the season, went two scoreless innings and struck out two batters. There was a rain delay after the second inning and he did not return, but wasn’t expected to make a long appearance.

Adrian Martinez, who has been a starter most of the season, pitched five innings and earned the win (2-3). He allowed three runs on four hits with five strikeouts.

Henry Henry pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Tom Cosgrove pitched the ninth to pick up his first save of the season.