Missions 2021 statistical notes on players like Jack Suwinski, Eguy Rosario, Reiss Knehr, Allen Cordoba, Esteury Ruiz

Esteury Ruiz slides into home with the San Antonio Missions' second run of the game in Tuesday's season-opening victory over the Corpus Christi Hooks. - photo by Joe Alexander
Esteury Ruiz slides into home with the Missions’ second run of the game on May 4 in the 2021 season-opening victory over the Corpus Christi Hooks.
Watching the local team’s star players move on is a part of minor league baseball that is fun, gratifying and frustrating.

One example of what the San Antonio Missions lost this season:

– Jack Suwinski led the team in home runs with 15. The 23-year-old outfielder was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates organization on July 26, so he was the Missions’ leader despite not being with the team for almost the last two months of the season.

More statistical notes:

– Eguy Rosario played more games in a Missions uniform than anyone else this summer at 114. Kyle Overstreet was second at 103.

– Rosario was second on the team in home runs with 12 and second in stolen bases with 30. Rosario was the Missions’ opening day second baseman and was with the team all summer, playing shortstop late in the season.

– Outfielder Esteury Ruiz led the Missions in stolen bases with 36.

– Infielder Allen Cordoba led the Missions in batting average at .299 (not including players who appeared in less than 10 games). Cordoba played in 74 games. He didn’t start playing until June 8.

– CJ Abrams entered the season as the Missions’ most highly regarded prospect. The 20-year-old shortstop was limited to only 42 games due to injuries. He finished second on the team in batting at .296, but went on the injured list for the second time on July 8 and didn’t play again.

– Adrian Martinez (7-3) led Missions pitchers in wins, led their starters in ERA (2.34) and was second in starts (13).

– Reiss Knehr was 6-1 in 11 starts before moving up to pitch for both the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas and San Diego Padres.

– Reliever Carlos Belen led the Missions staff in appearances with 39. Henry Henry (38), Nick Kuzia (37), Jose Quezada (35) and James Reeves (31) all had 30-plus appearances.

Some players were notable for what they did after they moved up.

– Jose Azocar played in 79 games for the Missions, mostly in center field. He batted .276 with nine home runs and six triples. He is batting .324 for El Paso, second on the team, and is currently leading the Triple-A West in triples with seven despite only playing in 37 games at that level so far.

– Robbie Podorsky opened the season with the Missions but never played at Wolff Stadium. After batting .370 in seven road games, the speedy outfielder was promoted to El Paso. He is batting .275 with five home runs in Triple A, but has been limited to 27 games due to injuries.

– Taylor Kohlwey leads El Paso in batting at .339. He was with the Missions on opening day and played in 18 games for San Antonio before moving up.

– Matt Batten is fourth in hitting for El Paso at .301. He was with the Missions on opening day and played in six games before moving up.

– Pitcher Caleb Boushley has made 15 starts with a 3-8 record in El Paso since being called up on June 21. He was 2-3 in eight games with the Missions.

– Knehr has appeared in seven games in El Paso, four as a starter. His role changed after leaving San Antonio, where he was a starter. He was called up to San Diego four times, appearing in eight games and starting twice. He has a 1-0 record and 3.93 ERA with the Padres.

Missions’ bullpen provides final highlight of season in loss to Hooks

The San Antonio Missions played their final game of the 2021 Double-A Central season on Sunday night at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
The Missions played their final game of the 2021 Double-A Central season on Sunday night at Wolff Stadium.
The San Antonio Missions’ 2021 season ended with a 9-1 loss to the Corpus Christi Hooks on Sunday at Wolff Stadium.

The Hooks jumped out to an early lead with six runs in the first inning and three more in the second.

The Missions’ only run came in the fourth inning, when Augustin Ruiz doubled and then scored on a double by Olivier Basabe.

In a final game of the season between two teams with losing records, Missions relievers shut out the Hooks over the final seven innings.

Sam McWilliams pitched the third inning and allowed one hit, Mason Fox went 2 1/3 innings and allowed one hit while striking out five, James Reeves pitched 1 2/3 innings and allowed one hit with five strikeouts, and Henry Henry pitched the last two innings and allowed one hit with two strikeouts.

Agustin Ruiz hits 4th homer; Sod Poodles rally past Missions

Agustin Ruiz hit his fourth home run as a member of the San Antonio Missions on Thursday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Agustin Ruiz hit his fourth home run as a member of the Missions.
The Amarillo Sod Poodles scored four runs in the top of the eighth inning to rally past the San Antonio Missions 6-5 on Thursday night at Wolff Stadium.

The Missions got eight hits including a two-run, seventh-inning homer by Agustin Ruiz. Eguy Rosario had two hits including his 28th double of the season.

Missions starting pitcher Osvaldo Hernandez went five innings and allowed two runs on five hits and no walks with six strikeouts. Reliever James Reeves pitched the last five outs for the Missions and took the loss.

Missions lose series finale against Hooks; Jose Azocar has 2 hits including homer

Jose Azocar hits his ninth home run of the season for the San Antonio Missions' only run of the game Sunday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Jose Azocar hits his ninth home run of the season for the Missions’ only run of the game.
Jose Azocar homered and had two of the San Antonio Missions’ four hits Sunday in a 3-1 loss to the Corpus Christi Hooks at Wolff Stadium.

The Hooks won five of six games in the series. The Missions are off Monday and play their next 12 games on the road. The next home game at Wolff Stadium is Tuesday, Aug. 24.

Azocar hit his ninth home run of the season in the bottom of the fourth for the Missions’ only run of the game. Allen Cordoba had the Missions’ other two hits.

Hooks leadoff man Corey Julks started off the game with his third home run of the series. Corpus Christi added a second run in the top of the first and scored an insurance run in the eighth.

Missions starting pitcher Pedro Avila went 2 2/3 innings and allowed two runs to take the loss. He gave up five hits including Julks’ homer, walked two and struck out three.

The Missions got some strong work from their bullpen. Joe Beimel pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings, James Reeves went 2.0 scoreless innings and Jose Quezada pitched a scoreless ninth inning.

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.

Michael Curry’s homer, Osvaldo Hernandez’s pitching help Missions win third straight

San Antonio Missions outfielder Michael Curry hits a two-run homer in the fifth inning against the Corpus Christi Hooks on Saturday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
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.

Reiss Knehr, Jose Azocar help Missions end slide

San Antonio Missions starting pitcher Reiss Knehr got the win in Thursday's second game at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
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.

San Antonio Missions center fielder Jose Azocar tracks down a fly ball on the warning track in Thursday's second game at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions center fielder Jose Azocar tracks down a fly ball on the warning track in Thursday’s second game at Wolff Stadium.

Missions pitcher James Reeves promoted to Triple-A: photo gallery

James Reeves pitching for the San Antonio Missions against Frisco on May 18, 2021, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
James Reeves pitching for the San Antonio Missions against Frisco on May 18, at Wolff Stadium.
The San Diego Padres assigned San Antonio Missions relief pitcher James Reeves to the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas on Thursday.

The 27-year-old left-hander made eight appearances on the mound for the Missions and did not allow a run his first seven times out. He had a 1-0 record and 1.35 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings.

Reeves was a 10th-round pick by the Yankees in 2015 out of The Citadel. His only previous experience above the Double-A level was one game in Triple-A in 2018. The Padres acquired Reeves in a trade with the Yankees on Jan. 6, 2021.

Kyle Overstreet’s big hits, strong pitching help Missions nab first home win of season

Kyle Overstreet drove in the San Antonio Missions' first and last runs of the game in a 3-1 victory over the Frisco RoughRiders on Thursday, May 20, 2021, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Kyle Overstreet drove in the Missions’ first and last runs of the game in a 3-1 victory over Frisco on Thursday at Wolff Stadium.
Kyle Overstreet drove in two of the San Antonio Missions’ three runs on Thursday night.

San Antonio pitchers took care of the rest.

The Missions won at Wolff Stadium for the first time this season as they beat the Frisco RoughRiders 3-1.

Four Missions pitchers combined to limit Frisco to one hit and would have combined for a shutout if not for a ninth-inning error that allowed the RoughRiders’ leadoff hitter to reach base. That turned into Frisco’s only run of the night.

Missions starter Aaron Leasher went five innings and gave up one hit with five strikeouts to earn his first win of the season. James Reeves was the first Missions reliever and went two innings.

Nick Kuzia, who was transferred to San Antonio on Wednesday from Triple-A El Paso, pitched one inning to get the Missions to the ninth with a 3-0 lead. Jose Quezada pitched the final inning and got his second save of the summer.

Overstreet is batting a team-high .370 and had another big night at the plate. He finished with three hits, including two doubles, and two RBIs.

The right-handed hitting first baseman, who also plays third base and catcher, doubled in the first inning to drive in CJ Abramas with the first run of the game. The Missions led the rest of the way. Overstreet also drove in Abrams with the Missions’ final run in the bottom of the eight.

Missions center fielder Jack Suwinski had an RBI double in the eighth. He also had a diving catch in the outfield to take away a RoughRiders hit.

San Antonio Missions center fielder Jack Suwinski makes a diving catch in a 3-1 victory over the Frisco RoughRiders on Thursday, May 20, 2021, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions center fielder Jack Suwinski makes a diving catch Thursday at Wolff Stadium.

Missions drop home opener to Frisco as pitching dominates

The Frisco RoughRiders scored the only run of the game on a wild pitch to beat the San Antonio Missions 1-0 Tuesday night at Wolff Stadium.

The game marked the Missions’ first home game of the 2021 season and the first Missions game at Wolff Stadium since August 2019.

Frisco’s Diosbel Arias scored from third base on a wild pitch for what turned out to be the winning run.

Four Missions pitchers combined to hold the RoughRiders to one hit, but the Missions never came up with a timely hit of their own to score a run.

Caleb Boushley was the Missions’ starting pitcher and threw five scoreless innings with two strikeouts and two walks. Sam Williams was the first Missions relief pitcher and took the loss after giving up a leadoff single to Arias in the seventh inning that led to the winning run.

Henry Henry, whose wild pitch brought in Arias, pitching 1 2/3 innings. James Reeves pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning with one strikeout.

The official attendance was 3,112, which was a sellout under the current covid rules in effect for the opening series of the season.

The Frisco RoughRiders' Diosbel Arias slides safely into home in front of San Antonio Missions pitcher Henry Henry to score the only run of the game on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
The Frisco RoughRiders’ Diosbel Arias slides safely into home in front of San Antonio Missions pitcher Henry Henry to score the only run of the game on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, at Wolff Stadium.