210GAMEDAY.COM | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
During the course of the 2019 San Antonio Missions season, I occasionally got closer a look at some of the players.
That seemed like a good way to wrap up my summer from Wolff Stadium.
The Missions are two games behind the Round Rock Express in the Pacific Coast League American Southern division. The Missions play their final home game of the regular season on Sunday at 6:05 p.m.
Orf’s 10th home run of the season came in the fourth inning, when the Missions scored six runs and batted around. That turned the game around, changing a 3-0 Dodgers lead to a 6-3 Missions advantage.
The Missions also put up six runs in the seventh inning. Taylor’s 12th home run of the season came in the eighth inning with one on and accounted for the Missions’ final runs of the game.
Orf finished with two hits, three runs and five RBIs. Taylor had three hits, three runs and four RBIs.
Corey Ray and Jacob Nottingham had two hits each for the Missions.
Trey Supak pitched the first four innings for the Missions and did not get a decision. He allowed three runs on five hits.
Missions reliever Jake Faria (1-0) pitched the fifth and sixth innings to earn the win. He did not allow a run on one hit and one walk with four strikeouts.
The Missions remain 1 1/2 games behind the Round Rock Express in the Pacific Coast League American Southern Standings. Round Rock beat New Orleans 3-2 on Friday.
Tyler Austin hit a two-run homer in the third inning, his second home run and fourth extra-base hit since joining the Missions on Aug. 16.
Nate Orf drove in the Missions’ first run with an RBI single in the second inning.
Troy Stokes Jr. added an RBI single in the sixth inning to bring in the Missions’ final run.
Missions starting pitcher Aaron Wilkerson (8-2) pitched five scoreless innings, allowing two hits with five strikeouts and two walks. He lowered his season ERA to 3.34.
Angel Perdomo and Miguel Sanchez combined to pitch a scoreless sixth inning. Freddy Peralta kept the Dodgers scoreless in the seventh and eighth innings.
The Dodgers scored both of their runs in the top of the ninth off of Missions reliever Ray Black.
The Missions got the job done in the final inning without a longball or extra-base hit. They put together two singles, a walk, a sacrifice fly and a run-scoring ground ball.
(Cubs lead 3-1 going into bottom of the 9th)
– Nate Orf singles.
– Troy Stokes Jr. walks. Orf goes to second.
– Jacob Nottingham singles. Orf scores. Stokes goes to second. (Cubs lead 3-2)
– Lucas Erceg pinch-hits.
– Wild pitch. Stokes goes to third. Nottingham goes to second.
– Erceg sacrifice flies to right field. Stokes scores. Nottingham goes to third. (score tied 3-3)
– Trent Grisham chops a grounder to first. Nottingham slides and beats the throw at the plate for the winning run (Missions win 4-3).
The Missions’ other run scored on a solo home run by Hernan Perez in the fourth inning.
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 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.
Nate Orf drove in the Missions’ first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth. Orf was one of three Missions to score when Freitas doubled with the bases loaded later in the inning to give the Missions a 4-2 lead.
Michael O’Neill had an RBI double and scored on a single by Mauricio Dubon as the Missions added two more runs in the sixth to make it 6-2.
Freitas hit his fourth home run of the season to lead off the bottom of the seventh and make it 7-2.
Orf doubled in O’Neill in the bottom of the eighth for the Missions’ final run.
The Aces scored the first two runs of the game on solo home runs by Abraham Almonte in the third and fifth innings.
Missions starting pitcher Aaron Wilkerson (6-1) went five innings and got the win. He gave up the two home runs to Almonte – the only runs Wilkerson has allowed in home games at Wolff this season.
The Aces scored a run in the top of the 12th to take a 4-3 lead.
The Missions’ Mauricio Dubon delivered an RBI single to score Troy Stokes Jr. with the tieing run in the bottom of the 12th.
Orf lofted a fly ball to left field to bring home Jake Hager from third with the winning run.
Dubon finished the game with three hits including a double. David Freitas, who is batting .363, had a hit and two RBIs.
Missions reliever Alex Wilson (3-0) pitched the top of the 12th inning and got the win.
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.
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.
Saladino had a two-run pinch-hit homer in the seventh inning Monday as the Missions beat the Redbirds 4-0 at Wolff Stadium to complete a sweep of their series.
In the five games against the Redbirds, Saladino batted .643 (9-of-14) with five runs scored, two home runs, two doubles and 10 RBIs. He has nine home runs and 23 extra-base hits on the season.
Jake Hager and Tuffy Gosewisch drove in the other two runs Monday.
Missions reliever Taylor Williams (1-0) pitched the fifth and six innings and got the win. He allowed no runs and two hits with two strikeouts. Burch Smith was the starter and did not get a decision. Smith went four scoreless innings and allowed two hits with six strikeouts and four walks.
The San Antonio Missions trailed the Memphis Redbirds by a run in the bottom of the ninth inning. Saladino went to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded.
It looked like Saladino might push over the tieing run when it appeared he was hit by a pitch after the ball bounced. Saladino didn’t get the call.
So Saladino took one more swing. This one produced his fourth hit and third double of the night – and ended the game.
Saladino’s walk-off double drove in Tuffy Gosewisch and Jake Hager to give the Missions a 4-3 victory Thursday night at Wolff Stadium.
Gosewisch had entered the game as a pinch-runner for David Freitas, who started the rally with a one-run walk. Hager, who pinch-hit in the pitcher’s spot, followed with a single. Mauricio Dubon drew a two-out walk to load the bases and set the stage for Saladino.
Missions relief pitcher Jay Jackson (2-1), who entered the game in the eight inning, pitched the top of the ninth and got the win.
The Redbirds had taken a 3-2 lead on a pair of solo home runs in the top of the sixth inning.
Saladino had a run-scoring single in the fifth inning that gave the Missions a 2-1 lead.
The Missions’ Nate Orf scored the first run of the game by hitting his fifth home run of the season in the second inning.
