210GAMEDAY.COM | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
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.
Skender made a quick impact with an RBI triple in his second at-bat at Wolff Stadium. His big hit was part of a 3-run fourth-inning rally by the Missions in a 3-1 victory over the Midland RockHounds.
Skender, who was the designated hitter, also had a double later in the game.
The 24-year-old infielder was batting .258 with two home runs in 60 games in Class A Fort Wayne before moving up to the Double-A Missions.
Eguy Rosario got a leadoff walk to start the bottom half of the fourth inning. He scored on a double by Michael Curry for the first run of the game. Olivier Basabe’s sacrifice bunt brought in Curry from third to make it 2-0. Skender’s triple drove in Juan Fernandez, who had followed Curry’s hit with a single.
Missions starting pitcher Osvaldo Hernandez pitched five scoreless innings to get the win.
The RockHounds’ scored their only run in the top of the seventh. Missions closer Jose Quezada pitched the ninth inning for his 14th save of the season and second of the current series against Midland.
The Missions’ Allen Cordoba, who entered Friday with a 12-game hitting streak, went 0-for-4 and saw his streak end.
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.
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.
The Missions’ scoring came on an RBI single by Kyle Overstreet in the first inning and a two-run homer by Juan Fernandez in the fourth.
Missions starting pitcher Osvaldo Hernandez held the Naturals scoreless over the first four innings but was tagged for three unearned runs before he left in the sixth.
Dwanya Williams-Sutton made his debut with the Missions after being promoted from Class A Fort Wayne. He started in left field and had one walk.
The Missions went hitless and scoreless the first five innings. They came alive in a big way when they scored six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. The rally included a two-run homer from Eguy Rosario.
Juan Fernandez, who tripled during the sixth-inning rally, lashed a two-run homer two innings later as the Missions scored seven runs in the bottom of the eighth. Both Rosario’s and Fernandez’s homers went out in left field.
The Missions finished with 11 hits. Taylor Kohlwey, Rosario, Jack Suwinski and Fernandez had two hits each. Rosario and Fernandez both had three RBIs.
Missions starting pitcher Osvaldo Hernandez went five innings. He didn’t get a decision, but kept the game within striking range and left with Midland leading 3-0. Reliever Carlos Belen recorded two scoreless innings and got his first win of the season.
The Missions have won five of their last six games and 11 of their last 16.
