Astros Minor League Report - Games of August 19, 20 and 21

AAA: Round Rock had an undefeated weekend, beating Nashville 6-4 on Friday night and taking back-to-back games from first place Albuquerque on Saturday and Sunday by scores of 6-4 and 8-5. On Friday night, the Express blew a 4-0 lead but won with two runs in the eighth inning. Brandon Duckworth allowed three runs in six innings, and Luke Scott and Carlos Rivera both had three-hit nights. On Saturday night, Jimmy "Orka" Anderson made his Express debut and stunningly pitched the team to a victory, allowing four runs (one earned) in six innings. Over the years and with multiple bad teams, Anderson has proven to capable of simultaneously being a clubhouse cancer and a terribly ineffective pitcher on a consistent basis. Barry Wesson hit two homers for the Express, and Luke Scott had a bomb as well. Sunday's win went to Fernando Nieve, who allowed only two runs over six innings while piling up six strikeouts. Luke Scott piled up four more hits, to run his weekend total to nine, while also hitting his 28th home run. Charles Gipson and Brooks Conrad also had three hits apiece and a home run. The top three in the Express order went 10-13 on Sunday with three home runs. The Express ended the weekend 0.5 games back of first-place Oklahoma.

AA: Corpus Christi lost Friday night to Wichita 8-2, but rallied for wins Saturday (7-2) and Sunday (2-1). Charlton Jimerson's home run was the only positive note on Friday, as Tim McClaskey was taken out behind the shed by Wichita hitters. Phillip Barzilla struggled on Saturday, allowing nine hits in five-plus innings, but limiting the damage to only two runs to earn his sixth victory. The offense on Saturday was provided by J.R. Phillips and Mike Rodriguez with three hits apiece. Jimerson had two more hits on Saturday as well. Peter Bauer outdueled Wichita's Ryan Baerlocher on Sunday, allowing only one run over eight innings. Jailen Peguero continued his excellent relief work on Saturday and Sunday, throwing a total of three scoreless innings and earning his 12th save on Sunday. Peguero, a 24 year-old free agent originally signed out of the D.R. in 2000, has a 2.80 ERA over 61 innings pitched, while striking out 60 and walking only 21. The hooks finished the weekend two games behind first place Midland.

High A: Salem lost two out of three to Winston-Salem over the weekend, with a 6-5 loss on Friday, a 3-2 win on Saturday and a 9-3 loss on Sunday. Troy Patton had an un-Patton-like performance on Friday night, allowing three runs in five innings, while Jonny Ash had three hits. and Ben Zobrist had two hits including a home run. Josh Muecke continued his campaign for the league's Pitcher of the Year award by allowing only two runs over seven innings pitched to earn his tenth win o fthe year. Offensively, Ben Zobrist continued his late-season surge with two hits, and Hunter Pence added a bases-loaded triple for the 'Lanche. Jeremy Wigdahl continued to pitch well after being promoted from Lexington. Wiggy's produced 17 saves and a combined 2.42 ERA between stops in 2005. Mitch Talbot was knocked around on Sunday afternoon, and three hits from each of Jonny Ash and Mario Garza were not enough to overcome said shallacking. Salem ended the weekend with a 0.5 game lead over Winston-Salem.

Low A: Lexington took two of three from Hickory over the weekend, but could not get closer than five games to first place. Friday was a 7-2 loss, as the normally-reliable Juan Gutierrez was roughed up. Saturday was a 6-3 win, with all six runs coming in the third inning for the Legends, capped by a three-run homer from Edwin Maysonet. Chad Reineke had another fine start on Saturday, allowing only two runs (one earned) over five innings and striking out eight. Sunday's 6-5 win was closer than it should have been, as Hickory rallied for three in the bottom of the ninth off of Legends' closer Ryan Thompson. Jimmy Barthmeier continued to sew up his spot in the 2006 Salem rotation with another great six innings of work. Mitch Einertson was the offensive spark on Sunday with three hits.

Short Season A: Tri-City took two of three from Lowell, and the loss Friday was a painful one. Tri-City lost a 4-3 nailbiter Friday night with Brian Bogusevic allowing three of the four Lowell runs in the last two innings. Wladimir Sutil raised his average to .343 with three more hits. Saturday's 8-3 win was highlighted by a three-run jack by RF Matt Cunningham, and Sunday's 4-2 win came behind the strength of three hits by Michael Thompson and four innings of one-hit relief from Adam Knobel, a 2005 draft pick out of Rocket fan favorite Bryce Drew's alma mater, Valparaiso University in Indiana.

Rookie: Greenville completed a successful weekend for the Astros' affiliates by taking two of three from Elizabethton. Ryan Mitchell led the Astros Friday night with five shutout innings in a 4-0 win, in which Josh Flores continued his push for a promotion with two more hits. Elizabethton returned the favor on Saturday, shutting out the Astros 4-0 on only three hits. Twins prospect Ryan Mullins, a third round draft pick out of Vanderbilt, lead the charge with seven innings of one-hit ball. Greenville took Sunday's rubber game 6-3 behind two doubles and two RBI from Eli Iorg and a three-run HR from C Ralph Henriquez, his first of the season.