Friday Morning Hot Links

*A.J. Hinch is up to the challenge of "Actual Expectations" as opposed to "No Expectations."

*FanGraphs' Jeff Sullivan: Astros land dominant Ken Giles for potentially dominant Vincent Velasquez. Sullivan:
Giles has some risk, but Velasquez also has some obvious risk, and taking a step back, the Astros probably do need to concentrate more talent instead of having more quality players than they can protect on the 40-man. This is the Astros consolidating talent. And this is the Phillies collecting it.

*Will Harris is very excited about Giles and Sipp:
All of us selfishly wanted (Sipp) to stay, but at the same time he had to do what's best for himself and his family and his future. And for those two things to line up, it's obviously the best of both worlds. I was really, really excited for him and for myself.

*The Astros are one of Jayson Stark's Winter Meetings winners.

*Gosh, where have we seen this before? The Philadelphia Inquirer's Mike Sielski says the Phillies should be ashamed of themselves for all their rebuilding efforts. An actual line from the story with no context:
I hate new things.

UPDATE: It seems as though the previous link is some next-level satire that you have to be (a) from Philly and (b) a Sixers fan to get.

*Somehow Oliver Perez got 2yrs/$7m from Washington.

*The Reds are still trying to trade Aroldis Chapman, hoping that a club won't mind a pesky little thing like a domestic violence charge if it means a clock stoppage on his service time, which won't accrue while/if Chapman is suspended.

*Read what a crap sandwich Yasiel Puig is turning into in Los Angeles.

*The Nationals are fighting the Angels, Cubs, and Cardinals for the right to pay Jason Heyward for the next ten years.

*Brian Bogusevic is headed to the Orix Buffaloes of the NPB.

More 40 Man Roster Casualities

A new flurry of transactions brought the 40 man roster down to 31. Brian Bogusevic, J.B.Shuck, Chuckie Fick and Jorge de Leon were all outrighted. Bogie, Shuck and de Leon cleared waivers and are now free agents. Fick was sent to Triple A.

Bogusevic is by far the biggest name in that group. Drafted as a pitcher in 2005, he was converted to the outfield in 2008, and made the majors only 2 years later. He showed some power, and put up a 122 OPS+ in 2011. Ultimately, his strikeouts and low OBP did him in. He will always be a fan favorite, due to his unique story, and his memorable walk-off grand slam against the Cubs in 2011. At the end of the day, he was not going to be a part of the Astros future. Hopefully, he can catch on somewhere else.

Good Lord, this outfield is brutal

Outfielders are supposed to be your power guys, right? So how do we explain what's happening with the Astros outfield? Aside from Jordan Schafer, who isn't looking as impressive lately (hitting .219/.278/.315 with 24Ks in 79 plate appearances since April 21), the outfield has been a black hole, "hitting" a collective .221/.316/.315. That .631 is bad. How bad? Well, it's 15th out of 16 in the National League, and 29th out of 30 in All O'Baseball, with only the Cubs' outfield faring worse than the Astros' outfielders, with a .240/.307/.317 line (.624 OPS). The Indians (.641) and Nationals (.639 OPS) are right there with the Astros, as well. Except the Nationals are leading the NL in ERA at 2.80 and WHIP at 1.10, and are 2nd in the NL with a 2.97 K:BB ratio. I don't think anyone knows how Cleveland is doing what they're doing. Perhaps a deal with Satan is involved.

So what about the Astros? How do they fix it? I honestly don't know that they can. Brian Bogusevic is the Old Man in the Outfield, at 28. J.D. Martinez, who, despite getting two hits in his last 42 plate appearances, has the highest OPS of any Astro to see time in the outfield, at .688 (and, as I type this, he just got a single).

Justin Ruggiano has a .997 OPS in 35 games (126 PAs), but the 30-year old probably isn't in the Astros' long-term OF plans. However, Fernando Martinez - at 23 - is raking at Oklahoma City, hitting .326/.376/522, with 25K:1BB in 153 PAs (coming into the afternoon game today). He's 21st in the Pacific Coast League in OPS with 100+ PAs, and only Anthony Rizzo, Mike Trout and Adam Eaton are younger than Martinez on this list.

Consider that Martinez has a career .276/.337/.475 line in parts of four seasons at Triple-A, and the average hitter in the PCL is 26.6 years old. Over 2010-11, Martinez struck out in 23.3% of his plate appearances, which right now (prior to today's game) is sitting at 16.3%. Can that translate into Major League success? It hasn't so far for Martinez, albeit in 145 injury-riddled plate appearances.

Is he an option for the Astros? That would involve doing something with Bogusevic or J.D. Martinez. With J.D. Martinez' iffy knees, that would likely push Fernando Martinez to RF (even though he's spent most of his outfield time in LF), which would involve moving Bogusevic...somewhere. And there's also the issue of Justin Maxwell.

There's just not a clean answer here.

Bogusevic, So Far

Let's take a look at Brian Bogusevic's PAs (all 35 of them so far):

Right Side
Groundout: 5
Hit: 2
Pop-Up: 1
Reach on Error: 1

Middle
Groundout: 5
Flyout:3
Lineout: 2

Left Side
Groundout: 2
Hit: 1
Home Run: 1
Flyout: 1
Reach on Error: 1

Non-Contact
Walk: 4
Strikeout Swinging: 3
Strikeout Looking: 2
HBP: 1

Draw from this whatever you will; That's 25 plate appearances - by no means enough to make a serious judgment, but enough to judge what's happened so far - that ended in contact. 19 of those PAs ended on the right side or the middle, and ten of those on the ground. Two of his hits (and his HR), however, came on the left side of the field. Fact is, Bogusevic has been on base eleven times in his 35PAs - four through hits, four through walks, one through HBP, and one through HBP.

Crawfish Boxes, on the Brothers/Bogusevic AB

Here's some great work by the Crawfish Boxes on the crucial Brian Bogusevic vs. Rex Brothers AB from yesterday.

Roster Moves!

The Opening Day roster will be announced on Wednesday, but will feature five players who have never made an Opening Day roster, meaning:

Jose Altuve
Brian Bogusevic
Jason Castro
Marwin Gonzalez
J.D. Martinez

The main thing is that Brett Wallace will be headed to Triple-A, where he said:
“I’m obviously disappointed. But I’m going to take it and go down there and work hard and try to get back here as soon as I can.”

So we can reasonably assume the following:

*Your defensive lineup will be:
C1 - Castro/Snyder
1B - Carlos Lee
2B - Jose Altuve
3B - Chris Johnson
SS - Jed Lowrie*
LF - J.D. Martinez
CF - Jordan Schafer*
RF - Brian Bogusevic

* - Both are currently injured, with no real timetable for their return. The Rule 5er Gonzalez making the Opening Day roster could indicate that Lowrie's thumb is in rough shape, and he may have a DL stint in his future.

A handy little note from Brian McTaggart

Brian McTaggart just tweeted out a helpful little note:

As the Astros continue to trim roster in next few days, remember Wright, Bogusevic, Schafer, Sosa and Harrell are out of options.

So, this means that they would have to pass through waivers before getting officially sent to Oklahoma City. If another team claims them, well, they'll just have to work something out.

Death In Center Field!

It's a fight to the death in Center Field, as Brian Bogusevic will join Jordan Schafer, Jason Bourgeois, and J.B. Shuck in getting some CF reps.

Ruggiano is Bogusevic - Bogusevic is Ruggiano

So the Astros have signed yet another corner outfielder to compete for the OF depth position at OKC. Who is this Ruggiano stranger?

The short answer is he's an older more powerful Bogusevic with less plate discipline. But don't just take my word for it, let's look at some minor league stats.

2008

Bogusevic hit .347/.432/.537 with a 11.6% walk rate and 14.5% strikeout rate. Oh yeah, and 9 steals.
Ruggiano hit .315/.374/.537 with a 7.6% walk rate and 26.6% strikeout rate. Justin had 20 steals.

2009

Bogusevic hit .274/.342/.365 with a 9.1% walk rate and 20.3% strikeout rate. And 22 steals.

Ruggiano hit .253/.330/.412 with a 9.6% walk rate and 27.6% strikeout rate. Justin had 23 steals.

2010


Bogusevic hit .277/.364/.414 with a 11.7% walk rate and 18.8% strikeout rate. Brian had 23 steals.
Ruggiano hit .287/.357/.453 with a 8.3% walk rate and 25.4% strikeout rate. Justin had 24 steals.

2011


Bogusevic hit .261/.362/.399 with a 11.8% walk rate and 19.3% strikeout rate. 20 steals.
Ruggiano hit .304/.378/.518 with a 10.5% walk rate and 22.1% strikeout rate. 12 steals.

Of course, there were some differences in level and playing time, but you get the point.

Winter Ball updates!

Looks like the Juvenile Court Clerk will be busy this off-season, as Winter Ball rosters were announced.

Jose Altuve - Venezuela
Henry Sosa - Dominican Republic
Jimmy Paredes - Dominican Republic
Jonathan Villar - Dominican Republic
Brian Bogusevic - Dominican Republic
David Carpenter - Dominican Republic
Brett Wallace - Dominican Republic
Carlos Corporan - Puerto Rico
Koby Clemens - Puerto Rico

Wallace and Carpenter will play for Escogido, who will be managed by Tony DeFrancesco, OKC's manager.

What to do with the outfield?

So here's the scenario: The Astros have a ton of outfielders, and - at deadline - can only have three outfielders. J.D. Martinez' place is solidified as is, presumably, Jordan Schafer's. That leaves one outfield spot for Brian Bogusevic, Jason Michaels, and J.B. Shuck.

I know what you must be thinking: Surely Michaels will not be getting regular ABs, right?

wrong. Check Brian McTaggart:

Perhaps Bourgeois is better fitted for a reserve role, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. Having Bourgeois available to pinch run late in a game will be a huge weapon. J.B. Shuck has also seen time in center recently, but he’ll likely split time in right field with Jason Michaels (against left-handers) and Brian Bogusevic (against right-handers)..

Here's my issue: I don't think anyone saw Jason Bourgeois hitting .340 for any duration of the season, so if he gets relegated to the bench, so be it. I'm okay with that. But when the Astros traded Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn, and promoted Martinez and Shuck, I can't believe that there is a scenario - even one involving a bus wreck - where Jason Michaels gets even a platoon role.

Only this team could look at Michaels, hitting .219/.288/.329 against lefties this season, as a better option over seeing what Bogusevic or Shuck can do.

Super Domingo Tranzacciones!

Holy Hannah. Just because Wandy wasn't traded doesn't mean there wasn't a big-time overhaul of the team today.

Here's what went down:

Chris Johnson and Brett Wallace have been sent to Oklahoma City. Jimmy Paredes - who came over with Mark Melancon in the Berkman/NY trade last July - is your new third baseman, coming straight up from Corpus. Of the six Hooks to ever jump Triple-A, three have been in the last two weeks (Altuve, Martinez).

Carlos Lee is your presumed 1B as Brian Bogusevic has been called up from OKC.

Sucks for both of them, but it's probably for the best. They've both had terrible stretches in the last two months, and with Mills flip-flopping on whether to put them in the lineup, they can go to OKC to get their heads right.

Johnson's OPS, by month (w/BABIP in parentheses):
April: .531 (.231)
May: .714 (.290)
June .801 (.370)
July .578 (.347)

Wallace, same thing:
April: .988 (.471)
May: .719 (.299)
June: .657 (.340)
July .433 (.261)

It's scary that Johnson's .578 OPS was propped up by a .347 BABIP, same thing was Wallace's June.

Paredes isn't exactly lighting up Corpus. First, his primary position is 2B. At Whataburger Field, he's hitting .312/.346/.455, with 44K:10BB. On the road, he's hitting .224/.249/.393. In July, it's a .282/.315/.504 line, with five of his ten homers coming this month. In his last ten games, he's hitting .220/.233/.317.

Can't help but feel as though maybe the Astros are reaching on Paredes. Anderson Hernandez has played 41 games at 3B for OKC, and is hitting .353/.430/.447 in July. Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer the Astros give Paredes a shot, but it just seems odd.

Eddie's Farm: July 26

Oklahoma City (46-58)

OKC had a 9-5 lead (after a 6-run 2nd inning) on Nashville, but Nashville scored two runs in each of the last three innings (8th, 9th, 10th) for an 11-9 win over OKC. The RedHawks used seven pitchers in the game: Brad Hennessey, who allowed 7H/5ER, 4K:1BB in 3.1IP; Wesley Wright and Casey Fien had your only scoreless outings; Gervacio, Arguello, and Fulchino each allowed an earned run, and Ross Wolf took the loss.

Brian Bogusevic was 3x5 with a 2B, BB, SB and RBI. Wladimir Sutil was 3x4 with a double. Koby Clemens was 1x4 with a solo homer, 2RBI, and 2BB. J.B. Shuck didn't get a hit, but drew three walks.

Man of the Match: Brian Bogusevic

Corpus (40-61)

Early returns on Henry Sosa have been great as Corpus whoops San Antonio, 11-1. Henry Sosa - who came over in the Keppinger trade - threw 7IP, allowing 3H/1R (0ER), 9K:1BB; and has yet to allow an earned run in 14IP for Corpus. Danny Meszaros and Jason Stoffel threw hitless/scoreless IPs.

J.D. Martinez was 3x5 with a homer and 2RBI, and Jimmy Paredes was 3x5 with an RBI and his 28th stolen base; Kody Hinze was 2x3 with a walk and a two-run homer. Jonathan Villar (RBI), Jon Gaston (RBI), and Emerson Frostad (2B, BB) had two hits each.

Man of the Match: Henry Sosa

Lancaster (38-63)

Off.

Lexington (46-56)

Savannah scored two runs in the bottom of the 6th, and that was all they needed in a 2-0 win over Lexington. Ruben Alaniz took the hard-luck loss, throwing 6IP, 3H/2ER, 4K:2BB. Brian Streilein threw 2IP, allowing 3H/0ER.

Delino DeShields, Telvin Nash, Mike Kvasnicka, and Ben Orloff had your hits. Nobody walked, but there were 11 strikeouts by Savannah pitchers. Nash (3K), DeShields (2K), and Ben Heath (2K) struck out multiple times.

Man of the Match: Ruben Alaniz.

Tri-City (15-22)

Off.

Greeneville (12-23)

Greeneville scored three runs in the top of the 9th, but fell short at Johnson City, 8-7. Ricardo Batista allowed 7H/6ER, 0K:4BB, 3WP in 2.1IP; Danilo Del Rio allowed 2H/0ER in 3.2IP, and Steve Martin allowed two runs (one earned) in 2IP.

Jordan Scott (2B, RBI, BB), Ruben Sosa (2B, 3RBI), Jesse Wierzbicki (2B), Chase Davidson (2B, 2RBI), and Jose Monzon (2B) had two hits each. Chan-Jong Moon was 0x1 with 3BB and two runs scored.

Man of the Match: Ruben Sosa

GCL Astros (9-22)

The Astros withstood a late charge and beat the Cardinals for an 8-6 win. Michael Feliz threw 2IP, 3H/2ER, 1K:0BB; Evan Grills came in for 4IP of relief and earned the win by giving up just 3H/0ER. Brad Dydalewicz allowed 2H/1ER in 1IP, Justin Gill allowed 2H/3R (2ER), 0K:1BB in 0.2IP, and Zach Hardoin (0.1IP), and Blake Ford (1IP) didn't allow any hits.

Yonathan Mejia went 4x5 with 2RBI and a stolen base; Javaris Reynolds went 3x6 with a stolen base; Chris Epps (3BB, SB) and Kevin Gonzalez (3B, 2RBI) got two hits each.

Man of the Match: Yonathan Mejia.

Bourgeois activated, Bogusevic sent down

Jason Bourgeois has been activated from the DL this morning, and Brian Bogusevic gets sent to OKC.

I see Bourgeois as a temporary (or longer) fill-in for Michael Bourn if/when Bourn finds himself in another team's jersey before August 1.

And at least Bogusevic gets to play in OKC. He got one start for the Astros, and ten plate appearances total in July. Ridiculous.

Jason Bourgeois back to the DL

Jason Bourgeois is our very own Mr. Glass, going back on the DL with a strained right quad, and bringing up Brian Bogusevic to take his roster spot.

We also find from Campbell's article that J.A. Happ is not hurt, even if his numbers are:
“I feel fine. I feel good. There’s no excuse, and I can’t say things are going perfectly. I’ve just got to keep at it and try to be consistent.”

Eddie's Farm: June 23

Oklahoma City (32-43)

Crazy one in Albuquerque as the Isotopes took a 2-0 lead, then OKC tied it up, then Albuquerque had a 3-2 lead going into the top of the 8th, where OKC busted out for five runs in the top of the 8th and added one more in the top of the 9th for an 8-3 lead. Albuquerque scored three in the bottom of the 9th, but couldn't get enough, and OKC wins 8-6. Gustavo Chacin allowed 8H/3ER, 4K:2BB in 6IP; Ross Wolf struck out two of the three batters he faced; Jose Valdez allowed 3H/3ER, 4K:0BB in 1.1IP, and David Carpenter struck out one and walked one to close it out.

Brian Bogusevic (BB, 2RBI, SB) and Anderson Hernandez (2RBI) had three hits each; Robinson Cancel was 2x4 with a double and an RBI. Even Chacin got in on it, going 2x2 with a run scored.

Man of the Match: Bogusevic!

Corpus (25-47)

This was never very close as San Antonio dominated Corpus 7-2. Jonnathan Aristil got the Ugly, allowing 7H/7ER, 4K:3BB in 2.1IP; Shane Wolf allowed 3H/0ER, 3K:2BB in 3.2IP; Brad Hennessey, Blake King, and Arcenio Leon combined for 3IP, 1H/0ER, 2K:0BB.

Jose Altuve had your only multi-hit game of the night, going 2x3 with a walk, and now hitting .381. Jimmy Paredes hit his 5th homer of the year - a pinch-hit 2-run shot - and Emerson Frostad, playing 1B, was 1x4 with a triple. Chris Wallace got his first start at Double-A, going 0x3 with a walk, RBI, and a strikeout.

Man of the Match: Jose Altuve

Lancaster (28-42)

The JetHawks had a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the 1st, but Rancho Cucamonga scored the next six runs, winning 7-5. Our Boy Andrew Robinson went 2.2IP, 6H/5R (4ER), 0K:2BB, WP; Mike Ness gave up 5H/2ER, 5K:0BB in 4.1IP, and David Berner struck out two of the three batters he faced.

Jiovanni Mier, in his Lancaster debut, went 2x4 with an RBI; Kody Hinze was 0x2, but drew 2BB. Jose Carlos Thompson had your only extra-base hit, a double, and Austin Wates (2RBI), Thompson, and Jonathan Meyer had your other RBI.

Man of the Match: Jiovanni Mier

Lexington (35-36)

Ben Orloff's throwing error led to four unearned runs, and Greenville beat Lexington 8-2. Ruben Alaniz allowed 5H/5R (1ER), 6K:2BB in 5IP; Chia-Jen Lo made his season debut, allowing 1H/1ER, 2K:1BB in 1IP, and Juan Minaya allowed 4H/2ER, 3K:1BB in 3IP of relief.

The Legends only got four hits - one of those was Adam Bailey's 14th homer of the year, with Enrique Hernandez, Jhonny Medrano, and Tyler Burnett getting the other hits. Delino DeShields was 0x4 with 2K, and is hitting .194.

Man of the Match: Adam Bailey

Tri-City (3-3)

Lowell got two runs in the top of the 8th to tie the game 2-2, but Tri-City responded with one in the bottom half for a 3-2 win. Juri Perez allowed 2H/0ER, 9K:1BB in 5IP; Travis Blankenship got 2K:1BB in 1.2IP; Brad James allowed 3H/2ER, 3K:1BB in 1.1IP - but got his first win since 2009; Ryan Cole got his first save, striking out two in a perfect IP.

Justin Gominsky was 2x4, Zach Johnson had a double, and Brandon Meredith was 1x2 with a walk and two stolen bases.

Man of the Match: Juri Perez

Greeneville (0-3)

Bristol extended Greeneville's winless streak with a 5-0 win over the Gastros. Luis Ordosgoitti allowed 5H/5R (1ER), 7K:1BB, WP, HBP in 5.2IP while Brad Propst gave up 4H/0ER, 2K:0BB in 2.1IP.

The Gastros only got two hits - Jose Vargas, and a double by Ronald Sanchez. Jorge Sosa and Alex Todd also drew walks.

Man of the Match: Luis Ordosgoitti.

Eddie's Farm: June 21

Oklahoma City (30-43)

Brutal game for OKC as Albuquerque had a 10-run lead at one point before the RedHawks "rallied" in the 9th. Isotopes win 11-4. Sergio Perez allowed 10H/6R (2ER), 3K:7BB in 5IP. Patrick Urckfitz continues to struggle at AAA, allowing 5H/4ER, 0K:2BB in 1.2IP, and Danny Meszaros allowed 2H/1ER, 1K:0BB in 1.1IP.

Brian Bogusevic was 2x4 with a walk, double, triple, SB, and 2RBI; Brian Esposito was 2x4 with a walk.

Man of the Match: Brian Bogusevic

Corpus (25-45)

Corpus led 6-2 after two innings, but San Antonio rallied for a 10-6 win, anyway. Erick Abreu got his first loss of the season - well-earned - with 10H/7ER, 5K:3BB, 2HR in 5IP. Shane Wolf allowed 3H/2ER in 2.1IP, and Sam Gervacio allowed 1H/1ER, 2K:1BB in 1.2IP.

J.D. Martinez was 3x4 with a walk, 2-run homer, and 3RBI total; Emerson Frostad was 3x4, and Jimmy Paredes was 2x5 with an RBI and his 23rd stolen base.

Man of the Match: J.D. Martinez

Lancaster

Off, but the California League defeated the Carolina League 6-1 in the All-Star Game. Jake Buchanan got the win, with a perfect 3rd inning, striking out one. Kody Hinze was 0x1 in a punch-hitting role, but won the Home Run Derby with 10 homers over Ian Gac.

Lexington

Off, but the SAL South defeated the SAL North 6-3 in the All-Star Game. Chris Wallace was 1x2, and Mike Kvasnicka was 0x2 with a strikeout. Chris Wallace won the SAL League Home Run Derby, with 20 homers.

Tri-City (2-3

Connecticut got all their runs in the bottom of the 8th for a 5-2 win over Tri-City. Nick Tropeano made his debut, allowing just 1H/0ER, 3K:2BB in 5IP of work. Dayan Diaz allowed 1H/2R (1ER), 2K:1BB in 2IP; Travis Smink got the BS/L with 2H/3R (1ER) in 0.1IP (allowing both the runners Diaz left to score), and Ryan Cole struck out one in 0.2IP.

Justin Gominsky was 2x3 with 2BB, SB, and an RBI; John Hinson was 1x3 with 2BB, and Drew Muren was 0x2 with 3BB. Matt Duffy and Brandon Meredith (BB) got the other hits.

Man of the Match: Nick Tropeano

Greeneville (0-1)

Rough opener for the Greeneville Astros, as Bristol was up 13-1 by the end of the 5th on their way to a 13-4 win over Greeneville. Jose Perdomo got the Ugly, allowing 8H/7R (4ER), 0K:1BB, 2HR. Danilo Del Rio allowed 5H/6R (4ER), 1K:1BB, 3HBP in 3.1IP. Mark Jones allowed 2H/0ER, 2K:2BB and Rodney Quintero allowed 1H/0ER, 1K:1BB.

Chase Davidson was 2x3 with a triple, homer, and 2RBI, while Ariel Ovando was 1x4 with an RBI. Jorge Sosa and Alex Todd (2 errors) added a hit each.

Man of the Match: Chase Davidson

Eddie's Farm: June 14

Oklahoma City (28-38)

Game 1: OKC gets a 4-hit shutout over Albuquerque to take Game 1. Wesley Wright got the start, giving up 1H/0ER, 3K:2BB in 4IP, while Danny Meszaros gave up 2H/0ER, 1K:0BB in 1.2IP for the win. Jose Valdez got his 4th save with 1H/0ER in 1.1IP.

The RedHawks gave former Astro Tim Redding his 7th loss of the season with seven hits from seven different players. Drew Locke had your only XBH - a double, and Oswaldo Navarro and Robinson Cancel both drew a walk in addition to a hit.

Man of the Match: Wesley Wright

Game 2: OKC never trailed, earning the sweep with a 5-3 win. Nelson Figueroa improved to 4-2 with 7H/3R (2ER), 7K:3BB in 5.1IP. Jeff Fulchino got hit in the hand on a comebacker after two pitches, and David Carpenter walked two in 1.1IP to close out the game and extend his scoreless streak to 14IP.

Brian Bogusevic was 2x4 with 2RBI, while Tommy Manzella was 1x2 with a walk and 2RBI. Brian Dopirak hit his 6th homer of the season. Wladimir Sutil was 1x2 with a walk, and is hitting .364/.417/.364 in six games since joining OKC.

Man of the Match: Brian Bogusevic

Corpus (23-40)

San Antonio got out to an early 5-0 lead, and just held on for a 7-3 win as Corpus loses its 40th game of the season. Ross Seaton allowed 8H/5ER, 1K:2BB, 2HR in 5IP; Arcenio Leon allowed 3H/2ER, 2K:3BB in 1.2IP. Sam Gervacio struck out two of the four batters he saw in a perfect outing.

Brandon Wikoff (RBI) and Jake Goebbert (2B, BB) had two hits each. T.J. Steele and Emerson Frostad added RBIs.

Man of the Match: Sam Gervacio

Lancaster (26-38)

Lake Elsinore answered a Lancaster three-run 3rd with four of their own, and won 6-4. Robby Donovan allowed 9H/6ER, 6K:2BB, 2HR in 5.1IP, while Mike Ness closed out the final eight outs with 2H/0ER, 0K:1BB.

Five JetHawks were responsible for five hits, with Jay Austin getting the lone XBH - a double. Jose Carlos Thompson's hit was worth 2RBI, while Austin Wates and Jonathan Meyer added a walk to their one hit. Kody Hinze was 0x3 with a walk and 3K.

Man of the Match: Uh. How about Erik Castro? 1x4 with an RBI, and the only JetHawk to not strikeout (15K for the JetHawks on the night).

Lexington (30-35)

Lexington jumped out to a 3-0 lead after four innings, and Mike Foltynewicz and the Legends beat Augusta for a 5-2 win, and Foltynewicz's 3rd win of the season. Foltynewicz allowed 8H/1ER, 0K:2BB in 6IP. David Martinez allowed 1H/1ER, 1K:0BB in 1.1IP, and Jason Chowning threw a perfect five-out outing.

Enrique Hernandez was 3x4 with a double, walk, and RBI; Mike Kvasnicka was 2x5 with two doubles, while Chris Wallace had an RBI triple. Other Legends getting on base twice: DeShields and Jordan Scott.

Man of the Match: Enrique Hernandez.

Keppinger activated, Bogusevic sent down

Everyone hoping that this would be the day Bill Hall was released can just calm down. With Keppinger's activation, Brian Bogusevic has been sent back to Oklahoma City. Minutes after scoring the game-winning run.

Carlos Lee is frustrating people in Chicago

Phil Rogers' tawdry Baseball Whispers column notes the mounting frustration with Carlos Lee:

Carlos Lee, who is owed $39 million, is testing the Astros' patience with a batting average around the Mendoza line. Some say he walked every step from the dugout to left field last weekend in Milwaukee. He's taking a spot from Brian Bogusevic, whose bat and energy could help get the Astros turned around.