Quad Cities River Bandits SS Carlos Correa on first base after hitting a single.
It’s a good thing I saw Carlos Correa play last week, because the notable Houston Astros prospect was placed on the disabled list today. (LHP Joe Bircher also was put on the DL.)
I was looking forward to Wednesday’s game between the Cedar Rapids Kernels and the Quad Cities River Bandits at Modern Woodmen Park, but now it won’t be the same without Correa playing. He and Kernels CF Byron Buxton are arguably the top two prospects in the Midwest League right now — they were the top two overall picks in last year’s draft — so I had my eye on the upcoming series for awhile now.
Oh, well.
At least I got to see both prospects play last Tuesday, albeit in different games. I saw Buxton in a Cedar Rapids day game and Correa in a Quad Cities night game.
J.D. Williams (No. 2) waits for Byron Buxton to cross home plate after Buxton homered to LF.
Buxton’s home run in the Cedar Rapids game struck a tree outside the ballpark, but even more impressive was teammate Dalton Hicks’ home run over the CF batter’s eye. This shot is his actual home run swing …
Kernels 1B Dalton Hicks connects for a long home run to CF.
… but this is a better photo, of Hicks being greeted by teammates as he crosses the plate.
Dalton Hicks is greeted by teammates as he crosses the plate.
The Kernels beat the Lansing Lugnuts 5-4. It was the last game of Cedar Rapids’ 9-game winning streak. SP Matthew Tomshaw got the win after throwing five scoreless innings. He gave up four hits and struck out four.
Cedar Rapids Kernels LHP Matthew Tomshaw
As you can see in my photos, the Kernels were wearing special Minnesota Twins jerseys for that game.
Later in Davenport, the River Bandits game was not as close. Quad Cities beat the Great Lakes Loons 17-6, and I got to see a position player take the mound late in the game. That’s not too unusual, but what made it kind of unique this time is the player, Tyler Ogle, homered earlier in the game.
Tyler Ogle swings at a pitch during Tuesday’s game.
Ogle began the game as the Loons’ designated hitter. He hit a 2-run homer in the top of the 7th inning, and moved to the mound two outs into the bottom half of the inning. He pitched 1.1 innings, giving up two runs on two hits, four walks and a hit-by-pitch. He struck out two batters.
Almost everyone in the River Bandits lineup had multiple hits, but the biggest blow came off the bat of catcher Jobduan Morales, who hit a grand slam in the 6th inning. He drove in five runs with two hits.
River Bandits DH Roberto Pena had two hits, a double and a home run, that drove in four runs.
Roberto Pena bats for the Quad Cities River Bandits.
Correa went 2-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and three runs scored. He also got hit by a pitch — the one that ultimately landed him on the disabled list.
* All photos by Craig Wieczorkiewicz/The Midwest League Traveler
