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Rice got the jump on UTSA ace Luke Malone in the early goings of the opener, scoring four runs in the first two frames and following that up with a three-spot in the fifth. The UTSA bats were ready to push back, however, cutting into a 4-0 Rice lead with two-run innings in the second and third, respectively, to tie the game back at 4-4.
The aforementioned three-run fifth — all runs courtesy of a Ben Royo home run — would give the Owls a lead, but again, the Roadrunners rallied back. UTSA would score four in the seventh and one more in the eighth, roughing up Justin Long and Cristian Cienfuegos, the latter of which took the loss, his first of the season.
As they did on Friday night, Rice got to work early on Saturday afternoon. A pair of solo home runs in the top of the first inning staked the Owls to a 2-0 lead, which quickly grew to 5-0 in the second before a weather delay paused the game in the middle of Ben Royo’s second at-bat. Royo would fly out when play resumed, signaling a shift in momentum away from the Owls.
With Rice leading 6-1, UTSA went on the offensive. The Roadrunners ambushed JD McCracken for four runs in the fourth, then jumped all over Tyler Hamilton for three runs in the sixth to take the lead for good. Once again, Rice was unable to hold an early lead and fell, ceding the series to UTSA.
A weekend of crooked numbers rounded into full form on Sunday. Ben Royo got things going with a solo home run in the second, answered quickly by a single run to tie the game by UTSA in the bottom of the inning. Then the fireworks really got going.
UTSA hung a four-spot in the third. Rice answered with five runs in the fourth with Guy Garibay providing an emphatic, go-ahead three-run blast. The lead was short-lived, though. UTSA answered with a six-run sixth, rocking Matthew Linskey with a grand slam to take a commanding 11-6 advantage. That would be the final score.
Another weekend down, but the same familiar result. Rice baseball is headed back to Houston with a bad taste in its mouth. Here are three takeaways from a tough weekend on the road.
Jon Duplantier (Phillies) was moved to the 60-day injured list on April 6. He has yet to appear in a game in the Phillies organization after signing with them as a free agent this offseason.
Tristan Gray (Rays) has begun the 2023 season with the highest OPS (.780) he’s had since a brief short-season campaign in 2017. Gray recorded six home runs and 19 RBI in 23 games in the month of April.
Ford Proctor (Giants) made his major league debut at the end of the 2022 season and has started the 2023 campaign somewhat slowly. He’s hitting .205 in the early going, but has walked 22 times to push his on-base percentage to .368 despite the lower average. He’s appeared in 26 games to date all over the infield. He’s made starts at first base, second base, third base and shortstop, as well as designated hitter.
Matt Canterino (Twins) began the 2023 season on the 60-day injured list as he recovered from offseason surgery. He’ll be sidelined for some time.
Trei Cruz (Tigers) is off to the best start of his minor league career by a wide margin. After hitting no better than .231 in either of his first two minor league seasons spread across several different teams, Cruz has settled down nicely in AA, slugging a career-best .478 with four home runs and 12 RBI in 18 games. He was recently named Eastern League Player of the Week.
Trei Cruz is the @milb Eastern League Player of the Week 🐺 pic.twitter.com/G3tKFzfqXR
— Erie SeaWolves (@erie_seawolves) May 1, 2023
Evan Kravetz (Reds) hasn’t had much of a minor league season to this point. He’s appeared in one game, throwing two innings and allowing three runs, a 13.50 ERA. That will almost certainly work itself out as he gets more work when the season progresses.
Dane Myers (Marlins) opened the season in AA after splitting time between AA and AAA last season. He’s hitting .282 with more hits (20) than games played (19) with seven of those hits going for extra bases.
Roel Garcia (Rays, High-A) has appeared in four games this season with mixed results. He owns a 4.50 ERA and has struck out 11 in 12 innings, allowing 13 hits and 10 runs, although only six of which were earned. He’s walked seven.
Cooper Chandler (Orioles) has pitched in seven games, working 11.2 innings. He’s struck out 19 but allowed opposing batters to hit .313 against him. To this point, he has a 4.63 ERA.
Things couldn’t have gotten off to much more of an inauspicious start for Rice baseball on Wednesday night against Houston. A leadoff single was followed by another single, neither struck particularly hard. Back-to-back walks put Rice in a 1-0 hole before Guy Garibay’s diving snag turned the tide and kept Rice in the game.
Rice would then fight back from 2-0 and 4-2 deficits to tie the game. A smattering of relievers combined to hold the Houston offense at bay, with two of the Cougars’ first five runs scored on wild pitches with two outs remaining in the inning.
Mark Perkins came on in relief shortly afterward and kept the Cougars’ run total at five, giving the Rice offense a chance. The Owls squandered a bases-loaded opportunity in the eighth but cashed it in during the ninth, forcing extra innings.
Ultimately it was Tom Vincent who got his bell rung in the 12th, ceding three runs before ceding the mound to Garet Zaskoda, the 20th pitcher of the game — Houston would throw No. 21 in the bottom of the inning — as the game ticked past the four-hour mark. Houston went on to win, clinching the Silver Glove series victory.
“It stinks to be on the losing end of a game like this. We were very competitive, it just seems like there’s there’s one thing that happens, or two things, four things today that happened that makes life difficult for us and we end up having to talk about not winning again. It’s getting annoying,” head coach Jose Cruz Jr. said.
“I mean, I know we’re close. [We’ll] just keep showing up, keep grinding, keep game planning like we are and just have faith that things are going to turn around.”
Cruz singled out the wild pitches, errors and missed RBI opportunities as key moments that turned the course of the game.
The Owls won’t have much time to lick their wounds. They hit the road tomorrow for a three-game tilt with UTSA before returning home where they’ll face Houston again in one of two midweek games.
The past week was a productive one for Anthony Rendon, who slashed .316/.435/.803 across the five-game stretch, all marks that raised his season-long statistics. He recorded a pair of multi-hit games against the Athletics, one of which included his third double of the season.
Through May 2, Rendon is hitting .250 with three extra-base hits, 14 walks and 11 strikeouts. His OPS is .665 and he’s collected 13 RBI.
On April 17, the Braves placed Lucas Luetge on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to April 14, with what they termed left bicep inflammation. He hasn’t appeared in a game for the team since April 12. He underwent an MRI which came back clean.
Through May 2, Luetge has an 8.10 ERA with a 1.800 WHIP. He’s averaging 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
Chargois has been sidelined since April 10 with a right oblique strain. He resumed long toss activities last week and through a 25-pitch bullpen outing this week, further progressing toward a return.
Through May 2, Chargois has a 0.00 ERA with a 0.000 WHIP. He’s averaging 8.3 strikeouts per nine innings.
Otto did not appear on the Rangers Opening Day roster despite making 27 starts for the club last season. Instead, he began the year on the injured list, landing on the 60-day IL on March 30 with a right shoulder strain. He will be sidelined for the foreseeable future.