Astros' Sandoval extends shutout streak
Everything seems to be going right for Patrick Sandoval.The Astros prospect tossed seven one-hit frames to extend his scoreless streak to 33 innings as Class A Advanced Buies Creek beat Down East, 3-1, on Wednesday at Jim Perry Stadium.
Everything seems to be going right for Patrick Sandoval.
The Astros prospect tossed seven one-hit frames to extend his scoreless streak to 33 innings as Class A Advanced Buies Creek beat Down East, 3-1, on Wednesday at Jim Perry Stadium.
Gameday box score
"I don't think there's one thing I can pinpoint," Buies Creek pitching coach Drew French said. "I think it's having command of four pitches and being aggressive in the zone. He forces a lot of swings and there's a lot of weak contact. He really challenges hitters and I think he does that with all four pitches, which is a plus for a guy with his caliber of stuff."
Sandoval (2-0) hasn't allowed a run since June 3, a stretch that includes all three starts for Buies Creek. Since he was promoted from Class A Quad Cities, he's yielded four hits while striking out 20 over 16 innings.
On Wednesday, the left-hander used his off-speed pitches effectively.
"Today, it was his changeup," French said. "He had 12 swings and misses on his changeup today and another six or seven on his slider. The curveball is a work-in-progress in terms of making it a putaway pitch, but he's able to throw it for strikes early in the count and do some things where he can get to his changeup and slider with two strikes."
Last time out on Thursday, Sandoval gave up a lone single over five innings. He hasn't been charged with an earned run in eight starts since May 23, a span of 41 innings.
Against the Wood Ducks, the southpaw retired the first nine batters before walking LeDarious Clark to lead off the fourth. After balking him to second and issuing another free pass to Alex Kowalczyk with two outs, the 21-year-old retired Charles Leblanc on a fly ball to left field.
"I rarely have to sweat when he's out there. He's in complete control," French said. "From a maturity level, in his Draft year in 2016, the upward trend that he's on and he has his feet in the ground in pro ball, those things are very apparent. He tends to respond versus react."
Josh Altmann doubled with two outs in the fifth, but Sandoval set down the final seven batters he faced. He exited after punching out Rangers No. 29 prospectBrendon Davis, having thrown 66 of 95 pitches for strikes.
Over 74 innings across both levels, the California native has walked 11 batters, including three over his last 36 frames.

"He has tremendous feel," French said. "I think it's kind of elementary to say, but he gets ahead in the count. He's always 0-1, or if it's 1-0 he's squaring it up 1-1 so he has the opportunity to get into a high leverage count for a pitcher, which is 1-2 or 2-2. It's not a surprise; I had him in the Midwest League last year towards the end, and he's got big league preparation and routine. It's not a surprise to me that he's prepared for every outing. It comes down to execution. He goes out there and executes the game plan, and he did that tonight."
Colin McKee gave up an unearned run on two hits and a walk with two strikeouts over the final two innings for his second save.
Osvaldo Duarte, Bryan De La Cruz, and Carlos Canelon each drove in a run for the Astros.
Wood Ducks starter Walker Weickel did not figure in the decision after allowing four hits and a walk while fanning one over five scoreless frames.
Marisa Ingemi is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Ingemi.
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between
Prospect Peña quietly drawing raves in Brewers' farm system
PHOENIX – Jesús Made was at the top of the Brewers’ lineup for Sunday’s 9-7 loss to the Reds in the finale of MLB’s four-day Spring Breakout, a fitting perch when you consider that the 17-year-old infielder is under a bright spotlight as MLB Pipeline’s No. 55 prospect. Made could
Brecht -- in 1st outing since '24 Draft -- wows at Spring Breakout
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Sunday's Spring Breakout showcase was the perfect unveiling for Rockies No. 5 prospect Brody Brecht. A right-handed pitcher from the University of Iowa whom the Rockies selected 38th overall last summer, Brecht had a nice collegiate resume, an interesting backstory as a former wide receiver for the
Braves prospects show promise in Spring Breakout
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- As Terry Pendleton prepared to serve as the manager of the Braves prospect team that played the Tigers prospect team in a Spring Breakout game on Sunday afternoon, he said fans should be patient with John Gil and Luis Guanipa, a pair of teenagers who have
Yanks' Lagrange flashes triple-digit heat in Spring Breakout
SARASOTA, Fla. -- There was an audible “Ooh” from the crowd at Ed Smith Stadium, and Carlos Lagrange quickly glanced beyond the right-field wall, checking the velocity of the pitch he’d just thrown in Saturday’s 5-4 Spring Breakout loss to the Orioles. It had registered in the triple digits, and
Bradfield dedicates Spring Breakout performance to late friend
SARASOTA, Fla. -- It was about more than playing in the national spotlight. More than the dinner bet placed with an old college teammate earlier in the month. More than a game. As Enrique Bradfield Jr. slid home to score a run during the first inning of Saturday night’s Spring
'Hungry' Alcántara hoping to pounce on big league prey in '25
MESA, Ariz. -- The thing about jaguars is, you don’t want to see one when it’s hungry. So when Cubs legend Sammy Sosa spoke to the organization’s No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline -- and the No. 89 prospect overall -- the former slugger gave him some apt advice. “His
Rainiers broadcaster Pay talks historic role on MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Prospect Santos 'electric' in Spring Breakout start
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Malcolm Moore knew Winston Santos was locked in before he even threw a pitch. In the second annual Spring Breakout game, Santos -- the Rangers’ No. 5 prospect, per MLB Pipeline -- was throwing to Moore, the Rangers’ No. 4 prospect and highest-ranked catcher. The battery more
Switch-pitcher Cijntje deals from both sides in Spring Breakout
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Jurrangelo Cijntje knew who’d be waiting for him in the batter’s box when he emerged from the visiting bullpen on Friday evening. The Mariners’ switch-pitcher had seen Guardians infielder Travis Bazzana recently at a card-signing event, to which they each joked, “I’m going to see you soon,”
Fans in this Minor League town are hungry for ... the Spicy Meatballs?!?
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Chandler adds mix to upper-90s heat in stellar Spring Breakout start
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- In the inaugural Spring Breakout game a year ago, as he was coming out to pitch the ninth inning, Bubba Chandler slammed a Red Bull and declared “let’s do this” before pumping upper-90s heat.