Winning two on Cinco de Mayo

The Round Rock Express rolled into San Antonio late last week and immediately started peppering the outfield at Wolff Stadium with base hits.
When they weren't stroking singles and doubles, they were bashing long, majestic home runs. In a 48-hour period, they rocked the Missions by a combined score of 17-5.
The only thing more electric than the Round Rock offensive attack was the storm that blew through town Friday night, when it rained so hard that the dugouts flooded, and bolts of lightning streaked from one end of the horizon to the other.
In a somewhat stunning reversal of fortune, the Missions retaliated with a vengeance Sunday afternoon behind Blake Allemand, Jake Hager, Miguel Sanchez and others, notching two victories over the Express on Cinco de Mayo.
The Missions won 10-9 and 6-1 in games that yielded a 2-1 series lead over their I-H 35 rivals, leading into Monday's 11:05 a.m. finale at the Wolff.
On a warm and muggy afternoon, a crowd of 3,643 watched as they started off trailing 6-1 in the bottom of the fourth, the point at which Friday's game was called off.
The Missions immediately went to work, slamming four hits and scoring five runs against heralded Houston Astros prospect Forrest Whitley, who was knocked out of the game when Allemand belted a two-out, three-run homer to make it 6-6.
"It's crazy how momentum changes in baseball, man," Allemand said. "One little thing (happens), momentum switches, and everything catches on. Hitting is contagious. Guys start playing well. In that first inning, we scored five runs. We just had a lot of great at bats."
None was better or more important than Allemand's. Facing a struggling Whitley, he dropped the bat's barrel on an inside slider and yanked it over the right field wall.
It was a special moment for the former standout from Boerne Champion High School, because it was his first hit in Triple-A, and he did it in the town where he was born.
Also, coincidentally, it came off a graduate of Alamo Heights High School, one of Champion's long-time rivals in all sports.
"I've heard about (Whitley)," Allemand said. "I talked to my old high school coach, coach (Chuck) Foster, and he mentioned a couple of years ago (that) he was really good.
"I knew his name, (but) I never seen him. Never faced him. I wasn't thinking anything about it.
"I was just trying to get a good pitch to hit, and then hit it. After the fact, it's kind of funny I was able to hit it off a guy from Alamo Heights. That's kind of a funny back story."
Trailing 9-7, the Missions completed their biggest comeback of the year with three runs on four hits and a walk in the bottom of the ninth.
Hager stroked the winning hit off former New Braunfels High standout Ralph Garza, the first time this year that the Missions won after trailing after eight innings.
Manager Rick Sweet said he was proud of his team's resilience.
"Very impressed," Sweet said. "I will tell you, the last couple of days have been tough days. They jumped on us for five runs, six runs, in the first inning (on Friday and Saturday). You're thinking, 'Holy, cow.' You could have been overwhelmed, and the guys were not.
"They came out and played good baseball today. We stayed focused on what our game plan was. It doesn't always work out. Today, it worked out."
A suspect San Antonio pitching staff that gave up 22 hits in 12 innings on Friday and Saturday improved by giving up only six hits in 12 innings on Sunday.
Jimmy Nelson, a one-time ace of the Milwaukee Brewers on rehabilitation assignment, started the suspended game by throwing 3.1 innings.
He gave up three runs on two singles and three walks, but he also was pumping fastballs as hard as 94 mph, and he had three strikeouts.
The story of the second victory was Sanchez, 25, who went 3.1 innings in only his third start as a pro since signing with the Brewers in 2016 out of the Dominican Republic.
Sweet and his staff decided to start him because the parent-club Brewers have called up three Missions starters recently.
In preparation for the moment, Sanchez said in Spanish through an interpreter that he studied the Express' hitters and then tried to execute a plan.
Giving up only two hits and striking out three, he extended a personal scoreless streak to four appearances and to nine innings overall.
Sanchez traced his recent success to picking up more and more information on the opposition, said Eduardo Brizuela, the assistant farm director for the Brewers.
"His biggest thing has been to learn the league," Brizuela said. "He watches how his other teammates pitch and (how they) go after the guys. That's been the biggest thing for him."
Sanchez was in the process of enlisting in the Air Force in the Dominican when he signed with the Brewers in 2016, Brizuela said.
He did it to play baseball against top-flight amateur competition.
"The biggest amateur leagues in the Dominican were the military leagues - the Air Force, the Army, the police academy," Brizuela said. "They usually recruit guys that didn't sign (professional) by his age. He was about 21. They usually recruit those guys (to) come in and play very competitive baseball."
Asked by a reporter if he ever flew a jet in the Dominican, Sanchez smiled and said, "No." Asked if he would ever want to fly a jet, he laughed. "No."
PCL standings
American Southern Division: Round Rock 17-12, San Antonio 17-13, New Orleans 16-14, Oklahoma City 10-19.
Pitching notables
Zack Brown will start for the Missions against Ryan Hartman of the Express on Monday. Aaron Wilkerson is scheduled to make a rehabilitation start for the Missions on Tuesday at Wolff in a series opener against the New Orleans Baby Cakes, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.
Missions starting pitcher Burch Smith has been promoted to the Brewers. As a result, reliever Taylor Williams is coming back to the Missions. Jay Jackson, who officially is designated for assignment, also is expected back unless he is picked up by another organization on waivers.
Hiura's day
Keston Hiura figured prominently as an offensive force in both games. In the five-run fourth inning of the suspended game, he led off with a double. In the three-run ninth, he hit a single. Hiura also had a hit and two RBI in the second game.
Personal best
Allemand reached a career high with four RBI in the first game.
Cinco de Mayo magic?
Playing as the Flying Chanclas, the Missions won on Cinco de Mayo last year when Kyle Overstreet hit a walk-off grand slam in a 9-8 victory over Corpus Christi. This year, Hager did the honors.
Once again playing as the Chanclas, and once again playing a Houston Astros affiliate, they notched a walk-off win against the Round Rock Chupacabras when Hager delivered an RBI single.
Quotable
"Yeah, I mean, it's baseball. There's always a next one. So, you just focus on having a good outing on Saturday. You just move on." - Round Rock pitcher Forrest Whitley, on whether it's easy to shake off a day like Sunday.