Arkansas Travelers pitchers Peter Tago and Tyler Herb relaxed in Dr Pepper Ballpark’s lazy river — like those found in most water parks — shortly after Tuesday’s batting practice at the Texas League All-Star Game in Frisco, Texas.
Two all-star arms soaking in their midseason affirmation.
Herb (6-4, 3.36 ERA) had been an all-star in the Class A-Advanced California League the season before.
But it was the first for Tago, 24, a former Colorado Rockies 2010 first-round pick who has since played for three organizations.
It was one of the highest honors Tago had received in his seven-year career.
Tuesday night, in the cool water just beyond the wall in right field, Tago said he felt like he belonged among the best.
The Texas League season resumed Thursday night with San Antonio holding off Arkansas 6-3 at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.
“That’s always been my goal is to be an All-Star,” said Tago, a right-handed reliever who has a 2.76 ERA and 1.16 WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched). “When I really started believing in that was in 2015.”
That year, Tago completed his fourth season in Colorado’s minor league system with a career 6.74 ERA and he had yet to play beyond Class A-Advanced. The Chicago White Sox selected Tago in the minor-league portion of the offseason’s Rule 5 Draft, which is where baseball organizations pick players off other teams who are not held in high priority.
For Tago, it was proof that another team believed in him.
Over the next two seasons, Tago held a 3.50 ERA and was selected to the 2015 Arizona Fall League — where baseball organizations send their best prospects to play in a separate league against each other. The performance was enough for the Seattle Mariners to sign Tago on Nov. 26, when his contract ran out with the White Sox.
Seven months laster, he was one of six Travs players selected to the All-Star team.
Eventually, Tago and Herb ended up in the North Division bullpen, where they watched Travs center fielder Ian Miller stretch a double to a triple to lead off the game. Two batters later, Travs left-fielder Chuck Taylor drove Miller in with a two-run home run to center field.
“The Travelers did pretty good,” said Taylor, who was hitting .302 with 6 home runs and 32 RBI. “We held our team down.”
The South built a 10-3 lead by the end of the fourth inning, which ended up being the final score.
In the bottom of the fifth, Tago faced the South’s best hitters: San Antonio’s Luis Urias (.312 batting average), and Corpus Christi’s J.D. Davis (18 HR, 45 RBI) and Jon Singleton (14 HR, 46 RBI).
Tago did not realize who he was about to face.
Normally, he looks at a ballpark’s video board to see who his first batter is. But as he ran out before the fifth, he laughed when saw his Travs teammate, left-handed reliever Zac Curtis, live on-screen trying to play “Guess that phrase.”
“I had to try to get refocused when I got to the mound,” said Tago, who was met there by Travs catcher Tyler Marlette.
“Hey,” Marlette said. “Let’s have some fun.”
Tago retired the side without a run, surrendering a walk and a double. To end the inning, he struck out Singleton — a player Tago had faced throughout his minor league career.
After the game, Tago returned to the lazy river, where players from the North and South were enjoying a pool party.
This time, Tago just watched.
Singleton approached and joked about the strikeout.
“He knew I was going fastball away,” Tago said. “He just couldn’t hit it.”
On Thursday, the Missions scored all their runs in the top of the first, when 10 players batted for a total of 5 hits, 1 walk and a hit batsman. Left-fielder Alberth Martinez drove in three runs with a 393-foot home run to left field, and first baseman Fernando Perez and Austin Bousfield each had RBI doubles.
Travs right-handed starter Justin DeFratus (2-4, 6.18 ERA) continued to struggle, surrendering 8 hits, 6 runs and a walk with 2 strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings before an announced crowd of 3,459.
San Antonio right-hander Enyel De Los Santos (5-4, 4.71) earned the victory, giving up the Travs’ three runs in the first and sixth innings.
Travs left-fielder Chuck Taylor drove in the first run with a groundout during the first, and first baseman Ryan Casteel hit a two-RBI double in the sixth.
Today’s game
TRAVELERS VS. MISSIONS
WHEN 7:10 p.m.
WHERE Dickey-Stephens Park, North Little Rock
RADIO KARN-AM, 920, in central Arkansas
WEBSITE travs.com PITCHERS Travelers: RHP Brett Ash (5-6, 5.82 ERA); Missions: RHP Kyle Lloyd (6-4, 3.23 ERA)
THE WEEK AHEAD
TODAY vs. San Antonio, 7:10 p.m. SATURDAY vs. San Antonio, 6:10 p.m. SUNDAY vs. Corpus Christi, 2:10 p.m. MONDAY vs. Corpus Christi, 7:10 p.m. TUESDAY vs. Corpus Christi, 5:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY at San Antonio, 7:05 p.m. THURSDAY at San Antonio, 7:05 p.m.
Sports on 06/30/2017