Astros prospects staged a dramatic ninth-inning rally to defeat Marlins prospects 7-6 in Thursday's Spring Breakout game at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Despite early errors and trailing by five runs, they scored two runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings for the walk-off victory. Marlins starter Karson Milbrandt impressed with six strikeouts over three hitless innings.
The Astros prospects struggled early in the annual Spring Breakout game, committing four errors in the first three innings—including two by shortstop Xavier Neyens, the team's No. 2 prospect—and hitting into a bases-loaded double play in the fourth while trailing by five runs. “We made some mistakes early—I made some mistakes early, but we got through it and kept battling and grinding and we pulled it out at the end,” Neyens said afterward. The team drew 18 walks in the game, including key ones late. In the ninth, third baseman Nick Monistere started the rally with a walk on a pitch clock violation by Marlins reliever Cannon Pickell. Juan Sierra, a 20-year-old Dominican outfielder, followed with a competitive at-bat, challenging a called strike that was overturned, fouling off a 98.2 mph fastball, and drawing a walk. German Rivera then singled to score Monistere and tie the game at 6-6. Caden Powell, the Astros' No. 27 prospect, hit a grounder to shortstop, allowing Sierra to score the winning run with a slide that evaded Marlins catcher Ryan Ignoffo's tag. “It wasn’t close,” Neyens said. “He was safe.” Astros manager Wladimir Sutil praised the team's resilience: “They were having fun. That’s the most important thing... We battled all throughout the game until we got the win.” On the Marlins side, No. 10 prospect Karson Milbrandt started and struck out six over three hitless innings, walking three but limiting damage to a run on a wild pitch. His fastball reached 97.1 mph, with strikeouts on sliders, four-seamers and a curveball. “Six punchies is good. Still working on the feel stuff,” Milbrandt said.
