Frisco Foils Hooks
CORPUS CHRISTI -- Frisco rode a four-run sixth inning to surpass Corpus Christi 5-3 in front of 6,821 at Whataburger Field and a national TV audience on the CBS Sports Network.
The only blemish on Hooks starter Jordan Jankowski's line through the first five innings was a solo home run that Texas power-hitting prospect Joey Gallo crushed just left of the batter's eye. The long ball was Gallo's third in only his 13th Double-A at-bat.
The wheels fell off in the sixth for Jankowski with the Hooks clinging to a 2-1 advantage. Tomas Telis (single), Gallo (single) and Ryan Rua (walk) loaded the bases with only one out. Odubel Herrera followed with a bases-clearing triple to give Frisco a lead it would never relinquish. Herrera scored on Drew Robinson's two-bagger, giving the visitors a 5-2 lead.
Jankowski (1-2) initially responded to Gallo's homer by striking out three of the next four batters. Although he fanned a game-high five, Jankowski was responsible all five runs and nine of Frisco's 10 hits. He threw 89 pitches, 59 for strikes.
The duo of Michael Dimock and Patrick Urckfitz held the opposition to only one more base in the final 3 2/3 innings.
Corpus Christi's best chance for a comeback came in the seventh. Tyler Heineman and Leo Heras stroked back-to-back doubles into left field against reliever Wilmer Font in reducing the deficit to two. Font's night was drawn to a quick close after just one-third of an inning.
Nolan Fontana loaded the bases with two outs by coaxing his league-leading 56th walk. Keone Kela struck out Jonathan Meyer to end the threat.
Phil Klein closed the final two innings with only one hit and four strikeouts. He fanned the side in the ninth for his eighth save.
The Hooks tallied two runs in the third inning against Frisco starter Edwar Cabrera (3-3). Telvin Nash opened with a bomb off the scoreboard in left-center field. Ruben Sosa reached on a walk - one of Cabrera's five - and scored on Andrew Aplin's base hit.
The two teams return for Game 3 of the series at 7:10 on Friday. The Hooks tandem of Kyle Smith (2-2, 3.68) and Tommy Shirley (5-2, 1.92) will face Jerad Eickhoff (4-5, 4.57).