Muncy, 'Hounds force Game 5 in Finals

Max Muncy and the Midland RockHounds were backed into a corner heading into Saturday night's game, but nobody let them know.

"We'd been feeling pretty good," the A's No. 9 prospect said. "Even though they've won the last two, everybody in our clubhouse feels we've outplayed them. That's not taking anything away from them -- they've done what they had to do to win games -- but we've played good baseball."

Muncy went 4-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored as the RockHounds forced a decisive Game 5 in the Texas League Championship Series by beating Tulsa, 9-4.

The 24-year-old first baseman started a second-inning outburst with a one-out single off Tulsa starter Jayson Aquino (0-1). After Matt Chapman walked, Muncy scored on a base hit by Kenny Wilson. Chapman came home on Beau Taylor's squeeze bunt to make it 2-0.

"That was a pretty big play right there," Muncy said. "It was early, but that was a key play for us. It got the whole team fired up."

Muncy was especially excited to have gotten the Midland scoring started because although teammate Deryk Hooker pitched in 34 games between Double-A and Triple-A this year, only four of them were starts.

"He's been a great pitcher out of the 'pen, but when somebody who's not used to starting is on the mound in a game like this, you never know what's going to happen," he explained. "It was huge to get him those runs and make sure he was comfortable out there."

Muncy sparked another big inning with a leadoff single in the fourth, helping the RockHounds build a 6-0 cushion.

"It was nice to put the game away for good," said the Baylor product. "They made a good comeback [later], but when we got that much ahead early, we were comfortable to be able to just go out there and play the game."

Tulsa, which won nine of 12 regular-season meetings with Midland, cut the deficit to two with four runs in the sixth. The RockHounds responded with two in the bottom half, with Muncy delivering a two-out RBI knock off reliever Shane Broyles.

"I kind of just went up there relaxed, looking for a good pitch to put a good swing on. I got a ball over plate and was able to drive up the ball up the middle," he said. "These guys have kind of been a thorn in our side all season long. We haven't been able to close them out and they've won a lot of close games against us, so it was huge for us to be able to score a couple more in that inning."

Top A's prospect Daniel Robertson reached base four times in the win, going 2-for-3 with two walks, an RBI and a run scored. D'Arby Myers also had two hits and drove in three runs.

Hooker (2-0) allowed one hit and one walk while fanning six through five innings, but he was touched for four runs -- three earned -- on three more hits and another walk without recording an out in the sixth.

Will Swanner, who had five RBIs in Game 3 on Friday, delivered an RBI double and scored a run for the Drillers.

Game 5 is Sunday in Midland.