Thompson excites, but Correa has final say

Jake Thompson went into Monday's start looking to put an emphasis on his command and he did exactly that. Then someone else stole his spotlight in the bottom of the ninth.

A 12-strikeout night by the Rangers' No. 4 prospect was spoiled by Astros' top prospect Carlos Correa, who slapped a walk-off double to give the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks a 5-4 win against the visiting Frisco RoughRiders.

After two tough outings, Thompson realized having all his pitches doesn't always translate into success, so he went into his fifth start looking to paint the corners and throw the ball down in the zone. He also had a plan for facing MLB.com's third overall prospect.

"Keep the ball away from him, make him hit my pitches," the RoughRiders starter explained. "[Correa's a] really good mistake hitter, so I was concentrating on limiting my mistakes."

MLB.com's No. 81 prospect did just that, retiring Correa in his first two at-bats, while holding the entire Hooks lineup to five hits and one walk in seven frames.

"I felt good, I was able to throw all my pitches for strikes and I think that's was the reason for my success," he said. "I usually don't strike out that many guys, but I was able, even when I got in three-ball counts, to throw my offspeed pitches for strikes and just really paint on the corners of the plate."

The only time Thompson allowed two baserunners at once was in the sixth when Tyler Heineman walked and Correa singled to right. The 21-year-old right-hander stuck with his plan, getting Conrad Gregor to fly out and then -- after Correa stole second -- fanning Brandon Meredith to end the inning.

In the next frame, Thompson came out firing as he neared triple digits in his pitch count. The Texas native struck out the side on 15 pitches to complete his stellar 103-pitch night.

"I knew I wasn't going to be able to go another inning with the pitch count, so I went into that inning as my last and gave it everything I had," he said. "It was a really good start for me, hopefully something I can build off."

The game began with someone striking out the side on 15 pitches, but it was by Thompson's opponent, Mark Appel. Although the game was billed as a pitchers' duel, it quickly changed themes as the Astros' second-ranked prospect allowed three runs on five hits and four walks while striking out seven across 3 2/3 frames.

Meanwhile, Thompson stood in line for the victory, partly because of his batterymate, Jorge Alfaro. The Rangers second-ranked prospect belted a leadoff homer in the fifth for his second jack of the season.

"He doesn't get enough credit for the offensive production he has because he's a catcher and most catchers don't swing it like he does," the righty said. "So anything he chips in at all is a plus and he's able to chip in a lot."

Corpus Christi chipped away at the lead against reliever Josh McElwee (0-1) with an RBI double to left by Heineman in the eighth and a bases-loaded walk to Tony Kemp -- the Astros' No. 14 prospect -- with one out in the ninth. Then Heineman then struck out and Correa stepped up to the plate.

The 20-year-old right-handed hitter smacked the second pitch he saw from Jesus Pirela to center field to clear the bases in dramatic fashion.

"It was rough. You really don't want to come down to the last inning," Thompson said. "Winning run on first with Correa up is not ideal, but I think it will make us stronger as a team moving forward."

Reliever Jonas Dufek (1-0) allowed one hit and struck out one in three scoreless frames.