Moran goes yard twice in Hooks loss

When Colin Moran was out of commission for all but one game in May and 16 in June, he was still absorbing baseball, just not in the way he wanted. Since returning to action, he's been playing like he never missed a beat.

Moran recorded his first career multi-homer game, going yard twice and driving in three runs to continue his late-summer tear at the plate Double-A Corpus Christi fell to visiting Midland, 5-4, on Saturday night at Whataburger Field.

"You never want to get injured and you never want to miss time," said the Astros' No. 11 prospect, who went on the disabled list after suffering a non-displaced jaw fracture, thanks to an errant throw while he was on the basepaths during a game on April 30 at Midland.

"Once it happens, you just try and do what you can to try and get ready for when you're back and get back as soon as possible. It definitely was not fun watching baseball on TV every night or watching the guys in Corpus Christi. I just tried to make the best of it and stay in the game."

On Saturday, Moran got the Hooks on the board when he blasted a one-out offering from RockHounds starter Jake Sanchez out to left-center with a runner aboard. He followed two innings later with a leadoff shot to left against reliever Jonathan Joseph.

"It always feels good to see the ball go over the fence and everything," Moran said. "It's not really my intention when I go up there. I'm just trying to go up and hit the ball hard and see where it goes. Whether it goes over the fence or not, you really can't control too much of where it goes.

"One was a fastball and one was a curveball. Our park kind of helps you out to left field, I guess I would say. I just tried to look for something over the plate, hit it hard and make something happen. It was nice to see them go over."

Moran was named Texas League Player of the Month last week on the heels of a July that saw him bat .349/.407/.538 with three homers and 22 RBIs in 27 games. August has been even better, with the 22-year-old hitting .400/.475/.829 since the calendar turned.

"I guess momentum only matters as much as the pitcher the next night or next game," he said. "I just try and be as consistent as possible. Obviously, there's going to be down periods and I just try and go through the different things that happen over the course of the season. I'd say the biggest thing has been trying to stay consistent."

The Port Chester, New York, native hasn't gone hitless in consecutive games since June 28-July 2. He's batting .362 since the end of June.

"You're always learning in the game," he said. "I'm just trying to work on everything from night to night, game-to-game adjustments with how pitchers are throwing you, different stuff like that and then also defensively and baserunning. All the little things."

Sanchez (10-7) allowed two runs on six hits over seven innings to become the league's first 10-game winner. A's No. 30 prospect Brendan McCurry recorded his first Double -A save, despite giving up a run on two hits in the ninth.