Pen Paves Way to Third Straight Win

SPRINGFIELD, MO – Corpus Christi cracked 10 hits and received a stout performance from its bullpen in a 10-5 victory over the Cardinals on Saturday evening at Hammons Field.

The Hooks have won three in a row.

Ahead by a run, CC sent eight men to bat in the sixth and scored three times against lefty Tyler Pike for an 8-4 advantage.

The Hooks then struck for a pair in the seventh, capitalizing on walks from Ryan Loutus. Wilyer Abreu, who reached base four times from the lead-off spot, highlighted the frame with a two-out, two-strike RBI single into right field.

The support was more than enough for the Corpus Christi bullpen as the Cards were held to three hits and one walk over the final 5 1/3 innings.

Layne Henderson retired seven of the eight men he faced, striking out five to earn his fourth win.

Jojanse Torres permitted a solo homer over two innings of work while Devin Conn struck out two in a perfect ninth inning.

The Hooks managed five runs in the first four innings against St. Louis pitching prospect Michael McGreevy, the 18th overall pick in last year’s draft.

In the first, Bryan Arias employed an 11-pitch sac fly to plate Abreu for a 1-0 lead.

With two away in the second, Abreu smoked a 2-2 curveball over the head of center fielder Jonah Davis to drive in two runs.

Justin Dirden and Edwin Díaz added solo home runs in the third and fourth, respectively. Dirden has gone deep twice in the series, with Díaz hitting four home runs in his last five games.

Corpus Christi has totaled 12 homers in the past four contests.

The Hooks, up 3-2 in the set, hunt for a series win in Sunday afternoon’s finale. Adrian Chaidez is the probable pitcher for CC, and is scheduled to be opposed by Gordon Graceffo. First pitch 1:35.