Friedrichs cools off Chanclas

An impressive outing from right-hander Kyle Friedrichs steered Midland to an 8-2 win over the Flying Chanclas de San Antonio in front of 5,746 Thursday night at Wolff Stadium.
The RockHounds struck early against lefty Jerry Keel, taking a 1-0 lead in the first with Sean Murphy's double to right. Two innings later, Midland pushed its lead to 3-0 on Keel (4-2) with RBI-singles from Murphy and Seth Brown.
Friedrichs (4-3) did not run into much trouble early on Thursday, allowing just one hit through the first five innings. In the sixth, the Chanclas started to come alive, beginning with a Matt Batten single to lead off the frame. Following a Taylor Kohlwey strikeout, reigning Texas League Player of the Month Fernando Tatis Jr. put the Chanclas on the board with a blast deep onto the berm in left. It was the 11^th homer of the season for Tatis Jr., who has slugged eight of those since the beginning of May.
However, the Tatis Jr. homer was one of the few highlights for the first place Chanclas. Midland would open up the lead in the later innings, starting in the seventh with a three-run rally against relievers Gerardo Reyes and Trevor Frank.
After Tyler Marincov pushed the lead to 7-2 in the eighth with a solo homer, Eli White capped scoring with a double in the ninth.
San Antonio (37-22) concludes its four-game series with Midland (29-30) Friday at 7:05 PM. The first 2,000 fans to enter The Wolff will receive a FREE Flying Chanclas T-shirt courtesy of Eggo. Colin Rea (ML Rehab) will get the ball for the Chanclas, while the 'Hounds counter with fellow righty Norge Ruiz (3-5, 4.82).
Notes: San Antonio's division lead remained at two games following Corpus Christi's 2-1 loss to Frisco Thursday.