Game Notes, September 2 - Frisco at CC

September 2, 2010

Frisco (30-35, 68-66) @ Corpus Christi (27-38, 63-72)

Erick Abreu was magnificently clean, with seven shutout innings on only 70 pitches, to lead the Hooks to a 9-0 thumping of Frisco last night. Abreu (4-4) collected his fourth straight win by limiting the Riders to three hits while striking out four. Of his 70 pitches, 53 were strikes. Abreu retired the side in order in five of those seven innings, including the fifth - an inning in which he threw just four pitches.

The top three batters in the order - David Cook, Albert Cartwright and Koby Clemens - each had two RBIs for the Hooks, who have three in a row and five of their last seven. Cartwright and Federico Hernandez had three hits apiece, while Cook and Jon Gaston each clubbed a solo home run.

The Hooks still have a pulse, having strung together three must-win games. Five more remain...and five Midland losses are still necessary to keep the patient alive.

Tonight's Matchup:
RHP Clayton Hamilton (1-1, 1.93) vs. LHP Patrick Urckfitz (0-0, 0.00)
Hamilton, signed by the Rangers as a free agent earlier this month, makes his fourth start since joining the Frisco rotation. Hamilton's story is certainly stereotypical of the minor leagues. Released by the Rangers near the end of Spring Training, Hamilton returned home to western Pennsylvania. This summer, he hooked on with the St. John Saints in the Greater Pittsburgh Federation Baseball League, a semi-pro industrial league. He made three appearances for the Saints, allowing just one run over 15 innings. With the talent drain on the minor league system in the wake of deals made by the Rangers to bolster the big-league club, Hamilton received a call from Texas asking if he'd like to fill a role in Frisco. Hamilton has done than just fill in, as his numbers speak for themselves. Originally selected by the Padres in the 17th round of the 2004 draft out of Penn State, Hamilton is in his seventh year of pro ball.

No walks and 12 strikeouts in 18.2 innings with the RoughRiders
Tossed seven innings of shutout ball to win at Tulsa August 23
Went 1-4 with 3 saves and a 4.47 ERA last year with Frisco in 25 games and 4 starts

Urckfitz, signed by the Astros as a non-drafted free agent in June of 2008, makes his AA debut with the Hooks tonight. The southpaw has spent the entire season with Lancaster in the California League, where in 35 games and 12 starts he was 5-9 with a 4.13 ERA. In the notoriously hitter-friendly Cal League, his 4.13 ERA compares favorably with the league average of 4.52. In 104.2 innings with the JetHawks, Urckfitz allowed 115 hits and 32 walks while striking out 103 batters. In his most recent start Friday at Rancho Cucamonga, Urckfitz allowed four runs on eight hits and three walks over six innings in a 4-2 loss.

In 5 August starts went 1-2 with a 3.54 ERA
As a starter with Lancaster was 2-7 with a 4.62 ERA
Played two season at Monroe (NY) Community College, going 7-5 with a 3.78 ERA

Goose eggs
Last night's result marked Corpus Christi's eighth shutout win this season. There are three teams in the league with more shutouts than the Hooks. They are Northwest Arkansas (12), San Antonio (12) and Frisco (9).

The Hooks went a month between shutouts, posting their last shutout here at Whataburger Field August 1 against Midland (1-0).

Heath debuts
Catcher Ben Heath made his AA debut last night with the Hooks, coming on in the ninth to replace Hernandez behind the plate. He did not get a chance to hit.

Heath, drafted this year by the Astros in the fifth round out of Penn State, comes to Corpus Christi from Lexington in the South Atlantic League, where in 20 games he was batting .290 with 4 HRs and 13 RBIs. Heath spent his first seven weeks in the pro ranks with Tri-City in the New York-Penn League, where he batted .248-6-21 in 37 games for the ValleyCats.

Arizona Fall League appointments
Urckfitz, tonight's starter, is one of seven Houston farmhands selected to play for the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League. Teammates Koby Clemens, T.J. Steele (disabled list) and Matt Nevarez are also among the group of Astros' minor leaguers who will compete in the off-season prospect league.

Rounding out the group are former Hooks Sergio Perez and J.B. Shuck, along with RHP Kyle Greenwalt, who has spent the entire year in Lancaster.

Lead Cook
David Cook, who had not been slotted in the leadoff spot since the 2007 season, opened the home first last night with his 10th home run of the year for the Hooks and his 11th long ball of the season. Cook has now hit safely in six of the eight games in which he has led off since August 21.

In that leadoff spot, Cook is batting .364 (12-33) with 4 walks, 1 double, 3 HRs, 5 runs and 9 RBIs.

Pitching Rotation vs. Frisco
Friday: RHP Danny Gutierrez (0-0, 0.00) vs. LHP Dallas Keuchel (2-5, 5.09)

HOOKS PLAYER NOTES

Michael Affronti

Hits in 9 of his last 11 games, 16-43 with 1 double, 1 triple, 1 HR, 6 runs and 9 RBIs
Batting .298(39-131) vs. RHP; .262(22-84) vs. LHP; .327(17-52) with RSP
In 46 games this year with AAA Sacramento batted .214-1-14 with 1 SB
Originally selected by the A's in the 17th round of the 2006 draft out of LeMoyne

Albert Cartwright

Hits in each of his last 5 starts, 8-22 with 1 walk, 1 double, 3 runs, 2 RBIs and 3 SBs
In 92 games with Lancaster batted .319 (113-354) with 26 doubles, 13 triples, 10 HRs, 72 runs, 48 RBIs and 24 stolen bases
At the time of his promotion, ranked second in the Cal League in triples, third in extra-base hits (49) and fourth in slugging percentage (.551)
Houston's 36th-round selection in the 2007 draft out of Polk CC (FL)

Koby Clemens

Is 1-13 in the last 4 games with 2 runs and 3 RBIs
Is 3-28 in his last 8 games with 1 double, 3 runs and 3 RBIs
Named Texas League's Player of the Week (May 31 - June 6)
CC's offensive player of the month in April (.263-7-18 in 21 games)
Batting .287(33-115) with RSP
Led all minor leaguers with 123 RBIs last season

David Cook

Is 17-47 (.362) in the last 16 games with 1 double, 4 HRs, 8 runs and 11 RBIs
Leads club with 7 pinch hits (6 singles, 1 HR)
In 9 games with Round Rock (June 20-30) batted .280-1-6 with 3 doubles
Batting .215(32-149) vs. RHP; .293(41-140) vs. LHP; .179(14-78) with RSP
Played 7 seasons in the White Sox system, batted .260-125-399 in 753 games

Jon Gaston

Is 6-22 in the last 8 games with 1 double, 1 HR, 6 runs and 3 RBIs
CC's offensive player of the month in July (.324-4-16, 5 SB)
CC's defensive player of the month in May (39 PO, 6 A, 0 E)
Is second in the Texas League with 16 outfield assists
Batting .261(71-272) vs. RHP; .234(40-171) vs. LHP; .216(19-88) with RSP
Hit .278-35-100 in 139 games last season with Lancaster

Ben Heath

Joined club September 1 from Lexington
Batted .290-4-13 in 20 games with the Legends
Began season with Tri-City, hit .248-6-21 in 37 games with the ValleyCats
Drafted this June by the Astros in the fifth round out of Penn State, where he batted .369-19-57 in 51 games for the Nittany Lions

Federico Hernandez

Hits in 7 of his last 8 games, 11-28 with 4 doubles, 1 HR, 5 runs and 4 RBIs
In 84 games with Lancaster was batting .267 (79-296) with 15 doubles, 4 triples, 8 home runs, 34 runs and 46 RBIs, plus 1 SB
Finished in Cal League with a 10-game hit streak, 16-41 with 3 HRs and 11 RBIs
Signed by the Astros as a non-drafted free agent in March of 2006

J.D. Martinez

Hits in 4 of his last 5 games, 4-21 with 3 runs
Batting .326(31-95) vs. RHP; .256(20-78) vs. LHP; .250(15-60) with RSP
In 88 games with Lexington batted .362-15-64 with 31 doubles and 3 triples
Led the South Atlantic League in 8 offensive categories at the time of his promotion - average, hits (126), doubles, OBP (.433), slugging (.598), extra-base hits (49), runs (83) and total bases (208)
20th round selection of the Astros in 2009 out of Nova Southeastern University

Freddy Parejo

Is 2-8 with 1 run and 1 RBI in his last 2 games after going 0-9 the previous 2 games
Batting .298(31-104) vs. RHP; .303(20-66) vs. LHP; .333(15-45) with RSP
Joined club July 8 from Lancaster, where he hit .308-3-32 in 75 games for the JetHawks
Hit for the cycle in a 12-10 loss to Visalia June 8
Spent seven seasons in the Brewers' system and batted .255-20-234 with 89 steals in 622 games and 2,014 at-bats, reaching AAA Nashville last year (16 games)

Wladimir Sutil

Hits in 7 of the last 8 games, 12-25 with 1 double, 5 runs and 2 RBIs
Batted .237-1-12 with 6 doubles and 8 SBs in 45 games with AAA Round Rock
CC's defensive player of the month in April (22 PO, 44 A, 2 E)
Batting .248(37-149) vs. RHP; .320(32-100) vs. LHP; .308(20-65) with RSP
Hit .273-1-37 with 19 SBs in 125 games last season with the Hooks

Jose Vallejo

Joined club July 1 from Extended Spring Training
Is 6-71 in his last 24 games with 5 runs and 1 RBI (28 Ks)
Obtained last year along with RHP Matt Nevarez in deal that sent C Ivan Rodriguez to Texas
Split his time in 2009 between Frisco (.289-0-10, 7 SB), Oklahoma City (.233-2-28, 3 SB) and Round Rock (.350-0-0, 0 SB)

Jimmy VanOstrand

Is 19-62 in his last 22 games with 4 doubles, 1 HR, 8 runs and 9 RBIs
Hit .300(30-100) with 5 doubles, 1 HR, 6 runs and 18 RBIs in 32 games from June 4 thru July 12
Ranks third on CC's all-time RBI list with 116 RBIs (Sutton - 122; Sadler - 119)
Batting .194(30-155) vs. RHP; .291(41-141) vs. LHP; .247(22-89) with RSP
Hit .283-16-71 in 113 games last season for the Hooks