Game Notes, April 6 vs. NW Arkansas

April 6, 2012

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Northwest Arkansas (0-1) @ Corpus Christi (1-0)

Left fielder Austin Wates had three hits and three RBIs while Jarred Cosart and a pair of relievers combined on a five-hit shutout as the Hooks opened the 2012 season last night by thumping the Naturals 9-0. Wates, in his AA debut, capped Corpus Christi's seven-run bottom half of the sixth with a three-run triple - the second triple of the night for the home team. T.J. Steele tripled in the second and scored on a subsequent throwing error.

Errors were the story last night, as the Naturals tied a franchise record with five miscues in the field. Four of Corpus Christi's nine runs were unearned. Cosart threw 90 pitches in his 4.1 innings on the hill. Erick Abreu came on to scoop up the win with 2.2 frames of work that included five strikeouts. The result marked the second time in club history that the Hooks opened a season with a shutout victory. In 2010, the Hooks christened ONEOK Field in Tulsa with a 7-0 romp over the Drillers.

Tonight's Matchup:
RHP Jake Odorizzi (10-7, 3.73 in '11) vs. RHP Ross Seaton (4-9, 5.23 in '11)
Odorizzi, acquired by the Royals from Milwaukee in the December, 2010 trade that sent RHP Zack Greinke and infielder Yuniesky Betancourt to the Brewers, begins his fifth season of pro ball tonight. Ranked by Baseball America as the fourth-best prospect in the Kansas City system, Odorizzi's total of 157 strikeouts last year led all Royals farmhands. With Wilmington in the Carolina League, he notched 103 strikeouts in only 78.1 innings. In his lone start against the Hooks last year July 12 at Whataburger Field, Odorizzi allowed three runs on five hits and a walk over seven innings while striking out four. He did not get a decision in Corpus Christi's 7-3 triumph.

Was Wilmington's Pitcher of the Year last season (5-4, 2.87 ERA, 15 starts)
Was Milwaukee's Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2010 with Wisconsin (7-3, 3.43 ERA, 20 starts)
Originally a supplemental first-round pick of the Brewers in 2008, went 14-0 with a 0.08 ERA his senior year at Highland High School in Illinois

Seaton, a third-round selection of the Astros in the 2008 draft, returns for his second season in Corpus Christi. He led the Hooks and the Texas League with 28 starts last season, posting the second-highest single-season total in team history. Seaton's 155.0 innings ranked fourth in the circuit, while his 12.89 base runners per nine innings slotted fifth among league starters. In his lone start last year against Northwest Arkansas, Seaton was matched against Odorizzi in that July 12 game here. Seaton limited the Naturals to a run on three hits over six innings while fanning five and, like Odorizzi, did not figure in the decision. A valedictorian at Houston's Second Baptist High School his senior year, Seaton has not missed a turn in the rotation since July of 2009 when he pitched for Lexington - a span of 63 starts.

Was the Texas League's Pitcher of the Week twice last season
Led Lancaster in innings pitched (146.1) in 2010
With Lexington in 2009 went 8-10 with a 3.29 ERA - the fifth-best ERA in the Astros system

First roster move
Well, it didn't take long for the first roster move of the season. The Astros announced today that a couple of left-handed hitting outfielders have been reassigned in the system. Adam Bailey, who did not play last night for the Hooks, has been sent to Lancaster in the California League, while Jacob Goebbert reports to Corpus Christi from AAA Oklahoma City. Goebbert did not play in the RedHawks' 4-3 season-opening loss last night to Memphis.

Last year, Goebbert played 75 games for the Hooks and hit .305 with 5 HRs and 34 RBIs. His combined numbers with the top three clubs in the Astros organization last year were .290-12-67 in 132 games. A native of Illinois and former standout at Northwestern University, Goebbert was a 13th-round selection of the Astros in the 2009 draft.

Widest margin
Last night's result represented the largest margin of victory for the Hooks in a season-opening game. The previous largest margin of seven was achieved two years ago when the Hooks christened ONEOK Field in Tulsa with a 7-0 whitewash of the Drillers. The Hooks have now won their season opener five of the last six years.

Big inning
Corpus Christi's seven-run bottom half of the sixth last night equaled the club's largest single-inning output last season. The franchise record for most runs in a single inning is nine, set April 22, 2007 at Frisco.

Drop it like it's hot
Given the reference, the Naturals couldn't have done any worse with Snoop Dogg in the lineup last night. Their five errors tied the Naturals' franchise record for most errors in a game, achieved just once previously - and that also came on an Opening Night, three years ago in a 7-2 loss at San Antonio.

The five flubs also equal the record for most errors committed in one game by a Hooks opponent. The only other time a Corpus Christi foe booted the ball five times in one game was July 29, 2010 in San Antonio.

Abreu moves the numbers
RHP Erick Abreu moved his name and some numbers on the Hooks career pitching charts last night. With 2.2 shutout innings, five strikeouts and a win, the Dominican native accomplished quite a lot. We'll start with the win. The victory was Abreu's 14th in a Hooks uniform, moving him into a tie for fourth with Polin Trinidad.

Abreu now has 260.2 career innings with the Hooks, moving him into second place on the all-time list ahead of Josh Miller (258.0). Abreu and Miller were tied for second entering last night's game. Erick still has a long way to go to catch Chance Douglass atop the innings pitched leader board (365.1 IP).

When Abreu struck out Johnny Whittleman with a man on third to end the top of the fifth, he moved past Douglass into first place on Corpus Christi's all-time strikeout list. Abreu's five Ks pushes him to 240 in his time with the Hooks. Douglass now stands second with 236.

Pitching Rotation vs. Northwest Arkansas
Saturday: LHP Noel Arguelles (4-5, 3.20 in '11) vs. RHP Jose Cisnero (8-11, 6.06 in '11)