Game Notes, May 10 vs. Frisco

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Frisco (21-11) @ Corpus Christi (13-19)

The Hooks continue their home stand with the first in a four-game series against Frisco here tonight.  The Hooks ended their nine-game losing streak with Tuesday's 17-3 blowout of San Antonio.  Austin Wates and Jacob Goebbert had three hits each while Jose Martinez and Jonathan Villar provided three RBIs apiece in the rout.  Ross Seaton held the Missions to a run on four hits through seven innings to pick up the win.

The RoughRiders are coming off a series at home in which they took three of four from Midland.  Frisco has won four of its last five and 12 of its last 16 entering play tonight.  Four of Frisco's five starting pitchers are counted among the top 10 hurlers in the Texas League (by ERA), including tonight's starter Barret Loux, who currently ranks fourth.  The Riders' staff ERA of 2.86 leads the Texas League and ranks third among all 30 Double-A clubs.   

Tonight's Matchup:
RHP Barret Loux (6-0, 2.20) vs. RHP Jose Cisnero (2-2, 4.61)
Loux, signed by the Rangers as a non-drafted free agent in November of 2010, makes his seventh start this season and his third against the Hooks.  Last Friday at San Antonio, Loux allowed three runs on four hits and a walk over five innings - by numbers his worst outing of the year - but rolled to his sixth consecutive win to start the season in Frisco's convincing 9-3 decision.  The appearance was the first this year for Loux in which he allowed more than two runs.  It was also the first time he's given up a home run - as he surrendered back-to-back solo homers by Carlos Sosa and Dean Anna.  In his junior year (2010) with Texas A&M, Loux went 11-2 with a 2.83 ERA, with 136 strikeouts in 105.0 innings.  Those numbers brought him acclaim as a First Team All-Big 12 selection, a Louisville Slugger Third Team All-American and a semi-finalist for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award.                        

• Tied for first in the TL in wins and ranks fourth in ERA
• In 2 starts against the Hooks is 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA, with 16 Ks in 11.0 IP
• Originally the sixth pick in the 2010 draft by Arizona, but didn't sign and was later declared a free agent

Cisnero, signed by the Astros as a non-drafted free agent in December of 2007, makes his seventh start this season and his third against the RoughRiders.  He's matched up against Loux in each of the previous two encounters and the result has not been pretty for the Hooks, with losses by scores of 10-0 and 10-3.  Last Friday at Midland, Cisnero labored through 3.2 innings, throwing 91 pitches in a 6-5 loss to the Hounds.  Cisnero, who allowed four runs on three hits and four walks, also hit a batter and threw one wild pitch.  He struck out four and did not figure in the decision, as Midland won it in the ninth in walk-off fashion.  Last year, as a stalwart in Lancaster's rotation, Cisnero led all Houston farmhands and ranked sixth in the California League with 152 strikeouts.  Selected Lancaster's pitcher of the month twice last season (May and July), Cisnero led the JetHawks in starts (27) and tied for the team lead in wins (8).   

• Holding TL hitters to a .231 average; also ranks fourth in the loop in walks allowed (18)
• In 2 starts against Frisco is 0-2 with a 10.39 ERA, with 15 hits allowed in 8.2 IP
• Last year with Lancaster was 8-11 with a 6.06 ERA

Cosart returns
RHP Jarred Cosart is back in the fold.  Tuesday, Cosart made his AAA debut, pitching at home for Oklahoma City against Las Vegas.  Cosart allowed four runs on 10 hits and two walks over six innings in a 4-1 loss.  He struck out five and threw 99 pitches, 63 for strikes. 

Cosart is now slated to return to the Hooks rotation for Sunday afternoon's series finale against Frisco.  In four starts this year with the Hooks, Cosart is 1-2 with a 2.84 ERA.

Cosart takes the roster spot of RHP Jonnathan Aristil, who was reassigned to Oklahoma City.  This becomes Aristil's third stint with the RedHawks this season. 

Almost a record
The 17 runs posted by the Hooks in Tuesday's rout of San Antonio are the most scored by the club in one game this season and the second highest total in club history.  The franchise record of 19 runs was set April 24, 2008, in a 19-5 plastering of Midland here at Whataburger Field.  Chris Johnson had a grand slam and five RBIs that game while Mitch Einertson clubbed a three-run homer and knocked in four on the day.

The 14-run margin of victory equaled the largest win in team history, matching the difference in that win over Midland back in 2008.

Nolo contendere
Most of the 32 games played by the Hooks this season have been no contests.  Nineteen of the club's 32 games have been decided by five or more runs.  That's 59 percent of the team's games!  In these 19 games that have not been in doubt at the end, the Hooks have a record of 10-9.

Therefore, in games decided by four or fewer runs, the Hooks are just 3-10.

The Hooks and RoughRiders have not played a brand of baseball that fans would call entertaining.  While the season series is tied at four games each, seven of the eight games have been decided by five or more runs.  The only game that offered any drama was the one played here on April 22 when the Hooks prevailed 5-3...Corpus Christi's lone win this season by two runs.

Get 'em while they're hot
Here's an interesting number to chew on (we should say "upon which to chew," but then we sound like an English professor and, oh well, you get the point)...of the 162 runs scored by the Hooks this season, 62 have occurred in just five games.  Counting only the games where the Hooks have scored in double figures, Corpus Christi has outscored the opposition 62-14.

That means the Hooks have scored exactly 100 runs in their other 27 games, which works out to an average of 3.7 runs per game.  Adding in the five romps, the Hooks are averaging 5.1 runs per game.  Only the Midland RockHounds (167) have scored more runs in the league than the Hooks this season.            

Bodie milestone watch
Manager Keith Bodie is now one win away from milestone victory number 1,000 in his pro career.  In this his 16th season as a manager in the minor leagues, Bodie enters play tonight with a career regular-season record of 999-944 (.514 winning percentage).  Adding this season to his four years at the helm with Wichita, Bodie's managerial record in the Texas League stands at 319-266. 

Pitching Rotation vs. Frisco
Friday:  RHP Jake Brigham (2-1, 3.11) vs. LHP Brett Oberholtzer (1-2, 6.67)
Saturday:  LHP Tim Murphy (1-3, 5.04) vs. RHP Jake Buchanan (1-2, 5.56)
Sunday:  RHP Justin Grimm (6-1, 1.60) vs. RHP Jarred Cosart (1-2, 2.84)

HOOKS PLAYER NOTES

Brandon Barnes

• Went 3-11 in the SA series with 1 double, 3 runs and 1 RBI
• Has just 2 extra-base hits in his last 14 games (2 doubles)
• Leads TL in doubles (15)
• Corpus Christi's offensive player of the month in April (.353-4-21, 22 games) 
• Named Texas League Co-Player of the Week (April 5-15), hit .432
• Names Texas League Player of the Week (April 16-22), hit .391
• Batting .321(25-78) vs. RHP; .333(11-33) vs. LHP; .333(10-30) w/RISP

Jay Fernandez

• Is 2-17 in his last 6 games with 1 run
• Has a career caught-stealing percentage of 40.0 (165 of 412)
• In 8 seasons in the Mariners and Twins systems hit .244-16-162 in 439 games
• Signed by the Astros as a free agent in January, 2012

Jacob Goebbert

• Went 5-13 in SA series with 1 double, 3 runs and 2 RBIs
• Hits in 4 of the last 6 games, 8-21 with 1 double, 1 triple, 1 HR, 6 runs and 4 RBIs
• His walk-off, 3-run HR April 9 the first walk-off HR in his pro career
• Named Texas League Co-Player of the Week (April 5-15), hit .429
• Batting .234(18-77) vs. RHP; .370(10-27) vs. LHP; .417(10-24) w/RISP   

Kody Hinze

• Is 1-19 in his last 7 games with 2 walks, 1 RBI and 10 Ks
• Batting .280(14-50) at home; .171(7-41) on the road
• Batting .206(13-63) vs. RHP; .286(8-28) vs. LHP; .160(4-25) w/RISP
• Ranked 4th last year in the minors in walks (94) and 15th in OPS (.961) 

Jordan Kreke

• Has 3-game hit streak, 3-9 with 1 double and 2 runs
• Played 1B May 1 for the first time in his career (replaced Singleton)
• Has 133 career games at 3B, 126 at 2B and 49 at SS
• Signed by the Astros as a free agent in January, 2012...originally a 13th-round pick of the Braves in 2009

Jose Martinez

• Hits in 5 of the last 8 games, 12-31 with 2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 HR, 2 runs and 6 RBIs
• Has 3-game hit streak, 7-14 with 1 double, 1 run and 3 RBIs
• CC's defensive player of the month in April (47 PO, 56 A, 0 E)
• Batting .263(20-76) vs. RHP; .393(11-28) vs. LHP; .433(13-30) w/RISP
• Played just 6 games in the three-year period 2009-11

Ryan McCurdy

• Went 3-11 in SA series with 1 double, 1 run and 1 RBI
• Had played just 2 games w/ Lancaster this season, was 2-3 with 1 HBP
• Played 53 games in 2 seasons (2010-11), hitting .285-0-18 in 130 at-bats
• Signed by Houston as a non-drafted free agent in June of 2010...played at Duke

Andy Simunic

• Hits in 4 of the last 5 games, 4-21 with 2 doubles, 1 run and 2 RBIs
• 4-RBI night April 21 his first since July 29 last season
• Batting .328(19-58) vs. RHP; .125(2-16) vs. LHP; .227(5-22) w/RISP
• Played every position in the field last year except catcher and 1B
• In five pro seasons has bounced into just 11 DPs in 1,320 plate appearances

Jon Singleton

• Went 1-9 in SA series with 1 HR, 4 runs and 1 RBI
• Has just 2 RBIs in his last 10 games
• Last year hit .298-13-63 in 128 games with Clearwater and Lancaster
• Batting .373(25-67) vs. RHP; .182(6-33) vs. LHP; .318(7-22) w/RISP
• Has started 20 games at 1B; 7 games in LF
• Ranked by Baseball America as the top prospect in the Astros system

T.J. Steele

• Clubbed CC's first pinch-hit HR of the season April 29 at Frisco
• Was 0-5 in SA series
• Batting .176(6-34) vs. RHP; .095(2-21) vs. LHP; .222(4-18) w/RISP
• Ranks fourth on the Hooks all-time stolen base chart with 30

J.C. Thompson

• Is 1-20 in his last 9 games
• Hit .273-10-46 in 87 games last year with Lancaster and CC
• Batted .440-10-62 in 59 games with Western Oklahoma State College in 2009  

Jonathan Villar

• Hits in 7 of his last 10 games, 9-32 with 1 double, 1 triple, 3 runs and 5 RBIs
• Hits in 4 of the last 6 games, 6-20 with 1 triple, 1 run and 3 RBIs
• Tied for the league lead with 12 stolen bases
• Batting .216(16-74) vs. RHP; .237(9-38) vs. LHP; .267(8-30) w/RISP
• Ranked by Baseball America as the No. 4 prospect in the Astros system

Austin Wates

• Hits in 3 of the last 5 games, 5-23 with 1 triple, 1 HR, 4 runs and 1 RBI
• Batting .326(29-89) vs. RHP; .263(10-38) vs. LHP; .393(11-28) w/RISP
• Hit .300-6-75 with 26 stolen bases in 132 games last year with Lancaster
• Named Lancaster's MVP, led the JetHawks in 8 statistical categories