Hounds Welcome Chris Young With Five Run 1st
Young, as it would turn out, would not survive the first inning, a victim of four walks and a huge, 3-run double by Jermaine Mitchell. Four consecutive walks were followed by Mitchell's bases-clearing shot to left-center (on a 1-2 pitch), and the 6-10, 270-pound Padres right-hander was through. Gabe Ortiz then took reliever Bryan Oland's first pitch to right field, driving in Mitchell, and the 'Hounds exited the inning with a 5-0 lead. Castro, entering the game in the third, would give up two runs on five hits over 5.0 innings, and the RockHounds led, 7-1.
The "other" pitcher in the game was Pedro Figueroa. Oakland's # 5 prospect would be the game's pitching "story," earning his first Double-A victory with 7.2 outstanding innings, allowing two runs (just one earned), while walking three and striking out seven.
Figureoa did not go to a 2-0 count on a San Antonio batter until the seventh inning. True to "the book," that batter, James Darnell, would take advantage. From the 2-0 start, he eventually drove a 3-2 pitch out for a solo home run.
In the eighth, Figureroa ran out of steam, allowing two of his three walks and a Cedric Hunter double to load the bases with two out. Justin Souza entered the game to face Matt Clark with the bases full and the tying run on deck (a save situation). He whiffed Clark on a 3-2 pitch to end the threat and, after a lead-off single in the ninth, struck out the side to end the game, earning his first save.
The RockHounds (13-10) now have a 2-game lead in the crazy Texas League South, with San Antonio, Frisco and Corpus Christi each at 11-12. The 'Hounds are now 5-2 on an 8-game road trip which ends Monday morning (11:00) at San Antonio.