Hooks' Paredes rebounds, posts six zeros

Springfield got the better of Enoli Paredes in his last start. He made sure that wasn't the case on Friday night.
The Astros' No. 25 prospect worked around three hits and two walks while striking out nine over six innings as Double-A Corpus Christi blanked the Cardinals, 3-0, at Whataburger Field.

Paredes (1-0) set down the first four batters he faced before giving up a one-out single to Brian O'Keefe in the second. The right-hander got Zach Kirtley looking at a third strike and retired Chase Pinder on a liner to third base to end the inning.
The Cardinals loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth after Paredes walked two batters and hit another, but he escaped by striking out Pinder on four pitches, reaching 98 mph on the last one.
At 5-foot-11 and 168 pounds, the right-hander relies on his body's fast twitch to help create the momentum needed to deliver a pitch at that velocity. It doesn't hurt that he also has an explosive arm.
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"He's got an electric arm with his fastball," Hooks pitching coach Graham Johnson said. "He's able to create some force to the ground."
After a leadoff single by Justin Toerner in the sixth, the 23-year-old struck out Johan Mieses, Kirtley and O'Keefe to end his night.
Paredes' first start for the Hooks came was Sunday in Springfield, where he surrendered six runs on five hits over 3 1/3 frames.
Johnson explained the biggest difference his last two outings.
"I think it was a little bit of a matter of it being second time in Double-A," he said. "He probably still had a little bit of jitters the first time around with them. They did a really good job of trying to take his fastball away from him in the last one. If he put it in a hittable location, they were ready for it.
"The big thing is that he stayed on the attack [tonight] and put the ball in an overall better location. He kind of gave them what they were looking for but was able to put it in locations where they couldn't do much with it."
It was Paredes' third appearance since being called up from Class A Advanced Fayetteville. On June 9 against Amarillo, the native of the Dominican Republic pitched four hitless innings and struck out five after entering in the sixth. 
In 12 Carolina League appearances to start the season, Paredes posted a 1.64 ERA and .141 opponents' batting average while punching out 59 over 44 innings.
Johnson, who worked with Paredes last season at Class A Quad Cities, has seen the righty mature with his approach and how to attack hitters over the past year.

"He's not quite there for being able to make adjustments pitch to pitch, but he can make it from at-bat to at-bat, and that's the exciting thing to see out of him in terms of growth from last year," the pitching coach said.
Making a rehab appearance, Astros right-hander Joe Smith struck out the side in the seventh. Collin McHugh got two outs in the eighth before giving way to Colin McKee, who notched his sixth save by retiring all four batters he faced.
Astros No. 10 prospect Ronnie Dawson and 20th-ranked Abraham Toro hit back-to-back homers in the third for the Hooks. Dawson's two-run shot was his second in as many games and fourth this week.