TL1 Corpus Christi Hooks

Corpus Christi Hooks Game Notes

Published on July 30, 2011 under Texas League (TL1)
Corpus Christi Hooks News Release


Corpus Christi (16-18, 41-63) @ Midland (16-18, 43-61) Nights like last night aren't too common. Granted, a 3-2 loss isn't uncommon (it's happened three times this season, including Opening Night), and for the Hooks it was road loss number 36 for the year. But, having a player get pulled during the course of a game to find out his dream of playing baseball in the Major Leagues has finally come true, well, that counts as a break from the routine.

Last night's trade of Hunter Pence to Philadelphia prompted the Astros to purchase the contract of outfielder J.D. Martinez, who was removed from the game here after the top of the third inning to take a phone call from Houston GM Ed Wade. Martinez went 0-for-2 with an RBI and was replaced in left field by Jacob Goebbert. Martinez, who left Midland early this morning, is expected to be with the Astros for tonight's game in Milwaukee.

Tonight's Matchup:

LHP Dallas Keuchel (9-6, 3.12) vs. RHP Gary Daley (4-4, 4.84)

Keuchel, a seventh-round selection of the Astros in the 2009 draft out of the University of Arkansas, makes his 20th start and his fifth against Midland. Monday at Frisco, Keuchel hurled his 13th quality start this year in a series-salvaging 9-3 win. He allowed three runs on seven hits over six innings. The lefty has pitched a minimum of six innings in 14 of his 19 starts and ranks second in the Texas League in innings pitched (121.1). Keuchel has not lost in his last seven outings, going 5-0 with a 3.33 ERA in that span. The Hooks have won six of those seven games, with the only loss coming in extra innings to Tulsa on July 9. Keuchel enters tonight's game ranked second in the loop in ERA and fewest base runners per nine innings (10.53), third in WHIP (1.14) and walks per 9 IP (1.93) and fifth in opponents' batting average (.248). In four starts this year against Midland, Keuchel is 3-1 with a 1.88 ERA.

- Has twice been named Texas League Pitcher of the Week (April 7-17; June 6-12)

- Tossed two innings of shutout relief in the Texas League All-Star Game June 29 in San Antonio

- Named Corpus Christi's June pitcher of the month (3-2, 2.18 ERA, 5 starts)

Daley, signed by the A's as a free agent in August, 2010, makes his 14th appearance and 13th start for Midland after seeing action in eight games this season between AAA Sacramento and Advanced-A Stockton. Here Monday against San Antonio, Daley got pounded by the Missions (3.0-9-8-6-2-3) and suffered his third straight defeat. In his last three outings, including a relief appearance at Whataburger Field July 19, Daley is 0-3 with a 16.88 ERA. College teammate and good friend Jimmy VanOstrand delivered the game-winning, two-run single off Daley July 19. Two of Daley's first three starts this year came with Sacramento, where he was 1-1 with an 8.00 ERA. Originally a third-round pick of the Cardinals in 2006, Daley spent most of last season with Springfield, where he was 3-11 with a 6.70 ERA.

- In 6 starts with Stockton this year was 3-0 with a 3.21 ERA

- Held Cal League opponents to a .226 batting average this season

- VanOstrand and Bud Norris were teammates at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Martinez to the bigs

Martinez, who turns 24 next month, becomes the second player within the last two weeks to get the call from Corpus Christi to Houston. Just 11 days ago, second baseman Jose Altuve was notified during batting practice in Corpus Christi that his day had arrived. Martinez becomes the fifth player in Hooks history to receive a promotion directly to Houston while the Texas League season is in progress. Pitchers Matt Albers (2006), Wilton Lopez (2009) and Fernando Abad (2010) were the first three.

In 88 games this season with the Hooks, Martinez batted .338 with 25 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs and 72 RBIs. He leaves the Texas League ranked second in batting, tied for third in doubles and fifth in on-base percentage (.414). He's also tied for the league lead in sacrifice flies (7).

A proven run producer, Martinez batted .392 (38x97) this season with runners in scoring position, including six doubles, seven homers and 60 RBIs. In 30 games since June 25, Martinez was hitting .383 (41x107) with 10 doubles, one triple, nine home runs and 31 RBIs.

In 138 games with the Hooks over the past two seasons, which is pretty much the equivalent of one full season of play, Martinez batted .324 (164x506). For those who have played at least 100 games in their Hooks careers, his .324 average ranks as the second highest in the franchise's seven-year history. The only player with a higher career average for the Hooks is former outfielder Drew Locke (.338).

VO and the long ball

This should have been in yesterday's notes but hey, we can't all be perfect. Jimmy VanOstrand socked a pair of solo homers in Thursday's 7-5 win over San Antonio, giving him 11 HRs this year. In portions of four seasons and 318 career games with the Hooks, VanOstrand has hit 30 home runs, which ranks second on the all-time franchise list, behind only Mark Saccomanno (32). Thursday night, he passed both Drew Sutton and Ray Sadler, who hit 29 each in their time with Corpus Christi.

VanOstrand remains the club's all-time leader in RBIs with 164. He enters play tonight third on the Hooks' career list for at-bats (1,019), behind Wladimir Sutil (1,235) and Josh Anderson (1,085).

Barnes and Vallejo

Movement today on the roster. Outfielder Brandon Barnes has been placed on the temporarily inactive list, a move that was effective as of Thursday. Today, infielder Jose Vallejo comes off the disabled list (concussion) and is active for tonight's game. Friday, July 22, Vallejo was involved in a first-inning collision with right fielder Jacob Goebbert as both tried to catch a pop-up off the bat of Renny Osuna. The ball deflected off Vallejo's glove and, while Osuna ended up at third with a triple, Vallejo banged his head on the ground. He remained in the game throughout the bottom of the first, but did not return to the field in the bottom of the second.

Road woes

Last night's result gives the Hooks a 15-36 record on the road this year. The Hooks are batting .258 on the road this season and are averaging 4.35 runs per game. Pitchers have posted a 5.72 road ERA. At Whataburger Field, the Hooks are batting .276 and averaging 4.98 runs per game, while pitchers have a 4.44 home ERA.

Including tonight's game, there are 19 road games remaining on the schedule. At their current pace, the Hooks will finish with 20.6 road wins, but let's go ahead and round that up to 21. That puts the club on pace to finish with a road record of 21-49. The worst road mark in team history is 23-47, turned in by the 2008 Hooks.

Going the ‘extra' mile

The Hooks managed just six hits last night, but two were doubles, giving the club at least one extra-base hit in 42 consecutive games. The last time the Hooks failed to collect at least one extra-base hit in a game was June 13 at San Antonio when the Hooks managed six singles in a 4-0 loss to the Missions.

In the first half of the season, the Hooks averaged 2.49 extra-base hits per game. Here in the second half, with 51 doubles, 9 triples and 47 HRs in 34 games, the Hooks are averaging 3.15 extra-base hits per game.

Most notable is Corpus Christi's home run production. Here in the second half, the Hooks have hit 47 HRs in 34 games, exceeding their long-ball production of the first half (42 HRs in 70 games). The Hooks have hit 18 HRs over the last 12 games.

Pitching Rotation at Midland

Sunday: RHP Henry Sosa (2-0, 0.00) vs. RHP A.J. Griffin (2-2, 4.66)

Monday: RHP Jonnathan Aristil (4-8, 6.61) vs. RHP Jason Bergmann (1-6, 6.67)

Check out the Corpus Christi Hooks Statistics

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Texas League Stories from July 30, 2011


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