May 22, 2013
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Game Notes, May 26 vs. Springfield

May 26, 2012 - Texas League (TL) Corpus Christi Hooks

Springfield (22-25) @ Corpus Christi (22-25)

Two third-place clubs with identical records clash in this three-game series over Memorial Day weekend. Jon Singleton homered twice and drove in five runs while Ross Seaton turned in his fourth consecutive quality start to give the Hooks a 7-2 win last night over Arkansas, completing the series sweep against the Travelers. Singleton's two-homer game was his second this season and extended his current hitting streak to nine games. Seaton is now 3-0 over his last four starts and 4-1 with a 2.50 ERA in his last six appearances.

The Hooks have won four in a row - the second longest winning streak for the club this season - and five of their last six. The Cardinals, 3-1 winners last night in San Antonio, have won three of their last four and five of their last seven.

Tonight's meeting is the first of 12 this season between the two clubs. The Cardinals won the season series last year seven games to five, with the teams splitting the six games played here at Whataburger Field.

Tonight's Matchup:

RHP Seth Maness (1-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Jose Cisnero (2-5, 5.59)

Maness, an 11th-round pick of the Cardinals last June out of East Carolina University, makes his second start for Springfield since receiving the call from Palm Beach of the Florida State League. This past Monday at home against Tulsa, Maness fanned eight over 7.2 shutout innings on the way to a 4-0 win over the Drillers in his AA debut. Maness allowed five hits and a walk while hitting one batter. He earned the call by posting some stellar numbers at Palm Beach, where in seven starts he was 3-1 with a 2.15 ERA. A ground-ball pitcher (2.29 GO/AO ratio at Palm Beach), Maness issued just 1 walk while striking out 29 in 46.0 innings with the PBC. A four-time Conference USA All-Star, Maness went 38-11 with 3 saves and a 3.54 ERA in his four years at ECU, with 7 complete games and 2 shutouts among his 66 appearances and 61 starts.

- Did not issue a walk in his first 42.0 innings of work this season

- Held FSL hitters to a .256 average in 7 starts

- Last year was a combined 2-1 with a 1.53 ERA in 15 appearances with Batavia, Palm Beach and Quad Cities

Cisnero, signed by the Astros as a non-drafted free agent in December of 2007, makes his 10th start this season and his first against the Cardinals. Last Sunday at Midland, Cisnero was touched for four earned runs on five hits and three walks over four innings in a 9-3 loss to the RockHounds. The result was the third consecutive loss for Cisnero, who is 0-4 with a 9.87 ERA in his last five starts. None of Cisnero's seven decisions have been close games, and in his five losses the Hooks have been outscored 45-9. 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 .257 average

- Has held opponents to four runs or less in eight of his nine starts

- Last year with Lancaster was 8-11 with a 6.06 ERA

Wallace returns

Hooks catcher Chris Wallace not only returns to the active roster tonight but it also in the starting lineup, catching and batting seventh. Wallace, who was initially placed on the temporarily inactive list May 3 following a groin injury that he suffered in a May 2 game at Midland, was later moved to the disabled list. He suffered the injury while stretching across his body to catch a pitch in the sixth inning of that game at Citibank Ballpark.

In 19 games this season with the Hooks, Wallace is hitting .194 (12x62) with 2 HRs and 12 RBIs.

To make room on the roster for Wallace, the Astros released infielder J.C. Thompson. In 18 games this season, Thompson was batting .119 (5x42) with 1 RBI.

Singular in purpose

Astros top prospect Jon Singleton is enjoying his best stretch of the season offensively as he enters play here tonight. With his second two-homer game of the season last night, Singleton has a nine-game hitting streak in which he is batting .432 (16x37) with 2 doubles, 3 HRs, 10 runs and 13 RBIs. In the just-concluded series with Arkansas, Singleton went 8-for-13 (.615) at the plate with 1 double, 3 HRs and 10 RBIs.

In his last four games here at Whataburger Field, Singleton is 10-for-16 (.625) with 4 HRs and 14 RBIs.

Here's an interesting note on Singleton and his home runs...all 13 of his home runs last year and all 8 that he's hit this season have come off of right-handed pitchers. Also, all 8 HRs for Singleton this year have been hit here at Whataburger Field. The two that he hit last night were his first two sliced to the opposite field.

Martinez OB streak hits 20

Hooks second baseman Jose Martinez has stretched his consecutive games on-base streak to 20. During the streak, which began May 4 in Midland, Martinez is batting .351 and has an on-base percentage of .412.

His streak is the longest this season for a member of the club and is currently the third-longest active streak in the Texas League. Frisco shortstop Jurickson Profar (43 games) and Midland outfielder Conner Crumbliss (23) also carry streaks into tonight's action.

Winning streak at 4

Corpus Christi's current winning streak is the longest active streak in the Texas League and the club's second longest this season. The Hooks won five straight April 20-24 - all here at home.

Notable regarding the three-game series sweep of the Travelers - it's the first series sweep for the Hooks since the opening series of the 2010 season (April 8-10) when Corpus Christi won the first three games played at the then brand new ONEOK Field in Tulsa. It's the club's first sweep at home since August 15-17 of the 2009 campaign when the Hooks won all three from Springfield.

Pitching Rotation vs. Springfield

Sunday: RHP Trevor Rosenthal (3-4, 2.81) vs. LHP Brett Oberholtzer (2-2, 5.36)

Monday: RHP Richard Castillo (1-0, 1.93) vs. RHP Jake Buchanan (2-3, 5.40)

HOOKS PLAYER NOTES

Brandon Barnes

- Has 5-game hit streak, 7-19 with 2 doubles, 2 HRs, 5 runs and 5 RBIs

- Hits in 10 of his last 11 games, 15-42 with 5 doubles, 2 HRs, 7 runs and 7 RBIs

- Leads TL in doubles (20)

- 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

- Named Texas League Player of the Week (April 16-22), hit .391

- Batting .307(35-114) vs. RHP; .348(16-46) vs. LHP; .310(13-42) w/RISP

Jay Fernandez

- Hits in 3 of his last 5 games, 4-14 with 1 double, 1 HR, 1 run and 3 RBIs

- 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

Jacob Goebbert

- Hits in 8 of the last 9 games, 10-32 with 6 walks, 3 doubles, 1 HR, 6 runs and 6 RBIs

- Has 11 RBIs in the last 16 games

- 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 .226(26-115) vs. RHP; .366(15-41) vs. LHP; .325(13-40) w/RISP

Kody Hinze

- Is 0-13 in his last 4 games with 3 walks and 8 Ks

- Hitting .103(6-58) in May with 9 walks and 5 RBIs

- Batting .229(16-70) at home; .167(10-60) on the road

- Batting .179(17-95) vs. RHP; .257(9-35) vs. LHP; .146(6-41) w/RISP

- Ranked 4th last year in the minors in walks (94) and 15th in OPS (.961)

Jordan Kreke

- Is 2-9 in his last 3 games with 2 runs and 1 RBI

- Batting .258(8-31) at home; .148(4-27) on road

- Batting .234(11-47) vs. RHP; .091(1-11) vs. LHP; 0-15 w/RISP

- Played 1B May 1 for the first time in his career (replaced Singleton)

- Has 135 career games at 3B, 126 at 2B and 49 at SS

Jose Martinez

- Has 9-game hit streak, 15-40 with 1 walk, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 HR, 9 runs and 5 RBIs

- Has reached base safely in 20 consecutive games, .412 OBP, .351 avg. - longest such streak by a Hook this season

- CC's defensive player of the month in April (47 PO, 56 A, 0 E)

- Batting .314(37-118) vs. RHP; .318(14-44) vs. LHP; .367(18-49) w/RISP

- Played just 6 games in the three-year period 2009-11

Ryan McCurdy

- Is 7-24 in his last 8 games with 2 walks, 1 HBP, 2 doubles, 1 HR, 3 runs and 8 RBIs

- Grand slam last night his first pro HR (in portions of 3 seasons has played in 72 games and has 181 at-bats)

- Batting .310(13-42) vs. RHP; 0-9 vs. LHP; .313(5-16) w/RISP

- Had played just 2 games w/ Lancaster this season, was 2-3 with 1 HBP

Andy Simunic

- Hits in 5 of the last 6 games, 6-23 with 2 walks and 3 runs

- In his last 20 games, all at 3B and SS, has 16 POs, 45 assists and 0 errors

- Batting .313(31-99) vs. RHP; .154(4-26) vs. LHP; .206(7-34) w/RISP

- In five pro seasons has bounced into just 11 DPs in 1,377 plate appearances

Jon Singleton

- Has 9-game hit streak, 16-37 with 3 walks, 2 doubles, 3 HRs, 10 runs and 13 RBIs

- Is 18-46 in the last 12 games with 7 walks, 2 doubles, 4 HRs, 12 runs and 18 RBIs

- Batting .377(40-106) vs. RHP; .200(10-50) vs. LHP; .370(17-46) w/RISP

- Has started 31 games at 1B; 11 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

- Batting .159(7-44) vs. RHP; .111(3-27) vs. LHP; .190(4-21) w/RISP

- Fifth on the Hooks all-time stolen base chart with 31

Jonathan Villar

- Has 6-game hit streak, 12-28 with 1 HR, 7 runs and 5 RBIs

- Hits in 11 of his last 12 games, 19-50 w/3 walks, 1 double, 1 HR, 11 runs and 8 RBIs

- Second in the league with 18 stolen bases

- Batting .259(30-116) vs. RHP; .269(14-52) vs. LHP; .292(14-48) w/RISP

- Ranked by Baseball America as the No. 4 prospect in the Astros system

Chris Wallace

- Last played May 2 at Midland when he suffered groin injury

- Is 0-6 in his last 2 games

- Batting .195(8-41) vs. RHP; .190(4-21) vs. LHP; .227(5-22) w/RISP

- His HR (20) and RBI (78) totals ranked third among Houston farmhands last year

- Only Hook to club two grand slams last season (July 3 and July 12)

Austin Wates

- Has 6-game hit streak, 8-25 with 2 doubles, 5 runs and 2 RBIs

- Has reached base safely in 11 straight games, 14-43 with 2 walks, 3 HBPs, 9 runs and 4 RBIs

- Tied for the league lead with 56 hits

- Batting .326(44-135) vs. RHP; .245(12-49) vs. LHP; .359(14-39) w/RISP

- Named Lancaster's MVP in 2011, led the JetHawks in 8 statistical categories

BULLPEN REPORT

Starters: 13-19, 4.87 ERA, 245.2 IP, 31 HR, 92 BB, 194 K, .288 AVG

Relievers: 9-6, 4.41 ERA, 167.1 IP, 18 HR, 81 BB, 151 K, .260 AVG

Erick Abreu

- Earned first save Monday at Midland, setting down all 4 batters faced - 2 on Ks

- Has not yielded a run or a hit over last 5 appearances (5.1 IP)

- Is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in 2 starts / 4-0 with a 4.97 ERA in 13 G out of the pen

- His 9 HR allowed rank second in the Texas League

- Ranked among TL leaders in WHIP (1.22, 4th) and ERA (4.29, 9th) last season

- Captured P-o-W award for 2nd straight year: 10 K, 1 BB, 2 H, 1 UR in 8 IP Aug. 17

- CC's P-o-M in August 2010: 3-0 with a 2.39 ERA in 7 games and 4 starts

- Holds the club record for strikeouts (259)...ranks 2nd in IP (291.1) & G (106)

Kevin Chapman

- Struck out 2 in a perfect 8th Thursday night

- Touched for 2 R on 1 H and 1 BB over 1.2 IP Monday at Midland

- Has yielded 4 R (3 ER) over last 3 appearances (4.0 IP)

- 13 of his 19 outings have been of the scoreless variety

- Holding lefties to a .200 batting average (7x35), 2 RBIs, 8 BB, 15 K

- K/9 IP ratio of 11.51 ranks second among Texas League relievers

- A top-20 KC prospect by BA last year: 1-4, 10 SV, 4.94 ERA in Wilmington & NWA

- Struck out 90 & walked 28 over 62.0 IP...save total ranked 3rd in the Royals system

- Entered '12 with a career BB-to-K ratio of 1-to-3.06 & is averaging 12.38 K per 9 IP

Arcenio Leon

- Faced the minimum thanks to a double play in the 8th last night

- Allowed inherited runners to score and a bases-loaded walk and HBP Monday at MID

- Has yielded an ER in 5 of last 8 appearances (7 ER / 13.1 IP)

- Posted a 2.45 ERA in April (7 G), holding the opposition to a .224 batting average

- Led the Texas League last season in SO/9 IP ratio (10.16) for relievers

- Paced the Hooks with 47 app., the third-highest single-season total in team history

- Placed on 40-man in Nov. '10, going 2-4 w/ 4 SV & a 3.97 ERA in Lex. and CC

- Over seven seasons has a career SO/9 IP ratio of 7.82

Alex Sogard

- Tossed 2 shutout frames Sunday at Midland

- Had surrendered a run in each of his 6 appearances with the Hooks

- Was 0-2 with a 2.81 ERA in 6 outings at Lancaster to start the season

- Held the California League to a .197 average, 0 HR, 8 BB & 17 K in 16.0 IP

- 3-4 w/ a 4.14 ERA in 31 G (10 starts) for Lex. last year (4-for-6 in SV chances)

- Notched 148 strikeouts against 37 walks (4-to-1 ratio) in first 2 seasons as a pro

- Teammate of Buchanan at NC State: 10-6 w/ a 5.16 ERA, 73 BB, 96 K over 3 years

Jason Stoffel

- Worked a scoreless ninth last night

- Notched 5th save in as many chances on Saturday at Midland

- Has not allowed a run in last 8 app (9.2 IP)...14 of his 17 outings overall

- Tied for 2nd among TL relievers in average (.169) & 3rd in fewest runners per 9 (7.97)

- Went 2-5 w/ 17 SV & a 4.53 ERA in 50 G between Richmond & CC in 2011

- Tied for 4th among SF farmhands in saves, recording 13 in 17 opportunities

- In 2010, led the Giants system with 25 saves and notched a SO/9 IP ratio of 11.17

- Entered '12 season averaging 10.27 SO/9 IP & has a GO/AO ratio of 1.72 for career

- Stands as the Wildcats career leader in saves (29) and appearances (99)

Henry Villar

- Retired the Travs in 1-2-3 fashion in the 9th Thursday night

- Fashioned a perfect 5th Sunday at Midland...first appearance since April 27

- Activated Saturday after spending the bulk of the month on the disabled list

- Made 2 starts for Cosart (4/16 & 4/10): 2 L, 6 IP, 12 H, 9 ER, 2 HR, 1BB, 4 K vs. TUL

- As a reliever: 2-0 with a 4.15 ERA in 6 appearances: 10 H, 3 HR, 3 BB, 4 K, 13.0 IP

- Went 4-5 with a 5.45 ERA in 42 appearances between OKC and CC last season

- Made his big-league debut in 2010 as a September call-up, yielding 3 ER in 6 IP

Josh Zeid

- Walked 1 & hurled 2 WP before recording the final 2 outs Thursday (2 of 3 IR scored)

- Tagged for 5 R on 4 H in a 1/3 of a frame Sunday at Midland

- Surrendered a grand slam to Ali Solis last Wednesday at SA

- Moved to Reading's pen in late June last year: 2 SV, 2.25 ERA, 2 BB, 24 K, 16.0 IP

- Joined Hooks in late July: 0-1, 10.13 ERA, 15 G, 16 IP, 6 BB, 15 K

- Mid-season SAL All-Star in 2010

- Top 5 for Lakewood in W (8, T-1st), SV (8, 2nd), K (111, 2nd) & IP (107.1 IP, 4th)

Has a career 3.18 K/BB ratio over 3 seasons, holding the opposition to a .245 average

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Texas League Stories from May 26, 2012


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