May 21, 2013
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Game Notes, July 21 vs. Frisco

July 21, 2012 - Texas League (TL) Corpus Christi Hooks

Frisco (52-45, 11-17) @ Corpus Christi (18-9, 55-42)

Andy Simunic slugged a grand slam and drove in a career-high five runs and lefty Rob Rasmussen earned his first Double-A victory as the Hooks rolled past Frisco 7-5 in last night's series opener at Whataburger Field. Jurickson Profar put the RoughRiders on the board first with a two-out solo home run in the opening frame. Corpus Christi responded in the second on Ben Orloff's sac fly to centerfield. With the game tied at one in the fifth, Cody Buckel loaded the bases for Simunic, who worked the count to 2-0 before launching a fastball onto the berm in left field. The Hooks tacked on two more in the sixth via an RBI single from Orloff and a bases-loaded walk by Simunic.

Rasmussen, acquired as part of the trade that sent Carlos Lee to Miami, scattered three runs, five hits and one walk over six innings. He struck out six, throwing 54 of 88 pitches for strikes. Following Profar's home run, Rasmussen faced just one over the minimum. Josh Zeid worked two innings and yielded a two-run shot to Mike Olt. Jason Stoffel fashioned a scoreless ninth to notch his 16th save of the year.

Corpus Christi has won 15 of its last 18 games at Whataburger Field and 11 of the last 16 overall. With the Mission's 1-0 extra-inning loss to Midland last night, the Hooks are now one game ahead of San Antonio for first place in the Texas League South second-half race.

Tonight's Matchup:

RHP Nick Tepesch (2-1, 5.40) vs. RHP Jarred Cosart (4-5, 3.86)

Tepesch, a 14th-round pick of the Rangers in 2010 out of the University of Missouri, makes his sixth start and eighth appearance with Frisco. The Missions tagged Tepesch for six runs (5ER) on five hits, including two home runs, in five innings on Monday at Dr Pepper Ballpark. He crafted a stellar start but had to settle for a no-decision July 10 against Arkansas, tossing eight innings of one-run ball. Tepesch made his Double-A debut at Whataburger Field on June 15, holding the Hooks to two runs and seven hits over seven innings. He left with the game tied a two but the RoughRiders scored a run in the eighth to win 3-2. The Blue Springs, Missouri native pitched one scoreless inning of relief against Corpus Christi, striking out two. Tepesch began the season with Myrtle Beach in the Carolina League, where in 12 starts he was 5-3 with a 2.89 ERA. June 9 at Carolina, Tepesch tossed the first complete-game shutout of his career, blanking the Mudcats on three hits and three walks over seven innings in the first game of a doubleheader. Over his last five starts for the Pelicans, Tepesch went 4-0 with a 0.78 ERA (3 ER in 34.2 IP). That streak of goodness began May 19 at Wilmington, when Tepesch hurled the first 7.1 innings of a combined no-hitter against the Blue Rocks. He pitched last year at Hickory, going 7-5 with a 4.03 ERA and two complete games. Tepesch struck out 118 and walked 33 in 138.1 innings.

- Had a 2.20 GO/AO ratio in his 12 starts for the Pelicans

- Allowed just 3 HRs in 71.2 innings in the Carolina League

- Went 6-6 with a 4.20 ERA in his junior year at Missouri and led the Tigers in strikeouts

Cosart, acquired by the Astros in the Hunter Pence deal with Philadelphia last July, makes his 15th start for the Hooks and seventh against Frisco. Cosart, Kevin Chapman and Stoffel combined to toss the first one-hitter in club history last Sunday against Frisco. Cosart, who yielded an RBI triple to Profar in the sixth, worked 5.2 innings and was charged with two runs on four walks while striking out five. Chapman and Stoffel retired all 10 batters they faced to record the 5-2 triumph. Cosart, who left his July 3 start at Tulsa due to a blister, turned in his second consecutive shutout performance June 24 at Frisco, permitting four hits and two walks over six frames to earn Texas League pitcher of the week honors. The Astros' No. 2 prospect blanked San Antonio thru seven innings June 19. Cosart struck out nine against three walks for the week, inducing 20 ground ball outs compared to 4 fly outs. A member of the Texas League South All-Star Team, Cosart had a rough stretch from May 18-June 9, allowing 17 earned runs over four starts for a 6.20 ERA. The League City native owned a combined 10-10 record and 4.12 ERA between Clearwater and Corpus Christi last year. Cosart struck out 101 and walked 56 over 144.1 innings, holding the opposition to a .241 average. A graduate of Clear Creek High, he was the winning pitcher in the XM All-Star Futures Game last July in Phoenix.

- Has a 2.25 GO/AO ratio in 14 starts with the Hooks

- Went 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in three April starts, posting 13 strikeouts against 9 walks in 13.1 IP

- 3-2 with a 3.27 ERA in 6 starts vs. Frisco (20 K | 17 BB | 33.0 IP)

Wojo in CC

Right-handed pitcher Asher Wojciechowski, acquired in the Astros' 10-player trade with the Toronto Blue Jays Friday morning, will be in uniform for tonight's game. The 23-year-old Wojciechowski spent the season with Advanced-A Dunedin in the Florida State League and went 7-3 with a 3.57 ERA in 18 starts. His seven wins were tied for fifth in the FSL.

After a rough month of May in which he posted a 6.94 ERA, Wojciechowski was stellar in his last seven starts with the Blue Jays. Starting with a June 9th start against Clearwater, he went a combined 5-1 with a 1.51 ERA. Two starts ago, the right-hander posted his best line of the season. He allowed just two hits, two walks and struck out five over seven shutout innings at Jupiter.

Toronto made Wojciechowski the highest draft pick in the history of the Citadel when it selected him with the 41st overall pick in the 2010 draft after his junior season. A consensus second-team All-American in "˜10, he went 12-3 with a 3.58 ERA in 17 starts.

The rest of the haul for Houston included RHP Francisco Cordero and OF Ben Francisco, who joined the Astros Friday night in Phoenix, C Carlos Perez, who will report to Advanced-A Lancaster, LHP David Rollins, ticketed for Low-A Lexington, and RHP Joe Musgrove, who has not pitched since June 24th due to shoulder soreness and will report to Rookie Level Greeneville. In the deal the Astros sent LHP J.A. Happ and RHP Brandon Lyon to Toronto, along with Triple-A RHP David Carpenter.

Trade winds a blowin'

The Astros acquired RHP Matt Heidenreich, LHP Blair Walters and a player to be named later from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for veteran RHP Brett Myers Saturday, General Manager Jeff Luhnow announced.

Heidenreich, who will report to Corpus Christi, was 9-4 with a 3.95 ERA in 18 combined starts at Winston-Salem (A) and Birmingham (AA) with two complete games and a shutout. He was a Carolina League mid-season All-Star and earned the league Pitcher of the Week award for the week of June 2nd. The White Sox selected the 21-year-old righty in the fourth-round of the 2009 draft. Since then, he has a 25-17 record in four minor league seasons with a 3.87 ERA in 75 appearances (56 starts).

The Coronado, CA native struggled after his promotion to Double-A Birmingham in early July, going 1-2 with a 5.89 ERA in three starts for the Barons. In 18.1 innings pitched, Heidenreich allowed 27 hits, five walks and struck out nine.

Walters, 22, was 4-6 with a 3.96 ERA in 18 combined starts with Kannapolis (A) and Winston-Salem (A) this season while tal¬lying 93 strikeouts in 97.2 innings with 22 walks. He will be assigned to Advanced-A Lancaster.

The 31-year-old Myers was 0-4 with a 3.52 ERA in 35 relief appearances for Houston with 19 saves in 21 chances.

Not so rough

Corpus Christi has now won 9 of the last 11 meetings with Frisco and owns the season series 15-10. The Hooks have scored 5.5 runs per game while allowing 4.7 runs per contest. Midland has the second best record against the RoughRiders this season, posting an 8-8 mark. Since winning 32 of their first 52 games, the first-half champs have gone 20-25.

Pitching Rotation vs. Frisco

Sunday: TBA vs. RHP Jose Cisnero (8-6, 3.61)

Monday: RHP Jake Brigham (4-5, 4.70) vs. RHP Ross Seaton (6-6, 3.75)

HOOKS PLAYER NOTES

Adam Bailey

- 3-for-6 with a walk at Midland

- Has hit safely in 4 of last 5 (6-11) after going hitless in last 10 at-bats

- Batting .256(20-78) vs. RHP; .267(4-15) vs. LHP: .250(5-20) w/RISP

- Added to roster May 30 from Advanced-A Lancaster

- In 47 games with the JetHawks was batting .279-8-25 with 2 SBs

- In 23 games at the end of last season with the Hooks hit .323-3-15

Rene Garcia

- 1-5 with a walk at Midland

- Hit .279 with 13 doubles, and 22 RBIs in 60 games at Lancaster

- Had hit safely in 7 of last 9 games w/ LAN...posted a .321 AVG in 10 RBIs in June

- Posted .984 fielding percentage (7 PB in 447 chances)

- His 26 percent caught-stealing rate ranked seventh in California League

- .242-1-27 in 86 games for the JetHawks last season

- Ranked among the circuit's top catchers last year in fielding percentage (.984), double plays (10, 1st), assists (69, 3rd) and caught-stealing efficiency (30%, 4th)

- Began 2010 at Lexington, hitting .262 with 10 2B, 2 HR & 35 RBIs in 84 games

Jacob Goebbert

- 4-12 with 3 R, 1 2B, 1 HR and 5 RBIs at Midland

- Hits in 8 of last 10 games: 12-29 (.414) with 12 R, 3 2B, 2 HR and 9 RBIs

- His 5 triples rank fifth in the circuit

- Promoted to OKC on June 9...went 4-for-30 (.133) with 2 R, 1 2B and 1 RBI in 16 G

- 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 .244(47-193) vs. RHP; .383(23-60) vs. LHP; .317(20-63) w/RISP

Ben Heath

- .298 with nine doubles, five home runs and 29 RBIs in 50 games at Lancaster

- Hit safely in his last four games with the JetHawks

- .407-3-16 during June

- Posted a composite .252 batting average, 22 doubles, 10 home runs and 42 RBIs between Lancaster and Lexington last year

- Played in four games with the Hooks in September of 2010, going 6-for-12 with a double and four RBIs

Kody Hinze

- 7-41 (.171) in last 12 games with 6 R, 2 2B, 1 HR & 5 RBIs

- Hit .306 (22-72) in June with 2 doubles, 5 HRs, 10 runs and 17 RBIs

- Struggled in May: .106-0-5 with 9 walks and 24 strikeouts in 66 at-bats

- Batting .257(29-113) at home; .197(24-122) on the road

- Batting .205(35-171) vs. RHP; .281(18-64) vs. LHP; .182(14-77) w/RISP

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

Drew Locke

- Went 5-for-5 Thursday night, the first five-hit game by a Hook this season

- 8-13 with 1 R, 2 2Bs and an RBI at Midland

- Has hit safely in 9 of last 13: 20-55 (.364), 1 HR, 3 2B, 7 R & 9 RBIs

- Hit safely in first 5 games with the Hooks: 8-21 (.381) with 3 HRs & 12 RBIs

- Tied with Mark Saccomanno (05-06) for franchise lead with 4 career grand slams

- Had played 40 games this season for Sugar Land Skeeters (.285-4-24)

- Was the Texas League's batting champion with the Hooks in 2009 (.338)

- Holds franchise single-season records for average (.338) and RBIs (109)

Jose Martinez

- Has hit safely in 4 of last 5 games, 7-19 with 3 walks, 1 HR and 3 RBIs

- 2-17 with 2 HR and 4 RBIs in FRI series

- Hits in 32 of his last 39 games, 54-168 (.321) w/ 7 2B, 8 HR, 29 R and 39 RBIs

- T-2nd in TL AVG (.307), 3rd PA/K (10.72), 4th RBIs (69) & H (107), & T-5th R (59)

- Reached base safely in 23 consecutive games (May 4-28) w/.352 avg. and .402 OBP

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

- Batting .295(79-268) vs. RHP; .350(28-80) vs. LHP; .388(40-103) w/RISP

Drew Muren

- 0-7 since 13-game hit streak (17-46 (.370) w/ 7 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR & 5 RBIs)

- Has hit safely in 21 of his 27 games with the Hooks

- Added to roster June 13 from Class A Lexington

- In 48 games with the Legends batted .279-3-17 with 12 doubles and 4 SBs

- Batting .354(23-65) vs. RHP; .241(7-29) vs. LHP; .174(4-23) w/RISP

- A 22nd-round pick of the Astros last June out of Cal State-Northridge

Ben Orloff

- Was hitting .288 with 8 doubles, 29 RBIs and 7 steals in 77 games at Lancaster

- Featured the lowest K/PA ratio (15.09) in the California League...32 BB / 22 K

- Featured a .972 fielding percentage, tops among CL shortstops

- .284-2-31 with 15 doubles and 51 RBIs in 96 games at Lexington last year

- MVP for Tri-City in 2010...ValleyCats went on to win NYPL Championship

- Hit .307 with 52 R, 4 2B, 16 RBIs, 34 BB, 19 Ks & 23 SB in 63 games that season

Andy Simunic

- Hit 2nd pro grand slam last night and drove in a career-high 5 runs...hits in 3 straight

- 5-17 with two runs and an RBI in Midland series

- Has hits in 12 of last 15 games, 20-56 (.340) with 16 R, 1 2B, 8 RBIs and 6 BB

- Rejoined Hooks June 14 from AAA Oklahoma City, where he was 0-9 in 8 games

- Hit .391 with 4 doubles and 7 RBIs during 16 games in June

- T-2nd in the league in hitting (.307)

- Batting .297(66-222) vs. RHP; .344(21-61) vs. LHP; .234(18-77) w/RISP

- In five pro seasons has bounced into just 13 DPs in 1,440 plate appearances

- Finished last year at Lancaster: .295-5-28 in 67 games

Jon Singleton

- Has hits in 7 of last 8...11-32 with 5 R, 3 2B, 1 HR & 5 RBIs

- 7-for-17 July 2-9 w/ 3 R, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBIs & 4 BB to earn TL POW honors

- 2nd in the league in runs (62) & 3rd in walks (62)

- .377-2-11 with 7 2B, 1 3B, 12 BB & 15 K over 15 games in July

- .148-1-6 with 4 2B and 20 BB thru 25 games in June

- Named the Texas League's Player of the Week (May 21-27), hit .500-4-12

- CC's offensive player of the month in May (.281-7-24, .931 OPS)

- Batting .291(67-230) vs. RHP; .236(21-89) vs. LHP; .315(29-92) w/RISP

- Hitting .301(72-239) when he starts at 1B (66); .183(11-60) when he starts in LF(16)

- Batted .350 with 7 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR 13 RBIs, 12 walks, 16 Ks thru 22 G in April

Austin Wates

- Has hit safely in 5 of last 6 games; 9-23 with 6 R, 1 2B, 1 HR & 2 RBIs

- 10-20 with 5 R, 3 2B, 2 HR and 10 RBIs in Frisco series

- Hit his first walk-off HR as a pro Thursday (first HR since May 4 at MID)

- 4th player in Hooks history to drive in six RBIs in one game

- 6th in the league with a .305 average

- 2-17 on previous road trip with 11 Ks

- Activated following the all-star break after a 15-day stint on DL (left quad)

- Hits in 17 of his last 28 games, 30-94 (.323) w/ 10 BB, 6 2B, 13 R, 1 HR & 13 RBIs

- Struck out 5 times last July 5 at NWA - a career and franchise high

- Batting .318(71-223) vs. RHP; .264(19-72) vs. LHP; .313(21-67) w/RISP

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

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Texas League Stories from July 21, 2012


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