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Game Notes, July 27 vs. Midland

July 27, 2012 - Texas League (TL) Corpus Christi Hooks

Midland (15-17, 50-52) at Corpus Christi (22-11, 59-44)

In his debut as an Astros farmhand, Matt Heidenreich carried a four-hit shutout into the ninth inning last night and the Hooks thwarted a late rally by San Antonio, besting the Missions 3-2 to claim the three-game series at Wolff Stadium. Leading by three, Heidenreich yielded a lead-off double to Dean Anna in the ninth. Closer Jason Stoffel came on and got a quick strikeout before allowing three consecutive singles to draw San Antonio within one. With the tying run at second and the go-ahead run at first, pinch-hitter Jake Blackwood hit a deep fly ball to left field that was hauled in by Jacob Goebbert a few steps shy of the warning track. Drew Locke then provided the play of the night by making a sensational sliding catch on a line drive tailing toward the right-field line for the game's final out.

Heidenreich, picked up by the Astros last weekend in the trade that shipped Brett Meyers to the White Sox, was charged with one run on five hits and one walk while striking out seven. The 6-5 right-hander threw 64 of 93 pitches for strikes, inducing 11 ground ball outs and three fly ball outs.

The Hooks, who now own a three-game lead in the Texas League South second-half race, return to Whataburger Field where they have won 17 of their last 21 games.

Tonight's Matchup:

RHP Shawn Haviland (6-8, 5.06) vs. RHP Paul Clemens

Haviland, Oakland's 33rd-round selection in the 2008 draft out of Harvard University, makes his 24th appearance and 14th start of the season. Last Sunday in San Antonio, Haviland tossed five shutout innings and allowed just two hits while striking out five to record the win. He started Game 2 of the July 18 doubleheader between the Hooks and RockHounds at Citibank Ballpark. Haviland was charged with the loss as CC scored three times on six hits in his three innings of work. Here in July, he is 2-2 with a 2.57 ERA in six appearances (2 starts). In 10 appearances out of the bullpen, Haviland is 1-2 with a 4.05 ERA, striking out 15 against six walks in 20.0 innings. In 13 starts, he is 5-6 with a 5.40 ERA and a .281 opponents' batting average. Now in his fifth professional season, Haviland spent all last year with the RockHounds, going 6-12 with a 7.08 ERA in 27 starts. He was tied for sixth among Oakland farmhands in strikeouts (110) and was ninth in innings pitched (143.2). Haviland went 9-6 with a 3.65 ERA in 27 starts for Stockton in 2010, striking out 166 batters against 40 walks over 150.1 frames. His strikeout totals and ERA ranked second and fifth, respectively, in the California League, earning post-season all-star honors. Adding in Haviland's lone appearance with Triple-A Sacramento, his 169 Ks on the season paced the Athletics system.

- Holds a degree from Harvard in Government Studies

- Has struggled on the road (2-5, 6.33 ERA, 12 games) compared to home (4-3, 3.53 ERA, 11 games)

- 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA in 3 games and 2 starts vs. the Hooks (14 K | 5 BB | 14.0 IP)

Clemens, acquired via trade from Atlanta, along with OF Jordan Schafer, RHP Juan Abreu and LHP Brett Oberholtzer, for Michael Bourn last July, makes his first start of the season for the Hooks. Clemens joins the club from Oklahoma City where he went 8-8 with a 6.73 ERA in 20 starts. He has allowed 16 home runs and 32 walks while striking out 68 in 101.2 innings for the RedHawks. A seventh-round pick of the Braves in 2008, Clemens began the year well, going 2-1 with a 2.05 ERA thru four April starts. Since then, he is 6-7 with an 8.02 ERA and an opponents' batting average of .367. Last Sunday, Clemens was tagged for eight runs (3 ER) on 10 hits in three innings at Memphis. He has surrendered four earned runs or more in 12 of his 20 outings on the season. A member of Houston's 40-man roster, Clemens was tabbed as the No. 5 prospect in the Astros system, according to Baseball America entering the season. He went a combined 8-7 with a 3.81 ERA in 26 starts between Mississippi, Corpus Christi and Oklahoma City last season, striking out 125 against 62 walks in 144 innings. Clemens held the opposition to a .239 batting average and did not allow an earned run over a span of 29.1 consecutive innings, covering portions of six starts from July 21 to August 21. He represented the M-Braves as a Southern League All-Star before joining the Hooks in August.

- 2-1 with a 2.35 ERA in 5 starts for CC last season, earning pitcher of the month honors

- 1-1 with a 6.55 ERA in 2 starts at Whataburger Field

- Posted a composite 2-4 record with 3 saves and a 3.23 ERA between Rome and Myrtle Beach in 2010

New-look Hooks

Nothing has been changed...except for the players. Prior to Wednesday's game, right-handed pitchers Jake Buchanan, Jose Cisnero and Jarred Cosart were promoted to Oklahoma City. Yesterday, the Astros optioned right-handers Paul Clemens and Adalberto Flores to Corpus Christi from OKC.

In addition, Robbie Grossman, acquired by the Astros in Tuesday's trade with Pittsburgh for Wandy Rodriguez, led off and played centerfield for the Hooks last night. He went 2-for-4 with one run and one walk. The Houston native was hitting .262 with 20 doubles, seven home runs, 35 RBIs and a .374 on-base percentage in 94 games for Double-A Altoona. Grossman was named Pittsburgh's Minor League Player of the Year last season after hitting .294 while pacing the Florida State League with 124 runs scored and 104 walks in 134 contests. He was ranked by MLB.com as Pittsburgh's No. 7 prospect. A switch-hitter, Grossman was originally a sixth-round pick of the Pirates in the 2008 Draft out of Cy-Fair High School.

Flores, signed by the Astros a free agent last November, is 6-1 with a 7.54 ERA in 37 appearances out of the Oklahoma City bullpen this season. He has allowed 10 home runs and a .326 opponents' batting average while striking out 33 against 21 walks in 45.1 innings. Flores surrendered two grand slams in the fourth inning on Sunday at Memphis as the Redbirds routed OKC 24-7. Nine of his first 12 outings with the RedHawks were of the scoreless variety. The former Ranger farmhand began 2012 in Corpus Christi, allowing three earned runs in 6.2 innings. Flores walked one and fanned seven. He went 5-4 with a 3.32 ERA in 41 appearances for Frisco last season.

Buchanan, 5-6 with a 5.00 ERA in 19 starts for the Hooks, made his Triple-A debut on Wednesday and was touched for four runs on five hits while recording only two outs vs. Iowa.

Cosart, acquired by the Astros in the Hunter Pence deal with Philadelphia last July, posted a 5-5 record with a 3.52 ERA in 15 starts with the Hooks. He notched a 2.12 GO/AO ratio, striking out 68 against 38 walks in 87.0 innings. He combined with Kevin Chapman and Jason Stoffel to toss the first one-hitter in club history July 15 against Frisco. Rated by Baseball America as Houston's No. 2 prospect entering the season, Cosart earned Texas League pitcher of the week honors for delivering consecutive shutouts against San Antonio (6/19) and the RoughRiders (6/24). He struck out nine and walked three batters for the week, inducing 20 ground ball outs compared to 4 fly outs. Cosart made one start for the RedHawks on May 8 and was handed the loss as Las Vegas scored four runs on 10 hits in his six innings.

Cisnero leaves the Hooks riding a franchise-record five-game winning streak. He is 9-6 with a 3.40 ERA in 20 starts, including two complete games and one shutout. Cisnero is the reigning Texas League's Pitcher of the Week, becoming the first Hook to win the award three times in one season since Jason Hirsh in 2005. Over his last 11 starts, Cisnero is 7-1 with a 2.26 ERA (18 ER/71.2 IP), tossing 71 strikeouts against 20 walks. He was 3-1 with a 2.18 ERA thru five starts in June, notching 31 strikeouts and eight walks over 33.0 innings to earn Corpus Christi's Pitcher of the Month honors. Cisnero leads the league is strikeouts (116) and ranks second in victories and is tied for ninth in ERA.

Home sweet home

Corpus Christi has won 17 of its last 21 games at Whataburger Field dating back to June 7th against Midland and is 33-17 at home overall. In that 21 game stretch, the Hooks are hitting .275 (184-670) and have a 4.10 team ERA. Corpus Christi is hitting .279 with 51 home runs in 50 home games, led by Jon Singleton's .311 home batting average to go with his 11 Whataburger Field long balls. On the road the Hooks are hitting .257 with 36 homers in 53 games. In all of Double-A, only the Akron Aeros (39-16) and the Springfield Cardinals (36-17) have a better home record than CC.

Power outage

Despite winning five of their last seven games, the Hooks offense has taken its lumps. In those six games, Corpus Christi has scored 24 runs and hit just one home run. Further, beginning with a 5-0 loss in game one of the doubleheader at Midland on July 18th, the Hooks have scored 32 runs in 10 games (3.2 rpg). For the season, Corpus Christi averages 5.16 rpg. In last night's 3-2 win over the Missions, Corpus Christi registered 11 hits, but just one went for extra bases. Drew Locke's first inning double plated Ben Orloff to give the Hooks a 1-0 lead. The team has 15 extra base hits in the 10 games and two home runs: the first by Jacob Goebbert on July 19 at Midland and the second Andy Simunic's grand slam on July 20 vs. Frisco.

Pitching Rotation vs. Midland

Saturday: RHP Sonny Gray (4-7, 4.35) vs. RHP Ross Seaton (6-7, 4.03)

Sunday: LHP Carlos Hernandez (4-4, 5.72) vs. RHP Asher Wojciechowski (1-0, 1.29)

Monday: LHP Fabio Castro (1-2, 3.11) vs. LHP Rob Rasmussen (1-2, 7.00)

HOOKS PLAYER NOTES

Adam Bailey

- Appeared once in SA series, went 0-2 Wednesday

- 4-for-13, R, 2B, 3 RBI in series vs. Frisco

- Has hit safely in 6 of last 9 (8-22) to raise average from .220 to .250

- Prior to this stretch, was hitless in previous 10 at-bats

- Drove in a run in three straight games from July 21-23

- Batting .244(21-86) vs. RHP; .278(5-18) vs. LHP; .304(7-23) 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

- Has hit in 3 straight, going 4-for-11 with one RBI at SA

- Has hit safely in 7 of 9 games with CC

- Batting .400(8-20) vs. RHP; .167(1-6) vs. LHP; .250(1-4) w/RISP

- 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) | 26% caught-stealing rate

- .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-for-10 with 1 2B and 2 BB at San Antonio

- Hits in 11 of last 15 games: 20-53 (.377) with 13 R, 4 2B, 2 HR and 9 RBIs

- His 5 triples are tied for 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 .254(53-209) vs. RHP; .391(25-64) vs. LHP; .315(23-73) w/RISP

Robbie Grossman

- Acquired from PIT with LHPs Rudy Owens and Colton Cain for LHP Wandy Rodriguez

- Spent the entire season with Double-A Altoona in the Eastern League

- Hit .266 with 20 2B, 4 3B, 7 HR, 36 RBI and 9 SB in 95 games with the Curve

- Played exclusively in centerfield this season with Altoona

- Fifth in the Eastern League with 59 runs scored and first in walks (59)

- Since June 17th has hit .357 (45-126) with 25 R to raise BA from .214 to .266

- Had a 13 game hitting streak from 6/16-6/29 in which he hit .380 (19-50)

- Batted .242(54-223) vs. RHP; .307(39-127) vs. LHP; .311(23-74) w/RISP for Altoona

Ben Heath

- Made 2012 Hooks debut Monday against Frisco; went 0-for-3, R, BB

- .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

- Hit .252 with 22 doubles, 10 home runs and 42 RBIs between Lancaster and Lexington last year

- Played in 4 G w/ the Hooks in September of 2010, going 6-for-12 with a double and four RBIs

Kody Hinze

- 0-5 with a run and an RBI at SA

- In 11 July games, hitting .152 (5-33) with 1 HR and 5 RBI

- 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 .259(30-116) at home; .189(24-127) on the road

- Batting .203(36-177) vs. RHP; .273(18-66) vs. LHP; .183(15-82) w/RISP

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

Jordan Kreke

- 0-8 with 2 Ks at SA

- Rejoined the Hooks Wednesday after third stint with OKC

- Hits in 8 of last 16 games with CC: 11-55 (.200), 4 R, 2 2B and 3 RBI

- 12-44 (.273) in 21 games for OKC with 9 R, 3 2B, and 3 RBIs

- Batting .221(15-68) at home; .160(8-50) on the road

- Batting .219(21-96) vs. RHP; .091(2-22) vs. LHP; .108(4-37) w/RISP

- Originally a 13th-round pick of the Braves in 2009

Drew Locke

- Has hit safely in 5 straight games, 8-16 with 2 doubles and 4 RBIs

- Hits in 14 of last 18: 28-71 (.388), 1 HR, 5 2B, 9 R & 12 RBI

- Went 5-for-5 July 19th, the first five-hit game by a Hook this season

- Thru 21 games in July: .367 with 6 doubles, 1 HR and 13 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 3 straight, going 4-12 with 2 R, 1 2B and 1 RBI at SA

- Went 1-for-15 with R, 2B, RBI in Frisco series

- Since July 12, is 14-59 (.237) to drop from .314 to .302

- Hit .342 with 8 doubles, two triples, 3 home runs and 17 RBIs in May

- 6th in TL AVG (.302), 3rd PA/K (11.11), 2nd in H (112) & 4th RBI (71)

- 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 .292(84-288) vs. RHP; .337(28-83) vs. LHP; .383(41-107) w/RISP

Drew Muren

- 0-8 with 2 Ks at SA

- Over last seven games is 2-23 (.087) to drop from .345 to .291

- 13-game hit streak from June 24-July 15 (.370 w/ 7 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR & 5 RBIs)

- Has hit safely in 23 of his 32 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 .313(25-80) vs. RHP; .233(7-30) vs. LHP; .160(4-25) w/RISP

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

Ben Orloff

- 3-11 with two runs and one walk at SA

- Has hit safely in two consecutive games after going 1-for-13 in prior 4

- Batting .241(7-29) vs. RHP; .167(1-6) vs. LHP; .167(1-6) w/RISP

- 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

- Missed the last three games with a sore neck

- Hits in six straight games (9-22, .409)

- In Frisco series went 6-for-13, R, 2B, HR, 6 RBI

- Hit 2nd pro grand slam Friday night & drove in career-high 5 runs

- Has hits in 15 of last 17 games, 24-66 (.364) with 16 R, 1 2B, 9 RBI 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

- 2nd in the league in hitting (.311)

- Batting .306(70-229) vs. RHP; .328(21-64) vs. LHP; .250(20-80) w/RISP

- In five pro seasons has bounced into just 14 DPs in 1,573 plate appearances

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

Jon Singleton

- 3-10 with 1 run and two walks at SA

- Hits in 11 last 13 games, 16-48 (.333) with 8 R, 3 2B, 3B, 1 HR & 7 RBI

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

- T-2nd in the league in runs (65) & 3rd in walks (65)

- .333-2-13 with 7 2B, 2 3B, 14 BB & 21 K over 22 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 .295(71-241) vs. RHP; .231(21-91) vs. LHP; .306(30-98) w/RISP

- Hitting .293(75-256) when he starts at 1B (77); .190(11-68) when he starts in LF(19)

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

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Texas League Stories from July 27, 2012


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