TL1 Corpus Christi Hooks

Game Notes, August 20 at Springfield

Published on August 20, 2012 under Texas League (TL1)
Corpus Christi Hooks News Release


Corpus Christi (34-21, 71-54) @ Springfield (35-19, 70-54)

Paul Clemens scattered six hits over seven innings and Jacob Goebbert blasted a three-run home run in the ninth inning as Corpus Christi rolled to a 7-1 victory over the Cardinals last night at Hammons Field. Clemens and Richard Castillo exchanged zeros thru the first three innings until Corpus Christi scored three times in the fourth. That was all the support Clemens would need. He allowed one unearned run and walked a batter while fanning three, throwing 47 of 72 pitches for strikes.

Goebbert cut through the drama with his seventh home run of the season. His blast to right field came against Keith Butler. Goebbert has now hit safely in eight of his last 10 games, posting a .552 batting average. Jason Stoffel got a key out in the eighth and set down Springfield in order in the ninth to notch his 23rd save of the season.

One bright spot for the Cardinals was the work of Michael Wacha, the 19th-overall pick in this year's draft out of Texas A&M. Wacha retired nine of the 10 men he faced, striking out six while walking one.

The Hooks, who have won four of the last five games against Springfield, own the best record in the Texas League and stand 31-31 on the road this season.

Tonight's Matchup:

Wojciechowski, acquired by the Astros in the 10-player trade with Toronto, makes his sixth start with the Hooks. He worked 5.2 innings last Wednesday at Dickey-Stephens Park and permitted three runs on eight hits. Wojciechowski did not walk a batter and struck out five but was tagged with the loss as Corpus Christi managed only one hit. Prior to his last two outings, Wojciechowski ha d 10 starts . He has held the Texas League to a .224 batting average but only 61% of his pitches have come across as strikes. Wojo's toughest outing was August 9 vs. the Travelers when he was tagged for six runs (3 ER) in three innings. In his Double-A debut July 24 at San Antonio, Wojciechowski tossed seven innings of one-run ball to earn the victory . The 23-year-old out of Charleston was with Dunedin in the Florida State League and went 7-3 with a 3.57 ERA in 18 starts. He struck out 76 and walked 22, holding the league to a .261 batting average. Wojciechowski went 5-1 with a 1.51 ERA over his last seven starts as a Blue Jay with 34 strikeouts against 11 walks . 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, posting 155 strikeouts in 125.2 innings. Wojo is 19-14 with a 3.99 ERA in three seasons, fanning 206 against 69 walks (2.99 K/BB) over 261.2 IP.

- Ranked by Baseball America has Toronto's No. 10 prospect entering the season

- Pitched for Team USA as a sophomore at the Citadel | Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year as a junior

- 11-9 with a 4.70 ERA for Dunedin last year, striking out 96 against 31 walks while allowing 15 home runs

Siegrist, selected by St. Louis in the 41st round of the 2008 draft out of Palm Beach CC in Lake Worth, Florida, makes his fifth appearance and third start for Springfield. He did not yield a hit over five shutout innings last Wednesday against the Missions, earning his first Double-A victory. Siegrist's last two appearances were out of the bullpen, allowing two runs on six hits over 4.2 innings, striking out five without walking a batter. He was originally called up to Springfield on July 6 but was roughed up in his initial start, permitting five runs, six hits and two home runs thru 4.2 innings opposite Frisco. Siegrist was shipped back to Palm Beach where he went 3-0 with 2.25 ERA over four starts before being recalled. Overall with PBC, the southpaw did not lose a decision, going 6-0 with a 2.28 ERA in 10 starts. He walked 22 and struck out 41 over 55.1 innings, holding the Florida State League to a .173 batting average. A non-roster invitee to Major League Spring Training, Siegrist began the year on the DL with a right-shoulder strain. He was 8-4 with a 2.26 ERA last year in 20 appearances and 19 starts between Quad Cities and Palm Beach.

- Held the opposition to a .210 batting average in 2011

- 6-3 with a 2.83 ERA in 21 Florida State League starts

- Is 20-9 with a 2.85 ERA thru 5 seasons as a pro (108 BB | 211 K | 271.2 IP)

Seaton back from OKC

Ross Seaton rejoins the Hooks today following a successful three-start stint at Triple-A Oklahoma City. Seaton, who permitted just one earned run in each outing, worked 6.1 innings Friday at home against Fresno. The RedHawks won the game 3-2 in 12 innings. Including his brief call-up in late April, Season has an 0-1 record and a 3.09 ERA thru four starts with Oklahoma City. He has walked seven and struck out 11 in 23.1 innings.

Season is 6-8 with a 4.41 ERA in 22 starts, including one complete game, for Corpus Christi. He has allowed 16 home runs and 29 walks while striking out 87 over 128.2 innings. From June 15 to July 12, Seaton notched five quality starts over six appearances. The Texas League All-Star pitched at least seven innings while allowing two runs or fewer in those five performances, registering an ERA of 2.36. Seaton fanned 31 while walking six during the run but only had a 1-2 record and three no-decisions to show for it due to poor run support. He was selected by the Astros as Corpus Christi's pitcher of the month in May, going 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA in six starts.

Seaton is slated to start Wednesday against Midland as the Hooks shift to a six-man rotation. To make room the roster, Adalberto Flores has been placed on the disabled list. Flores is 1-1 with a 7.65 ERA in 13 appearances as a Hook. He has 22 strikeouts against five walks over 20.0 innings.

Championship preview?

The teams with the two best overall records in the Texas League, to no surprise, have played a close season series thus far, with the Hooks winning six of the first 11 meetings against the Cardinals. Corpus Christi has won four of the last five games, outscoring Springfield 50-22. That total includes the 20-9 rout on August 12. The Hooks have been the Cardinals kryptonite of late. Springfield is 10-7 in August, but four of the losses have come at the hands of CC.

Jacob Goebbert has led the charge against Springfield, hitting .425 (17-40) with 3 2B, 1 HR and 7 RBI in 11 games against the Cardinals this season. Overall, the Hooks hit .315 against Springfield, compared to a .270 mark against the rest of the league. For the Cardinals, Xavier Scruggs has hit three home runs and driven 16 runs against the Hooks, while Jermaine Curtis is a .340 (16-for-47) hitter against Corpus Christi.

The Hooks seek their fifth sweep of the year and the club's first against Springfield since August 15-17, 2009, at Whataburger Field.

Magic number

The Hooks magic number to reach the Texas League playoffs has reached single digits. Their win last night coupled with San Antonio's loss to Arkansas pushed Corpus Christi's magic number to nine. Despite Frisco being the second place team in second half South Division race, the Hooks only need to be concerned with San Antonio catching them in second half because the RoughRiders qualified for the playoffs by winning the season's first half.

If Frisco overcame Corpus Christi's five game lead in the South Division over the season's last 15 games, the Hooks would still make the playoffs with a second place finish by having the division's second best overall record. The Missions are eliminated from catching the Hooks in overall record, as they are 16 games out with 15 to play.

Note: Midland (11.0 GB overall | 9.0 GB second half) is not yet mathematically eliminated from either race.

Series business

Last night, the Hooks earned their 13th series victory in the last 20 sets. Corpus Christi has lost three and split four during this stretch. Since claiming three of four June 6-9 vs. Midland, the Hooks are 43-25 for a winning percentage of .632. Corpus Christi posted the best record in the Texas League in both June (18-8) and July (20-10).

Schafer to rehab with CC

Astros OF Jordan Schafer, who's been on the disabled list since August 7, is slated to join Corpus Christi sometime this week. Schafer will rehab his left shoulder separation injury in Kissimmee, Fla. for four to five days before reporting to the Hooks. Schafer is hitting .216 with four home runs and 23 RBIs in 96 games this season.

Pitching Rotation vs. Midland

Tuesday: LHP Fabio Castro (2-4, 4.47) vs. RHP Bobby Doran (4-2, 6.52)

Wednesday: RHP Murphy Smith (6-9, 4.54) vs. RHP Ross Seaton (6-8, 4.41)

Thursday: RHP Shawn Haviland (6-8, 4.61) vs. LHP Rob Rasmussen (4-3, 5.02)

Friday: RHP Sonny Gray (5-9, 4.37) vs. RHP Matt Heidenreich (2-1, 4.07)

HOOKS PLAYER NOTES

Adam Bailey

- 0-for-1 as a PH Saturday | 1-for-3 with a BB and RBI double Friday in ARK

- 0-for-2 in Springfield series at WF...both ABs came as a PH

- 3 for his last 16 with three doubles and three RBIs

- Has played in just six games in August (three starts)

- Hit .308 with 2 doubles, 1 home run and 7 RBIs thru 17 games in July

- Batting .250(27-108) vs. RHP; .300(6-20) vs. LHP; .306(11-36) 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

Bobby Borchering

- 2-for-10 with 1 R, 3B, 2B and 2 RBIs in series at ARK

- 4 H & 5 RBIs in last 11 G (34 ABs, 14 Ks, 5 BBs)

- Notched 2nd four-RBI game with CC last Saturday (3-R HR & SF)...lone start vs. SPR (ankle)

- 7-for-16 with 4 runs, two doubles, two home runs and 4 RBIs in series at Midland

- In first six games with the Hooks went 8-for-20 (.400) with 3 HR and 10 RBI

- Hit .277 with 23 2B, 18 HR and 60 RBIs for Visalia this season

- Promoted to Mobile on July 3: .103-2-8 in 21 games for the BayBears

- 1st round pick of the D-Backs in 2009, rated as best power hitter in their system by BA

- Hit .267 with 29 2B, 24 HR and 92 RBIs for Visalia last year

- Played exclusively in the OF this season with ARI...161 G at 3B | 68 G at 1B thru first 3 years

- Graduated from Bishop Verot High School in Fort Myers, same alma mater as Chris Johnson

Jay Fernandez

- 1-for-3 with a BB Friday night...lone app. at ARK | 6-for-33 (.181) in 9 G since rejoining club

- Has hit safely in 22 of the last 31, 30-106 (.283) w/ 7 2B, 4 HR, 17 R & 20 RBIs

- Promoted in mid-July, was 1-for-8 w/ 2 RBIs for the RedHawks...hip-flexor injury limited action

- Selected Texas League Player of the Week June 11-17, hit .524-1-5 with 3 doubles

- Batting .230(26-113) vs. RHP; .289(13-45) vs. LHP; .235(12-51) w/RISP

- Has a career caught-stealing percentage of 38.8 (170 of 438)

- In 8 seasons in the Mariners and Twins systems, hit .244-16-162 in 439 games

Jacob Goebbert

- 2-for-6 with 2 R and 3 BB at ARK | 5-for-10 with 3 R, 2 2B and an RBI in SPR series at WF

- Riding a three-game hit streak, 6-12 with 3 runs, 1 2B, 1 HR and 5 RBIs

- Has hit safely in 8 of last 10 games, 16-31 (.516) with 11 R, 4 2B, 1 3B, 8 RBIs & 6 BB

- T-7th in average (.298) and is 4th in OBP (.399)

- Batting .436 (17x39) with 4 2Bs, 1 3B, 1 HR, 9 RBIs, 9 BBs and 6 Ks thru 15 games in August

- Hit .282 with 4 2B, 1 3B, 20 BB, 16 K, 2 HR and 10 RBIs in July

- 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 .284(71-250) vs. RHP; .347(26-75) vs. LHP; .345(30-87) w/RISP

Robbie Grossman

- Has hits in 15 of his 22 games with CC

- 1-8 in series at ARK with 2 strikeouts

- 6-12 with 5 runs, two doubles, one triple and 3 RBIs in series vs. SPR

- Batting .284(19-67) vs. RHP; .353(6-17) vs. LHP; .214(3-14) w/RISP

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

- Hit .266 with 20 2B, 4 3B, 7 HR, 36 RBI and 9 SB in 95 games for Altoona (.378 OBP)

- Was 5th in the Eastern League with 59 runs scored and first in walks (59) before the trade

- Named Pittsburgh's Player of the Year last year, led the FSL in runs (124) and walks (104)

- Hit .292 with 13 home runs, 56 RBIs and 24 stolen bases for Bradenton, posting a .381 OBP

- Originally a 6th round pick of the Pirates in 2008 out of Cy Fair High School in Houston

- Ranked by Baseball America as Pittsburgh's No. 7 prospect entering 2012

Enrique Hernandez

- 1st 3-hit night for Hernandez Saturday...has hits in 5 of last 6, 9-24 (.375) w/ 4 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI

- Went 3-for-12 with two runs, 1 double and 1 RBIs in Springfield series

- Promoted from High-A Lancaster Friday...went 0-for-4 in Double-A debut

- With the JetHawks, hit .275 (104-378) with 52 R, 25 2B, 7 3B, 5 HR and 49 RBI in 100 games

- Let the CL 2B in fielding percentage (.971) and double plays (71) turned

- In June, hit .330 (30-91) with 15 RBI | His 9.56 PA/K ration ranked 3rd in the circuit

- Played for Lexington in 2011 and hit .247-2-17; with Tri-City in 2010, hitting .280-3-33

- Named the ValleyCats' P-o-M for August as Tri-City went on to win the NYPL Championship

- Was the Gulf Coast League Astros MVP for 2009, after hitting .295

- Selected by HOU in the 6th round of the 2009 draft out of the American Military Academy in PR

Drew Locke

- Clubbed second inside-the-park home run in club history Thursday night

- Went 2-for-8 in series at ARK with HR and 2 RBIs

- Has hit safely in 5 of last 6 games, 6-21 with 6 R, 2 HR and 4 RBIs

- 1-for-11 with 4 Ks in Arkansas series at WF

- Has hit safely in 19 of last 23, 32-85 (.376) with 7 2B, 1 3B, 17 R, 3 HR and 20 RBIs

- Hits in 28 of last 36: 52-140 (.371), 4 HR, 10 2B, 1 3B, 26 R & 28 RBI

- Named the Astros Double-A Defensive Player of the Month for July

- Went 5-for-5 July 19 at Midland, owns two of the five 5-hit games in club history

- Thru 26 games in July: .371 with 15 runs, 7 doubles, 1 HR and 19 RBIs

- Batting .321(52-162) vs. RHP; .306(19-62) vs. LHP; .379(25-66) w/RISP

- 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)

Ben Orloff

- Posted career highs for hits (5) & RBIs (4) last Sunday vs. SPR...5-5 with 3 R, 2B, & 3B

- 3-9 with one double is series at ARK

- Has hit safely in 11 of last 16, 18-58 (.310)

- Batting .250(17-68) vs. RHP; .353(6-17) vs. LHP; .214(3-14) 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

- Riding a 3-game hit streak, 6-11 with 4 R and 2 RBIs

- 1-for-5 with two walks in series at ARK

- Has hits in 7 of the last 8 G & in 16 of 19, 26-72 (.361) with 2 2B, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 9 BB & 12 R

- Batted .316 thru 21 games in July, scoring 17 runs and driving in 9

- Hit 2nd pro grand slam July 20 & drove in career-high 5 runs

- Has hits in 25 of last 30 games, 41-116 (.353) with 26 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 14 RBI and 12 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

- 3rd in the league in hitting (.315)

- Batting .306(82-268) vs. RHP; .347(26-75) vs. LHP; .247(24-97) w/RISP

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

Jon Singleton

- 0-for-6 with 1 run, 1 walk and 4 Ks in series at ARK

- Has hits in 6 of last 8, 13-35 (.371) with 12 R, 3 2B, 4 HR and 12 RBIs

- Has 7 HR in last 68 games / 11 HR thru first 50 games | 19 RBIs in last 17 games

- Hits in 24 last 34 games, 41-131 (.313) with 30 R, 8 2B, 3B, 6 HR & 26 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

- 1st in the league in runs (87), 2nd in walks (77), 3rd in XBH (48), 4th in Ks (117)

- .347-3-14 with 9 2B, 2 3B, 18 BB & 25 K over 28 games in July to earn CC P-o-M honors

- .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(90-305) vs. RHP; .248(28-113) vs. LHP; .295(36-122) w/RISP

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

George Springer

- 1-for-2 last night with 3 walks and a run scored...snapped an 0-for-15 spell with 7 Ks

- 0-for-14 with 6 Ks in series at Arkansas

- 1-for-3 w/ 1 2B, 1 R and 1 BB in first AA start (8/10) ...HBP on the head in 9th...missed 3 games

- Hit .316 with 18 2B, 10 3B, 22 HR, 82 RBI and 28 SB in 106 games for Advanced-A Lancaster

- 8th in the California League in BA (.316), t-3rd in HR (22), 5th in RBI (82), 2nd in H (137)

- In July hit .389 with 6 HR and 24 RBI and 9 SB; had a .464 OBP and a .657 SLG

- Mid-season all-star, voted CL Player of the week ending 5/14, 12-for-23 (.522), 5 HR & 10 RBIs

- Posted 3 HR night on 5/11 vs. Lake Elsinore, 16-game hit streak from 6/23 to 7/8

- Rated as the No. 3 prospect in the HOU system by both Baseball America and MLB.com

- BA rated him as the best defensive outfielder and best outfield arm in the organization

- Played in eight games last season for Short Season A Tri City last year and went 5-for-28

- Received the second highest signing bonus in Astros history at $2.525 million

- Selected in the first round (11th overall) in the 2011 draft out of the University of Connecticut

- Became the highest draft pick in UConn history

- Named the 2011 Big East Player of the Year after hitting .343 with 12 HR, 77 RBI and 31 SB

Chris Wallace

- Rejoined the Hooks last Wednesday following a 3-week stint at Triple-A OKC

- 0-for-5 in series at ARK with a SF

- Has hit safely in 9 of last 12, 16-39 (.441) w/ 6 R, 5 BB, 3 2B & 5 RBIs

- 3-for-3 June 22 at FRI with 4 R, 1 2B, 1 HR & 3 RBIs

- Has hits in 10 of last 17 (.410), 19-50 with 11 R, 3 2B & 7 RBIs

- Went 10-for-37 (.270) with 3 2B & 7 RBIs in 15 games with the RedHawks

- .167-1-7 in 16 June games / .467-1-3 in 11 July games

- Batting .246(32-130) vs. RHP; .268(11-41) vs. LHP; .245(12-49) w/RISP

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

- Posted a .291 average in 4 years for the Cougars, led Houston with 10 HRs as a senior

Austin Wates

- Has hit safely in 3 consecutive games, 4-12 with 3 R, 1 HR and 5 RBIs

- 1-for-7 with a run scored in series at ARK

- Has 3 HR & 17 RBIs in last 17 games

- Went 3-for-3 with 3 R, 1 2B & 2 RBIs last Sunday following 3-week stint on DL (groin)

- Has hit safely in 11 of last 14 games; 18-49 (.367) with 13 R, 2 2B, 2 HR & 9 RBIs

- Hit his first walk-off HR as a pro July 12 vs. Frisco (3-for-5 with 6 RBIs)

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

- 5th in the league with a .305 average | SB Thursday...previous: May 31 at Arkansas

- Hitting .319 (37-116) since the beginning of June with 6 2Bs, 3 HRs and 21 RBIs

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

- Batting .320(79-247) vs. RHP; .257(19-74) vs. LHP; .360(27-75) w/RISP

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

Check out the Corpus Christi Hooks Statistics

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Texas League Stories from August 20, 2012


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