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TL1 San Antonio Missions

Comeback Not To Be

August 30, 2009 - Texas League (TL1)
San Antonio Missions News Release


After falling behind 9-0 in Friday night's ballgame, Missions Manager Terry Kennedy knew better than to expect a comeback. When his team fell behind again on Saturday night, this time 4-0, the game was not completely out of reach. San Antonio scored twice in the seventh and once in the ninth, but could not get over the hump in a 4-3 loss to Corpus Christi at Wolff Stadium.

The Missions entered the bottom of the ninth trailing 4-2, but found a breath of life when Michael Collins doubled to the wall in right-center with one out to bring up the tying run. After pinch-hitter Anthony Contreras grounded out to second, moving Collins to third with two out, Cedric Hunter ripped an RBI single through the hole to bring the Missions within one. Jesus Lopez followed with a line drive to right field, but it hung up for Drew Locke for the final out.

The Missions scored three runs, but also stranded four baserunners over the final three frames. They left eight on base overall on the night.

"We lost today, but we battled," explained Kennedy of his team's efforts. "This is the kind of thing I'm looking for, moving forward towards the playoffs."

Hooks starter Douglas Arguello (3-4) was nearly flawless through his first six innings of work, finishing the night with 6.1 innings of two-run, six-hit ball, striking out six without a walk. He has allowed just four earned runs in 16.1 innings pitched (2.20 ERA) over three starts this year against San Antonio.

The Missions looked sloppy right out of the gate, as the first three batters of the game all reached for Corpus Christi. After Wladimir Sutil led off the game with a double, Collin DeLome sacrificed back to Frieri, but the Misssions' hurler could not field the ball cleanly as it trickled off the end of his mitt. Drew Locke followed with an RBI single to open the scoring, and two outs later Ray Sadler doubled to left to bring home DeLome, making it 2-0.

The Hooks stretched their lead to 4-0 with a pair of runs in the sixth. After Mark Ori walked with one out, Chad Spann singled to chase starter Ernesto Frieri from the game. Jhon Florentino greeted reliever Carlos Guevara with a ringing double to the gap in left-center to score both runners.

Frieri (9-9) allowed all four runs, three earned, on five hits and four walks over 5.1 innings pitched. It marked the third straight start the Missions' righty has allowed four runs.

The Missions cut into the 4-0 deficit with a pair of runs in the seventh. Seth Johnston led off with a double and moved to third on Lance Zawadzki's single under the glove of the shortstop Sutil. Johnston would score on a wild pitch that also moved Zawadzki to second. When Mitch Canham struck out swinging, the ball got away from catcher Jason Castro and he was forced to make the putout to first. Zawadzki alertly moved to third on the play, then scored on Eric Sogard's two-out, pinch-double to right to make it 4-2.

Evan Englebrook tossed the final 1.2 innings of three-hit, one-run ball for the Hooks, shutting down a rally in the eighth and holding on in the ninth to earn his seventh save of the season.

Locke, who is a top candidate for Texas League Player of the Year and still has an outside shot at the Triple Crown, finished 2-for-3 with a walk and his league-leading 109th RBI. He raised his average to .337, matching Midland's Chris Carter, whose year in Double-A is finished after his promotion to Triple-A Sacramento earlier this week. Locke would need five home runs in his final nine games to pass Carter and become just the third Triple Crown winner in league history.

Missions reliever Brandon Gomes allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth, striking out the side. Each of the last nine outs he has recorded has come by strikeout.

W: Arguello (3-4); L: Frieri (9-9); S: Englebrook (7); HR: None

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