TL1 Corpus Christi Hooks

Game Notes, April 19 - NW Arkansas at Corpus Christi

Published on April 19, 2011 under Texas League (TL1)
Corpus Christi Hooks News Release


Northwest Arkansas (7-4) @ Corpus Christi (3-8)

The Naturals made it five in a row against the Hooks this season with last night's constricting 5-1 win. Starter Chris Dwyer (1-1) and reliever Blake Johnson limited the Hooks to a run on four singles and three walks while striking out six. After spotting the Hooks a run in the first on a J.D. Martinez RBI single, Dwyer and Johnson allowed just one hit from the second inning on.

Northwest Arkansas scored three times in the fourth and added two runs in the fifth on Wil Myers' two-run home run to the berm in left. Catcher Salvador Perez went 4-for-5 with a run and an RBI to lead the Naturals on offense.

The Naturals are now 14-6 lifetime at Whataburger Field and are 29-12 against the Hooks in four seasons of play.

Tonight's Matchup:

LHP John Lamb (0-0, 4.05) vs. RHP Jonnathan Aristil (0-1, 3.86)

Lamb, a fifth-round selection of the Royals in 2008 out of Laguna Hills High School in California, makes his third start of the season and his first against the Hooks. In his two starts against San Antonio, Lamb has pitched just six and two-thirds innings due to a restrictive pitch limit. In his most recent start Thursday in San Antonio, Lamb allowed a run on three hits and five walks in 3.2 innings and did not get a decision in his club's 7-4 loss. Lamb joined the Naturals in late July last year and made seven starts down the stretch, going 2-1 with a 5.45 ERA. He did not face the Hooks last season. Lamb, the 2010 Paul Splittorff Award winner, entered this season ranked by Baseball America as the fourth-best prospect in the Royals system and the No. 18 prospect in the publication's list of the Top 100 prospects in the game.

- Was a combined 10-7 with a 2.38 ERA in 28 total starts for Burlington, Wilmington and NW Arkansas

- 13 of his 28 starts last year were with the Blue Rocks (6-3, 1.45)

- Pegged by Baseball America as having the "Best Control" and "Best Changeup" among Royals farmhands

Aristil, obtained by the Astros in December along with LHP Wes Musick in the deal that sent RHP Matt Lindstrom to Colorado, makes his third start for the Hooks and his first against the Naturals. In Thursday's home opener against the Drillers, Aristil allowed two runs, one earned, over 4.2 innings, unable to get the final out in the fifth to be eligible for the win. The Hooks won 8-2 as Aristil topped out at 83 pitches. Aristil pitched for the Rockies top three affiliates in 2010, making 11 of his 33 appearances and three of his four starts with Tulsa. In his 11 outings with the Drillers, Aristil faced every opponent in the Texas League except the Hooks. Originally signed by the Rockies as a non-drafted free agent in July of 2003, the former infielder was converted to pitching while with the DSL Rockies early in 2006. He is a .137 hitter lifetime, with 34 hits in 248 at-bats, including one home run and 17 RBIs.

- Has not given up a run in the first three innings of either start this year

- Was 1-1 with a 4.39 ERA in 11 appearances and 3 starts last year for Tulsa

- With Tri-City in 2008 his 2.91 ERA led the Dust Devils and ranked third in the Northwest League

Keuchel honored as TL Pitcher of the Week

Corpus Christi southpaw Dallas Keuchel has been selected as the Texas League's Pitcher of the Week for the period ending Sunday. In his second start of the season Saturday here at home against Tulsa, Keuchel held the Drillers to a run on four hits (all singles) over eight innings while striking out five. He needed just 88 pitches to record the longest outing of the season by a Hooks starter.

Last year, the Hooks pulled down Pitcher-of-the-Week accolades three times. The honorees were Douglas Arguello (May 17-23), Jordan Lyles (June 14-20) and Erick Abreu (August 16-22). Keuchel becomes just the third left-hander in club history to claim the award. Arguello and Polin Trinidad are the others.

The single life

Well, as soon as we mention the Hooks had established streaks for doubles and home runs, the club went without an extra base hit last night for just the second time this season. The other game without an extra base hit came April 10 in Springdale in the 3-2 loss to the Naturals in 14 innings. In both games, the Hooks managed just four hits - the season low.

Corpus Christi's .248 team batting average ranks seventh in the eight-team Texas League. The Hooks are tied with Tulsa and Arkansas for fourth in the circuit in runs scored (56).

First inning runs

Corpus Christi's lone run last night crossed home in the first inning. The Hooks have now scored in the first inning seven times this season, and have outscored the opposition 12-8 in the first.

Scoring first, though, has not been an indicator of success. The Hooks have scored first in eight of their 11 games and are just 3-5 in those contests.

Milestone RBI

1B Jimmy VanOstrand plated the game's final run Saturday night with an RBI single in the eighth. The RBI was VanOstrand's third this season and his 122nd in a Hooks uniform. That ties VanOstrand for the career franchise lead in RBIs with Drew Sutton. In six seasons as a pro, VanOstrand now has 259 career RBIs in 471 games.

Sutil, Martinez continue streaks

Sutil and J.D. Martinez have both hit safely in all 11 Hooks games this season. Sutil's .438 average has him ranked third in the league in batting, while Martinez checks in at .357, good enough for seventh in the circuit. Martinez continues to lead the league with 17 RBIs.

Pitching Rotation at Frisco

Thursday: RHP Ross Seaton (0-0, 12.86) vs. RHP Jake Brigham (1-0, 5.40)

Friday: LHP Dallas Keuchel (1-0, 1.29) vs. LHP Miguel De Los Santos (0-1, 10.38)

Saturday: RHP Kyle Greenwalt (0-1, 6.10) vs. RHP Carlos Pimentel (0-2, 13.50)

Sunday: LHP Xavier Cedeno (0-3, 9.82) vs. RHP Wilfredo Boscan (1-1, 7.36)

HOOKS PLAYER NOTES

Brandon Barnes

- Has 5-game hit streak, 8-21 with 1 double, 1 HR, 2 runs and 5 RBIs

- Led all Astros farmhands with 28 HRs last year

- In 126 games with Lancaster in 2010 hit .269-27-80 with 14 SBs

- A sixth-round pick of the Astros in 2005 out of Cypress (CA) College

Brian Esposito

- Hitless in 3 starts this season

- Appeared in 2 games with the Astros last year and 1 game with St. Louis in 2007

- In 45 games last year with AAA Round Rock hit .225-2-18 with 5 doubles

- In his 12th season as a pro, needs 17 more hits to reach 500 in his career

David Flores

- Has hits in 9 of 10 games and no multi-hit games

- Has hit safely in 17 of his last 19 games, dating back to 2010 with Lancaster

- In 115 games last year with Lancaster batted .269-14-57 with 24 doubles

- An 18th-round selection of the Astros in 2008 out of Sacramento State

Jon Gaston

- Hits in 4 of the last 6 games, 8-24 with 4 doubles, 3 runs and 2 RBIs

- Batting .333(8-24) vs. RHP; .235(4-17) vs. LHP; .267(4-15) w/RISP

- Was CC's defensive player of the month last May and offensive player of the month last July

- Last season in 132 games with the Hooks batted .245-13-51 with 13 SBs

- A seventh-round pick of the Astros in 2008 out of the University of Arizona

Federico Hernandez

- His 8th-inning HR Sunday snapped an 0-for-26 drought

- Has thrown out 1 of 8 would-be base stealers

- Was a combined .273-9-51 in 103 games last year with Lancaster and Corpus Christi

- A non-drafted free-agent signee of the Astros in 2006

J.D. Martinez

- Has hits in all 11 games; RBIs in 9 of 11, including the last 7 (12 RBIs in last 7)

- Batting .409(9-22) vs. RHP; .300(6-20) vs. LHP; .467(7-15) w/RISP

- Houston's Minor League Player of the Year in 2010 (.341-18-89, 5 SBs)

- A 20th-round selection of the Astros in the 2009 draft out of Nova Southeastern Univ.

Jimmy Paredes

- Is 4-16 this home stand with 1 double and 6 runs; 0-8 in the last 3 games

- Batting .261(6-23) vs. RHP; .200(4-20) vs. LHP; .294(5-17) w/RISP

- Hit .287-8-65 last year with Charleston and Lexington, ranking third in the South Atlantic League with 50 stolen bases

- Acquired by the Astros along with RHP Mark Melancon in the Lance Berkman deal with the Yankees last July

Andy Simunic

- Is 1-6 this home stand with 4 walks and 2 runs

- His hits have all come vs. LHP (3-7)

- Hit .293-3-43 with 17 SBs last year between Lexington and Lancaster

- A 17th-round pick of the Astros in 2008 out of the University of Tennessee

T.J. Steele

- Is 6-18 this home stand with 2 doubles, 3 runs and 4 RBIs

- Batting .174(4-23) vs. RHP; .250(5-20) vs. LHP; .176(3-17) w/RISP

- In his first three pro seasons hit .281-10-79 in 157 games; his playing time hampered by a variety of injuries

- A fourth-round selection of the Astros in 2008 out of the University of Arizona

Wladimir Sutil

- Has hits in all 11 games, with 6 multi-hit games and four 3-hit games

- Has scored runs in 8 of 11 games

- Batting .360(9-25) vs. RHP; .522(12-23) vs. LHP; .571(4-7) w/RISP

- Has 13 PO, 49 A, 1 E (8 assists last night)

- Was a combined .262-1-29 with 23 SBs last year with Corpus Christi and Round Rock

- A non-drafted free-agent signee of the Astros in 2003

Jimmy VanOstrand

- Is 1-11 this home stand with 1 run and 1 RBI

- Tied with Drew Sutton for the franchise lead in RBIs with 122

- Batting .100(2-20) vs. RHP; .188(3-16) vs. LHP; .143(2-14) w/RISP

- An eighth-round pick of the Astros in 2006 out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Brandon Wikoff

- Started his first game Sunday (2B) and went 0-for-2 with a walk

- Last year with Lancaster hit .257-0-27 with 40 runs in 113 games

- A fifth-round selection of the Astros in 2009 out of the University of Illinois

BULLPEN REPORT

Starters: 1-5, 6.09 ERA, 51.2 IP, 16 BB, 35 K, .299 AVG

Relievers: 2-3, 3.40 ERA, 47.2 IP, 30 BB, 33 K, .287 AVG

Erick Abreu

- Last appearance: Struck out the side in a perfect ninth inning Saturday night

- Picked up the victory Thursday with 1.1 innings of scoreless work

- Held the Naturals to 2 hits over 4 frames in last week's series opener...struck out 3 and issued an intentional walk...32 of his 45 pitches were strikes

- Fanned 2 of 3 batters faced last Friday at Tulsa

- Last season, moved permanently to the Hooks rotation August 11 and started his final six appearances...won four straight starts (August 16-September 1) for his four victories of the year, posting a 1.07 ERA in those four games...earned TL Pitcher of the Week Honors (August 16-22) and CC Player of the Month honors for August

- Needs 7 more strikeouts to reach 500 for his career

David Berner

- Last appearance: Bounced back from a tough outing against the Nats last week, holding NWA to 1 hit in 1.1 innings Sunday

- Worked 2.1 frames last Wed. against the Naturals, yielding 8 hits and 3 runs

- Surrendered Wil Myers' walk-off, bases-loaded single in the 14th inning April 10...a one-out triple by Nick Van Stratten forced IBBs of the next 2 batters to load the bases

- Ranked second in the Astros system with 12 saves in 17 chances last season... led all qualifying full-season Houston farmhands (minimum 56.0 IP) in relief ERA...his 41 games finished and 2.15 walks per nine innings slotted fifth best in the California League

- Selected in the 14th round of the 2009 draft out of San Jose State...led the WAC with a 3.20 ERA, 84 strikeouts and an opponent's batting average of .240 during his senior season

David Carpenter

- Last appearance: Yielded a 2-run double to Ben Theriot in the 9th Sunday

- Held the Drillers scoreless in the 9th inning Thursday, fanning 2

- Only bright spot for the bullpen last Tuesday at NW Arkansas...dealt 1.2 innings of perfect relief, throwing 13 of 18 pitches for strikes

- Earned the save April 9 at Tulsa...brought on with an out in the 9th and retired both batters faced, fanning 1, to nail down Corpus Christi's first victory

- A member of Houston's 40-man roster, the converted catcher led all Cardinals farmhands last year with 20 saves (in 23 chances)

- Has faced 643 batters as a professional, yielding just six home runs. This translates into one round-tripper allowed for every 107 batters faced, or, roughly one home run allowed for every 24 innings pitched.

- Traded from St. Louis for Pedro Feliz in August last season...originally selected by the Cardinals in the 12th round of the 2006 draft

Cesar Carrillo

- Last appearance: Retired the first 2 batters faced in the 9th Sunday but surrendered a double to Anthony Seratelli...then exited the game and the run later scored

- Allowed 4 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks in 2.2 innings last Tuesday. at NW Arkansas

- Tossed 4 innings of shutout relief and delivered a pivotal run-scoring single in Corpus Christi's 9-8 victory at Tulsa on April 9...retired the first 5 men he faced, allowing just 1 hit the rest of the way

- Tied for third in the Pacific Coast League last season with 27 starts

- Made his major league debut for the Padres on August 13, 2009, at Milwaukee...earned his lone big league victory in his next start (August 18), tossing six innings of 3-run ball to defeat Ryan Dempster and the Cubs, 6-3.

- Entered the 2006 season ranked as San Diego's top prospect as determined by BA

- Claimed off waivers from San Diego in September, 2010...originally selected by the Padres in the first round (18th overall pick) of the 2005 draft.

Arcenio Leon

- Last appearance: Mitigated 2 walks with 4 Ks over 2.1 scoreless innings last night

- Blanked Tulsa over the final 2.1 innings Friday

- Entered in the 5th last Monday and tossed 2.2 shutout innings against the Naturals...allowed 1 hit, 1 walk and struck out 2

- 23 of his 24 outs have been record on the ground or via strikeout

- Added to Houston's 40-man roster in November, 2010

- Would have ranked fifth among relievers in the South Atlantic League last season with a .201 opponents' batting average, but fell two frames shy of the league qualifier

- Made his AA debut with the Hooks July 19 and limited opponents to a pair of earned runs in his first six appearances (2.16 ERA)

Patrick Urckfitz

- Last appearance: Tagged with the loss Sunday... a throwing error to lead off the 7th, sac bunt and back-to-back walks (1 intentional) paved the way toward 6 unearned runs

- Prior to Sunday, yielded just 1 run in 3 appearances (7 innings)...lone tally was April 10 on a game-tying home run by the Naturals' Salvador Perez in the 12th inning.

- Shifted to Lancaster's rotation full-time in early July last season to gain more innings

- Led the JetHawks in strikeouts (103) and tied for fourth in victories (5)

- For the season, averaged 8.78 strikeouts per nine innings and 3.24 Ks for every walk.

- In 2009, ranked second in the Astros organization with 14 saves

Shane Wolf

- Last appearance: Walked 2, allowed 1 hit but held the Nats scoreless thru 2 Monday night

- Suffered the loss Friday, yielding 5 runs on 7 hits in 1.2 IP...entered the game with a 6-4 lead

- Monday at Northwest Arkansas...touched for a hit and notched a K in 1 inning

- Drillers managed just 2 hits against him over 2.2 frames in series at Tulsa

- Finished 2010 second on the JetHawks in victories (7) and fourth in innings pitched (108.2)

- Shifted to the bullpen in early July and went 3-0 with a 2.81 ERA over 15 appearances...struck out 27 and walked 5 in 32 relief innings

Check out the Corpus Christi Hooks Statistics

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Texas League Stories from April 19, 2011


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