RockHounds Win on Ty-Breaker
July 17, 2016 - Texas League (TL1)
Midland RockHounds News Release
Tyler Marincov joined the RockHounds on May 19 from (Advanced-A) Stockton and promptly went 0-for-10 in his first three games. Since then, he is hitting .321, with seven home runs and 39 runs batted in, and has become the club's clean-up hitter. On Sunday, Marincov ripped a three-run home run over the high wall in left field (and through a strong cross wind), breaking a 3-3 tie. The three-run shot would be the final runs scored by either club, as the RockHounds captured the opener of a four-game series (and a quick, four-game home stand) at Security Bank Ballpark.
Marincov also had an RBI single in the third inning, finishing the game 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI, backing an outstanding (and somewhat unexpected) pitching performance. When scheduled starter Brandon Mann was a late scratch, relievers Corey Walter, Andres Avila, Trey Cochran-Gill, Kyle Finnegan and Bobby Wahl combined to "pitch by committee." The first four went two innings each (with Cochran-Gill earning the win) and Wahl slamming the door in the ninth for his sixth consecutive save (and sixth in seven opportunities overall).
Brett Vertigan's double and the first of Beau Taylor's two RBI opened the scoring in the first, but Corpus Christi answered with a solo home run off the bat of Chase McDonald in the second and a two-run single from J.D. Davis in the third, the latter giving the Hooks a 3-1 lead.
After Marincov's third-inning single (scoring J.P. Sportman) cut the Hooks' lead to 3-2, the RockHounds loaded the bases against Hooks starter Keegan Yuhl in the home half of the fourth, but Sportman's line drive to short, in and out of the glove of Nolan Fontana (and with all three runners initially holding in the event the ball was caught), turned into a 6-2-5 double play, leaving two on with two out. Taylor then rekindled the rally with a game-tying single up the middle and Marincov followed with the decisive swing of the game, his three-run blast to left.
The RockHounds
... are 16-7 in the second half and 49-44 overall ... have won six of eight ... are 26-22 at Security Bank Ballpark and 23-22 on the road ... are 10-7 in the (32-game) season series with the Corpus Christi Hooks (5-4 at Security Bank Ballpark and 5-3 at Whataburger Field) ... won the opener of a four-game homestand ... are 28-29 versus the South Division.
... now lead Corpus Christi (11-12) by five games in the TL South and both Frisco and San Antonio (10-13) by six games. Frisco, after taking the last three games in the just-concluded four-game series at Corpus Christi, won its fourth straight, defeating San Antonio, 9-5, Sunday.
... face the Corpus Christi Hooks from Monday-Wednesday at Security Bank Ballpark. Game time each evening is 6:30 p.m.
Kibbles & Bits
STAT of the DAY: Since opening the San Antonio (road) series in an 0-for-32 slump, Brett Vertigan has now hit in five straight games, going 9-for-17 in that stretch (he had a pair of doubles, a walk and scored twice Sunday).
- Corpus Christi starter Keegan Yuhl entered the game with a Texas League-best 2.55 ERA, but had "one of those days" on Sunday at Security Bank Ballpark. The right-hander allowed nine hits and six runs (three walks, no strikeouts) over four innings, bumping his ERA up to 3.05.
- Tyler Marincov is 4-for-7 in his last two games ... has reached base in 12 of 13 games ... and is hitting .346 (37-107) in his last 32 games, with five home runs and 26 RBI. Including his numbers from (A+) Stockton, Marincov has 16 HR and 71 RBI (including 39 with the RockHounds).
- Beau Taylor went 2-for-4 with two RBI and had two key swings (an RBI groundout and a third-inning double) on 0-2 counts. In his last 26 games, the RockHounds catcher is hitting .302 and now ranks second in the Texas League with a .390 on-base percentage. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.
Texas League Stories from July 17, 2016
- RockHounds Win on Ty-Breaker - Midland RockHounds
- In the Light of the Moon, the Naturals Win in Extras - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Big Innings Send Riders to Fourth Straight Win - Frisco RoughRiders
- Marincov & Midland Pen Shine Sunday - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Travs Take Series Opener at Hammons Field, 7-4 - Springfield Cardinals
- Six-Run Fifth Lifts Travs to Win in Opener - Arkansas Travelers
- Riders Dial up Late Magic in Four-Run Eighth - Frisco RoughRiders
- Riders Dial up Late Magic in Four-Run Eighth - Frisco RoughRiders
- Sulbaran and Cardinals Shut out Naturals, 2-0 - Springfield Cardinals
- Naturals Stifled by Sulbaran in Series Finale - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
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