Midland (33-23, 70-56) @ Corpus Christi (25-31, 56-70)

Tonight, the Hooks look to bounce back from a 1-5 road trip after last night’s 5-3 loss in 11 innings to Springfield. The Cardinals completed the three-game sweep thanks to Andrew Brown’s opposite-field, two-run homer to right-center field. Springfield’s bullpen held the Hooks to three hits over seven shutout innings, retiring 14 of the final 15 Corpus Christi batters.

Drew Locke hit a three-run homer in the third inning to give the Hooks a 3-2 lead. The line-drive shot that just cleared the wall in left center was his 20th long ball of the season. His .335 average and 106 RBIs lead the Texas League.

Douglas Arguello, working his way back from nearly a two-month stretch on the disabled list, was limited to three innings. The Nicaraguan lefty yielded two runs on two hits. He walked five and struck out a batter, tossing 30 of 60 pitches for strikes. Chia-Jen Lo issued two walks, hit a batter and struck out two over two scoreless innings of relief. Ryan McKeller worked three frames and struck out four. Danny Meszaros stranded five in two shutout innings.  

Tonight’s Starters:                                                       

            RHP Arnold Leon (1-1, 3.58) vs. RHP Kenny Baugh (4-2, 3.98)

Leon, whose contract with Saltillo in the Mexican League was purchased by Oakland in March of 2008, makes his fifth start and 31st appearance for the RockHounds this season. Last Thursday at home against Northwest Arkansas, Leon held the Naturals to five hits over 4.2 shutout innings. He struck out six and did not walk a batter. Since joining Midland’s rotation, he has allowed one earned run in 16.2 innings (0.54 ERA), fanning 15 while walking two. In game two of the August 1 doubleheader at Citibank Ballpark, Leon tossed three innings of no-hit, shutout ball. Jason Fernandez finished the 5-1 RockHound victory over Corpus Christi to complete the lone no-hitter in the Texas League this season. Leon has faced the Hooks six times this season, notching one save and a 1.80 ERA in 15 innings.

·          Features a 1.61 ERA and a .184 opponent’s batting average in 14 outings (two starts) on the road

·          Tonight marks the fifth start of his four-year pro career (103 total appearances)

·          Split time last year between Stockton (0-0, 2.86, 2 saves) and Saltillo (2-1, 4.30)               

Baugh, signed by the Astros as a free agent July 4, makes his 10th start for the Hooks and his third against the RockHounds. In last Thursday’s 2-1 extra-inning loss at Arkansas, he settled for a no-decision, holding the Travelers to one run and three hits in six innings. August 14 at Whataburger Field, Baugh allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits over 5.2 innings to get the win in a 6-2 triumph over Arkansas.  He walked two and struck out six and at one point retired 12 in a row.  In his last seven starts, Baugh is 4-1 with a 3.02 ERA.  Originally a first-round pick of the Tigers in the 2001 draft out of Rice, Baugh opened this season pitching for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the independent Atlantic League.  In 13 starts, Baugh was 6-3 with a 4.52 ERA.  Last year, Baugh split his time between AAA Albuquerque (3-1, 5.65) and Southern Maryland (2-1, 2.92). The Houston native is 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in two starts opposite Midland this season.           

·          Had his best season in 2005 with AAA Toledo, going 12-8 with a 3.38 ERA (ranked 5th in the IL)

·          Was 8-8 with a 3.72 ERA for AA Erie in 2004 (ranked 8th in the EL)

·          Played for Luis Pujols in Erie in 2001 (1-3, 2.97 in 5 starts)

Burton back

Reliever T.J. Burton returns to the Hooks from Triple-A Round Rock. Burton was 0-1 with a 6.06 ERA in nine appearances with the Express, walking seven and striking out seven over 16.1 innings. Before his promotion to Round Rock on July 21, Burton posted 12 saves in 14 opportunities with Corpus Christi. Totaling two saves in three chances over the first two months of the season, he recorded six in a row, allowing just one run and five hits during that stretch. The Ontario native walked four and struck out 17 over 31.1 innings.

Newly-acquired Armando Benitez takes Burton’s spot in the Express bullpen. The former big league closer had been pitching in the independent Atlantic League for the Newark (N.J.) Bears, where he'd collected 16 saves and posted a 2.86 ERA in 34 games. He fanned 43 batters in 34.2 innings, holding the opposition to a .171 average.

To make room for Burton on the Corpus Christi roster, right-hander Brad James has been placed on the disabled list (right shoulder). James is 2-10 with a 6.69 in 23 appearances (21 starts) this season with the Hooks.  

Lopez joins club

Catcher Jose Lopez, recovering from a brain aneurysm suffered prior to Spring Training, joined the club yesterday in Springfield and is slated to work out with the team and help in the bullpen before being placed on the active roster. Lopez began his season August 10 with the Gulf Coast League Astros where he was 2-for-11 with a double and RBI in six games. Signed by Houston as a non-drafted free agent in September 2002, Lopez played 39 games with the Hooks last season, hitting .222 with two homers and 10 RBIs. He was also 0-for-4 in two contests with the Express.

The PEN Award

Despite last night’s walk-off defeat, Corpus Christi’s bullpen was the bright spot of the road trip. Hooks relievers featured a 2.32 ERA over the last five games (19.1 innings). Control has been an issue as 11 walks were posted against 18 strikeouts during that stretch. Spanning the previous 10 contests, the relief corps has allowed eight earned runs over 31.1 innings.

Locked in

Drew Locke went 2-for-5 last night, driving in all of Corpus Christi’s tallies on a three-run dinger in the third. He snapped a string of six games without having driven in a run, his longest such drought all year. Locke enters play tonight with a 5-game hitting streak (12x22, 2 doubles, 4 runs, HR, 3 RBIs) and hits in 11 of his last 12 games (21x49).

For the year, Locke is batting .399 with runners in scoring position and .455 with runners in scoring position and two outs.

Locke leads the Texas League with a .335 overall average and 106 RBI’s.

Hitters update

Jason Castro has hits in 4 of his last 5 games, 7-for-22 with 1 HR, 1 run and 4 RBI’s.

Collin DeLome has hits in 5 of his last 7 games (1x9 with a double in SPR series), 8-for-27 with 3 doubles, 2 triples, 1 HR, 3 runs and 7 RBI’s.

Drew Meyer has hits in 4 of his last 6 games, 7-for-10 with 4 runs and 1 RBI. Went 0-1 last night as a pinch hitter in his lone appearance of the road trip.

Felix Molina has a 4-game hitting streak, 4-for-14 with 1 HR, 2 runs, 1 double and 3 RBI’s.

Jimmy Van Ostrand has hits in 10 of his last 12 games, 13-for-39 with 1 double, 2 HR’s, 4 runs and 7 RBI’s.

Pitching Rotation vs. Midland

Wednesday:  RHP Travis Banwart (9-5, 4.99) vs. RHP Sergio Perez (10-10, 4.69)

Thursday:  RHP Kyle Middleton (3-1, 2.63) vs. LHP Tyler Lumsden (1-2, 5.65)

Friday:  RHP Tyson Ross (3-3, 5.03) vs. RHP Wilton Lopez (4-5, 4.73)