Corpus Christi (29-37, 60-76) @ Frisco (37-29, 70-66)

Johnny Whittleman’s two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth gave Frisco a 3-2 win over the Hooks last night, allowing the RoughRiders to keep pace with the first-place RockHounds in the Texas League South.  Whittleman’s blast to right-center came after Charlie Weatherby walked Chad Tracy with one out. 

Whittleman’s hoist made Beau Jones (3-4) the winner.  He allowed one run in 2.2 innings of relief.  Corey Young and Beau Vaughan (8th save) blanked the Hooks over the final three frames.

Corpus Christi’s runs came on solo home runs by Nick Moresi in the third and Collin DeLome in the fifth.  Weatherby (1-4), who allowed two runs over four innings, took the loss.  Starter Douglas Arguello allowed a run during his three innings of work.  Neither he nor Frisco starter Blake Beavan returned after an hour and 26-minute delay in the top of the fourth for lightning and rain.

Tonight’s Matchup:  RHP Kenny Baugh (4-3, 5.19) vs. RHP Omar Poveda (10-5, 4.38)

Baugh, signed by the Astros as a free agent July 4, makes his 12th start for the Hooks and his third against the RoughRiders.  Sunday at San Antonio, Baugh had his shortest and worst outing as a Hook, charged with seven runs, six earned, on six hits and three walks in two innings plus two batters.  After his first nine starts for the Hooks, Baugh was 4-2 with a 3.98 ERA.  In his last two starts, Baugh is 0-1 with a 14.14 ERA.  In his two starts against Frisco, both at Whataburger Field in July, Baugh is 1-0 with a 2.25 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.            

·        In 2008 pitched for both Albuquerque (3-1, 5.65) and Southern Maryland (2-1, 2.92)

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

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

Poveda, signed by the Rangers as a non-drafted free agent in July of 2004, makes his 22nd start of the season for Frisco and his fifth against the Hooks.  Saturday here against Midland, Poveda gave up two runs over six innings and recorded a season-high seven strikeouts in a 4-2 win over the RockHounds.  Since giving up nine runs in 2.2 innings in a loss to San Antonio here on August 10, Poveda has gone 2-0 in his last three starts with a 3.79 ERA.  Poveda spent almost a month (most of June) on the DL with an injury to his left hand.  Poveda has also made starts this season for AAA Oklahoma City (June 1, 0-1, 5.14) and the rookie-level ASL Rangers (June 27, 0-0, 0.00, 3 IP, 2 hits, 2 K’s).  In his four outings against the Hooks, Poveda is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA. 

·        Member of the Rangers 40-man roster

·        Ranked by Baseball America as the No. 24 prospect in the Texas system

·        In 17 starts last year for Bakersfield went 4-4 with a 4.47 ERA

Players of the Month

Hooks manager Luis Pujols has announced Corpus Christi’s players of the month for August.  Those players are Drew Locke, Nick Moresi and Wilton Lopez.

Locke was named the club’s offensive player of the month for the fourth time this season.  In 28 August games, Locke batted .391 (43x110) with 8 doubles, 2 triples, 4 HR’s, 19 runs and 14 RBI’s.  He posted an OPS of 1.055.  Locke continues to lead the Texas League in hitting (.338) and RBI’s (109).  Locke was also the team’s offensive player of the month in April, May and July.

Moresi was selected as Corpus Christi’s defensive player of the month.  Moresi played 23 games in center field during the month and committed just one error while recording 49 putouts and 1 assist. 

Pitcher of the month honors go to Lopez, who recently got called up to the big leagues.  In five August starts, Lopez went 2-2 with a 1.23 ERA, with 19 hits, 4 walks and 22 strikeouts in 36.2 innings.  Opponents batted just .153 against Lopez in August.  Lopez made his Major League debut with the Astros on August 28 at Arizona, appearing in relief against the Diamondbacks.

20-HR seasons

DeLome’s fifth-inning home run last night made him the sixth player in team history to hit 20 or more homers in a single season.  Locke also hit 20 HR’s this season.

DeLome joins the company of Hunter Pence (28) and Mark Saccomanno (20), who initiated the club in 2006, along with Ray Sadler (24 in 2007) and Drew Sutton (20 in 2008).

Triples, too

We neglected to mention this the other day…but when DeLome tripled in the first inning here Tuesday, he became the first player in Hooks history to reach double figures in triples in a single season.  DeLome’s 10 triples still rank second in the league.

Therefore, with 17 doubles, 10 triples and 20 HR’s this season, DeLome becomes the first and only player in the five-year history of the franchise to achieve double digits in all three extra-base hit categories.

Hitters update

Collin DeLome has a 4-game hitting streak, 6-for-17 with 1 triple, 1 HR, 2 runs and 3 RBI’s.

Jonathan Fixler has hits in 4 of his last 6 games, 6-for-19 with 1 triple, 3 HR’s, 3 runs and 5 RBI’s.

Nick Moresi has hits in 4 of the last 5 games, 4-for-17 with 2 doubles, 1 HR, 3 runs and 4 RBI’s.

Pitching Rotation vs. San Antonio

Saturday:  RHP Will Inman (6-4, 3.35) vs. RHP Sergio Perez (10-11, 4.85)

Sunday:  LHP Nathan Culp (7-9, 4.23) vs. LHP Tyler Lumsden (2-3, 4.31)