At Corpus Christi (10-4, 53-30) Friday, July 6, 2018 • Whataburger Field • Corpus Christi, TX • 7:05 P.M
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Arkansas (9-4, 44-39) at Corpus Christi (10-4, 53-30) Friday, July 6, 2018 • Whataburger Field • Corpus Christi, TX • 7:05 p.m. ON THE RECORD: 29-13 Home | 24-17 Road | 15-5-3 Series | 6-2 Sweeps | W 1 Streak | 4-1 Last 5 | 6-4 Last 10 BLANCO LEADS CC TO SIXTH SHUTOUT OF ’18: Ronel Blanco fired four hitless innings in his Double-A debut Thursday night as the Hooks blanked Arkansas, 3-0, before 4,637 fans at Whataburger Field. Forrest Whitley made the start for Corpus Christi (10-4, 53-30) but was forced to leave the game in the first inning due to injury. The 20-year-old prospect retired two of the three hitters he faced. Lefty Alex Winkelman scattered two singles and one walk over 4 1/3 innings for his third save. Yordan Alvarez plated two of Corpus Christi's three runs via a pair of two-out RBI singles. Josh Rojas went 3-for-3 with two doubles and two runs scored. Ryne Birk added a sac fly in the fourth. TRAVELERS | TODAY’S PITCHING MATCHUP | HOOKS RH Chase De Jong (4-3, 3.97) RH Brandon Bielak (1-0, 0.00) • 24-year-old acquired by the Mariners via a trade with the • Selected by the Astros in the 11th round of the June 2017 Dodgers in March 2017 draft out of Notre Dame • Was a 2nd-round pick of the Blue Jays in 2012 Woodrow • 22-year-old hails from Sayreville, NJ Wilson HS in Long Beach, CA • Fired 4.2 scoreless IP Sat at ARK (3 H, 5 K, 3 BB) in Tex- • Tossed 4 scoreless IP for ND Sun at SA (2 H, 2 K, 1 BB) as League debut • Allowed 1 ER in 1 IP at Texas League All-Star Game on • Went 5-3 with 2.10 ERA in 14 GM (7 GS) with Buies June 26 in Midland, TX Creek to begin campaign: 55.2 IP, 74 K, 17 BB, 2 HR • Faced CC at Dickey-Stephens Park Apr 17, picking up win • Represented BC in Carolina League All-Star Game on with 6 IP of 3-run ball...allowing HR to Nick Tanielu June 19, picking up a win with a scoreless frame (2 K) • Has fared better at home (2.97 ERA, 46.1 IP) than on the • Held 1.10 WHIP while Carolina League batted .217 road (5.36 ERA, 42 IP) • Held left-handed hitters to .133 BAA (75 AB), while right- • Set season-highs with 8 IP and 8 K May 27 vs. Frisco, ies hit .266 (128 AB) earning a victory while allowing 2 ER • Averaged 12.0 strikeouts per-9 innings • Has permitted more than 4 ER just once this season (5 • Holds career 0.99 WHIP and .199 BAA ER in 4 IP May 4 at Tulsa) • Allowed just 1 ER in final 5 Carolina League contests, • Allowed 7 HR in first 6 outings of campaign spanning 19 IP (13 H, 22 K, 4 BB) • Made big league debut last year, going 0-3 with a 6.35 • Posted 1.61 ERA during 5 GM (3 GS) in April (22.1 IP, 17 ERA in 7 GM (4 GS) for the Mariners H, 33 K, 7 BB) • Opened year with Triple-A Tacoma, and made 15 GS in • Went career-long 5.2 IP in victory Apr 18 vs, Myrtle Beach the PCL, going 3-6 with a 6.00 ERA & .291 BAA (18 HR) • Struck out career-best 9 batters in 4.1 scoreless IP Apr 24 • Went 1-3 w/ 5.97 ERA in 5 GS for ARK Aug 10-Sept 1 vs. Down East • Tabbed the TL Pitcher of the Year in 2016, posting a 14-5 • Went 2-1 with 0.80 ERA in 10 GM (4 GS) between GCL record and a 2.86 ERA in 25 GS for Tulsa Astros and Tri-City in 2017 (33.2 IP, 42 K, 5 BB) • The Texas League batted .207 with 15 HR against him • Earned ACC All-Freshman honors in 2015 after leading • Averaged 3.21 strikeouts per walk Irish in starts (14) and innings (88.2) • Led the TL in wins & WHIP (1.02) while placing 2nd in • Started Regional contest against Wright State in 2015 ERA, 4th in K (125) & 5th in IP (141.2) NCAA Tournament • Acquired by LAD from Toronto July 2, 2015 with IF Tim • Went to St. Joseph High School in NJ, posting 0.82 ERA Locastro in exchange for three international signing slots as a senior. UPCOMING PROBABLES Date Opp. Pitchers - Opponent vs. Corpus Christi Time Sat, July 7 NWA RH Scott Blewett (4-4, 5.38) vs. RH Corbin Martin (5-1, 2.57) 7:05 Sun, July 8 NWA LH Foster Griffin (3-10, 6.00 ERA) vs. LH Ryan Hartman (6-2, 2.96) 6:05 Mon, July 9 NWA TBA vs. RH Akeem Bostick (0-2, 3.17) 7:05 PAGE 2 HOOKS MEDIA INFORMATION • FRIDAY, JULY 6, 2018 • ARKANSAS ALVAREZ TO AAA: The Astros promoted OF Yordan Alvarez to AAA Fresno earlier today. Alvarez, who batted .325 with 12 home runs and 46 RBI in 43 games with Corpus Christi, is currently ranked as Houston’s third-best prospect according to MLB.com. The Cuban native has posted a .389 OBP and 1.005 OPS this season. Alvarez hit .370 (23-62) with 5 doubles, 6 home runs, and 21 RBI since returning from a DL stint (May 7-June 16). He collected a pair of RBI singles in Corpus Christi’s 3-0 victory vs. Arkansas on Thursday night. WHITLEY INJURY UPDATE: RHP Forrest Whitley exited Thursday night’s game in the first inning after 17 pitches. He is listed as day-to-day with left oblique injury. WELCOME, ABRAHAM!: In a corresponding move to Alvarez’s promotion, OF Abraham Toro-Hernandez was called up to Corpus Christi. In 83 games with Buies Creek, Toro-Hernandez batted .257 with 14 home runs and 56 RBI. His home run total tied for 5th in the Carolina League while he slotted 2nd in RBI. His 54 runs scored also ranked 2nd in the circuit. Toro-Hernandez, who hails from Greenfield Park, Quebec, hit .246 with 15 homers and 33 RBI in 2017 between Tri-City and Quad Cities. THE FUTURE IS HERE: Major League Baseball released the rosters for the 2018 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game on Friday, with RHP Forrest Whitley and OF Yordan Alvarez selected as representatives of the Astros system. The game will be played on July 15 at Nationals Park. Whitley, 20, is ranked by MLB.com as baseball’s best pitching prospect. In 6 starts this season with Corpus Christi, the right- hander is 0-1 with a 4.29 ERA. He has struck out 30 and walked 8 in 21 innings. Whitley was forced to leave last night’s game in the first inning due to injury. He was selected by the Astros as the 17th overall pick in the 2016 draft from Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio, TX. After joining the Hooks in August of last season, Whitley became one of just a five prep first- round arms this century to advance to Double-A in their first full pro season. Alvarez, 21, will attend his second Futures game after playing in the 2017 edition of the contest. The Futures Game began in 1999, and since then the Astros have had many notable players participate. In 2016, Alex Breg- man had three hits and fell a home run shy of the cycle, while Joe Musgrove threw a perfect first inning as the starting pitcher for the U.S. Current Astros players who were also Futures Game participants include Jose Altuve (2011) and Michael Feliz (2014). Carlos Correa, Delino DeShields, and George Springer all represented the Astros at the 2013 Futures Game. BLANCO BLANKS THE TRAVS: Right-hander Ronel Blanco was terrific in his Hooks debut on Thursday night, tossing 4 scoreless innings in relief of Forrest Whitley. Blanco allowed 0 hits and struck out 8 batters. Blanco went 5-1 with a 1.73 ERA in 19 games for the BC Astros, while going 4-for-5 in save chances. He struck out 41, walked 18, and held the Carolina League to 1 home run and a .146 batting average. Blanco, a 24-year-old from Santiago, DR, led Car- olina League relievers in batting average against. His 10.2 strikeouts per 9 IP ranked 3rd in the circuit. Blanco has permitted just 1 earned run thru his last 12 assignments combined between Buies Creek and Corpus Christi, strik- ing out 32 against 10 hits and 8 walks in 26.2 frames. MINOR LEAGUE’S BEST: The Hooks (53-30) boast a .639 winning percentage which ranks 2nd in Minor League Baseball. Only Bowling Green (56-28, .667) of the Midwest League owns a better record than Corpus Christi. The Texas League South first-half champs are 26-9 since May 26. LEARY OF THE LONG BALL: Dario Pizzano’s knockout dinger in the 9th inning Wednesday night was just the 2nd home run allowed by Hooks pitching in the last 8 games (70.1 IP). Joey Curletta hit a 3-run home run off Forrest Whitley in the 1st inning Saturday night at Dickey-Stephens Park. Corpus Christi has permitted only 49 home runs this season, which is the fewest in the Texas League. San Antonio is next in line, surrendering 54.