Round Rock
Houston, you have a problem. Did you hear that Ryan Houston? 8 Runs in in 1/3 of an inning off 4 hits and 4 walks. One of the hits was a grand slam. He wasn’t the only Express pitcher with a problem. Nieve gave up 6 runs in 4 innings, Paronto gave up 2 in 1 inning and Byrdak gave up 3 in 1 2/3 innings. Carlos Hines was the exception pitching one scoreless inning. The result was a 19 – 3 flogging at the hand of Oklahoma City.
The local newspaper is helping Round Rock get to know their new manager Dave Clark
Corpus Christi
The Hooks battled back from a 3-0 deficit only to lose the game in the 9th on a HR off Sammy Gervacio. This was Gervacio’s second rough outing in a row.
“That’s OK — we want him to throw fastballs,” Pujols said. “Nobody’s perfect. Before (Tuesday), he threw six straight innings before he gave up a run. I’m not concerned. It’s a long season, and we’ve just got to keep working on it.”
Prior to the HR, the key play in the game was in the third. Here is how the local paper described it:
With one out and runners on first and third, Steve Murphy hit a shallow fly ball to center fielder Einertson. He fired a perfect one-hop throw to the plate, but Santangelo bobbled the ball, allowing Adam Fox to score, with Dustin Majewski going all the way from first to third.
“It’s a tough play when the guy’s coming and the throw’s coming,” said Pujols, a former big-league catcher.
That bobble proved critical, as John Mayberry Jr. and Chris Davis laced consecutive doubles off Hooks starter Bud Norris to make it 3-0.
Salem
Avs win 3-0. Douglas Arguello has yet to allow a run this year in three starts. But it has been simular to the old saw about sausage. The results are great but the process isn’t pretty. He walked three batters, allowed two hits and hit one batter. But two double plays and a pick off helped him keep runners from scoring.
“He doesn’t make it easy,” said Avalanche manager Jim Pankovits. “But he made pitches when he had to….He’s one of those young pitchers you see every season that struggles at the start,” Pankovits said. “He’s got to be encouraged that he hasn’t pitched his best, but they don’t score on him.”
Arguello knows what is going on with his control
Arguello said sometimes he starts overthrowing and that is what gets him in trouble.
“Sometimes you don’t feel your body movement, but then you have to focus more to get that feeling,” Arguello said.
Arguello said the solution to overthrowing is to “throw the ball right in the middle of the plate and let the hitter hit it.”
“And if I miss, I’m trying to miss low,” Arguello said. “I keep trying to go low, low, low.”
The pitching staff isn’t shaking out quite the way they had planned with Arguello and Salamida sharing piggyback starts.
“We like to see Salamida get some regular work, but we’re still working through some stuff to get things settled to where everyone knows their role,” Pankovits said. “This time of year, pitchers are pitching themselves into roles. It takes time, and not just for them. We need time, too.”
Lexington
Break up the Legends! Thursday, they won their 3rd straight game, 8-3. Matt Cusick tried to make it four games in a row with a lead off homer but fell just short. A lead off double was all he could manage. Steve Brown kept the 1st inning homer streak going with a two run shot that gave the Legends a 3-0 lead before the Crawdad’s came to bat.
Colin Delome went 3-5 with a homer and 3 RBI. He has hit in his last 7 games and 9 of his last 10. However he has 13 strike outs in 39 at bats during that time. He already has 5 HR this season, he only had 6 all of last season in Tri Cities.
Colt Adams when 6 innings giving up 5 hits, one earned run and striking out 5 for his first win of the season.
According to the broadcast last night, Craig Corrado came up limping after trying to run out a ground ball and was replaced by Mena. Max Sapp is out with an undisclosed injury.