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The Hooks-Rockhounds game on Friday night was a "Salute to Salena" night at Whataburger Field. Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography, Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved
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CORPUS CHRISTI DOWNS MIDLAND 4-3 IN TEXAS LEAGUE ACTION By Robert H. Kelly Copyright 2010 TexSport Publications
CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS (July 30, 2010) After a 9th inning surge by the Midland Rockhounds that saw the bases loaded with one out, the Corpus Christi Hooks hung on to defeat the Midland 4-3 before 7,638 fans at Whataburger Field.
Corpus Christi is now 47-57 on the season while Midland posts a 55-49 record.
The Hooks jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st inning on a David Cook sacrifice fly to score Michael Affronti from third. Affronti hit a triple off Rockhound pitcher Anthony Capra to get the first hit of the game.
Catcher Jonathon Fixler put the Hooks up 2-0 on a homerun on a 3-2 count in the bottom of the third. It was his 5th round tripper of the season.
In the top of the 5th, a line drive by Midland catcher Gabriel Ortiz hit Hooks pitcher Jeremy Johnson in the right thigh, bring the fans at Whataburger field to their feet. He quickly recovered; headed to first to get the out on a throw by first baseman Jimmy VanOstrand.
Fixler contributed to contribute on a 5th inning RBI, which scored third baseman Jhon Florentino from 2nd base. Filxer picked up the RBI on the single; advance to second on the throw by Rockhounds left fielder Val Majewski.
Midland finally got a hit in the top of the 6th on a single by shortstop Josh Horton. They picked up their second hit of the game on the very next batter, when 3rd baseman Adrian Cardenas got a single, advancing Horton to second.
Alex Valdez then hit a drive the right field, getting on base and sending Horton home for Midland’s first run of the night.
Midland gained its second run of the evening when Gabriel Ortiz advanced to first on an error by Florentino; scoring right fielder Matt Sulentic
Right fielder Jon Gaston was charged with a throwing error, allowing Valdez and Cardenas to advance to second and third, respectively. The error was Gaston’s first of the season.
Pitcher Jeremy Johnson finally got out of the inning, fanning 1st baseman Shane Peterson and center fielder Archie Gilbert to close out the 6th.
Things fell apart in the top of the 9th went relief pitcher Evan Englebrook gave up singles to Gilbert and Matt Sulentic, a walk to Ortiz and an RBI single to Weeks to load the bases and score Gilbert from third.
Corpus Christi got the second out of the inning on a fielder’s choice single, with a throw to home by Van Ostrand. They closed out the inning and the game on a fly to Martinez in left field.
Starter Jeremy Johnson was given the win, while Englebrook was credited with the save. The Rockhounds Anthony Capra earned the loss.
With the trade of Roy Oswalt to the Philadelphia Phillies a done deal and of Lance Berkman obviously headed to the New York Yankees; it is clear that the Houston Astros are attempting, and I do mean attempting, to build for the future.
With the minor league season having a scant 38 days remaining, there is a possibility that some of these Corpus Christi Hooks may be brought up to fill out the Astros 40-man roster as their season winds down.
Gaston, along with pitchers Jordan Lyles and Chia-Jen Lo, all who play for the Hooks were three of my pre-season prospects as future stars for the Astros.
Tonight, Gaston went 0-4 with two strikeouts while Lo and Lyles did not see action.
The Hooks will face off again against Midland tomorrow with a 7:05pm start.
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Check out the TexSport Publications Blog here.
Manchester United Down MLS All Stars 5-2
By Robert H. Kelly Copyright 2010 TexSport Publications HOUSTON, TEXAS (July 28, 2010) It did not take Manchester United long to get on the scoreboard against the MLS All Stars. In a scant 23 seconds into the game, forward Federico Macheda found the net on a kick from the top of the box to give The Red Devils the lead in the match. From that point, it was all downhill for the MLS All Stars, as Manchester United showed their dominance on the pitch by defeating the MLS All Stars 5-2 before a sellout crowd of 70,728 in Houston’s Reliant Stadium.
Macheda came right back in the 13th minute on a pass from midfielder Nani to give Manchester a two goal lead. The first half saw The Red Devils take total control of the game with well executed passes and pin point accuracy on almost every play.
Granted, Manchester United is a team that has played together and is prepping for their upcoming season, and the flow and general dynamics of the game showed the disadvantage of attempting to host an All Star Game against an established club.
Knowing that MLS head coach Bruce Arena went to the locker room at half time and attempted to make adjustments to enable his squad to raise their level play to matc that of The Red Devils. In the second half, Manchester United continued to dominate the game, but the MLS began to show a bit of fire when Houston Dynamo forward Brian Ching finally put the All Stars on the board with a goal in the 63rd minute. Manchester came right back in the 70th minute on a solid shot by midfielder Darron Gibson to make the score 3-1. Three minutes later, midfielder Tom Cleverley found the goal from the left side to give The Red Devils a 4-1 lead.
Manchester’s offensive assault continued in the 84th minute on a solid shot and goal by newcomer Javier Hernandez. The 22-year old scored two goals for Mexico in the recent World Cup and is the first player for the Mexican professional league ever to be signed by Manchester United.
The MLS All Stars got the final goal of the game in the 90th minute when midfielder Dwayne De Rosario took a pass from Ching to score the second goal for the MLS. There will be much written in the next few days about the disparity of the two teams, but never the less, a good game was played for the fans. When all was said and done, the Manchester United players accepted the trophy for their victory as the fans stated in the stands to honor the champions. Noticeably absent from the awards was Manchester United long time head coach Sir Alex Ferguson.
But that was to be expected. After 24 years at the helm of The Red Devils, he knew it was his players’ time to shine. After all, they were the ones who had played the game and they deserved the honor.
So another chapter in the MLS storybook is laid to rest. Next year will bring new challenges and goals for the MLS and its All Star Game. Let hope next year's edition will continue to elevate soccer the United States.
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Manchester United forward Javier Hernandez blocks the ball before he scores a goal in the 2010 MLS All Star Game. Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography, Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved
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