Mancini & Fleury Lead Hooks Past Amarillo

Box Score

AMARILLO - Joey Mancini and Jose Fleury teamed to hold the surging Sod Poodles to four hits Thursday night, helping the Hooks to a 6-2 win before 4,033 fans at Hodgetown.

Mancini permitted three base runners over five shutout innings, throwing 40 of 65 pitches for strikes. The 23-year-old right-hander from Fairfield, CT is now 4-1 with a 0.89 ERA over his last seven games (four starts).

Brice Matthews provided a first-inning jolt by sending a home run over the center field fence for a 1-0 Hooks lead. The 438-foot shot by Matthews was his seventh Double-A homer and 13th long ball of the season.

The Brice is Right.

Brice Matthews launches a solo shot in the first to give the Hooks an early lead. pic.twitter.com/WE2JShA8bC

— Corpus Christi Hooks (@cchooks) August 22, 2024

Jeremy Arocho made it 2-0 in the second after belting his first home run of the season, the fifth of his pro career.

Corpus Christi doubled its edge in the fourth as Rolando Espinosa delivered a two-out, two-run tater to left-center that traveled an estimated 441 feet. Espinosa now boasts a career-best nine homers in 2024, with two big flies coming this week in Amarillo.

Rolando Espino-so long baseball. pic.twitter.com/WfVvUzOBXQ

— Corpus Christi Hooks (@cchooks) August 23, 2024

Responding to Sod Poodles marker in the sixth, Yamal Encarnacion and Logan Cerny collaborated on back-to-back doubles in the seventh. Cerny completed the two-run frame by stealing third and advancing home on a sac fly from Luis Baez.

Fleury, who retired nine of the first 11 he faced, striking out five, sealed the 6-2 win by inducing a double play with the bases loaded to end the ballgame. The 22-year-old right-hander from the Dominican Republic owns a 1.69 ERA in his last six outings.