Hooks Roll Friday Night for 3-1 Series Lead

Box Score

CORPUS CHRISTI - Ryan Gusto authored a quality start, Jacob Melton homered for the third time in as many games, and C.J. Stubbs went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a dinger, and three RBIs from the nine hole Friday night as the Hooks knocked off Wichita, 8-2, before 5,187 fans at Whataburger Field.

Corpus Christi has won seven of its last nine games.

Gusto turned in his longest start of the season, scattering one run, five hits, and one walk while striking out six over six innings.

Marco Raya, a 21-year-old from Laredo, kept the Hooks off the scoreboard over his 3 1/3-inning start.

Corpus Christi struck for a three-spot in the fifth on Stubbs' RBI double into the left-field corner and a two-run home run from Will Wagner.

Melton belted an opposite-field home run onto the left-field berm with one away in the sixth for a 4-1 Hooks advantage. The Astros top prospect, according to MLB.com, is 5-for-12 with a double, three homers, and five RBIs in three games at Whataburger Field.

Via a groundout in the eighth, Zach Daniels knocked in Stubbs, who legged out a looping double down the right-field line.

Corpus Christi's lead blossomed to seven thanks to three unearned runs in the eighth. Chad Stevens cashed in with an RBI single before Stubbs capped the evening with a 407-foot bomb off the light standard in left field. The two-run shot gives Stubbs 14 homers on the year.

Cesar Gomez turned in two innings of scoreless relief, with Tyler Brown handling the ninth.