Win streak snapped as 'Hounds drop opener to Hooks

It turns out "beach balls" are tough to hit. After averaging seven runs on 12 hits over their last 15 games, the RockHounds were limited to just a handful of hits on Thursday night at Corpus Christi, falling to the Hooks, 4-2 in the opener of a four-game series at "the beach."

Ramón Laureano triggered each of the Hooks' two-run rallies with singles. Drew Ferguson brought Laureano home with an RBI double to left-center field in the first and Kyle Tucker did the same in the fifth.
After their RBI doubles, both Ferguson and Tucker would score. Tucker scored on a flair single from Garrett Stubbs in the fifth and Ferguson came home on a rare two-base wild pitch in the first. With Ferguson at second, Joel Seddon's pitch to Jon Singleton hit in front of the plate and deflected high in the air to the backstop. Catcher Sean Murphy couldn't locate the ball, which had gone almost to the backstop. Ferguson, after initially holding at third, then broke to the plate and beat Murphy's throw.
The RockHounds runs came on a pair of solo home runs, from Murphy in the third and Jordan Tarsovich in the sixth. Murphy's homer, his second since being promoted to the RockHounds - and his second in as many games - was a blast to left. Estimated at 442 feet, the shot hit the speed pitch board behind the left field grass berm.

Cy Sneed went seven strong innings for the win. The Hooks right-hander scattered five hits and struck out eight without walking a batter. Seddon took the loss in a spot start (after last Saturday's rainout and subsequent Sunday's doubleheader pushed the rotation up a day), allowing two runs over four innings. The Hooks' third and fourth runs came against reliever Cody Stull.
After going 0-for-3 to open the game, Jermaine Curtis extended his on-base streak to 28 games and brought Viosergy Rosa to the plate as the potential tying run with one out in the ninth. Rosa, whose "history" with the Hooks is borderline legendary, this time bounced into a game-ending double play. The 3-6-1 play was started by Singleton, who made several outstanding defensive plays at first base on Thursday night.
The loss in the opener of a seven-game road trip, snapped a six-game RockHounds win streak.
Quick Notes:
The RockHounds are 49-55 overall and 14-20 in the second half ... now share third place in the division with the Frisco RoughRiders, six games behind the San Antonio Missions … saw a six-game win streak snapped … are 14-11 in the season series versus the Hooks … finished the season series at Security Bank Ballpark 10-6 … are 4-5 at Whataburger Field (with seven games remaining) … are now two games behind Corpus Christi in the (potential) South Division wild card race … are 31-22 at home and 18-33 on the road ... are 4-14 in their last 18 road games … are 36-32 versus the South Division and 13-23 against the North.
With the ninth-inning walk, Jermaine Curtis extended his on-base streak to 28 games, as he has reached in every game in which he has played with the RockHounds this season. The streak now stands alone as the second-longest in the Texas League in 2017, as Arkansas' Chuck Taylor reached in 31 straight from April 16-May 20. Curtis is hitting .358 with a .492 on-base percentage.
Tyler Ramirez ripped a nearly 400-foot double in the eighth, extending his hitting streak to 11 games (15-for-39, .385) and has hits in 16 of his last 17 games (23-for-60, .390). Ramirez is hitting .345 in 25 games with the RockHounds since being promoted from Class-A Advanced Stockton. 
Viosergy Rosa's perfect bunt single against the shift in the second inning extended his hitting streak to eight games (10-for-31, .323). Rosa leads the league with 84 runs batted in and has 15 RBI in his last seven games.
J.P. Sportman (1-for-3) has hits in 17 of his last 20 games (30-for-82, .366).
Jordan Tarsovich (1-for-4, solo HR) has hits in 14 of his last 16 games (23-for-72, .319) and is hitting .307 in July. He entered the month with a .201 average and is now hitting .245 for the season.
B.J. Boyd (0-for-4) saw a pair of streaks snapped. Boyd lost both a 15-game on-base streak and a seven-game hitting streak.
Richie Martin, the victim of one of Jon Singleton's bits of "robbery" at first base, lost his six-game hitting streak.
On Deck:
The RockHounds and Hooks meet in game two of a four-game series at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi on Friday at 7:05 p.m.
The 'Hounds and Hooks continue the series on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. and Sunday at 6:05 p.m.
The 'Hounds then travel to Frisco for a three-game set (July 31-August 2) with the RoughRiders.
Friday's probable starters: 
Hooks: RHP Franklin Perez (0-1, 7.71 ERA, 1 SV)
RockHounds: RHP Dustin Hurlbutt (3-1, 2.20 ERA)
The pitching match-up is a rematch of the first game of the July 23 doubleheader at Security Bank Ballpark, which was a 12-2 RockHounds win. Perez took the loss (4 IP, 7 H, 5 R / 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) while Hurlbutt was the winner (6 IP, 3 H, 2 R / 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K).   
Perez makes his third start since being promoted from the Buies Creek Astros of the Class-A Advanced Carolina League. In his first outing with the Hooks on July 17 at home, he earned a save against Frisco (in a game started by Dallas Keuchel), allowing two runs on six hits, while walking two and striking out one over three innings. His second start was the July 23 doubleheader game. Perez is rated the Houston Astros #4 prospect by Baseball America & #6 by MLB.com.
Buies Creek (12 G / 10 GS): 4-2, 2.98 ERA, 54.1 IP, 38 H, 16 BB, 53 K (0.99 WHIP / .191 average against / 3.31 K/BB ratio)
Hurlbutt makes his sixth start since being promoted from Class-A Advanced Stockton. He has allowed three runs on 10 hits over 24.1 innings in his last four starts. Selected by Oakland in the 16th round of the 2015 draft out of Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas, Hurlbutt was 2-2 with a 3.23 ERA in 15 games (eight starts) with Stockton in the hitter-friendly California League. In 69.2 innings with the Ports, he struck out 74 batters while walking just 16 (a 4.6:1 ratio).  
RockHounds Totals (five starts): 3-1, 2.20 ERA, 28.2 IP, 14 H, 17 BB, 15 K (1.08 WHIP / .141 average against / 0.88 K/BB ratio) 
Last four starts: 3-0, 1.11 ERA, 24.1 IP, 10 H, 11 BB, 13 K (0.86 WHIP / .105 average against / 1.18 K/BB ratio)