Alex Yarbrough delivered when he stepped to the plate with the score tied and two outs.
Yarbrough, a first baseman in his fifth season of minor league baseball, hit a low line drive to left field that barely cleared a leaping infielder, driving in the Arkansas Travelers' go-ahead run in a 4-2 victory over the Corpus Christi Hooks at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock on Saturday night.
Yarbrough's hit was the third of three consecutive for the Travelers, each off right-hander Francis Martes, who is rated second among prospects for the Houston Astros by Baseball America. The hit scored shortstop David Fletcher from second to give Arkansas a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning.
It seemed destined to land in the glove of Corpus Christi shortstop Antonio Nunez, as he was positioned well enough to need only a short break to his right to reach the ball, but it cleared his glove by inches.
"I knew he was standing right there, so I was a little worried when I hit it," Yarbrough said. "I needed that one to get down. It was getting later in the game, and once you get to the bullpen, it gets harder and harder to score, so I was really hoping it would get over his head. When it did, it was a nice sight for sure."
Yarbrough said he knew what to expect from Martes after facing him last week in Corpus Christi.
"He kind of throws a cutter-fastball mix, and I squared up on a cutter the last time once, and after that he just came at me with fastballs," he said. "So in that at-bat tonight, I just kind of stayed on his fastball, and that's what I hit. That's a really good pitcher in a tough hitters ballpark. You have to be happy getting a win at any point this late in the season when you're playing against an arm like his."
Arkansas' right-handed starter Jose Molina struggled early but fought back to keep Corpus Christi at bay. Third baseman J.D. Davis, fourth in the order, hit a two-run double to give Corpus Christi a 2-0, first-inning lead.
"Molina didn't have his best game, but they have a pretty good offense over there, and he kept them in check," Travs Manager Mark Parent said. "He did well enough to keep us right there until the offense came around."
The Travs, held hitless by Martes through the first two innings, opened the third with three consecutive hits, including shortstop David Fletcher's double that scored right fielder Zach Welz from third and advanced center fielder Bo Way from first to third. Yarbrough's sacrifice fly to center scored Way to tie the game 2-2.
Yarbrough began his professional career in 2012. He first played for the Travelers in 2012 and returned in 2014 when he was named the Texas League player of the year.
"Yarbrough's our veteran," Parent said. "He's a guy I don't worry about too much, and I enjoy having him up there with two outs and a guy in scoring position, because more times than not, over the last couple of months, he's been coming up big."
NATURALS 5, MISSIONS 2
The combination of pitcher Yender Caramo and second baseman Corey Toups proved to be too much Saturday night as the Northwest Arkansas Naturals beat the San Antonio Missions at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale.
Making his seventh start of the season for the Naturals, Caramo (4-7) picked up the victory after allowing 3 hits in 8 innings with 5 strikeouts. Toups led off the sixth inning with a home run off San Antonio starter Dinelson Lamet (5-7), which broke his 17-inning scoreless streak and gave Northwest Arkansas a 1-0 lead.
The Naturals took control of the game in the seventh inning. Terrance Gore had an RBI sacrifice bunt, Alfredo Escalera doubled home a run, and Frank Schwindel drove in a third run with a sacrifice fly for a 4-0 lead. Northwest Arkansas added an insurance run in the eighth when Zane Evans doubled to start the inning, advanced to third on a ground out and scored on a wild pitch to give the Naturals a 5-0 lead.
The Missions got a two-out, two-run double from Gabriel Quintana for their only runs. Franchy Cordero went 2 for 5 for San Antonio, which managed just five hits. Escalera finished 2 for 4 for the Naturals.
Sports on 08/21/2016