Jon Singleton may not be playing for Corpus Christi very long this season, but the Hooks plan to take full advantage of the slugger's presence while they can.
Singleton, a left-handed first baseman who played a combined 114 games with the Houston Astros in 2014 and 2015, hit a home run and drove in three runs Saturday night as the Hooks defeated the Arkansas Travelers 6-1 in front of 8,887 at Dickey-Stephens Park.
"Everyone knows what Jon is capable of," Hooks Manager Rodney Linares said. "We know he's only here for a little bit. We're trying to get him back on track.
"His [batting practice] was really good today, and he's in really good spirits. And what's better was that he hit [the home run] off a lefty. That's a pretty good sign that a guy's coming back."
Singleton's blast over the right-field wall to lead off the eighth inning against Travs' reliever Paul Paez capped a 3-for-3 performance. Singleton reached on infield singles in the fourth and fifth innings. His slow grounder through the mound in the fifth drove in two runs.
After banging out a combined 20 hits in the season's first two games, the Travelers were limited to two Jay Baum singles Saturday. Three Corpus Christi pitchers combined to strike out 14 Arkansas batters, including eight by starter Dean Deetz.
"He threw the ball well," Travs Manager Daren Brown said of Deetz. "Obviously, he's got good stuff. When he gets his pitches in the strike zone, he's tough, and we saw that tonight."
In two starts for the Hooks last season, Deetz struck out 17 batters and walked only 2 in 12 innings.
Deetz, a 23-year-old who was selected in the 11th round of the 2014 draft, gave up a walk to Ian Miller and a single to Baum to start the game, but he retired the next nine batters.
"He did a great job for us last year in limited action," Linares said. "He tends to do that a lot. We're trying to get him to harness that a little bit. But after he gained control tonight, he was lights out."
Arkansas managed a run in the first inning. Miller stole third base and scored on Kyle Waldrop's sacrifice fly to center.
Deetz faced the minimum during the next five innings. He issued a walk to Waldrop to start the fourth inning, but he was erased on a double play.
Losing pitcher Tyler Herb limited the Hooks to a run and two singles through the first four innings, but the Hooks reached the Arkansas starter in the fifth inning for three runs on three singles and a walk.
Four Arkansas pitchers combined to give up seven hits and six walks, but Travelers outfielders Waldrop and Chantz Mack chased down a combined six line drives.
"Both [Waldrop and Mack] made some good catches going back on balls," Brown said. "He just gave away too many things with walks, which you can't defend. Those walks put us in a bad spot, but I thought defensively we played pretty good."
C.CHRISTI AB R H BI ARKANSAS AB R H BI
Laureano, rf 4 1 0 0 Miller, cf 2 1 0 0
Stubbs, c 4 1 1 1 Baum, 2b 4 0 2 0
Ferguson, cf 5 0 0 0 Waldrop, rf 2 0 0 1
Singleton, 1b 3 2 3 3 Marlette, dh 4 0 0 0
Davis, 3b 3 0 0 0 Mack, lf 3 0 0 0
Garcia, cf 4 1 0 0 Littlewood, c 3 0 0 0
Woodwrd, dh 4 0 1 1 Petty, 1b 3 0 0 0
Mayfield, ss 4 0 1 1 Wong, ss 3 0 0 0
Hyde, 2b 2 1 1 0 Seager, 3b 3 0 0 0
TOTALS 33 6 7 6 TOTALS 27 2 2 1
Corpus Christi 010 030 020 -- 6 7 0
Arkansas 100 000 000 -- 1 2 0
DP -- Corpus Christi 1, Arkansas 1. LOB -- Corpus Christi 6, Arkansas 4. 2B -- Mayfield. HR -- Singleton (1).
CORPUS CHR. IP H R ER BB SO
Deetz W, 1-0 5 1 1 1 2 8
Dorris 2 1 0 0 2 2
Comer 2 0 0 0 0 4
ARKANSAS IP H R ER BB SO
Herb L, 0-1 42/3 5 4 4 4 4
Gillies 12/3 0 0 0 1 0
Paez 11/3 2 2 2 1 0
Tago 11/3 0 0 0 0 3
Umpires -- Home: Conrad; First: McCrady; Third: Gorman. Time -- 2.45. Attendance -- 8,887.
Sports on 04/09/2017