Efrain Contreras earns first win, Juan Fernandez, Ripken Reyes have key hits as Missions beat Hooks

Starting pitcher Efrain Contreras walks off the field after pitching six innings on a humid night at Wolff Stadium. The San Antonio Missions beat the Corpus Christi Hooks 3-1 on Thursday, May 11, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Starting pitcher Efrain Contreras walks off the field after pitching six innings on a humid night at Wolff Stadium.
San Antonio Missions pitcher Efrain Contreras turned his seventh start of the season into his first win on Thursday at Wolff Stadium.

Contreras (1-4) pitched six scoreless innings and allowed three hits with no walks and eight strikeouts as the Missions beat the Corpus Christi Hooks 3-1.

It was Contreras’ longest outing of the season. The 23-year-old right-hander improved his season ERA from 6.50 to 4.88.

The win was a long time coming for Contreras. His last win before Thursday night was in Class A ball on Aug. 27, 2019. He went 6-6 that season.

Contreras didn’t play in 2020 because of the covid season. He had Tommy John surgery in late 2020 and missed all of the 2021 season. Last summer he was 0-5 with a 5.74 ERA in 17 starts in High-A.

Fernandez had a hit and a single. He has three hits and two RBIs so far in the series and is batting .373 for the season – the only Missions player batting better than .300. He finished the month of April with an eight-game hitting streak before going hitless in three road games last week.

The Missions recorded two runs in the first inning when Ripken Reyes scored on a wild pitch and Daniel Johnson had a sacrifice fly to bring in Pedro Castellanos. Fernandez singled to center to drive in Reyes in the fifth.

Reyes put himself in scoring position twice with a triple in the first inning and a double in the fifth.

Corpus Christi made it close by loading the bases and scoring a run in the eighth inning and putting two runners on base in the ninth. Missions reliever Lake Bachar got the final two outs for his second save of the season.

Ripken Reyes tripled in the first inning and scored the first run of the game on a wild pitch. The San Antonio Missions beat the Corpus Christi Hooks 3-1 on Thursday, May 11, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Ripken Reyes tripled in the first inning and scored the first run of the game on a wild pitch.

Drew Gilbert makes Double-A debut, Astros prospects play big part of Hooks victory

Corpus Christi Hooks and Houston Astros top prospect Drew Gilbert. The Corpus Christi Hooks, the Double-A farm club of the Houston Astros, beat the San Antonio Missions 5-2 on Wednesday, April 10, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Corpus Christi Hooks outfielder and Houston Astros top prospect Drew Gilbert in Wednesday night’s second game in San Antonio.
Drew Gilbert, the Houston Astros’ top minor-league prospect, moved up and made an instant impact on Wednesday night at Wolff Stadium in San Antonio.

The Corpus Christi Hooks, the Astros’ Double-A farm club, beat the San Antonio Missions 5-2 in the first game of a doubleheader.

Gilbert recorded his first Double-A RBI in an unusual way in his second plate appearance. He reached base on a catcher’s interference with the bases loaded in the third inning to push across the Hooks’ first run of the game.

Gilbert got his first Double-A hit on a double to center in the top of the seventh inning. He batted second in the order and played center field. In the night’s second game, he went 0-for-3 at the plate and played right field.

The 22-year-old Gilbert was a first-round draft pick by the Astros in 2022. He was batting .360 with with 18 RBIs and six home runs in 21 games in Class A before being promoted to Corpus Christi on Tuesday.

– Colin Barber, the No. 3 prospect in the Astros’ system, was the DH and had three hits including a home run and scored three times in the Hooks’ victory. He is batting .304 with three home runs and 14 RBIs in 21 games.

– Will Wagner, the Astros’ No. 12 prospect, played third base and had a hit and a walk.

– Joey Loperfido, the No. 16 prospect, played second base and had a hit, an RBI and a walk.

– Quincy Hamilton, the No. 22 prospect, played right field and had two hits.

– Hooks starter Rhett Kouba is not listed as one of the Astros’ top-30 prospects but pitched 6 1/3 innings for the win to raise his record to 2-1. He allowed two runs on seven hits with no walks and three strikeouts. He is a 23-year-old right-hander who was a 12th-round draft pick in 2021 from Dallas Baptist.

Corpus Christi Hooks starting pitcher Rhett Kouba. The Corpus Christi Hooks, the Double-A farm club of the Houston Astros, beat the San Antonio Missions 5-2 on Wednesday, April 10, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Corpus Christi Hooks starting pitcher Rhett Kouba.
Corpus Christi Hooks DH and Houston Astros prospect Colin Barber. The Corpus Christi Hooks, the Double-A farm club of the Houston Astros, beat the San Antonio Missions 5-2 on Wednesday, April 10, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Corpus Christi Hooks DH and Houston Astros prospect Colin Barber.

Strong pitching, timely hits help Missions split pair with Hooks

Missions catcher Michael De La Cruz catches a pop-up behind home plate. The San Antonio Missions beat the Corpus Christi Hooks 5-1 in the second game of a doubleheader on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions catcher Michael De La Cruz catches a pop-up behind home plate.
The San Antonio Missions had an early three-run inning to beat the Corpus Christi Hooks 5-1 in the second game of a doubleheader on Wednesday at Wolff Stadium.

The Hooks won the first game 5-2 on the strength of 10 hits including two extra-base hits.

The Missions played as the visiting team in the second game, which was a makeup of a rainout earlier in the season in Corpus Christi. The Missions took the lead in the second inning with an RBI single to left by Jorge Ona, an RBI single to center by Brantley Bell and an RBI sacrifice bunt by Ripken Reyes.

Michael De La Cruz added a run-scoring double in the sixth and Juan Fernandez had an RBI single in the seventh. De La Cruz, Fernandez, Bell and Jorge Ona all had two hits in the game.

Three Missions relievers combined to hold the Hooks hitless over the final four innings after Corpus Christi took a 1-0 lead in the first. Seth Mayberry, the first reliever in the game, went two innings, struck out four batters and earned his second win of the season.

Starter Jose Espada allowed two hits and one run with no walks and three strikeouts. Relievers Jared Koenig and Nick Hernandez pitched one inning each.

Juan Fernandez had an RBI single to center in the seventh inning and is batting .382 on the season. The San Antonio Missions beat the Corpus Christi Hooks 5-1 in the second game of a doubleheader on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Juan Fernandez had an RBI single to center in the seventh inning and is batting .382 on the season.