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.
