Count a 22-year-old Cuban making his Class AA debut as the latest pitcher to baffle the Arkansas Travelers.
Arkansas was held to four hits by right-hander Rogelio Armenteros, and Garrett Stubbs' first-inning home run held up in Corpus Christi's 1-0 victory on Sunday at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.
Hooks Manager Rodney Linares said he wasn't too impressed with Armenteros' stuff, but he made it work by getting 10 groundball outs through seven innings.
"When the game started he didn't have full command of his fastball," Linares said. "They chased a lot, they've got some aggressive hitters over there and he kept making pitches and they just kept hitting them where people were at."
The loss ended a 2-4 homestand for the Travs, who remain in third place in the second-half North Division standings.
Arkansas, which hasn't won consecutive games in August, trails Northwest Arkansas by 2½ games and Tulsa by a half game, with a four-game series at Tulsa starting Tuesday.
If the Travs make a run at the leaders in the final 15 games, it will have to be done without first baseman Eric Aguilera, who was suspended before Saturday's game and is out for the remainder of the season.
Travs' Manager Mark Parent was reserved in offering specifics, saying "attitude" was the reason for the suspension.
"He was kind of upset that some things didn't work out for him," Parent said. "They were just, more or less, tired of that attitude. They're just trying to get guys and keep guys in the clubhouse that really want to get after it."
Aguilera's 124 hits rank second in the Texas League, and he was hitting .270 with a team-best 14 home runs and 65 RBI before getting suspended.
The Travs won without Aguilera on Saturday, but couldn't on Sunday against Arementeros and reliever Eric Peterson.
Arementeros struck out three over seven innings; Peterson picked up a two-inning save.
Travs' starter Zach Nuding yielded a two-out home run down the right-field line to Garrett Stubbs, a part-time catcher for the Hooks who was making his first appearance in the series. Stubbs, hitting .319, singled in the third inning, reached on a bunt single in the fifth and singled in the seventh for his second four-hit game in less than a month.
Stubbs didn't play in the series' first two games after catching consecutive days against Northwest Arkansas earlier this week.
"He's a good hitter, he's hit every where he's been," Linares said of Stubbs, who has four home runs on the season. "But the problem with him is his stamina. He gets tired. He gets beat up because he blocks so well."
Parent praised Nuding, who yielded nine hits in five innings, while making his first start for the Travs since June 18.
Nuding has pitched at Class A Inland Empire, Arkansas and at Class AAA Salt Lake this season.
"Here's a kid that's been bounced around this entire organization and there's no complaints, he just goes out and keeps doing his job and that's to his credit," Parent said. "It's guys like Nuding that make it worth it when you see him out there competing.
"He's had a great attitude about it."
Sports on 08/22/2016