Paul Clemens debuts for Corpus Christi

Thursday night I  got a chance to see one of the Astros newest additions make his organizational debut. Paul Clemens, acquired from the Braves in the Michael Bourn trade, made the start for AA Corpus Christi in San Antonio.  The last place Hooks were attempting to get their first win at Wolf Stadium in eleven tries this season. That didn’t happen, but Clemens was quite effective in a no-decision.

Clemens struggled a bit with his control in the first inning and walked in a run. The run was unearned due to an error by 3B David Flores and was the only run Clemens would allow in six innings of work. The right-hander allowed only two hits but walked five. The scoreboard radar gun had Clemens’ fastball clocked in the 90 to 95 range all night. He fanned seven, including a stretch of five in a row. Nick Hundley, on a rehab assignment for the Padres, fanned twice in three at-bats against Clemens. At 6’4″ and 180 pounds, Clemens looks nothing like his namesake Roger. Only 23 years old, I suspect Paul will add weight in the near future. Overall I was impressed with Clemens’ outing and I think he is a player to keep an eye on.

As for the game, the Hooks didn’t fare so well. Tied at one going into the eighth inning things fell apart in a hurry. A couple of errors helped the Missions score five times in the inning to blow the game wide open. Pitcher Josh Zeid, acquired in the Hunter Pence trade, made one of the errors and has yet to be effective in three outings with the Hooks. James Van Ostrand left the game in the first inning after being injured while sliding into second base. Corpus Christi lost the game 6-1 to extend their Wolf Stadium losing streak to eleven straight. The Hooks get one more chance to end the streak as they close out the season in San Antonio the first weekend of September.