FRISCO Midland’s Brian Howard outdueled Frisco’s Jonathan Hernandez as the RockHounds returned from the Texas League All-Star break Thursday with a 1-0 victory at Dr Pepper Ballpark.
Howard (6-5) struck out seven while scattering six hits, all singles. He walked two.
Relievers Zack Erwin and John Gorman, who picked up his sixth save, each worked one inning, giving up a hit while striking out one.
Hernandez (2-7) allowed one unearned run on just two hits, but his error in the fourth inning led to the game’s only run. Hernandez matched his season high with nine strikeouts.
In the fourth, Midland’s Tyler Ramirez reached on Hernandez’s throwing error with two outs and Dairon Blanco followed with an opposite-field triple. Blanco was 2 for 3 and had both hits Hernandez allowed, adding a single in the seventh. Luis Barrera had Midland’s other hit with a ninth-inning single.
Michael De Leon went 3 for 4 for Frisco, but the RoughRiders were unable to group hits together. Midland catcher Collin Theroux helped shut the RoughRiders down by throwing out two wouldbe base stealers, and the RockHounds turned a double play to end the fifth.
Frisco’s best scoring chance came in the sixth, when Leody Taveras drove a ball to the wall in right, but slipped rounding first and was held to a single. De Leon followed with a hit to put runners at the corners with one out, but Howard struck out Preston Beck and got Andretty Cordero to line out to center to preserve the lead.
