Kyle Lloyd and his splitter were working on Tuesday night. (Photo: Grant Wickes)
Chihuahuas 7, Reno Aces 1
Key Stats: RHP Kyle Lloyd (W, 3-1) 6 IP, 5 H, BB, 2 K; 3B Cory Spangenberg 0-4,2 K; 2B Luis Urias 1-2, 2 R, BB, HBP, SB; C Brett Nicholas 2-4, 2B, R; RF Franmil Reyes 2-for-3, R, RBI, BB; PH Shane Peterson 1-1 GS (2), 4 RBI
Prospect Watch: When MadFriars’ own John Conniff came to El Paso, Luis Urias went into a 1-for-19 slump. Since then, he has hit safely in eight of nine games and has reached base 17 times in his last 26 trips to the plate. He has successfully raised his OPS from .678 less than two weeks ago to .875 now. The 20-year-old has also walked six times over his last five games with no strikeouts. … With catcher Rafael Lopez now in San Diego, Brett Nicholas looks likely to get more playing time behind the plate. The 29-year-old, who spent time with the Rangers last year, is hitting .337/.423/.723 in 23 games with El Paso. He has reached base safely in all but three games this season. … A.J. Kennedy, a defense-first receiver taken out of Cal State Fullerton in 2015, joined the Chihuahuas to fill Lopez’s spot. … Kyle Lloyd bounced back after a few rough outings. the 27-year-old righty threw six scoreless innings and allowed only five hits.
A big day for Fernando Tatis, Jr. (Photo San Antonio Missions).
Missions 20, Frisco RoughRiders 4
Key Stats: SS Fernando Tatis Jr 3-for-5, 3R, 2 2B, HR (4), 2RBI, BB, HBP; LF Josh Naylor 2-for-5, HR (8), 2R, 3 RBI, 2BB; 3B Ty France 1-for-2, HR (2), 2R, 5RBI, BB, 2HBP; RF Michael Gettys 3-for-6, HR (4), 3 R, 3 RBI; 2B Peter Van Gansen 3-for-4, 4 R, 2B, RBI, 2BB; CF Rod Boykin 4-for-6, 2 3B, 2 R, 6 RBI; RHP Jesse Scholtens 6 IP, 6H, 4 ER, 6K; LHP Matt Strahm IP, H, 2K
Prospect Watch: After a disappointing April, SS Fernando Tatis Jr.started his May with a bang. He had eight total bases including two doubles and his fourth home run of the year. He also walked and was hit by a pitch. Tuesday was only the second time this season Tatis has had more than five total bases, and the first time this season he reached base more than three times. While Tatis is still hitting under .200, he has walked six times and been hit by a pitch twice over the last week and seen his OBP climb from .186 to a more respectable .261. … Josh Naylor overtook Austin Allen for the Texas League home run lead by hitting his eighth of the season in the Missions’ 10-run eighth inning. Naylor also walked twice, giving him 15 walks compared to 12 strikeouts on the year. Last year, he had a 22:7 ratio at this time. Naylor did misplay a ball in left for his second error in 62 innings at his new position. He’s had only 11 total chances so far. … Lefty Matt Strahm tossed a scoreless inning late for the Missions. While the Padres were building up his innings to start early in the year, they scrapped that idea in favor of a move to the pen. The team has said they want to get him action in back-to-back games, but thus far, he is still working only every three days. Strahm owns a 2.19 ERA overall and 20 strikeouts compared to three walks in 12.1 innings. However, with his rehab assignment due to end this week, it appears likely he’ll need to be optioned to continue to build up stamina. … Ty France has one of the stranger lines you’ll see so far this year. The third baseman has an 11:9 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and has also been hit by 11 pitches in 98 trips to the plate.
Inland Empire 66ers 3, Storm 2
Key Stats: RHP Reggie Lawson 5 IP, 4 H, ER, 4 BB, 3 K; 1B Hudson Potts 1-4, HR (4), 3 K; 3B Eguy Rosario 1-3, 2B, RS, BB; SS Kelvin Melean 2-4, 3B, RBI
Prospect Watch: While Buddy Reed went hitless on the day, it was encouraging to see him walk and steal his 14th base in 15 tries. The walk was just his fourth all year but second in as many days. … Reggie Lawson had his first disappointing outing of the campaign. We caught up with him after his last start, about his early season success and new changeup. It’s telling that in his “rough” outing, he still only allowed one run on four hits. But the 20-year-old righty walked four while only striking out three. Though he had managed to stay ahead in the count for most of the season’s first month, he struggled with strike one tonight. Of the 21 batters he faced, only 11 started with strike one. Had he not started each of the last four batters he faced, it would have been uglier. On the day he threw 89 pitches, only 48 for strikes. He continues to lead the Cal League with a 1.44 ERA and his 1.04 WHIP is fifth on the circuit.
TinCaps 7, Beloit Snappers 2
Key Stats: RHP Mason Thompson (W, 2-3); 6 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 3 K; CF Jeisson Rosario 2-4, 2 RS, BB, 2 SB (8); 2B Estuary Ruiz 1-5, HR (4), 2 RBI; RF Tirso Ornelas 2-4, 2 RS, SB (3); DH Luis Campusano 2-3, HR (2), 2 RBI, BB
Prospect Watch: Righty Mason Thompson posted the best start by far of his young season. He looked like a completely different pitcher than the one who was lit up for 14 earned runs over his last 5.2 innings. Thompson is still battling with control issues (18 walks in 19.2 innings), but this start demonstrated why so many people were excited when the Padres drafted him right after Reggie Lawson in 2016. … Jeisson Rosario is now a perfect 8-for-8 in stolen base attempts this season, matching his total from 52 games last year. He is also playing stellar defense while reaching base at a .484 rate. While 20 games is still a small sample size, as Rosario continues to get on base, the numbers become all the more meaningful.
