Luis Urias is setting his sights on San Diego. (Photo: Grant Wickes)
All runs in the system were scored off of home runs as the system went undefeated on an abbreviated schedule. Luis Perdomo and Luis Urias led the Chihuahuas, while Rod Boykin was a one-man wrecking crew for San Antonio. Austin Hedges started his rehab.
Chihuahuas 4, Tacoma Rainiers 2
Key Stats: RHP Luis Perdomo 6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, ER, 2 BB, 5 K; LHP Jose Castillo S (6), 1.1 IP, H, 2 K; 2B Luis Urias 1-4, HR (4), 2 RBI; LF Shane Peterson 1-4, HR (4), 2 RBI; RF Hunter Renfroe 1-3, BB, K; C Austin Hedges 0-3, BB, K, RS.
After tonight's outing, Luis Perdomo has enough innings to qualify among PCL ERA leaders. He will enter the list at number six on the circuit. His K:BB ratio is better than all but one other pitcher in the top 15 for ERA.
— madfriars (@madfriars) May 22, 2018
Prospect Watch: Austin Hedges began his rehab assignment with El Paso. He went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. As much as the Padres want Hedges back up for his defense and leadership, the Padres might use this rehab to help him work on the mechanics of his swing. He was hitting just .173/.235/.293 with the Padres. … Speaking of long rehabs, Hunter Renfroe has yet to rediscover the swing and approach that led him to the Pacific Coast League MVP in 2016. In five games back with the Chihuahuas, Renfroe is 3-for-23 with a double, two walks and seven strikeouts for a .150/.227/.200 line. He was 1-for-3 with a walk and strikeout Monday. … On the positive side former Padre righty, Luis Perdomo continued to impress in Triple-A. After averaging less than four innings per start with the Padres, Perdomo has yet to go less than six innings in any start with El Paso. With the two walks today Perdomo has now walked nine in 41.2 innings in Triple-A. He walked nine in 14 innings with the Padres. Because Zac Gallen had an off night, Perdomo actually enters the league ERA leaderboards at number five. … The biggest showing came from El Paso’s biggest prospect in 2B Luis Urias. The top second base prospect hit his first home run in over two weeks. While Urias has slumped throughout most of May, he still boasts a .386 OBP for the month and a .781 OPS. By comparison, Padres’ second basemen are hitting .201/.279/.266 collectively this season, including Jose Pirela’s .236/.313/.264 line.
Rod Boykin broke out of his slump in a big way on Monday afternoon. Photo Credit: Grant Wickes.
Missions 4, Midland RockHounds 3
Key Stats: LHP Jerry Keel (W, 3-0) 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 5 K; SS Fernando Tatis Jr 0-4, 2 K; DH Josh Naylor 1-4; CF Michael Gettys 2-4, RS; LF Rod Boykin 2-4, 2 HR (4), 4 RBI
Prospect Watch: Top prospects Josh Naylor, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Austin Allen combined for only one hit, but the first place Missions leaned on the bottom of the order for support. Top 30 prospect Michael Gettys notched just his second multi-hit game over his last 15 contests. Despite that, he has improved to a 262/.319/.431 line in May. Gettys’ success at the plate has always come down to making contact. Entering Monday’s game, Gettys had struck out 14 times in the last six games. This year when he puts the ball in play he is hitting .352, which is actually down from his .403 career average. Gettys has managed to cut a 34% career K rate down to 32%, but it hasn’t resulted in better numbers. He still plays terrific defense but needs to put the ball in play to remain a prospect. …The hero of the game was Rod Boykin, who came into the game in a 2-for-28 slump with 21 – yes, 21 – strikeouts. Monday morning, his two homers accounted for all four Missions runs and doubled his home run count on the season. Boykin, a former 12th-round pick, has added about 10 pounds of muscle to his listed 6-foot-1, 175-pound frame, and has used every ounce of it to impact the ball. With 12 extra-base hits so far this season, Boykin has matched the total from his first two years in the Padres organization combined. His aggressive approach continues to lead to too many strikeouts, but he never gets cheated.
The Storm had the night off. Top prospect Adrian Morejon will take the hill Tuesday.
The TinCaps were rained out. They will play a doubleheader Tuesday with LHP Osvaldo Hernandez starting game one, and RHP Luis Patino making his second start of the year.
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