
Pedro Avila delivers for the Storm (Photo: Cherished Memories)
Prospect Watch: The Chihuahuas couldn’t muster much against Grizzlies starter Cy Sneed, who entered the game with a 4.38 ERA. Although the former third-round pick had a 4.2 BB/9 rate, he didn’t issue any free passes and struck out seven in eight innings and allowed just a pair of hits. Sneed does not appear on any of top 30 lists for the Astros farm system. … Luis Urias hit the ball on a line in the first that was snagged by the second baseman, and his second time up was rung up on a check-swing strike three. Upset that home plate umpire Clint Vondrak didn’t consult with the first base umpire before calling him out, Urías slammed his helmet on the ground on the way back to the dugout, incurring an automatic ejection. Manager Rod Barajas came out and had some choice words with Vondrak, and was promptly thrown out as well. … Brett Nicholas‘s ground-

Chihuahuas catcher Brett Nicholas (Photo: Ivan Pierre Aguirre)
rule double immediately following the ejections extended his hitting streak to six games. The 29-year-old catcher is hitting .306/.364/.594 for El Paso this year. … Starter Walker Lockett allowed a first-pitch dinger to Torrey Pines alum Garrett Stubbs, and a few batters later he gave up a two-run homer to AJ Reed. Both were mistakes over the middle of the plate that was crushed by left-handed hitters. Left-handed batters are posting a .347 batting average against Lockett this year, 99 points higher than righties. … Kyle McGrath pitched a 1-2-3 eighth, breaking his mini-streak of three appearances allowing a walk. He has a 21:9 K:BB ratio for El Paso in 20 innings this year.

Buddy Reed continues his impressive turn-around in 2018 (Photo: Cherished Memories)
Key Statistics: LF Buddy Reed 2-4, HR (7), K, 2 RBI, R; 2B Eguy Rosario 2-4, HR, K; CF Edward Olivares 1-4, K; C Luis Torrens 0-4; 3B Hudson Potts 2-4, 2B, K; RF Jorge Oña 2-3, BB, R; SP Pedro Avila 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 10 K, 1 HR
Prospect Watch: With his 7th round-tripper of the year, Buddy Reed is back to having the majority of his home runs be the over-the-fence kind rather than inside-the-park (a 4:3 ratio). He entered the game sporting a .421 BABIP on the season, but a slightly more sustainable .379 in May, as he is hitting .301/.359/.530 in 21 games. … Pedro Avila had arguably his best start of the season, as his 7.0 innings tied for his longest outing, and his 10 strikeouts were the most since he had 13 for Fort Wayne last August. The only blemish was a 2-run homer he allowed in the second inning to Giants number six prospect Sandro Fabian. After posting a 12.3 K/9 rate and a 1.6 BB/9 rate for Fort Wayne last year, Avila got off to a slow start this year. The 21-year-old has bounced back of late though, striking out 38 in 28.2 innings of work over his last five outings, but has walked 12 in that stretch. … After hitting his fourth homer of the year in the bottom of the 8th inning to break a 2-2 tie, Eguy Rosario exchanged some words with Giants catcher Tanner Murphy, leading to Murphy’s ejection. Rosario and Giants pitcher Nolan Riggs were then ejected before any pitches were thrown in the top of the 9th.
Lansing Lugnuts 5, TinCaps 4
Key Statistics: CF Jeisson Rosario 1-4, CS; RF Tirso Ornelas 0-3, BB, R; DH Luis Campusano 0-2, 2 BB, K, R; 3B Luis Almanzar 0-4, R; 3B Justin Lopez 1-4, 3B, RBI, K; SS Gabriel Arias 1-3, 3B, BB, 2 RBI, R; LF Robbie Podorsky 2-4, 2B, RBI; SP Mason Thompson 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 K
Prospect Watch: Mason Thompson had a rocky start, allowing five of the first six batters to reach base (a double, two singles, an HBP, and a fielding error), leading to all three of the Lugnut runs he’d allow. He responded striking out the next two batters to end the inning, and Lansing couldn’t do much else against him until he was pulled with an out in the fifth at 86 pitches. While assembling a solid 8.8 K/9 rate through nine appearances, he’s also allowed a staggering 6.1 BB/9, so it was good to see him allow just two free passes last night. … Jeisson Rosario was caught stealing for the fourth time on the year, against 11 successful attempts. The 18-year-old hit .308/.477/.400 in April, but has struggled a bit in May, hitting .212/.349/.227. He’s still managed to be productive during this slump by posting an impressive 23.8% walk rate this month. … The TinCaps took advantage of many of their walks this game, as Gabriel Arias walked and scored from first on a Robbie Podorsky double in the third, and Tirso Ornelas and Luis Campusano earned free passes in the sixth and then scored on an Arias triple… After entering with a 4-3 lead, Jordan Guerrero was tagged with the loss after allowing a pair of RBI-extra base hits in the seventh. Most of the hard-throwing Floridian’s struggles this year have come from lack of control, but Friday he gave up three hits, including a double and triple.