Logan Allen turns over a breaking ball in his no-hitter on May 31, 2018. (Photo Rich Crimi)
Sacramento River Cats 7, Chihuahuas 3
Key Stats: RHP Miguel Diaz 3 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 K, 2 BB; 3B Luis Urias 0-3, K, E; 2B Carlos Asuaje 0-2, BB, CS; 1B Brett Nicholas 1-4, RBI, R; SS Javy Guerra 1-4, 2 K;
Prospect Watch: In a tepid display, the Chihuahuas collected only one hit in the first eight innings of the game as Javy Guerra broke up a no-hitter in the bottom of the fifth. This marks the fourth time in five games that Guerra has had a hit. …Former rule five draftee Miguel Diaz has yet to find his footing at Triple-A El Paso, coughing up four runs in the first three innings of the game. In his nine innings there, he’s allowed seven earned runs and possesses a paltry 1:1 strikeout to walk ratio. … Luis Urias, who came out of the gates slashing .305/.416/.440 in April, battled through a mediocre month of May as he hit under .250 but continued to display his trademark plate discipline, walking in roughly 15 percent of his at-bats. He finished the month with a .742 OPS and 24 strikeouts, by far the highest one-month total in his career.
Missions 6, Tulsa Drillers 0
Key Stats: LHP Logan Allen 7 IP, 7 K, 5 BB, 0 ER, 0 H; RP Jason Jester 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 K, 0 BB; SS Fernando Tatis Jr. 1-5, HR, 2 RBI, R, K; LF Josh Naylor 1-4, R; C Austin Allen 1-4, K; 2B Peter Van Gansen 2-4, RBI; RF Taylor Kohlwey 1-4, HR, R, RBI, K; CF Michael Gettys 1-4, HR, RBI, R, K
Jason Jester delivers for the San Antonio Missions (Photo: Grant Wickes)
Prospect Watch: The Missions tossed the organization’s first no-hitter of the year. Starter Logan Allen struck out seven and walked five over seven innings (105 pitches). Allen, 21, now leads the Texas League in both innings pitched (66.2) and strikeouts (76). Even after the lefty had allowed 12 earned runs over his three previous games, his ERA still sits at 3.24, sixth on the circuit. … Jason Jester, a 27-year-old righthander, completed the no-hit bid with two scoreless innings. The Longview, Texas, native owns a strong 23:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 1.93 over 28 innings with the Missions this year after a rough 2017 campaign in El Paso. The system’s last no-hitter was thrown by Kyle Lloyd for the Missions last May. … On the offensive side of things, it was a quiet night for San Antonio’s bats with the exception of the fifth inning when the team scored all six of their runs. Michael Gettys and Taylor Kohlwey clubbed back-to-back home runs to kick off the inning. Allen even got involved with a line drive single to left field. In the subsequent at-bat, Fernando Tatis Jr. sent a line drive over the wall in the left-center field for his tenth homer of the season. With that blast, the 19-year-old concludes a torrid month of May with a stellar .336/.414/.639 slash line with seven home runs and five stolen bases. This home run gives him 21 extra base hits in May compared to just eight the first month of the season. He struck out in 24.3% of his plate appearances for the month, down from 32.6% in April, while his walk rate nearly doubled to 9.3%.
Roster notes: Infielder River Stevens went on the disabled list with a shoulder injury a night after a collision at home plate. He’s expected to miss significant time. Righty reliever Trevor Megill also hit the shelf with an oblique injury, while Forrestt Allday was moved up to El Paso. The Padres transferred infielder Matt Batten to the club from Lake Elsinore. Other roster moves are still forthcoming.
Rancho Cucamonga 3, Storm
Key Stats: 1B Brad Zunica 1-for-3, BB; RF Nate Easley 1-for-3, SB (4); RHP Pedro Avila 6.2IP, 5H, 3ER, 4K, 5BB, WP; RHP Elliott Ashbeck 1.1IP, 1H, 0R, 0K, 1BB
Prospect Watch: The Storm managed just two singles as they were shut out Thursday. They got a two-out walk from Brad Zunica before a Nate Easley hit in the second, but couldn’t push anything across. In the seventh, an error, single and walk loaded the bases with two outs, but Kelvin Melean struck out to end the threat. Zunica has hit in seven of eight games. After 52 strikeouts in his first 39 games, the big first baseman has only whiffed seven times in that stretch. … Pedro Avila struggled with command, issuing a season-high five walks. The 21-year-old righty had been on a roll coming in with 27 strikeouts over 20.2 innings but recorded just four Thursday.
Game 1: TinCaps 5, Bowling Green Hot Rods 3; Game 2: Suspended
Key Stats: LHP Nick Margevicius 5 IP, 3 ER, 6 K, BB, 7 H; SS Justin Lopez 1-3, HR, R, RBI; C Luis Campusano 2-3, 2B, RF Tirso Ornelas 1-4; LF Jack Suwinski 1-2, HR, 3 RBI, R, BB; 1B Jalen Washington 1-2, RBI, BB, R, RBI; CF Jeisson Rosario 0-4; 2B Esteury Ruiz 0-4, K; RP Evan Miller 1 IP, K, 0 ER, H, 0 BB; RP Travis Radke 1 IP, 0 R
Key Stats: With Wednesday’s game postponed because of rain, the TinCaps and Hot Rods were slated for two seven-inning contests Thursday. However, the latter of those two games was also called because of weather after the third. That contest will be completed when the clubs match up in Bowling Green in two weeks. Unfortunately, Mason Thompson was starting to find his groove in the second game, striking out three of the last five hitters he faced while allowing no earned runs. … In the completed game, southpaw Nick Margevicius picked up the win even though it was not one of his better starts of the season. He lasted only five innings, needing 81 pitches to get there. To be fair, three earned runs and seven hits allowed was far from a disaster even if it wasn’t the lights out performance Fort Wayne has grown accustomed to seeing. He still posted a strong 6:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio He has still only given up two runs or less in two-thirds of his starts on the season. … Shortstop Justin Lopez, who just turned 18 a couple of weeks ago, swatted a homer for the second game in a row. Additionally, he went a third straight game without a strikeout following an unenviable streak of nine consecutive games with at least one K. He did whiff in his only at-bat in the second contest.
Roster Notes: Righty Jared Carkuff was the second reliever released by the Padres from the TinCaps roster in as many days. The 24-year-old was acquired with Edward Olivares in the Yangervis Solarte trade. He had struck out 25 in 24 innings across three levels this year. Diomar Lopez joined the team from Fort Wayne.
What does “Diomar Lopez joined the team from Fort Wayne” mean? Should it say “joined the team from Arizona”?
Actually, it should say “joined the team from Lake Elsinore.” He’d been in the Cal League for a few weeks after opening the year in extended.