The bats came out for the Storm, but El Paso, San Antonio, and Fort Wayne all struggled with offense. The Dust Devils came back in the top of the ninth but couldn’t push over the top in the end. Finally, in the desert, the Padres had an inter-squad contest.
Game 1: Reno Aces 7, Chihuahuas 3 (7 innings)
Key Statistics: 3B Cory Spangenberg 2-3, 2B, HR(3), RBI; RHP Chris Huffman (L, 3-5) 5.0 IP 8 H 5 R 5 ER 2 BB 2 K 2 HR; LHP Brad Wieck 2.0 IP 2 H 2 R 2 ER 2 BB 3 K.
Game 2: Reno Aces 4, Chihuahuas 1 (7 innings)
Key Statistics: LF Auston Bousfield 1-2, 2B, SB; 2B Cory Spangenberg 1-3; RHP Colin Rea 5.0 IP 2 H 2 BB 4 K; RHP Erik Johnson (BS, 1) (L, 0-1) 1.0 IP 4 H 4 R 4 ER 3 K 2 HR.
Prospect Watch: The Aces swept a doubleheader a home s the Chihuahuas have now lost three in a row atafter winning five straight before the Triple-A All-Star Game…After struggling in his first four starts with the Chihuahuas, Colin Rea had his best outing this season. Rea, 28, is coming back from Tommy John surgery and a few years ago was one of the system’s best young pitchers. The righty bounced back from a six-walk outing in his last start and allowed only four runners Saturday. He has a 37:25 strikeout-to-walk ratio and has allowed a .299 average in 49 innings at two levels this year. … Cory Spangenberg rotated between second and third base Saturday. After posting a solid .286/.313/.468 major league line in June, he seems to just need consistent playing time in the big leagues, somewhere. In El Paso, his slash line is .304/.333/.580 with 11 extra-base hits in 16 games.
Frisco RoughRiders 8, Missions 4
Key Statistics: 3B Ty France 2-5; 1B Kyle Overstreet 2-4; LF Josh Naylor 1-4, HR (13), RBI; C Austin Allen 1-4, HR (17) 2 RBI; RHP Cal Quantrill (L, 6-5) 4.0 IP 10 H 7 R 7 ER 0 BB 2 K 2 HR.
Prospect Watch: After struggling with his command but escaping on Sunday, Cal Quantrill got hit hard in third and fourth innings this time out in Frisco. In four of his past five starts, he has given up four earned runs or more. He has continued to struggle to close out at-bats and innings. … Austin Allen hit his 17th home run tonight, which ties him for second in the Texas League. … After hitting seven home runs in April, Josh Naylor, 21, has hit six since. However, on the season he still has 29 extra-base hits and has only struck out 47 times against 47 walks. Since May 1, the majority of his starts have been in left field.
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Storm 11, Lancaster JetHawks 4
Key Statistics: CF Nate Easley 2-6, 2B; 2B Ruddy Giron 5-6, 3 2B, 2 RBI; 3B Hudson Potts 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 BB; C Luis Torrens 3-5, 3 RBI; LF Allen Cordoba 2-4, 2B HR (1) 3 RBI; SS Chris Baker 2-4, BB; RHP Emmanuel Ramirez (W, 5-3) 6.0 IP 4 H 3 R 3 ER 4 K 2 HR.
Prospect Watch: Ruddy Giron had his best night of the year as he saw his batting average climb from .196 to .231…Allen Cordoba, who was in a severe auto accident in the offseason that prevented him from playing in Spring Training and the first two months of the season, hit his first home run of the season and is hitting .316/.333/.526. Saturday was his first start in the outfield after splitting time between shortstop and designated hitter in his first six weeks of action. … His Rule 5 teammate from last year, Luis Torrens, also had a nice night at the plate with three RBI singles. The 22-year-old Venezuelan’s 281/.320/.410 slash line is just below league average.
Peoria Chiefs 4, TinCaps 0
Gabriel Arias had a pair of hits on Saturday. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Key Statistics: LF Jack Suwinski 2-4, 2B, SB; SS Gabriel Arias 2-3, BB; LHP Aaron Leasher 5.0 IP 3 H 4 R 4 ER 2 BB 4 K, HR; RHP Austin Smith 3.0 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 0 K.
Prospect Watch: A sacrifice fly and a three-run homer for the Chiefs in the third inning was the difference as the TinCaps were shut out on the road and took their seventh loss in eight games. Gabriel Arias, who started the month 4-for-30, had a pair of singles and a walk while he snapped an 11-game streak with at least one strikeout. … It was encouraging to see Austin Smith bounce back after a rough outing on Wednesday when he gave up four earned runs in 1.2 inning. It was Smith’s first bad outing with the TinCaps after five straight appearances of throwing shutout ball. He had lasted three innings only once in 27 previous outings this year.
Hillsboro Hops 7, Dust Devils 6 (11 innings)
Key Statistics: 2B Olivier Basabe 2-4, BB; DH Michael Curry 2-4, 2B, RBI; RF Tre Carter 3-4, 2B, RBI; LHP Ramon Perez 0.1 IP 4 H 3 R 3 ER 2 BB K; LHP Dan Dallas 1.0 IP BB 2 K; RHP Nick Kuzia (BS,1) (L, 0-2).
Prospect Watch: Tre Carter and Michael Curry had RBI doubles as Tri-City rallied for three runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game. Both teams scored in the tenth inning, and the Dust Devils were able to put a run on the board in the eleventh, but the home team Hops scored twice in the eleventh to bring the game to an end. … Starter Ramon Perez didn’t make it out of the first inning, allowing three runs on four hits and a pair of walks. The 19-year-old Cuban entered the game with a 2.29 ERA and had gone at least four innings in every start. … Shortstop Owen Miller, a third-round pick of the Padres in the 2018 draft who we profiled earlier this week, had a single and is hitting .333/.372/.441. … Lefty reliever Dan Dallas, a seventh-round pick in 2016 who endured some injuries since being drafted finally escaped the Arizona desert this season and continues to pitch well. He has 25 strikeouts in 16 innings against only five walks and seven hits.
AZL Padres-1, 4 AZL Padres-2, 0
Key Statistics (AZL-1): 2B Lee Solomon 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; LF Greg Lambert 3-4; 3B Luis Guzman 2-4; LHP Omar Cruz 4.1 IP 3 H 2 BB 9 K.
Key Statistics (AZL-2): SS Tucupita Marcano 2-4.
Prospect Watch: In Padres on Padres competition, the AZL-1 team prevailed . … One of the more interesting stories in the desert has been the play of Venezuelan Tucupita Marcano, 18. The left-handed hitting infielder plays both second and shortstop and should team up next year in Low-A Fort Wayne with Xavier Edwards, the Padres’ second pick in the 2018 draft, to give the Padres a potent double-play combination. … Lefty Omar Cruz had another strong outing, striking out nine over 4.1 innings. The 19-year-old from Sonora, Mexico, has a strong 30:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio through his first 20 professional innings after signing last July 2.
We will be at the MLB Future’s Game today in Washington DC and have a full report on Fernando Tatis Jr., Luis Urias, and Buddy Reed; the three Padres representatives in the game.
