Jack Suwinski is launching balls for the TinCaps. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Chihuahuas 4 – Round Rock Express 1
Key Stats: DH Francisco Mejia 3-for-4, 2B; 2B Luis Urias 1-for-4, 2B, 3K; RHP Kyle Lloyd 3IP, 1H, 0R, 2K, 2BB; RHP Emmanuel Ramirez 4IP, 3H, 1ER, 5K, 2BB
Prospect Watch: Dusty Coleman hit a two-out, three-run homer to walk the Chihuahuas off with their fifth consecutive victory and keep the club 2.5 games ahead in their division chase. Until the ninth, El Paso’s only run had come when Francisco Mejia, batting in the DH slot Sunday, doubled and then came home on a single by Raffy Lopez. Mejia also had a pair of singles on the day and now sports a .382/.436/.529 line in 10 games since the Padres acquired him. … Kyle Lloyd, whose return from the disabled list was planned to be in a relief role, and Emmanuel Ramirez combined to work seven innings while allowing only one run to backfill a Triple-A rotation that’s shifting as the big league club reorients itself toward the future. Lloyd tossed three shutout innings, matching his high from four rehab appearances in the AZL. The 27-year-old righty, who lives off of his split-fingered fastball, missed exactly three months after hitting the disabled list in May. … Ramirez, making his career first appearance above Single-A, allowed one run over four innings and struck out five. He’s served as a swing-man in Lake Elsinore this year and is unlikely to stay in El Paso for the long haul.
Roster Transactions: As expected, the Padres called up Trey Wingenter prior to Sunday’s game. In a less-expected move, they promoted Cal Quantrill to join El Paso. The club’s 2016 first-round pick has been inconsistent through the year and is coming off a July in which opponents hit .353 and he recorded 18 strikeouts and 10 walks in 24.1 innings.
After the game, the team announced that Brett Kennedy will make his big league debut later this week. The 24-year-old righty has long been a favorite topic here at MadFriars.
Midland RockHounds 10 – Missions 2
Key Stats: C Austin Allen 2-for-4; DH Taylor Kohlwey 2-for-4, 2B; LHP Logan Allen 4IP, 6H, 3ER, 3K, 2BB
Prospect Watch: Logan Allen has been dominant throughout the year in San Antonio, but labored for the first time since May, giving up three runs on six hits in just four innings. The 21-year-old lefty needed 98 pitches to get through that work, frequently falling behind batters in a way he has avoided most of the year. Even with the off night, Allen sports a 2.75 ERA ERA, has held opponents to a .205 average, and has more than a strikeout an inning. … The game remained within reach until late, when Midland rallied against Danny Sexton, who was promoted as a short-term supplement to the bullpen earlier in the day. The 23-year-old lefty, who signed as a minor league free agent last summer, was put in a tough situation for his first career outing above the AZL, and was ultimately tagged for six runs over just 1.1 innings. … The offense managed just two runs in the ninth when the game was well out of reach. The Missions have been held to two runs or fewer in five of their last eight contests.
Storm 6 – San Jose Giants 4
Key Stats: RF Jorge Oña 1-for-3, 2B, BB; LF Nate Easley 1-for-4, HR (3); 3B Hudson Potts 1-for-4, 2B, K; LHP Adrian Morejon 1IP, 1H, 0R, 1K, 2BB; RHP Pedro Avila 5IP, 5H, 4R (3ER), 10K, 0BB, 2WP; RHP Carter Capps 1IP, 0H, 0R, 1K, 0BB, HBP
Prospect Watch: The biggest news of the night from San Jose was Adrian Morejon‘s departure with tricep soreness in the top of the second inning. The 19-year-old lefty just returned from a six-week disabled list stint last week. While he’s had solid production in the Cal League this year, this will be the third time that he’s been shut down with arm issues since signing with the Padres prior to last season. … Pedro Avila, who was scheduled to piggyback with Morejon anyway, matched a season-high with 10 strikeouts over four innings. After a brutal 12:10 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 22.2 innings in April, the 21-year-old has 97 strikeouts against 36 free passes in his last 88 innings. … Each hitter in the Storm lineup had exactly one hit on the night, though five were for extra bases. Jorge Oña doubled to extend his on-base streak to eight games. Perhaps most encouraging after his struggles throughout the year, the 21-year-old Cuban has only struck out seven times in his last 43 plate appearances. … Nate Easley connected on a three-run homer, his third of the year, and third in the last four weeks. The son of Padres’ minor league instructor Damion Easley, the 22-year-old’s OPS since the All-Star break is more than 100 points above his mark through the first half.
Lansing Lugnuts 5 – TinCaps 4
Key Stats: RF Jack Suwinski 3-for-4, 2 2B, HR (7); SS Gabriel Arias 1-for-3, 2B, BB, K; 2B Esteury Ruiz 1-for-4, HR (11); LHP Ben Sheckler 6IP, 4H, 3ER, 4K, 2BB
Prospect Watch: Gabriel Arias continued his recent hot streak, reaching base for the fifteenth straight game with a double and a walk. While he’s jumped his OPS by 47 points, he’s also seen an uptick in his strikeout rate, which was already untenable. He has Ked 21 times in this stretch, pushing him north of 30% for the year. … After scuffling through most of the year, Jack Suwinski is on fire. The 19-year-old outfielder had a first-inning homer and a pair of doubles in four at-bats. He’s hit in six straight, collecting seven extra-base hits to raise his slugging percentage for the year nearly 50 points. … Ben Sheckler worked a season-high six innings as his return to the rotation continues to go well. The big-bodied lefty was charged with three earned runs, but stretched out to a season-high 88 pitches. He will likely be asked to continue to shoulder a bigger workload over the final month of the season.
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 5 – Dust Devils 1
Key Stats: SS Owen Miller 3-for-4, BB; RHP Cole Bellinger 4.1IP, 8H, 4R (3ER), 3K, 1BB
Prospect Watch: Owen Miller had all three of the Dust Devils’ hits Sunday evening and drove in the club’s only run. He now ranks fifth in the Northwest League with a .335 average and has the seventh best on-base percentage on the circuit at .395. … The Dust Devils bullpen continues to excel. Ramon Perez, Dan Dallas and Jordan Guerrero combined to strike out 10 over four innings of work. While Perez allowed one run, he recorded all six of his outs with swinging strikes. Guerrero is now up to 17 scoreless innings for the Dust Devils with a 22:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
AZL Padres-1 18 – AZL Angels 3
Key Stats: SS Xavier Edwards 3-for-4, 2B, 2 BB, SB (12); 1B/OF Lee Solomon 3-for-5, 3B, HR (5), 5RBI; DH Nick Gatewood 2-for-5, 2B, 3B, 5RBI; 3B Carlos Luis 2-for-3,
AZL Padres-2 5 – AZL White Sox 2
Key Stats: 2B Jordy Barley 2-for-4, BB; DH Blinger Perez 1-for-4, HR (2); LHP Ryan Weathers 4IP, 2H, 1R (0ER), 4K, 0BB; LHP Alex Vega 3IP, 4H, 3R, 5K, 1BB; RHP JC Cosme 2IP, 1H, 0R, 1K, 0BB, HBP; RHP Edwuin Bencomo 4IP, 3H, 0R, 5K, 0BB
Prospect Watch: Ryan Weathers is finding his footing, allowing only one unearned run over four innings Sunday. The Padres’ first-round pick, who worked two clean innings in a game that was suspended last Monday, retired nine of the last 10 batters he faced and allowed only one ball into the outfield all night. … Jordy Barley has limped through his second AZL campaign despite reducing his strikeout rate and improving his walk rate since last year. The 18-year-old came into the night with a brutal .241 average on balls in play, something that’s hard to explain as anything other than bad luck for a player with his speed and batted ball profile. … When the Padres drafted Lee Solomon out of Lipscomb University in June, scouting director Mark Conner called him out for his leadership – he was his class president – and his knowledge of the game growing up the son of a coach. The 22-year-old has indeed been a leader for the AZL club, where he’s hitting .308/.400/.519. His fifth homer of the year on Sunday put him in the lead for both Padres squads. He’s also played first, second, third and right field. … With Tucupita Marcano taking an 0-for-4 with a walk while Xavier Edwards reached base five times, the two 18-year-old middle infielders have flipped at the top of the OBP leader boards. Edwards has reached base in all 19 of his professional games has gotten on at a .494 clip.
