Luis Patiño is effective even when he doesn’t dominate. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Chihuahuas 4 – Sacramento River Cats 1
Key Stats: RHP Cal Quantrill 6IP, 6H, 1ER, 6K, 1BB; RHP Rowan Wick 1IP, 1H, 0R, S (5); RF Forrestt Allday 2-for-5, 2RBI; 2B Luis Urias 1-for-5, R; LF Shane Peterson 2-for-4, 2B; SS Javier Guerra 1-for-3, BB, 2K
Prospect Watch: Cal Quantrill‘s second start in the PCL went even better than his first. Quantrill allowed one run on six hits over six innings, striking out six with only one walk. The 23-year-old righty has turned in back-to-back quality starts for the Chihuahuas, something he managed only once with San Antonio this season. While Sacramento hitters went 3-for-8 with a walk against him with two outs in innings, he did a better job finishing batters with two strikes than we’ve seen this year. … With Trey Wingenter and Robert Stock now mowing down hitters in the big leagues, Rowan Wick is getting his shot as the Chihuahuas closer. Like Stock, Wick was originally a position player in the Cardinals system, but he doesn’t have quite the same velocity. The 25-year-old hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last eight appearances, striking out nine against three walks in 8.2 innings. … Third baseman Ty France had a single, walk and sac fly in the game. He hit .308/.333/.538 for the series in his Triple-A debut.
Missions/Drillers were postponed because of field conditions at Nelson Wolff Stadium. With the Missions having lost five of their last six, there’s no word on whether Crash Davis was in San Antonio Sunday.
Inland Empire 66’ers 2 – Storm 1 (F/10 innings)
Key Stats: RHP Bryan Mitchell 5IP, 3H, 1ER, 8K, 1BB; RHP Caleb Boushley 2IP, 0H, 0R, 3K, 1BB; CF Nate Easley 2-for-4, 2B, BB, CS (4); 1B Brad Zunica 1-for-3, HR (16), BB
Prospect Watch: The Storm couldn’t hold off Inland Empire with the placed runner on base in extra innings, falling 2-1 and dropping to 12 games behind in the division. The story of the night for Elsinore was the rehab appearances of Bryan Mitchell and Wil Myers. Myers was lightly tested in the field as he played at third base in a game for the first time since 2012. He fielded the only two balls in his direction all night cleanly and went 0-for-3 at the plate. Mitchell, meanwhile, struck out eight and allowed only one run in five innings of his third rehab appearance. The 27-year-old righty has been the source of much consternation among Padres fans, underperforming his stuff regularly since the team acquired him via trade. But for Sunday, at least, Mitchell was strong. He has walked five in his 11.2 innings of work since heading out to recuperate from an elbow impingement. … Brad Zunica‘s solo blast in the sixth was the only offense the Storm could muster. The giant first baseman has four in his last eight games and sports a 1.017 OPS for the month. He went on a run in June, then fell backward again in July, but has been moving his strikeout rate in the right direction through the second half of the season. … Jorge Oña has gone 0-for-11 since returning to the lineup after missing a few games with a hand contusion.
TinCaps 5 – West Michigan Whitecaps 2
Key Stats: RHP Luis Patiño 5IP, 8H, 1ER, 9K, 2BB, 2WP, HBP, PO; Evan Miller 1IP, 0H, 0R, 2K; RHP Dylan Coleman 1IP, 1H, 0R, 2K; CF Jeisson Rosario 2-for-4, BB, SB (17), 2K;
Prospect Watch: While Luis Patiño set a career high with nine strikeouts, he wasn’t at his best Sunday, allowing eight hits and missing his spots more than he has at other times this year. But the first five men in the TinCaps lineup each reached base at least twice and Fort Wayne took advantage of enough of their 23 at-bats with runners in scoring position to put the game away. Patiño walked two, hit a batter and uncorked two wild pitches, yet still managed to put nearly two thirds of his 81 pitches in the zone, in line with each of his previous four starts. The 18-year-old righty has allowed one or no earned runs in 12 of his 15 starts this season. After reaching eight strikeouts in three different outings, Patiño struck out his final hitter of the night to set his personal high. … We saw the best and worst of Esteury Ruiz on Sunday. The dynamic infielder had an RBI single and swiped second and third after he was hit by a pitch, giving him a system-high 39 in 47 attempts. But he also committed three errors, bringing his season total to 24 – 20 at second base. Only other keystone player in the Midwest League has topped 12. … Jack Suwinski and Gabriel Arias continued their torrid August. A day after his 10-game hitting streak ended, Suwinski had a pair of singles and pushed his line for the month back up to .375/.447/.625. Arias drew a pair of walks for the third straight game and has reached base safely in 21 straight.
Hillsboro Hops 8 – Dust Devils 5
Key Stats: SS Xavier Edwards 1-for-3, 2BB, SB(1), R; 2B Tucupita Marcano 3-for-5, 3B; RHP Adrian Martinez 5IP, 4H, 0R, 3K, 2BB
Prospect Watch: John Conniff was on hand for one more game in the Pacific Northwest and has his recap of Tucupita Marcano and Xavier Edwards show.
AZL Padres-2 5, AZL Padres-1 2
Key Stats: RF Yordi Francisco 2-for-4, 2B, HR (2), 3RBI; SS Yordy Barley 1-for-3, BB, PO/CS; C Gilberto Vizcarra 2-for-3, 2B; RF Agustin Ruiz 2-for-4, 3B, 2K, CS (3); RHP Luarbert Arias 3.1IP, 4H, 1ER, 6K, 1BB; RHP Tom Colletti 1IP, 0H, 0R, 2K, RHP Michel Miliano 3IP, 2H, 1ER, 5K, 1BB, 2WP, HBP
Prospect Watch: The Padres-2 club came out ahead for the first time in five head-to-head match-ups between the organization’s two entries in the AZL. Outfielder Yordi Francisco powered the offense with a double and his second homer of the year. The 21-year-old, who spent his first two seasons in the Dominican, had only collected six extra-base hits in his first 25 games coming into the night. … Luarbert Arias bounced back from his rough outing last time out, throwing 3.1 innings of one-run ball in a losing effort. The 17-year-old set a career-high, striking out six of the 15 batters he faced. … Michel Miliano likewise turned in a needed make-good outing, giving up one earned run in three frames after three straight brutal outings. The 18-year-old Dominican has better stuff than most of the right-handed pitchers in the desert, but has been unable to convert on it yet. … Signed as an undrafted free agent last summer, Tom Colletti has dominated younger competition in the desert all summer. The 23-year-old righty struck out two in his inning of work Sunday and now sports a 0.77 ERA in 23.1 innings. Opponents have managed just 15 hits and he’s struck out 27.
