Andres Muñoz struck out two more in another scoreless inning Wednesday. (Photo: John Moore/Amarillo Sod Poodles)
The Chihuahuas had a scheduled day off.
El Paso opens a five-game series at Albuquerque Thursday. They will do so without veteran reliever Carlos Torres, who exercised his opt-out and chose to become a free agent. While the Padres continue to need options to get through big league relief innings, their 40-man roster is tight at the moment, making it hard to see a path to the Majors for a guy like Torres.
Sod Poodles 3, Midland RockHounds 2
Key Stats: RHP TJ Weir 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 9 K; RHP Andres Muñoz (S, 3) IP, 2 K; C Webster Rivas 1-4, HR (1), 3 RBI; 2B Owen Miller 2-4; 3B Hudson Potts 1-3, RS, BB; LF Tyler Kohlwey 2-3, RS, BB
Prospect Watch: Webster Rivas drove in all three runs on his first home run of the year in the sixth inning. Rivas, who was originally signed by the Dodgers nine years ago, has backed up at catcher in the Padres system each of the past three seasons, largely in Double-A. Backing up Luis Torrens this year, the 29-year-old veteran backstop has provided solid defense and offense for the club. … Flame-throwing 20-year-old Andres Munoz looked impressive once again in earning the save. Without vouching for its accuracy, the stadium gun had him hit 104 mph with his penultimate pitch Thursday. His season totals of 30 K in 14 innings with a 1.93 ERA and .143 BAA are stellar, but he’s been even better his last nine outings. In that stretch of ten innings, he’s allowed two hits and just four walks while striking out 23. Before fans get overly anxious for a call-up, it should be noted that he has yet to pitch two days in a row, and only once appeared on one day of rest. He’s gotten two days off before each of his last two appearances after six days down earlier in the month. He has never thrown more than 26 official innings in a season, a number he should reach next month.
Storm 1, Stockton Ports 0 (Suspended/Third inning)
The game was stopped due to rain. The clubs will resume Thursday at 11 am, with the second game to follow after.
Lake County Captains 10, TinCaps 6
Key Stats: RHP Gabe Mosser (L, 2-2) 4.1 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 7 K; DH Xavier Edwards 2-5, RS; 2B Tucupita Marcano 2-4, 2B, RS; LF Dwanya Williams-Sutton 2-5, 3B, RS, 2 RBI; SS Justin Lopez 1-4, HR (1), RBI; C Blake Hunt 2-4, 2B, RBI
Prospect Watch: MadFriars talked to tonight’s starter Gabe Mosser after he allowed only one run in six innings on the last homestand. Thursday, he allowed five runs in the first two innings. Mosser locked in for a pair of back-to-back clean innings after that but allowed two singles to open the fifth and couldn’t escape further damage. … Both Xavier Edwards and Tucupita Marcano added another multi-hit game to their tallies. That makes it a 10 game hitting streak for Edwards while Marcano has hit safely in 13 of his last 14. While they continue to perform, five other regulars have a sub-600 OPS for the month, including shortstop Justin Lopez. Lopez wowed the MadFriars crew by unleashing a mammoth home run off of Anderson Espinoza in spring training but has struggled to tap into that same power in Fort Wayne. The 19-year-old switch-hitter hit his first home run of the year today, For those looking for a reason to be optimistic, has four hits in his last four games after starting the month on a 3-for-30 skid.
