Justin Lopez has found his groove in Fort Wayne. (Photo: Fort Wayne TinCaps)
Reno Aces 9 Chihuahuas 1
Key Stats: PH Francisco Mejía 1-1, 2B; RHP Robert Stock 1 IP, 1 H, 1HBP, 1 K; RHP Luis Perdomo 1 IP, 2 K; SS Luis Urías 1-3, BB, K, E (3); C AJ Kennedy 1-3, HR (2), RBI
Prospect Watch: The Chihuahuas managed just three hits in the game, one of which was the second home run of the year for defensive specialist A.J. Kennedy. Kennedy now has as many home runs as he did in all of last year when he bounced around between Tri-City, Lake Elsinore, and El Paso. … With no offense, the positives have to come from the bullpen. Robert Stock made his tenth straight scoreless outing, working one frame, but he once again put two runners on in the process. During is 10.2 inning scoreless stretch, he owns a WHIP of over 2. … RHP Luis Perdomo is continuing to pitching well. He rebounded from a rough outing a few days ago to have an easy one-two-three inning with two strikeouts. Perdomo has 17 strikeouts versus four walks in 15 Triple-A innings. Both his strikeout and walk numbers are a considerable improvement over last year.
Sod Poodles 7 Corpus Christi Hooks 6
Key Stats: LHP Adrian Morejon 3 IP, 2 H, ER, 3 K; RHP Miguel Díaz (W, 2-0) 4 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 9 K; 2B Ivan Castillo 2-4, HR (2), 2 R, 2 RBI; DH Owen Miller 1-4, 2 RBI, 2B; SS Chris Baker 1-3, HR (1), 2 RBI
Miss today's game at HODGETOWN? Don't sweat it!
We've got you covered with the highlights of today's 7-6 win in downtown Amarillo against the @cchooks! pic.twitter.com/ZpBec3bz4i
— Amarillo Sod Poodles (Blue Checkmark) (@sodpoodles) May 22, 2019
Prospect Watch: Adrian Morejon was back on the mound on a five-day schedule as he continues to build his innings back up. He didn’t get off to a great start, giving up a home run to the second batter he faced. After he nearly surrendered a second, his fastball ticked up from 91 to 94, and he started mixing in his curveball. It ticked up again when he struck out big 1B Seth Beer who has been crushing it this year (.336/.430/.597), and after that, Morejon never looked back. He retired eight of the next nine batters he faced. This was his second straight outing without walking a batter (after walking 10 in his first three starts) and he has struck out 12 with one walk in seven innings since returning from injury/ … Miguel Diaz followed and put together one of the more peculiar stat lines. In four innings he allowed five hits, no walks and nine strikeouts, but all five hits left the yard. The 53% strikeout rate, no walks and 84% HR/FB rate are going to make for some interesting FIP and xFIP numbers for the outing. … Way back in 2015, Ivan Castillo was a 20-year-old shortstop in the Indians system with an interesting defense-first profile who held his own at the plate in Hi-A. Things went sideways in 2016, and he went back for another pass at the Carolina League in a part-time role in 2017. While he was above league average there, he struggled after a promotion to Double-A and Cleveland let him walk. He produced once again in Hi-A after signing with the Blue Jays last season, but he elected free agency after the season. The Padres signed him just a week later. He was slowed by an injury in spring training, but has been a valuable contributor for Amarillo since coming off the IL at the start of this month. About to turn 24, the switch-hitter’s aggressive approach and swing have carried him to a .353/.384/.485 through 73 plate appearances. He has a utility profile if he can continue to force his way up in the system.
Storm rained out
Improbably, Lake Elsinore has been rained out four times in the last week. With three double-headers already on the calendar for next week, they will only play one Thursday, with Ronald Bolaños on the mound.
Tin Caps 3 South Bend Cubs 1
Key Stats: RHP Gabe Mosser (W, 3-2) 6 IP, 3 H, 6 K; CF Jawuan Harris 1-3, RS, SB (12); SS Justin Lopez 1-4, HR (4), 2 RBI; 2B Tucupita Marcano 2-4; 1B Lee Solomon 2-3, RS, RBI, BB; 3B Luis Almanzar 2-3
Justin Lopez is LOCKED IN 🔒
With a 2-run 🚀 in the bottom of the 6th, he has 4️⃣ homers in his last 7️⃣ games! 🔥🔥🔥
Caps up, 2-0! #CapsOn🍎 pic.twitter.com/JfikgaHCOp
— Fort Wayne TinCaps (@TinCaps) May 22, 2019
Prospect Watch: SS Justin Lopez hit his fourth homer in a week and is finally starting to show the power and poise that we saw in spring training. Just turned 19, Lopez has jumped his OPS from .482 to .639 in just over a week. During that stretch he has gone 8-for-27 with six strikeouts against one walk for a .296/.321/.852 line. Not surprisingly, as Lopez and 1B Lee Solomon have heated up, the Tin Caps have won 5 of their last six. … Solomon not only has a six-game hitting streak but has also walked five times in the last three games. Last year’s 25th-round pick out of Lipscomb has gone 9-for-18, with four doubles and a 5:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio on his way to a .500/.625/.722 week. … Two picks after Solomon, the Padres drafted RHP Gabe Mosser out of Shippensburg University, who now leads the TinCaps staff with 41.2 innings worked. When Mosser has been effective – he’s allowed one run or less in five starts – it has been due to his ability to mix and match all his pitches for strikes. He has allowed four or more runs in each of his other three starts, outings in which his control was off and opponents were able to get to him. While he doesn’t light up the radar gun, he has only walked six this year.
