Logan Allen has hit his stride in El Paso. (Photo: Ivan Pierre Aguirre/El Paso Chihuahuas)
Chihuahuas 4 Reno Aces 1
Key Statistics: SS Luis Urías, 1-for-4, R; C Francisco Mejía, 1-for-3, 2B, R, RBI; 1B Matthew Batten. 2-for-2, HR (2), 2 RBI, BB; LHP Logan Allen (W, 4-1) 7 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 10 K; RHP Eric Yardley (S, 3) IP, 2 K.
Prospect Watch: El Paso won behind an excellent start from Logan Allen, who turned 22 the day before. The lefty pitched a season-high seven innings and allowed just one earned run to a Reno team that is fourth in the league in runs scored. Allen walked just one while striking out a season-high 10 batters. The southpaw has been fantastic in May, pitching to a 1.08 ERA in 25 innings (five starts). More importantly, Allen has walked nine while punching out 30 hitters. Opposing batters are hitting just .198 off of Allen this month. … Matt Batten had a pair of hits, including his second homer of the year. Batten has been a valuable player for the Chihuahuas, due to his defensive flexibility and his unexpected offensive contributions. The 32nd-rounder in 2017 is 13-for-30 over his last ten games and has an overall slash-line of .328/.362/.481. … RHP Eric Yardley tossed a scoreless ninth to earn the save. The side-winding righty works in the mid-80s with his fastball but he has been highly effective out of the El Paso ‘pen. After giving up six runs in his first two innings of the year, the one-time undrafted free agent has allowed just four in his last 26 frames and sports a 12:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio this month. … Francisco Mejía appears to be seeing the ball well on his rehab assignment. The switch-hitter had a hit and walk Friday and is 6-for-11 with two walks and no strikeouts in his first four appearances and looks comfortable behind the plate as well. He jumped a first-pitch curve from vaunted Diamondbacks righty Jon Duplantier for an RBI double in his first trip to the plate Friday.
Sod Poodles 10 Midland RockHounds 8
Key Statistics: LF Rodrigo Orozco, 2-for-5, R, 2 RBI, 2 SB (7, 8); SS Owen Miller, 2-for-5, HR (4), RBI; 1B Brad Zunica, 3-for-4, 2 2B, HR (10), BB, 2 RBI; DH Webster Rivas, 2-for-3, R, 2 RBI, BB; LHP Nick Margevicius, 2 IP, H, ER, BB, K; RHP Jesse Scholtens, 4.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, BB, 6 K; RHP Kazuhisa Makita (W, 2-1) 0.2 IP, K.
Prospect Watch: The Sod Poodles brought a five-run lead into the ninth inning, only to watch it evaporate. They bounced back in the bottom of the ninth, winning on a walk-off, two-run homer from Brad Zunica. The blast capped a three-hit night for Zunica, 23, who has had a strange year to say the least. He hit five homers in the first week of the season, then went a month without one. Over his last 13 games, Zunica has smashed five more homers and he is hitting .283/.362/.617 in the month of May. He has had better production at home this year, but even away from Hodgetown, he sports an OPS of .826. … Shortstop Owen Miller hit his first homer of May as part of a multi-hit night. Miller hasn’t flashed much power but he’s hitting .306/.365/.432 overall. … LHP Nick Margevicius made his Sod Poodles debut after being optioned to the minor leagues last weekend. As planned, the southpaw threw just 31 pitches to get two innings of work as he allowed an earned run. Jesse Scholtens, originally slated to start, followed with 4.1 solid innings.
Storm 8 Modesto Nuts 2
Key Statistics: 3B Allen Córdoba, 2-for-5, R; RF Tirso Ornelas, 1-for-4, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB; C Jalen Washington, 2-for-3, 2 R, BB; LHP MacKenzie Gore (W, 4-1) 5 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, 6 K; RHP Jordan Guerrero, IP, BB, K; RHP Trevor Megill, IP, 2 K.
Prospect Watch: The Storm won their series opener in Modesto to move their record back above .500. … Former Rule 5 pick Allen Córdoba had a multi-hit game and scored a run. The 23-year-old hasn’t hit much in the Cal League this season but he is getting an opportunity. The infielder’s career-high 244 at-bats came all the way back in 2014 when he was in the DSL. His defensive flexibility should help him get at-bats, as long as he stays healthy. … Outfielder Tirso Ornelas had a double and drove in two runs Friday night. The 19-year-old hasn’t set the world on fire but has shown the same on-base abilities he’s had throughout his time in the minors, even though he hasn’t gotten to his latent power. Overall, Ornelas is hitting .250/.337/.345 for the Storm this year. … LHP MacKenzie Gore turned in another great outing and notched his fourth victory of the year. The southpaw worked five innings and allowed just a pair of hits and a run. Gore used mostly the fastball and curve during his first trip through the lineup to great success. Gore’s ERA actually increased to a still ridiculous 1.15. He has struck out a league-best 37.4% of batters he’s faced while allowing opponents to hit just .150.
Great Lakes Loons 7 TinCaps 0
Key Statistics: 2B Xavier Edwards, 2-for-4; 3B Tucupita Marcano, 1-for-4; RHP Sam Keating (L, 1-2) 1.2 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, B; RHP Austin Smith, 2 IP, 3 H, BB, 3 K; RHP Carlos Belen, 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 K.
Prospect Watch: The TinCaps were shutout on the road, as they allowed 20 hits to the Dodgers’ Low-A affiliate. … Second baseman Xavier Edwards had two more hits to raise his Midwest League-leading average to .351. The 19-year-old Edwards has more walks (16) than strikeouts (15). … RHP Sam Keating struggled Friday and took the loss. The former 4th-rounder was awesome last time out but spent too much time in the strike zone against Great Lakes. Keating allowed eight hits and six runs in just 1.2 innings. The poor outing inflated Keating’s Midwest League ERA to 7.84. … RHP Austin Smith spun a pair of scoreless outings in the TinCaps’ loss Friday. Smith, the Padres’ second-rounder in 2015 has struggled throughout his tenure in the system and failed to make a club this spring. Since joining Fort Wayne, Smith has held his own in his fourth tour of duty in the Midwest League, as opposing hitters are hitting just .220 off of the 22-year-old righty.
