Ty France. has had plenty to celebrate with El Paso (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
New Orleans Baby Cakes 7 Chihuahuas 4
Key Statistics: 3B Ty France, 2-for-3, 3 R, 2 HR (14), BB, RBI; RF Jose Pirela, 1-for-4, R, HR (11), RBI; 1B Jason Vosler, 1-for-4, 2B, RBI; LHP Dietrich Enns (L, 7-4) 5 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, BB, 3 K; RHP Robert Stock, 2 IP, 4 K.
Prospect Watch: El Paso lost at home, despite hitting three more homers. … Ty France had a pair of solo homers Friday night. France has homered in four straight games and has 14 Triple-A homers in just 112 plate appearances. In seven games since being sent down to El Paso, the former Aztec is hitting a blistering .462/.548/1.154. … Jose Pirela homered again Friday — his fourth in four games. Pirela is hitting .379/.435/.806 in 112 plate appearances for the Chihuahuas. … RHP Robert Stock had one of his best outings of the season Friday, throwing two clean innings with four strikeouts. Stock, 29, has pitched to a 2.53 ERA in 20 games but his 1.97 WHIP indicates he has been very lucky to avoid more damage. He has issued only one walk over his last eight innings after averaging more than one per frame in his first 19 appearances between Triple-A and the big leagues this year. Friday was the first time he’s gotten through an outing without allowing a runner all season.
Tulsa Drillers 4 Sod Poodles 1
Key Statistics: SS Ivan Castillo, 2-for-5, 3B; RF Edward Olivares, 1-for-4, R, HR (9), RBI; 2B Owen Miller, 3-for-4; CF Buddy Reed, 2-for-4, SB (9); RHP Kyle Lloyd (L, 2-3) 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K; LHP Travis Radke, IP, 3 K.
Prospect Watch: Edward Olivares hit his first homer since May 5, when he slammed three and drove in five in a Sod Poodles victory. The outfielder’s power hasn’t been on display over the last six weeks but he’s still put together a .277/.346/.404 line in June. The 23-year-old has only struck out four times in 50 plate appearances this month. … Outfielder Buddy Reed had a pair of hits and stole a base in the Sod Poodles loss. The 24-year-old has looked much better as of late and is hitting .323 over his last ten games. Despite his contact rate improving in June, Reed has only homered once since May 1st, after hitting six in April. … LHP Travis Radke pitched a scoreless ninth, striking out the side for Amarillo. Radke, 26, has been tremendous out of the bullpen for the Sod Poodles in 2019, posting a 2.28 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 23.2 innings, despite having a fastball that doesn’t crack 90 mph. … Earlier in the day, Radke was named to the Texas League All-Star team — one of seven Sod Poodles to make the squad. Olivares, RHP Emmanuel Ramirez, catcher Luis Torrens, second baseman Ivan Castillo, infielder Owen Miller, and infielder/catcher Kyle Overstreet made the squad as well.
Rancho Cucamonga 3 Storm 2 (10 innings)
Key Statistics: C Luis Campusano, 1-for-4, 2B; 2B Esteury Ruiz, 1-for-4; CF Aldemar Burgos, 1-for-3, BB; LHP MacKenzie Gore, 4 IP, ER, 3 BB, 6 K; RHP Jordan Guerrero, 2 IP, BB, 4 K; RHP Steven Wilson, 2 IP, 3 H, 3 K; LHP Will Headean (L, 0-1) 0.1 IP, H, 2 R, ER, BB.
Prospect Watch: The Storm took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the tenth but fell in Rancho. … LHP Mackenzie Gore dominated once again, although he ran into some uncharacteristic control issues. In the fourth inning, Gore walked three consecutive hitters to start the frame but minimized the damage by striking out a pair and allowing a sacrifice fly to plate the only run he allowed. The prized lefty didn’t allow a hit in his four innings of work while striking out six. Gore will wrap up the first half with a 1.21 ERA. He is scheduled to participate in the Cal League All-Star game on Tuesday in San Bernardino although it’s unclear if he will actually play. … Catcher Luis Campusano had a double in four trips to the plate. The backstop is 7-for-13 in his last three games. He has not struck out during that stretch. … RHP Steven Wilson completed his 10-game suspension and picked up just where he’d left off. The righty had a foreign substance on his glove during an outing against San Jose on June 2nd. An eighth-round pick last year, the 24-year-old pitched two scoreless innings with three strikeouts to push his ERA below 1.00. He sports a 43:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 28 innings.
TinCaps 3 Lake County Captains 2
Key Statistics: 2B Xavier Edwards, 2-for-4, 2 SB (17); RF Agustin Ruiz, 3-for-4, R, HR (2), 2 RBI; LF Michael Curry, 1-for-3, R, HR (3), RBI; LHP Ryan Weathers, 3 IP, 2 H, R, BB, 4 K; RHP Jose Quezada (W, 5-1) 2 IP, H, 2 K; RHP Austin Smith (S, 4) 2 IP, 2 H, ER, K.
Prospect Watch: The TinCaps jumped out to an early lead and held on to defeat Lake County. … Outfielder Agustin Ruiz had a three-hit game, including his second homer of the year. The 19-year-old outfielder got off to a blistering start in April, although much of the success was fueled with some BABIP-inflated numbers. Ruiz scuffled in May, but has swung the bat much better in June. In 44 plate appearances in June, the Mexican-born outfielder is hitting a very solid .243/.356/.432 with both of his homers. The teenager is still pretty raw but he is a guy to watch in the season’s second half. … The Xavier Edwards hit parade continued Friday, as Edwards had two more hits and stole a couple of bases. Edwards has four consecutive multi-hit games, with zero strikeouts during that stretch. … LHP Ryan Weathers had a nice outing, pitching three innings before being pulled. The 19-year-old threw 56 pitches and left with no issues. Weathers has been a bit limited over the last few outings but appears to be getting back on track.
Roster Updates: Outfielder Grant Little came off the Injured List after 12 days and made his first start since May 31. The Padres also sent left-handed starter Ramon Perez back to Tri-City. The 19-year-old got off to a solid start this year, but had been tagged for 17 earned runs on 25 hits over his last 16.1 innings.
Everett Aquasox 5 Dust Devils 0
Key Statistics: SS Jordy Barley, 2-for-4; C Logan Driscoll (pro debut), 1-for-4; 1B Jason Pineda, 1-for-3, BB; RHP Nick Thwaits (L, 0-1) 4.1 IP, H, 3 ER, BB, 4 K; LHP Dan Dallas, 1.2 IP, 2 H, 3 K; RHP Wen-Hua Sung 2 IP, BB, 4 K.
Prospect Watch: The Dust Devils were shut out at home in their season opener Friday. … Shortstop Jordy Barley played in his first game outside of the AZL Friday night and had a pair of singles. Barley also made a pair of errors in the field, both on grounders. Barley received a seven-figure bonus back in 2016 but hasn’t progressed as much as some of his peers. He is a phenomenal athlete with the talent to open some eyes in the Northwest League. … Comp B pick Logan Driscoll started behind the dish and had a single in four at-bats to begin his professional career. … RHP Nick Thwaits got the opening night assignment and pitched well overall. Thwaits allowed just one hit in 4.1 innings, although he did uncork three wild pitches. He struck out four and walked one. … RHP Wen-Hua Sung pitched two scoreless innings, striking out four. Sung, 21, was the first Asian amateur signed by the Padres as part of the July 2016 international signing period but has been bothered by a series of arm injuries since. The righty pitched to a 10.80 ERA while Northwest League opponents hit almost .400 against him a season ago, so Friday’s outing is certainly a step in the right direction.
