MacKenzie Gore continues to dominate the Cal League. (Photo: Cherished Memories)
Sacramento River Cats 5 Chihuahuas 4
Key Stats: 1B Ty France 2-4, HR (18), 2 RBI; C Austin Allen 1-3, HR (8), 2 RBI, BB; SS Luis Urías 0-4, BB, K; RHP Eric Yardley 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 K, 1 BB; RHP Gerardo Reyes 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 K, 0 BB
Prospect Watch: 1B Ty France was the only Chihuahua to collect multiple hits, including his 18th home run. The SDSU grad would lead the league in most offensive categories if he had enough plate appearances to qualify. France pulled into the top 10 in home runs in the PCL despite having 40 fewer plate appearances than anyone else on the list – and half as many as a few. He’s pacing the league with one homer every 9.17 plate appearances. However, barring another injury to Tatis/Machado, France will likely build that heavy hitting resume in Triple-A most of the rest of the season. … Austin Allen followed France’s to-run homer in the first with his own. After hitting .262/.340/.333 in limited action in the big leagues, Allen has posted a .429/.500/.857 line while hitting safely in all four games since returning to Triple-A. … Eric Yardley took the hard-luck loss, allowing one run in three innings of relief. The sidewinding 28-year-old continues to get 60% of opposing batters to pound the ball into the ground and his 3.09 ERA sits more than two full runs below the league average.
Sod Poodles finish All-Star Break
Amarillo returns to action at home Thursday night.
Storm 5 Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 0
Key Stats: LHP MacKenzie Gore (W, 7-1) 6.2 IP, 3 H, BB, 9 K; C Luis Campusano 1-4, 2B, RBI; SS Gabriel Arias 1-4, 3B, RS; 3B Eguy Rosario 2-4, R, 2 RBI
Prospect Watch: MacKenzie Gore started the game by loading the bases with two hits and a walk. He then struck out the side to end the inning, and allowed just two runners over the next six innings. By any measure, Gore is dominating the Cal League; he’s struck out 101 in 72.1 innings, allowed a .138 average against and a microscopic 0.69 WHIP – all of which lead the league. However, whether he stays in Elsinore or gets promoted to Amarillo, the Padres will closely monitor his innings. Due to blisters, Gore threw just 60.2 official innings last year, a number he has already passed. While he also had plenty of additional work in Arizona, the Padres likely won’t let him go much past 125 innings, especially if he continues to work close to 100 pitches per game. That would be nine more starts. As long as he is healthy, no matter where he gets his work this summer, there is a good chance that Gore will compete for a starting job next spring training. … On the most recent Baseball America Podcast, Kyle Glaser discussed that that Luis Campusano stands out the most on a Storm team full of prospects. He was the first catcher drafted in 2017, and has played like it. Campusano has hit a robust .393/.400/.714 in the week since the All-Star Game, and remains the league leader in average (.326). The next highest catcher on the list is hitting .248.
TinCaps 9 South Bend Cubs 1
Key Stats: LHP Joey Cantillo (W, 5-2) 8 IP, 2 H, 9 K, 2 HBP; 2B Xavier Edwards 1-4, BB, 2 RS; CF Grant Little 1-5, 2B, RS, 2 RBI; C Blake Hunt 2-4, 2B, RS, RBI; RF Augustin Ruiz 2-4, GS (4), 4 RBI
Prospect Watch: Last week, 19 year-old Joey Cantillo earned the MWL Pitcher of the Week with a six inning shutout with 10 strikeouts. Somehow he got better, throwing an eight inning shutout with nine strikeouts. He became the first time TinCaps pitcher since Pedro Avila in 2017 to throw eight innings, and the first to log eight scoreless innings in a regular season game since Corey Kluber in 2008. Here are some fun numbers courtesy of the TinCaps great media relations director, John Nolan: since May 3, Cantillo has made nine starts, posting an ERA of 0.53 with 63 strikeouts in 51.1 innings. … Speaking of impressive outings by 19 year-olds. Agustin Ruiz hit his first grand slam of the season Wedneday, putting an exclamation point on a June that has seen him hit .300/.363/.500. He’s continued to strike out in almost a third of plate appearances and hasn’t drawn a walk in 12 games, but the left-handed hitting outfielder is getting to his power in games well.
Dust Devils 5 Spokane Indians 2
Key Stats: RHP Nick Thwaits (W, 1-1) 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K; SS Jordy Barley 1-4, 3B, R, BB, SB (3); 1B Jason Pineda 2-5, 2B, RS
Prospect Watch: Members of the MadFriars crew always have our sleeper prospects we like (mine is Ruiz this year). Kevin’s has been RHP Nick Thwaits. Tonight, Nick made Kevin look smart going six innings for the first time in his young career. Like Gore, Thwaits allowed the first three batters of the game to reach before settling down. The Ohio native pitched around three errors, but never faced much pressure the rest of the game. … Offensively, the team scored five runs thanks in large part to bad defense by Spokane. The offensive production was helped along by SS Jordy Barley, who has hit safely in 11 of 12 games this year. His six game hitting streak puts him one away from a career high. Playing at a higher level this year, Barley has raised his walk %, decreased his strike out %, and hit for roughly the same power in a power-supressing environment. While all of these are minimal gains, they are still good indicators from the talented 19-year-old.
AZL Padres-1 8 AZL Brewers 2
Key Stats: SS CJ Abrams 2-4, 2B, 2 RS, RBI; 3B Hudson Potts 2-2, RS; 1B Chris Givin 3-4, 2B, RS, 3 RBI; CF Hudson Head 1-4, 2B, RBI, Assist; LHP Osvaldo Hernandez 3 IP, 2 H, R, BB, 4 K;
AZL Padres-2 12 AZL Dodgers 5
Key Stats: LHP Gabriel Morales 5 IP, 5 H, ER, BB, 6 K; DH Ethan Skender 1-3, RS, SB (1); 3B Kelvin Alarcon 2-5, 2 RS; 1B Emmanuel Guerrero 2-4, HR (1), 2 RS, 3 RBI; CF Angel Solarte 2-5, HR (2), 3 RBI
Prospect Watch: After appearing in his first game in nearly a month Tuesday, Hudson Potts made his first appearance at third base Wednesday. Potts once again had two hits in as many at-bats before being removed from the game. … Last year’s MWL ERA leader Osvaldo Hernandez also made his second rehab appearance. Hernandez allowed four runners to reach over three innings, but has not allowed a run in five official innings as he builds back up toward joining Lake Elsinore in July. … When you play the same position as the first round pick, it might be hard to find playing time, but Chris Givin, a 19th round selection out of Xavier, has done nothing but produce while bouncing around all four infield positions. Through eight games (sample size) he is hitting .441/.459/.647. … The Padres signed CF Angel Solarte out of Venezuela on July 2 two years ago. Last year, they sent him straight to the AZL for his professional debut, but despite his talent, he was still well undersized and managed to hit only .219/.286/.318. The still-18 year-old returned to the AZL bigger and stronger this year, and now in seven games has more home runs (2) and RBI (11) than he did in 39 AZL games last year.
