MacKenzie Gore has completely dominated the Cal League. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)

Fresno Grizzlies 11 Chihuahuas 9

Key Stats: CF Travis Jankowski 0-3, 2 K; C Austin Allen 2-5, HR (10), 2B, 2 R, RBI; RF Jose Pirela 2-4, HR (14), 2B, 3 R, 3 RBI, BB; SS Luis Urías 2-5, R; 2B Esteban Quiroz 2-2, 2B, HR (13), 3 RBI, BB; RHP Andres Muñoz 1 IP, 1 K

Prospect Watch: Travis Jankowski began his rehab assignment, getting into a game for the first time since he broke his right wrist diving for a ball on the first weekend of spring training. He played five innings, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, before giving way. …In a game featuring 20 runs scored, the most important news was about a pitcher. Andres Muñoz pitched a clean inning as he worked back-to-back games for the first time in his career. The hard-throwing righty, who has significantly tightened up his command in Triple-A, also went two innings in his outing last Friday. The usage pattern indicates the Padres are likely getting close to giving Muñoz a chance in the big league bullpen. Across two levels this year, the 20-year-old has held opponents to a .165 average and struck out 55 against 17 walks in 33.1 innings. …  For the first time all year, Luis Urías hit seventh for the Chihuahuas.  Before Tuesday, he had only hit in the top three spots of the lineup. Urías has struggled in the past few weeks, both showing a higher strikeout rate and a lower batting average.  While he did collect two hits he also struck out twice.

Play of the month: Before the game, this play by Urías was voted the MiLB play of the month

Midland Rockhounds 7 Sod Poodles 1

Key Stats: LHP Adrian Morejon 2 IP, BB, 2 K; RF Edward Olivares 2-4; 3B Hudson Potts 2-4, 2 2B, RS, CF Buddy Reed 1-3, RBI

Prospect Watch: Third baseman Hudson Potts collected a pair of doubles in his second game back from the IL. Prior to the injury that cost him all of June, Potts had been showing signs of improvement from a rough start to the season. The 20-year-old third baseman raised his OPS by 100 points in May but had continued to strike out a third of the time. The Padres will hope that Potts can turn it around in the second half of last year, as he did in Low-A two years ago. … For the second consecutive start, LHP Adrian Morejon tossed two scoreless innings, striking out two.  Morejon hasn’t thrown more than 41 pitches in any outing since he went on the IL April 22 and has only come out for the third inning once. In 10 abbreviated starts since he returned, Morejon has a 3.44 ERA with 24 strikeouts against five walks in 18.1 IP. He continues to work on an every-four day schedule for now. … Rodrigo Orozco and Jesse Scholtens both came off the IL Tuesday. Orozco led off for the Sod Poodles and went 1-for-4 in his first game action since June 7. The 24-year-old switch-hitter has played to a .703 OPS this season.

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 2 Storm 1

Key Stats:  LHP MacKenzie Gore 7 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 9 K; CF Alan Córdoba 2-4, 2B; 1B Olivier Basabe 3-4

Prospect Watch: Another MacKenzie Gore start, another dominating outing as the top left-handed pitching prospect in the game was once again unstoppable.  Rancho’s only chance came in the fourth inning when Jeren Kendall led off with a walk, and immediately stole second and third.  Even with no outs and a runner on third, Gore calmly got a strikeout, popup, and strikeout to end the inning.  Gore threw seven innings for the first time in his career, needing 93 pitches to get through it. Gore has given up one run on nine hits while strikeout out 27 over 19.2 innings in his last three outings.  Gore’s “worst” start of the year was 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 K. Gore has allowed more than one earned run in just one of 15 starts this year. He will appear in the Futures Game in Cleveland on Sunday. … Dodgers prospect Josiah Gray nearly matched Gore through seven as the clubs remained scoreless. Eguy Rosario came through with a two-out RBI single against the Quakes bullpen in the eighth to break the tie. Rosario has now hit in six straight and 11 of 12 games. Despite approaching 800 career at-bats at High-A, the infielder won’t turn 20 until late August. Unfortunately, his error on a one-out grounder in the ninth set up a walk-off rally by Rancho against closer Jordan Guerrero, who had given up just one earned run in 14 innings coming into the night. …  SS Gabriel Arias was ejected in the sixth after arguing a close play at first.

TinCaps 10 Lake County Captains 5

Key Stats: LHP Joey Cantillo (W, 6-2) 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 8 K; SS Xavier Edwards 2-4, 3B, RS, 3 RBI, BB, SB (20); 3B Tucupita Marcano 2-4, RS, BB, SB (6); 2B Justin Lopez 2-5, HR (8), 2 RS, 2 RBI; C Blake Hunt 2-5, HR (4), 2 RS, 2 RBI

Prospect Watch: After winning the MWL Pitcher of the Week, two weeks in a row, Joey Cantillo gave up two earned runs in the first inning.  They were the first runs he has allowed since June 5th.  However, after the first inning, he allowed just three more baserunners over the next five innings, needing 88 pitches to get through six.  As great as his league-leading 1.83 ERA is, it looks even better when you remember that he went 0-2 with a 6.94 ERA in April.  Since then, he has been the second-best performer in the system, allowing just five earned runs allowed over 57.1 innings with 71 strikeouts.  …  After going 2-for-21 coming out of the break, Xavier Edwards has hit in seven straight games and his triple Tuesday was his fifth extra-base hit in that stretch. The fast infielder had just 12 extra-base hits in the first 66 games of the season. His June OPS of .701 is the first thing resembling a struggle Edwards encountered in his first year as a professional. … After setting a new career-high with his seventh home run Monday, Justin Lopez‘s eighth blast Tuesday gave him a new career-high with 27 RBI for the year. After a brutal 0-for-26 stretch – part of a longer 2-for-37 slide that saw his OPS drop from .671 to .583 – Lopez has gone 8-for-17 with two walks in his last four games.

Eugene Emeralds 3 Dust Devils 2

Key Stats: RHP Nick Thwaits 5 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 BB, 5 K; 2B Kelvin Melean 2-4; RF Tre Carter 1-3, 3B, 2 RBI

Tre Carter in action for the Dust Devils. Photo: Mike Wilson

Prospect Watch: The Dust Devils’ offense was fronted by two players who are in short season despite being in the organization for years.  OF Tre Carter has spent each of the past three years with Tri-City.  He is riding a four-game hitting streak that has seen his OPS climb to .730. Kelvin Melean, who received the largest J-2 signing the year before the Padres’ broke the bank in 2016, was sent back to Tri-City last week after struggling in Single-A this year. The now-20-year-old put up decent numbers in Lake Elsinore last year (.263/.305/.326).  Since the demotion, Melean has hit in all five games going 9-for-18 with a fun .500/.526/.556 line. … On June 18, Logan Driscoll pulled up a bit lame running out a grounder.  He was taken out as a precaution, and ruled day-to-day.  It has now been 15 days since he last appeared in a game, but has not been placed on the IL.

Scheduled days off in the AZL

Roster Notes: Jim Callis reports that 14th-rounder Bodi Rascon came to terms on a $432,500 signing bonus Tuesday. The big lefty out of Texas should join an AZL club shortly. Sixth-rounder Drake Fellows is expected to sign very shortly, which will give the Padres an exact amount to work with over the final week to finish signing picks. They will likely have about $325,000 to dole out above the $125,000 any player drafted on Day Three can receive without counting toward the bonus pool.

With the opening of the international signing period, the Padres have officially signed 12 teenagers from Venezuela, Panama, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. They have long had agreements in place with shortstop Reggie Preciado, outfielder Ismael Mena and right-handed pitcher Brayan Medina, all considered to be among the upper tier of prospects available in this signing period. They are expected to remain active in the coming weeks as they still have about a quarter of their $6.48 million bonus pool left to spend.

Posted by Ben Davey

Writer for MadFriars since 2011. San Diego raised. Grossmont alum. Die hard SD and sports fan. Currently keeping my day job as an AP Chemistry Teacher.

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