Reiss Knehr in action with San Antonio. (Photo: @cblalockphoto)
Sugar Land Skeeters 4, Chihuahuas 3
Key Statistics: 2B Ivan Castillo, 1-for-4, 2B; CF John Andreoli, 1-for-4, R, RBI; 3B Matthew Batten, 1-for-3, R, HR (1), RBI, BB; RHP Jesse Scholtens, IP, 3 BB; RHP Jordan Guerrero, 3 IP, H, 2 K; RHP James Norwood (L, 0-1) IP, H, ER, BB, 2 K.
Prospect Watch: The Chihuahuas lost a tough one to Sugar Land on the road. … Matthew Batten homered and drew a walk Friday night. He was the only Chihuahuas hitter to reach base more than once. The versatile infielder has done nothing but mash since being promoted from Double-A San Antonio. In seven games with the Chihuahuas, the 2017 32nd-round pick is hitting .348/.429/.783 with just three strikeouts in 27 plate appearances. … RHP Jesse Scholtens got the start and walked three batters in his only inning of work. He was pulled after a 47-minute rain delay. … Big Jordan Guerrero entered to start the fifth inning and tossed three shutout innings in his longest outing since 2017. The hard-throwing Guerrero allowed just one hit in his three frames, striking out a pair. Through 10 innings in 2021, Guerrero has a 0.90 ERA and a 4:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He was the Padres’ sixth-round choice way back in 2015 which was A.J. Preller’s first draft as the general manager of the Padres. Guerrero is aiming to become the seventh player from that draft to suit up for the big league club. … Lefty Kyle McGrath, who had to leave his last outing Sunday after an injury, returned to action with an inning of work. We yielded four hits and a pair of runs in the outing.
Frisco RoughRiders 6 Missions 2
Key Statistics: CF Jose Azocar, 1-for-4, RBI; 2B CJ Abrams, 0-for-3, BB; RF Jack Suwinski, 1-for-3, R; RHP Reiss Knehr (L, 2-1) 5 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K; RHP Henry Henry, 2 IP, H, ER, BB.
Prospect Watch: The Missions lost at home to Frisco and have dropped three of four in the series so far. … CJ Abrams went hitless Friday night but he did draw a walk. He has reached base in all 16 games he has played this year. … Outfielder Jack Suwinski tripled and scored a run. Over the last week, the left-handed swinging outfielder is 5-for-14 with three walks and four strikeouts. Suwinski, who reached double-digit homers in 2018 and 2019, already has two this season. … RHP Reiss Knehr started and pitched very well early before faltering late. The New York native sat the RoughRiders down in order in the first three innings, striking out four along the way. He allowed a solo homer in the fourth and then allowed four consecutive batters to reach in the fifth, with two runs coming across the plate. Knehr has gone five innings in three of his four starts this season, posting a 4.74 ERA.
Lansing Lugnuts 7, TinCaps 1
Key Statistics: 2B Reinaldo Ilarraza, 1-for-4, R; LF Tirso Ornelas, 1-for-3, 2B; 3B Justin Lopez, 1-for-4, RBI; RHP Anderson Espinoza (L, 0-1) 0.2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, K; RHP Edwuin Bencomo, 4.1 IP, 2 H, 4 K.
Prospect Watch: It was a rough one in Fort Wayne, as the TinCaps fell behind early and lost to Lansing. … RHP Anderson Espinoza made his first start in 15 days and couldn’t make it out of the first inning. Espinoza got the first batter of the game out on a grounder before Lansing teed off. Espinoza walked the next batter then allowed three consecutive singles. Espinoza’s fastball sat at 94-96 mph but his command was not sharp. He threw 35 pitches before being lifted. If there is a positive from Friday, Espinoza didn’t have any health issues after the start which is paramount. … RHP Edwuin Bencomo relieved Espinoza and pitched through the fifth, allowing just two hits. The 22-year-old has essentially worked as a piggy-back reliever and the early-season results are impressive. Through 14 innings, Bencomo has allowed just seven hits and two walks while striking out 21. Opposing hitters are batting just .146 against the Venezuelan righty. … Dylan Sinn of the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reported via Twitter that outfielder Dwanya Williams-Sutton left the game after fouling a ball off of his leg. Later in the game, outfielder Jawuan Harris left the game with an apparent leg injury after running out a grounder. Their health will be a story to watch for the rest of this series.
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 2, Storm 0
Key Statistics: 2B Jordy Barley, 2-for-4; CF Matthew Acosta, 1-for-2, 2 BB, 2B; 1B Kelvin Alarcon, 1-for-3, BB; RHP Nick Thwaits (L, 0-2) 4 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, 5 K; RHP Levi Thomas, 5 IP, 5 H, ER, 5 K.
Prospect Watch: The Storm had plenty of opportunities to score but could not take advantage of seven walks, as they went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. The Storm didn’t make an error Friday night, ending a dubious 13-game streak where they made at least one error. … Shortstop Jordy Barley had a pair of hits – the only multi-hit game in the Padres’ system Friday night. The 21-year-old shortstop has produced a .695 OPS this season with the Storm. … Friday was the first night off of 2021 for Robert Hassell III. … RHP Nick Thwaits turned in his best start of the year and was a hard-luck loser. The Ohio native threw four innings and allowed just a run on two hits, striking out five. The 21-year-old righty was roughed up a bit in his first three outings which has led to a 7.53 ERA. Thwaits is only allowing opposing batters to hit .231 off of him and he has managed to strikeout 17 batters. … Opening day starter Levi Thomas relieved Thwaits and had his best outing as a professional. Thomas, the Padres’ fourth-round pick last year, threw a career-high five innings and allowed just one earned run. Thomas was knocked around in his last start against Inland Empire which greatly inflated his ERA. In 12.2 innings, Thomas has 17 strikeouts. With most of minor league baseball having every Monday off, Thomas has made a pair of relief outings to stay on a regular throwing schedule.
