Mason Thompson. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Inclement weather scrapped San Antonio’s game against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals and ended the TinCaps’ game in South Bend after six innings. For the Missions, they are scheduled to play a doubleheader Friday, with both games being seven innings in regulation.
Before Thursday’s games, the organization made a few moves. LHP James Reeves was called up from San Antonio to El Paso. Reeves was 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA in eight appearances for the Missions. The Lake Elsinore Storm placed RHP Dwayne Matos, RHP Jason Reynolds, and IF Ripken Reyes on the 7-day IL, while calling up INF Sean Guilbe, RHP Ruben Galindo, RHP Frank Lopez, and OF Angel Solarte from extended spring training.
Chihuahuas 6, Oklahoma City Dodgers 4
Key Stats: RF Patrick Kivlehan, 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI; CF John Andreoli, 2-for-2, 2B, R, RBI, 2 BB; RHP Aaron Northcraft (H, 1) 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, K; RHP Mason Thompson (S,3) 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, K
Prospect Watch: OKC came back to tie El Paso in the 8th inning of a heated battle between top affiliates of NL West rivals, but a Nick Tanielu home run restored a Chihuahuas lead in the bottom of the inning. … Patrick Kivlehan hit a three-run bomb to give El Paso their first lead in the 5th inning. It was Kivelhan’s third homer of the year, and first since rejoining the Chihuahuas after filling in for the Padres The 31-year-old is off to a slow start in El Paso but has been a consistent performer at the Triple-A level. He slugged 29 homers at the Triple-A level in 2019 between two different organizations. … Fellow recent callup John Andreoli got the scoring started with an RBI single, part of a night which saw him reach base safely in all four plate appearances. Andreoli raised his average to .189, but thanks to a solid walk-rate, the former UConn product has an .834 OPS for El Paso. … Aaron Northcraft picked up his first hold of 2021. In his last seven games for El Paso, he’s 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA over six innings. … Mason Thompson picked up his third save. The 6-foot-7 former third round pick is now 3-for-5 in save opportunities in his first season as a full-time reliever. Outside of one poor outing, Thompson has faired well, allowing one earned run or less in seven of his eight outings. Thompson has walked just two batters all year. In an abbreviated campaign in High-A back in 2019, Thompson walked more than seven batters per nine innings pitched.
The San Antonio Missions did not play due to inclement weather. The biggest news from the Missions is that top prospect CJ Abrams is still listed as active, and therefore considered day-to-day despite not having played since Saturday, when he left the field with a bit of a limp.
Anderson Espinoza was on the mound for the TinCaps on Thursday. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
TinCaps 4, South Bend Cubs 3, F/6
Key Stats: RF Agustin Ruiz, 3-for-3, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R; LF Grant Little, 1-for-2, BB, 2 R; 3B Jonny Homza, 1-for-2, 2B, BB; RHP Anderson Espinoza, 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;
Prospect Watch: South Bend rallied to make it a game in the bottom of the 5th, but the game was called due to rain in the middle of the 6th. Agustin Ruiz came up big for the TinCaps, starting things off with a two-run home run in the top of the 1st before driving in another run in the 5th with a single. The 21-year-old from Villahermosa, Mexico, has six home runs in only 18 games for the TinCaps in 2021. He had four in 443 at-bats for Fort Wayne in 2019. Ruiz is also leading the High-A Central League with 21 RBI. … Grant Little scored two runs on a 1-for-2 night. The 74th overall pick in 2018 from Texas Tech is looking to improve upon a .256/.338/.315 line for Fort Wayne in 2019. After beginning the season on the injured list, Little has a .600 OPS in 11 games in his first taste of High-A. … Jonny Homza doubled and drew a walk Thursday. Homza has twelve hits this season; seven have gone for extra bases. The 2017 fifth-round pick has a .790 OPS in 61 at-bats for the TinCaps…Anderson Espinoza made his third start of 2021 and looked much better than his second. He matched his first start with two scoreless innings, while striking out three. Espinoza’s velocity sat in the mid-90’s, like the previous starts. For the season, Espinoza sports a 9.64 ERA which is inflated from his rough start last week.
San Jose Giants 8, Storm 2
Key Stats: CF Robert Hassell III, 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, BB; RF Joshua Mears, 1-for-3, 3B, R, BB, RHP Nick Thwaits (L, 0-3), 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K;
Prospect Watch: Thursday was a rough night for the Storm, as a close game got blown open in the middle innings at San Jose. Robert Hassell III doubled and hit an RBI single in the 9th. The 2020 first round pick is now slashing .293/.415/.507 in 75 at-bats in Padres fans’ backyard in Lake Elsinore. … Joshua Mears hit his first triple of the season, and his second extra base hit of the season off a right-handed pitcher. Mears, the Padres’ 2019 2nd round pick, now has a .752 OPS against righties, while posting a 1.047 mark against southpaws…Nick Thwaits took his third loss in a hard-luck 2021 campaign. The 21-year-old righty, drafted by San Diego in the 15th round in 2018, has a 6.98 ERA despite a 1.29 WHIP and 3:1 K:BB.
