Patrick Kivlehan hit a home run in his fourth consecutive game. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Oklahoma City Dodgers 20, Chihuahuas 9
Key Stats: RF Brian O’Grady 3-for-5, 3B, HR (3), 2R, 2 RBI; 1B Patrick Kivlehan 3-for-5, HR (6); RHP Brett Kennedy 5 IP, 10 H, 12 ER, 5 K, 4 BB; Matt Batten 2-for-2, 2B; 3 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 1 K, 0 BB;
Prospect Watch: MacKenzie Gore was originally scheduled to start Sunday, but was a late scratch with a blister issue. The Padres’ top pitching prospect struggled with blisters for several months in 2018. In his absence, the OKC Dodgers pummeled El Paso for 20 runs on 20 hits and infielder Matt Batten was called on for the final three innings on the mound. Batten, who was used seven times in mop-up rolls in 2019, gave up the final six runs, including serving up the third homers of the night by both Luke Raley and Steven Souza, Jr. The 25-year-old infielder also picked up a pair of hits after entering in the sixth inning. … Patrick Kivlehan homered in his fourth consecutive game as part of a three-hit night and now has six round-trippers on the year. The former big-leaguer, who resigned as a minor league free agent this winter, leads the club with a .530 slugging percentage but has reached base at just a .268 clip. … Mason Thompson’s rough introduction to the high minors continued as the hard-throwing Texas gave up two runs. Called on with two on and nobody out in the sixth, he walked the first batter he faced before giving up a grand slam to Raley. The 23-year-old righty has struck out just seven against five walks in 10.1 innings on the year.
Northwest Arkansas Naturals 12, Missions 2
Key Stats: RF Jack Suwinski 1-for-4, 3B, R; 2B Eguy Rosario 1-for-2, HR (1), BB, SF; LHP Osvaldo Hernandez 4 IP, 8 H, 8 R (6 ER), 6 K, 0 BB, 5 HR allowed
Eguy Rosario hit his first home run of the year. (Photo: Joe Alexander)
Prospect Watch: Four of the first five Naturals hitters in the third inning clobbered homers off of Osvaldo Hernandez to turn the game into a laugher as the Missions offense managed only two hits yet again Sunday afternoon. Hernandez, who turned 23 earlier this month, did manage to limp through four innings of work, giving up six total earned runs to push his season ERA up to 8.00. The lefty, who earned a seven-figure signing bonus after fleeing Cuba, has a solid 19:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 18 innings, but when opponents do make contact, they’re causing damage. Hernandez sports a .312 average against in five outings. … CJ Abrams returned to the lineup for the first time since leaving last Saturday’s game with an apparent ankle injury. The Padres’ top position prospect went 0-for-4 as the designated hitter lofted three fly balls and reached on an error by the Naturals third baseman. … After driving in the Missions’ first run with a sacrifice fly in the second, Eguy Rosario connected on his first homer of the year to plate the only other run. The 21-year-old infielder has his average up over .200 for the first time since opening day.
Jonny Homza has been one of the few bright spots for the TinCaps offensively. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
South Bend Cubs 12, TinCaps 2
Key Stats: C Jonny Homza 1-for-4, 2B, RBI; CF Jawuan Harris 1-for-2, BB, R, SB (2); 3B Kelvin Alarcon 2-for-3, BB, R, RBI, E
Prospect Watch: The Cubs jumped out early and never looked back as they knocked out starter Gabe Mosser with six earned runs over five innings. The righty, who turns 25 next week, had allowed just four runs over 17.1 coming into the day. … The TinCaps offense scraped together a pair of runs in the fifth as Kelvin Alarcon plated Jawuan Harris with a single, then came around on a Jonny Homza double. Alarcon, appearing for the first time after his promotion from Lake Elsinore, had a pair of singles and drew a walk in four trips to the plate. Originally signed out of Venezuela in 2015, the versatile infielder owns a healthy .360 career OBP, but just 23 of his 144 hits have gone for extra bases. … Homza’s RBI double pushed his slugging percentage for the year to .435, which is more than 120 points above his career mark entering the year. The trade-off for more power has been a strikeout rate that’s surged to 34%.
San Jose Giants 2, Storm 1
Key Stats: CF Robert Hassell III 1-for-5; SS Euribiel Angeles 2-for-5, 2 K; C Brandon Valenzuela 1-for-3, BB, R; LHP Noel Vela 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R (1 ER), 5 K, 2 BB; RHP Frank Minjarez 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K, 0 BB
Prospect Watch: The Giants scored on an error and a fielder’s choice that could have been a double play in the first, then held on to win as the Storm got the system’s only solid pitching of the day. Lefty Noel Vela was charged with the two runs but then allowed just two more runners over the next four frames. The 22-year-old hurler, who totalled just 57.2 innings of work over three seasons after the Padres drafted him in 2017, is holding opponents to a .230 average through his first 18.2 frames in full-season ball. Vela has struck out 25, but has issued 10 free passes. Frank Minjarez and Michell Miliano combined for three no-hit innings of work in relief. … Euribiel Angeles, the youngest player on the roster, collected his fourth straight two-hit game. The Dominican infielder has edged his average back up to .264 in his first taste of stateside ball.
