Round Rock Express 6, Chihuahuas 4
Key Statistics: RF Brian O’Grady, 1-for-4, 2B, RBI; SS Pedro Florimon, 2-for-3, R, HR (2), 3 RBI; RHP Jesse Scholtens (L, 2-2) 5.1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 ER, BB, 8 K; RHP Parker Markel, IP, BB, 2 K.
Prospect Watch: Eight of the 10 runs scored in the game came in the first two innings. Round Rock scored a pair in the later innings to squeeze out the victory. … Most of El Paso’s offense came on a three-run homer off of the bat of Pedro Florimon. The veteran infielder has played in parts of eight big league seasons, but has not seen the majors since 2018 with the Phillies. The 34-year-old utility-man is hitting .204/.368/.352 while bouncing around the diamond defensively in sporadic action for the Chihuahuas. … RHP Jesse Scholtens worked into the sixth inning but ultimately took the loss. Scholtens, 26, allowed four earned runs on five hits with a walk and a season-high eight strikeouts. The righty earned the nod as MadFriars Player of the Month at Triple-A for May after recording a 3.32 ERA in four appearances (three starts).
Chandler Seagle hit his first Double-A home run on Friday night. (Photo: Reynaldo Holguin)
Springfield Cardinals 6, Missions 3
Key Statistics: CF Jose Azocar, 2-for-4, 2 R, HR (2), RBI, 3B; DH Kyle Overstreet, 2-for-3, BB; C Chandler Seagle, 1-for-3, R, HR (1); RHP Caleb Boushley, 5 IP, 6 H, ER, BB, 6 K; RHP Nick Kuzia (L, 0-1) IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB.
Jose Azocar had another multi-hit night Friday. (Photo: Joe Alexander)
Prospect Watch: The Missions allowed five runs in the middle innings and lost to Springfield. … Center fielder Jose Azocar tripled and clubbed his second homer of the year out of the leadoff spot. The 25-year-old spent the first seven years of his professional career in the Detroit system before signing with the Padres last November. In 2019, Azocar posted a .715 OPS in the Double-A Eastern League. He has a .704 OPS for the Missions in 2021. … This is your nightly CJ Abrams update. He played seven innings at shortstop and went 0-for-4 at the plate with an RBI. The organization has been very cautious in bringing him back after an apparent ankle injury on May 22. … We have a Chandler Seagle sighting! The catcher homered as part of a 1-for-3 night. Seagle, 25, is a tremendous defensive catcher but he has never hit much throughout his professional career. His homer Friday raised his triple-slash line to .094/.143/.188. He has a career OPS of .551 but his work behind the plate is stellar. … RHP Caleb Boushley turned in another excellent outing but ultimately did not factor in the decision. Boushley allowed just one earned run in five innings while notching six strikeouts. The 27-year-old righty had a nightmarish start to his 2021 campaign, allowing 10 earned runs in 6.1 innings across his first two starts. Since then, Boushley has allowed just one earned run in 19 innings over four starts. Boushley is probably too old to get much attention as a prospect, but he has produced throughout his time in the Padres’ system. Boushley, a California League all-star in 2019, was drafted in the 33rd-round in 2017.
TinCaps 4, Cedar Rapids Kernels 3
Key Statistics: RF Agustin Ruiz, 1-for-4, R; SS Justin Lopez, 1-for-2, R, 2 BB, SB (1); 1B Luis Almanzar, 2-for-4, R; RHP Matt Waldron, 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 5 K; LHP Sam Williams (W, 1-0) IP, 2 K; RHP Carter Loewen (S, 5) IP, BB, K.
Luis Almanzar. Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Prospect Watch: The TinCaps squeezed out a win despite going 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position. … First baseman Luis Almanzar had a two-hit game, including a triple. The 21-year-old has contributed roughly league-average offense with a .763 OPS in his first crack at High-A, significantly above his career mark of .599. Almanzar’s career-high K-rate of 38.8% coming into Friday’s game would be in the top five in the league if he had enough at-bats to qualify. … RHP Matt Waldron pitched well again but picked up a no-decision. The 24-year-old worked five innings and allowed six hits but just two runs and no walks. The former Cleveland farmhand has worked at least five innings in five of his six starts as a TinCap and has walked just three against 27 strikeouts in 25.2 innings.
Storm 5, Stockton Ports 4
Key Statistics: 2B Jarryd Dale, 3-for-5, R; SS Euribiel Angeles, 2-for-5, R; 1B Brandon Valenzuela, 2-for-5; 3B Sean Guilbe, 3-for-4, R; RHP Levi Thomas, 4 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 5 K; RHP Ruben Galindo (W, 1-0) 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, BB, 3 K. RHP Michell Miliano (S, 1) IP, H, 3 K.
Prospect Watch: Break up the Storm! They ended their seven-game losing streak by holding on to beat the Ports in Stockton. After starting the year 5-1, the Storm have dropped 15 of 22 since. … Jarryd Dale, 20, lead off and had three singles to pace a 13-hit attack. After a rough start to the current 12-game road trip, the Australian native has five hits in his last eight at-bats. Dale has been a versatile weapon for the Storm this year, playing all over the diamond and providing above-average offense. … Sean Guilbe also had three singles to raise his average to .304. Guilbe, 21, started the year in extended spring before joining Lake Elsinore on the current road trip. In seven games, the right-handed slugger has homered once and produced an OPS of .812. Strikeouts were an issue for him in 2019 with Tri-City but he has made some strides in a week’s sample with the Storm. … Shortstop Euribiel Angeles had two singles to extend his hitting streak to nine games. Angeles has had at least two hits in six of those games. When the streak began, Angeles was hitting just .212. His performance on Friday raised the 19-year-old’s batting line to .276/.316/.381. … RHP Levi Thomas worked the first four innings and kept the Ports in check. Thomas allowed a run on two hits and a walk with five strikeouts. Thomas has a 5.14 ERA but he has been victimized by the BABIP gods so far. Opposing batters are hitting .420 on balls in play and FIP is closer to 3.50. Thomas has had no issues punching batters out – he has 28 strikeouts in 21 innings.
