A few stellar pitching performances led the way, even though the TinCaps were the only winners.
Chihuahuas (18-23): After only winning two of their six games last week, the Chihuahuas look to begin a new winning streak with Ryan Weathers toeing the rubber tomorrow for his second Triple-A start.
Aaron Leasher survived a tough first inning. (Photo: Joe Alexander)
Frisco RoughRiders 10, Missions 9
Key Stats SS CJ Abrams 2-for-5, 2B, RS, SB (11); 3B Alan Cordoba 3-for-5, HR (1), 3 RBI; RF Jack Suwinski 1-for-5, HR (12); LHP Aaron Leasher 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, ER, BB, 4 K
Allen Cordoba hit his first Double-A home run on Wednesday. (Photo: Joe Alexander)
Prospect Watch: The Missions had an 8-3 lead going into the eighth inning, but proceeded to lose 10-9. Here is your daily Abrams update; he recorded a double — his third consecutive game with a two-bagger. He also collected his first multi-hit game in nearly a week and picked up his first stolen base in a week as well. In June, he is now hitting .311/.354/.405, which is pretty good for any 20-year-old in Double-A, and those numbers are improving as he is slowly hitting for more power coming back from the injury. … The early lead was mainly due to another great pitching performance from LHP Aaron Leasher. The former sixth-round pick is currently fifth in the Double-A Central League in ERA (2.70) after allowing only one earned run over five innings. Over his last four starts, the lefty has allowed just two earned runs over 21 innings, allowing just 13 hits, four walks, and 19 strikeouts. A 0.86 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 8.14 K/9, and a .171 BAA. … It’s difficult to remember that four years ago, utility-man Allen Cordoba got into 100 games with the Padres. Now 25, Cordoba slugged his first-ever Double-A home run. The last time we saw him in 2019, he was one of the leaders of the Storm club, but after the cancelled 2020 season and starting 2021 off injured, Cordoba is finally establishing himself as an integral part of the Double-A team batting .286/.366/.400 over his first two weeks.
Justin Lopez. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
TinCaps 8, South Bend Cubs 0
Key Stats: RHP Gabe Mosser (W, 2-4) 7 IP, H, BB, 5 K; RF Agustin Ruiz 1-for-4, 2B, RS, 2 RBI; 2B Justin Lopez 1-for-4, 2B, RS, RBI; CF Jawuan Harris 1-for-3, RS, 2 RBI, SB (13)
Prospect Watch: The TinCaps were being no-hit through six innings. Then they busted out with eight runs in the seventh to win easily. … Speaking of pitching performances, it was an all-time great pitching performance from fellow 25-year-old Gabe Mosser. Mosser threw seven shutout innings in his best outing of 2021, and despite making his ninth start, still managed to lower his ERA by almost a run. After allowing a leadoff single in the second, Mosser retired 16 in a row before allowing a one-out walk in the seventh. Mosser went from one of the most flyball heavy pitchers in the organization in 2019, to one of the highest ground ball pitchers in 2021. Today he recorded 10 groundouts (five flyouts) to further increase that number. It is evident that Mosser is working on using his sinker and pitching lower in the zone. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a string of good starts. … Both Mosser and the Cubs starter Max Bain entered the game with an ERA over 5.50. After six innings the Cubs only had one baserunner (single), the TinCaps only had three (all walks, no hits). That changed in the seventh when the TinCaps teed off on a new pitcher. The scoring started after Justin Lopez drove a ball into the gap for his ninth double and 22nd RBI of the season. While his slash line .213/.291/.346 is not overly impressive, he has made some strides in his offensive approach. While Lopez has reached base safely in all but seven games this year, he only has four multi-hit games all season. The entire group of young Latin players (Lopez, Luis Almanzar, Kelvin Alarcon, and Kelvin Melean) have all been remarkably consistent with reaching base every game but have yet to put together a stretch where they get red-hot.
Jordy Barley in action with the Storm. (Photo: Antonio Gonzalez)
Modesto Nuts 4, Storm 0
Key Stats: CF Robert Hassell III 1-for-3, 2 BB, SB (17); SS Jordy Barley 1-for-2, 3 BB, SB (24); LHP Noel Vela (L, 1-5), 4 IP, H, 2 R, ER, 4 BB, 2 K
Prospect Watch: Your daily Robert Hassell III update saw him reach base safely three times and collected his 17th stolen base. The top two consensus high school bats in last year’s draft were Zac Veen and Robert Hassell. While most believed that Veen had drastically more power and was ranked higher on most national lists, the Padres selected Hassell. Nearly two months into the season, we figured it would be a good time to see how they compare. In the same number of games (40) Hassell is hitting .286/.375/.476 compared to Veen’s .241/.374/.366. Hassell leads in runs (30 to 29), doubles (13 to 11), triples (three to two), home runs (four to one), and RBI (33 to 22). In fact, the only stats that Veen does win in are walks (29 to 23), strikeouts (50 to 39), and stolen bases (21 to 17). Veen is currently second in the league in stolen bases, Hassell is third, and first is fellow Storm player, Jordy Barley (24). With the exception of home runs, Robert Hassell ranks in the top five in the league in every offensive category. It is hopefully only two months into a very long career for both players, but so far, Padre fans should be extremely happy. … The Storm managed only four hits (all singles) and ten walks in the game. They managed to leave 13 men on base and not score a run. Outside of the stolen bases by Barley and Hassell, the only other highlight was Josh Mears collecting two outfield assists gunning the same player out at third base twice.
