Tucupita Marcano has been on fire since rejoining El Paso. (Photo: Jorge Salgado).
Chihuahuas 9, Round Rock Express 8
Key Statistics: 2B Tucupita Marcano, 3-for-4, 3 R, SB (2); 1B Patrick Kivlehan, 3-for-5, HR (13), R, 7 RBI; SS Pedro Florimon, 2-for-4, R, HR (5), RBI; LHP Daniel Camarena, 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K; RHP Pedro Avila, 1.1 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB; RHP Sam McWilliams (W, 1-1) 0.2 IP, K.
Prospect Watch: El Paso won in dramatic fashion, as first baseman Patrick Kivlehan launched a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to earn the victory. It was El Paso’s third walk-off grand slam in team history (h/t to Chihuahuas broadcaster Tim Hagerty). … Kivlehan’s homer was his 13th of the season which is good for third in the Triple-A West League. The 31-year-old slugger has homered in three consecutive games – the second time this season he has achieved such a feat. In June, the former big-league Padre is hitting .364/.437/.727 with seven homers. … Tucupita Marcano had three singles, scored three runs, and stole a base hitting at the top of the order. Marcano has been excellent since his demotion to El Paso. He has hit safely in 13 of 14 games this month, with 10 multi-hit games. He has shown his typical excellent plate discipline mixed with more power than he has ever shown. Marcano is hitting .443/.500/.721 with four homers in June. Prior to 2021, Marcano had just three professional homers. … LHP Daniel Camarena made his first start since making his big league debut last weekend and worked five innings. Camarena allowed four earned runs on six hits, striking out four. Overall, Camarena has a 3.48 ERA with El Paso this season.
Kyle Overstreet continues to play a key role for the San Antonio offense. (Photo: Joe Alexander)
Frisco RoughRiders 6, Missions 5
Key Statistics: SS CJ Abrams, 1-for-4, RBI; DH Kyle Overstreet, 2-for-3, R, BB; RF Jack Suwinski, 1-for-4, R; 1B Allen Cordoba, 1-for-4, R, RBI, SB (1); RHP Reiss Knehr, 4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, BB, 5 K; RHP Henry Henry, 1.1 IP, H, K; RHP Nick Kuzia (L, 1-4) 0.0 IP, H, ER.
Prospect Watch: The Missions lost again to Frisco; it was their fourth straight defeat. The loss dropped their record to .500 (23-23) on the season. … CJ Abrams went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Abrams’ double extended his hitting streak to five games, and he’s had a two-bagger in all five games. After missing time in late May with a leg injury, the 20-year-old has been stellar in June, hitting .317/.363/.427 with 10 stolen bases. … Designated hitter Kyle Overstreet had a pair of hits and was the Missions’ only player who had more than one hit. The versatile infielder/catcher has been a solid and consistent contributor all year for San Antonio albeit without much power to speak of. Overstreet is hitting .280/.364/.347 in June. … RHP Reiss Knehr had one of his worst outings of the season, allowing five earned runs in 4.2 innings. The 24-year-old has been a bit inconsistent this year, and a big part of that has been a reduced strikeout rate. In 2019 with High-A Lake Elsinore, Knehr struck out 27.9% of opposing hitters. This year, that mark has plummeted to just 18.6%, the lowest among 21 qualified starters in the Double-A Central league. Knehr has done an excellent job of keeping the ball in the yard but it is clear that he is having issues putting hitters away. Overall, Knehr has a 4.29 ERA in 10 starts this season.
South Bend Cubs 10, TinCaps 5
Key Statistics: 3B Kelvin Melean, 2-for-4, R, BB; SS Justin Lopez, 2-for-4, R; C Adam Kerner, 2-for-4, 2B, R; 2B Reinaldo Ilarraza, 1-for-5, R, HR (1), RBI; RHP Anderson Espinoza, 3 IP, H, 2 R, BB, 4 K; LHP Sam Williams (L, 1-2) IP, 3 H, 3 ER; LHP Erik Sabrowski, 2 IP, H, 3 BB, 4 K.
Prospect Watch: South Bend scored five in the seventh inning to pull away from the TinCaps. … Second baseman Reinaldo Ilarraza connected on his first homer of the year – his only hit in five at-bats. The 22-year-old is a switch-hitter with the ability to play all over the diamond. Strikeouts continue to plague Ilarraza – he has punched out at least once in 11 straight games. In nine of those games, he has struck out at least twice. During that span, his K% is an astounding 43%. Ilarraza doesn’t possess much power so he will need to find a way to put the ball in play more. Despite the problematic K-rate, Ilarraza has put up a 14% walk rate during the 11-game stretch and has a .372 on-base percentage since June 10. … Shortstop Justin Lopez extended his hitting streak to five games with a pair of singles. As we noted yesterday, Lopez is in the midst of his best month as a professional. After hitting .175/.250/.325 in May, Lopez is up to .297/.375/.453 this month. The strikeouts are still much too frequent (30.9%) and he is being aided by a .405 BABIP, but his walk rate is over 11% this month. In Low-A back in 2019, Lopez walked in just 6% of his plate appearances. … RHP Anderson Espinoza allowed a homer but the runs were unearned, thanks to an error by Kelvin Melean – one of three he made in the game. It was the only hit Espinoza allowed in three innings. He threw 57 pitches, walking just one and striking out four. The right-hander has had a few rough outings but has steadily been increasing his workload without any setbacks to speak of. Overall, Espinoza has a 6.63 ERA in 19 innings.
Sean Guilbe offers the Storm some pop at both infield corners. (Photo: Mike Wilson)
Storm 9, Modesto Nuts 8
Key Statistics: SS Jordy Barley, 0-for-1, 2 R, 4 BB, 2 SB (25, 26); 2B Euribiel Angeles, 3-for-5, R, 3B, BB, 3 RBI; DH Robert Hassell III, 2-for-5, 2 RBI; RF Jack Stronach, 2-for-5, 2B, 2 R, SB (4); 3B Sean Guilbe, 3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI, SB (5); RHP Nick Thwaits, 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K; LHP Jose Garcia (W, 2-1) 0.2 IP, K.
Prospect Watch: The Storm lead 8-2 after five innings but they allowed two runs in the eighth inning and Modesto scored four in the ninth to tie things up. Lake Elsinore wound up avoided the collapse with a walk-off infield single from Euribiel Angeles. … Not only was Angeles the hero for Lake Elsinore, but he had three hits for the second straight night, including a triple. Angeles raised his average to .319. The infielder has only two homers this season but is second on the club in RBI (34) behind Robert Hassell III. … Hassell had a two-hit night to go with a pair of RBI. The 19-year-old has been much more aggressive at the plate in June which has resulted in a reduced walk rate. However, he is still driving the ball to the gaps and is hitting .307/.351/.477 for the month. … Infielder Sean Guilbe had a double to lead off the ninth inning, in addition to a pair of singles, and drove in a pair. The 21-year-old spent most of May in extended spring training and was promoted to Lake Elsinore on May 27. Overall, Guilbe is hitting .239/.342/.373 with the Storm in 21 games. The biggest flaw for Guilbe is the same as many young players throughout minor league baseball: strikeouts. In 76 plate appearances, Guilbe has struck out 32 times. He has power potential but he will need to make more contact to make it matter. … RHP Nick Thwaits pitched five innings and was in position to earn a win before the bullpen surrendered the lead. Thwaits scattered seven hits and allowed just two earned runs. The Padres’ 15th-round pick in 2018 will celebrate his 22nd birthday on Saturday. He has pitched well at times this season but a couple of poor outings have inflated his ERA north of six. The Ohio high school product has averaged a strikeout per inning.
