Eguy Rosario continues to hit the ball with authority for San Antonio. (Photo: Rey Holguin)
Las Vegas Aviators 5, Chihuahuas 1
Key Statistics: C Austin Nola 1-for-3, R; RF Taylor Kohlwey 2-for-4, 2B, RBI; RHP Reiss Knehr (L, 0-1) 2.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, K; RHP Parker Markel 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Prospect Watch: With Tucupita Marcano bound for the nation’s capital to join the Padres, the El Paso offense was largely dormant as they lost in Las Vegas. The main storyline of the evening was Austin Nola making his first start behind the plate since his rehab assignment began. The 31-year-old had a 1-for-3 evening before being removed from the game in the sixth in what was a critical step to his return to San Diego. … Taylor Kohlwey logged the lone Chihuahuas extra-base hit, giving El Paso a short-lived lead in the first. The Wisconsin La-Crosse product boasts a .369 average in his second stint in El Paso this season. … Reiss Knehr‘s whirlwind week concluded with his Triple-A debut. The former Fordham Ram lasted 2.2 innings, needing 47 pitches to complete his outing. The 24-year-old is likely on the short list to log innings with the big league club in the event of an opening in San Diego. … Parker Markel was the only hurler to record a scoreless outing, striking out three in 1.1 innings of relief. The 30-year-old former Anaheim Angel has shown serious strikeout ability, with 49 on the season in just 29.1 innings, but has been plagued by walks, surrendering 26.
Missions 7, Corpus Christi Hooks 5
Key Statistics: SS Eguy Rosario 2-for-3, 2B, HR (8), 4 RBI, 3 BB, 3 SB, 2 R; CF José Azocar 3-for-5, RBI, 2 SB; DH Jack Suwinski 1-1, RBI, SB, 4 BB; C Juan Fernandez 1-for-3, HR (4), RBI, R; RHP Jordan Humphreys 3 IP, 5 H, 5 R (4 ER), 2 BB, K; RHP Carlos Belen (W, 2-0) 1 IP, H, 0 BB, 0 K; RHP Pedro Avila (S, 1) 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, BB, K
Prospect Watch: The Eguy Rosario Show was on full display as the 21-year-old was a virtual one-man wrecking crew. Rosario’s eighth home run of the season catapulted San Antonio to a 6-5 lead in the eighth inning, proving to be the decisive blow in the contest. In the wake of the devastating injury to CJ Abrams, Rosario’s July has more than filled the void for the Missions offense. The 21-year-old is slashing .298/.404/.468 for the month. … José Azocar contributed three hits, while also swiping a pair of bases. The 25-year-old from Venezuela has a respectable .764 OPS on the season. … Jack Suwinski reached base in all five of his plate appearances. The breakout 22-year-old prospect from Chicago had an infield single in the second inning sandwiched around four walks, raising his on-base percentage to .382 for the month. … Not to be outdone, Juan Fernandez connected for his fourth home run of the season to get the Missions on the board in the fourth inning. The 22-year-old backstop from Valencia, Venezuela came into the contest hitting .161 in July. …Jordan Humphreys got the start for San Antonio and faced adversity from the start, surrendering a leadoff triple. He would strand the runner there, getting a groundout and two popouts to escape unscathed. The 25-year-old would run into trouble in the fourth, allowing three extra-base hits before being removed. Humphreys threw 67 pitches, 45 of which were strikes. Carlos Belen picked up his first win of the season in relief, allowing a one-out single before coaxing a double-play ball to end the inning. The 25-year-old from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic has held opposing hitters to just a .125 average in July. Pedro Avila shut the door on the Hooks, notching his first save on the year. The 24-year-old has battled control issues, but has limited the opposition to just a .232 average in 2021.
Gabe Mosser delivers for Fort Wayne TinCaps (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
West Michigan Whitecaps 5, TinCaps 0 (Game One, 7 innings)
Key Statistics: SS Justin Lopez 1-for-3, 2 K; 3B Chris Givin 1-for-3, K; RHP Gabe Mosser (L, 3-5) 4.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 6 K; RHP Michell Miliano 1.1 IP, 0 H, ER, 2 BB, 2 K; LHP Mason Feole 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 K
West Michigan Whitecaps 4, TinCaps 0 (Game Two, 7 innings)
Key Statistics: LF Grant Little 0-2, BB, 2 SB; RHP Edwuin Bencomo 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, BB, 3 K; RHP Sam Keating (L, 2-5) 2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Prospect Watch: Fort Wayne’s offense was completely stifled as the TinCaps were swept on the road in a pair of seven-inning contests. Singles by Chris Givin and Justin Lopez in the first game constituted the offense as the TinCaps were no-hit by a four Western Michigan hurlers in the nightcap. … Gabe Mosser labored through 87 pitches to get through 4.2 innings in the opener. The Shippensburg College (PA) alum gave up a season-high eight hits but still a respectable 1.29 on the year. … New level, more of the same for Michell Miliano. The 21-year-old Dominican walked a pair and struck out a pair in his Hi-A debut. In 27 innings, Miliano has recorded an astounding 54 strikeouts, while holding opposing batters to a .160 average. If the command improves even marginally, he’s a name to keep track of going forward. … Edwuin Bencomo got the nod to lead a bullpen game in the nightcap, tossing two efficient innings. The 22-year-old Venezuelan has a solid 10.8 K/9 mark thus far in 2021. Sam Keating took the loss, surrendering four earned runs in two innings of relief duty. The former fourth-round pick in 2017 out of Canterbury High School in Florida has an ERA of 9.31 in his return to the Summit City.
Storm 12, Visalia Rawhide 4
Key Statistics: CF Robert Hassell III, 2-for-4, 2 2B, BB; SS Euribiel Angeles, 2-for-4, 2B, 3B, 4 RBI; RF Joshua Mears, 3-for-5, 2 R, 2 HR (11, 12), 5 RBI, SB (8); 3B Sean Guilbe, 2-for-4, 2 R, BB; RHP Ruben Galindo, 4 IP, 2 H, BB, 10 K; RHP Levi Thomas (W, 2-3) 4.1 IP, H, 2 BB, 7 K.
Prospect Watch: David Jay has the coverage from another big night from Joshua Mears and the Storm offense.
ACL Giants Black 6, ACL Padres 5
Key Stats: LHP Bodi Rascon, 3 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K; RHP Alan Mundo, 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, BB, 4 K; SS Charlis Aquino, 2-for-3, 2 R, BB; DH Cristian Heredia, 2-for-3, 1B Anthony Nunez, 1-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB; LF Pierce Jones, 2-for-4, 2 2B, RBI
Prospect Watch: It was an up and down outing for Bodi Rascon, who allowed three runs in the first inning before settling in. In the first, the fastball kept missing low and outside early in the count, and coming back into the zone led to big hits for the Giants. But he and catcher Jared Alvarez-Lopez adjusted well, bringing the fastball up while keeping it away and eliciting swings-and-misses. The pitch became the 20-year-old’s bread and butter for the rest of the appearance as he struck out five Giants. The Padres drafted Rascon, a 6-foot-5 lefty, in the 14th round in 2019. … Alvarez-Lopez also made a stellar block of a pitch in the dirt, keeping the ball in front of him and preventing a run from scoring in the third inning. … Madrid, Spain native Cristian Heredia showed good plate discipline, resulting in a pair of singles, and 2019 26th round pick Pierce Jones hit his first two doubles of the 2021 season. … Charlis Aquino showed off his speed in the first inning, beating out a dribbler up the line fielded by the catcher, and then showed off his bat in the third, lacing a solid single to center field. … Switch-hitting infielder Anthony Nunez got the start at first base and responded by crushing a two-RBI double in the bottom of the third, after helping Rascon out of a jam in the top of the inning with a great scoop of a low throw to make the third out, preventing the runner on third from scoring. … Mexico native Alan Mundo showed life on the fastball and good command as he efficiently worked through the Giants lineup for the final six outs of the seven-inning game for the Padres. Mundo, a 6-foot-2 righty, joined the Padres as a free agent in the summer of 2017.
Mark Wilkens contributed to this report with coverage from Peoria.
