Luis Campusano has hit nine of his ten home runs since June 1. (Photo: Jorge Salgado).
Sacramento River Cats 6, Chihuahuas 3
Key Statistics: C Luis Campusano 2-3, HR(10) RBI, 2 BB; LF-1B Yorman Rodriguez 2-4; CF Matthew Batten 2-3, BB; 3B Nick Tanielu 2-5, 2B; RHP Caleb Boushley (L, 3-4) 3.2 IP 6 H 6 R 6 ER BB 5 K 3 HR; RHP Evan Miller 3.1 IP H 6 K; RHP Steven Wilson 1.0 IP 2 K
Prospect Watch: The Chihuahuas dropped their third straight game, but catcher Luis Campusano returned to the lineup and hit his tenth home run of the year while reaching base in four of his five plate appearances. After posting an ugly .088/.184/.088 line with the big league club in April, the 22-year-old catcher got off to a slow start with El Paso, hitting .214/.300/.314 in May. He really turned it on in June (.302/.362/.535) and July (.306/.366/.600) though and has hit nine of his ten home runs since June 1. … In his first ten games with the Chihuahuas, Yorman Rodriguez is slashing .385/.429/.731 with three home runs. The 24-year-old has improved his production at each successively higher level the Padres have sent him to in his first season in the organization. … After Caleb Boushely was tagged for six runs in the first four innings, Evan Miller and Steven Wilson held Sacramento scoreless over the final 4.1 frames. Miller has had a nice season in Triple-A with 57 strikeouts in 53.2 innings against 17 walks and a 4.19 ERA in a very hitter-friendly league. The Indiana native has been in the organization for five years with a career ERA of 3.31
Transaction: After losing infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo to a waiver claim by the Baltimore Orioles earlier in the week, the Padres claimed RHP Shaun Anderson off waivers from them on Saturday and assigned him to El Paso. The Padres are Anderson’s fourth organization of the year. The 6-foot-4, 230 pound Anderson was a third-round pick of the Boston Red Sox out of the University of Florida in 2016. He blew through the minors as a starter, but has been working primarily in relief since the late in 2019, when he was in the big leagues with the Giants.
Corpus Christi Hooks 6, Missions 3
Esteury Ruiz making a grab in right field. (Photo: Joe Alexander)
Key Statistics: RF Esteury Ruiz 1-3, 3B, 2 RBI, 2 BB; 1B Kyle Overstreet 0-0, 3 BB; LHP Jerry Keel (L, 1-2) 5.0 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, BB, K; RHP Henry Henry 2.0 IP, 2 K, 1 BB; RHP Carlos Belen 2.0 IP, H, K
Prospect Watch: The Missions trailed 6-0 with just one single going into the bottom of the eighth, the but made a game of it late before going down to their third consecutive loss. San Antonio only managed three hits on the night, and couldn’t take advantage of the nine walks issued by the Hooks’ staff. … Esteury Ruiz came up with a two-run triple in the eighth, the club’s only hit with runners in scoring position on the night. The dynamic outfielder also drew a pair of walks on the night. He has reached base at a .333 clip with a much-improved 24% strikeout rate since coming off the IL from a hand injury in July.
Mason Feole had a pair of strikeouts in an inning of work. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
TinCaps 2, Great Lakes Loons 0
Key Statistics: 3B Zack Mathis 3-4; 1B Tyler Malone 1-3, 2B, RBI; C Adam Kerner 1-3, RBI; LHP Danny Denz 4.0 IP 2 H 2 BB 4 K; RHP Luke Boyd (W, 1-0) 1.0 IP 2 K; LHP Mason Feole 1.0 IP 2 K
Prospect Watch: The TinCaps staff turned in a dominating performance shutting down the Dodgers’ affiliate and not allowing a hit from the third inning on. … With the 2020 draft only lasting five rounds, there were more talented players in the undrafted free agent pool than any year since the draft began in 1966. Two of them, left-hander Danny Denz and infielder Zack Mathis led the TinCaps victory Saturday. Denz pitched four years at the University of Memphis toggling between starting and relief with a 5.03 ERA. He struck out 121 in 118 innings but also walked 85. After an injury delayed his debut this summer, the 5-foot-9 former Tiger has posted a 3.18 ERA over 22.2 innings for Fort Wayne, cutting his walks slightly to 11. Denz’s fastball sits between 89-91 and has topped out at 93 and he mixes in a good curve, changeup, and occasional slider. He’s been fun to watch, mixing all of them as strikes or as a chase pitches. … Listed an inch shorter than Denz, Mathis was a junior college All-American before playing one year at LSU. He started the year at Lake Elsinore, where he hit .228/.333/.333 before a brief three-game pit-stop in El Paso. He’s gotten off to a great start in his first ten games with the TinCaps hitting .372/.426/.558. The left-handed-hitting Mathis has primarily played third base, but also saw time at first and second with the Storm. … Righty Luke Boyd worked a perfect fifth inning with two strikeouts to earn the victory in his full-season debut. The 23-year-old pitcher was the Padres’ 17th-round pick out of Baylor in last month’s draft.
Euribiel Angeles has had plenty of reason to smile in Lake Elsinore. (Photo: Dinur Blum)
Storm 4, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 3
Key Statistics: 2B Euribiel Angeles 3-5, 3B; C Colton Bender 2-5 HR(1), 2 RBI; CF Angel Solarte 2-4; 3B Jarryd Dale 2-4, RBI, SB (18); RHP Nick Thwaits 3.0 IP 5 H 2 ER 2 BB 2 K; LHP Gabe Morales (W, 3-3) 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 8 K, 2 BB; RHP Jason Reynolds (S,1) 1.0 IP K
Prospect Watch: After Thursday’s game was postponed because of COVID-19 protocols, the Storm have been shuffling in players from the ACL Padres to fill up the roster. Colton Bender, the Padres’ tenth-round pick out of Quinnipiac University who joined the Storm after four games in the desert, hit his first professional home run. The 5-foot-9 catcher put up good numbers at the plate with the Bobcats in four years and also played some outfield. … Euribiel Angeles, 19, continues to consolidate his claim to being the Padres breakout prospect for 2021. After three more hits Saturday, Angeles leads the Low-A West with a .350 batting average and ranks third in on-base percentage at .404, a point ahead of his teammate Robert Hassell III. His slugging percentage of .483 is also good enough for 13th in the league. Defensively, he has split most of his time between second base and shortstop, but has also played some third as well. … Gabriel Morales picked up the win with his best outing in over a month. The 22-year-old lefty worked four one-run innings while striking out eight in relief. While opponents have hit just .231 against him and he’s posted a gaudy 73 strikeouts in 52.1 innings, he has walked 34 batters and often struggled to keep him composure with men on base in his first taste of full-season ball.
The Padres are giving River Ryan a chance to hit after drafting him as a pitcher. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
ACL Mariners 3, ACL Padres 2
Key Statistics: DH River Ryan 2-4; 1B Jared Alvarez-Lopez 2-4, RBI; RHP Reinier Parra 3.0 IP 3 H 2 R ER BB 7 K; LHP Ben Miller 1.0 IP H BB 3 K; RHP Alan Mundo (L, 1-1) 1.1 IP 2 H R ER 2 BB 4 K.
River Ryan on the mound with UNC-Pembroke. (Photo:UNC-Pembroke Athletics)
Prospect Watch: River Ryan was a two-way player at UNC-Pembroke, showing promise at at second base and on the mound. This season he hit .349/.419/.566 for the Braves and on the mound he was 4-1 with a 3.66 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 51.2 innings against only 18 walks, primarily as a reliever – although he did make four starts late in the season. San Diego called him in the 11th round as a pitcher, although so far he has only appeared as a designated hitter. In his first five games, he has six hits for a .353/.421/.412 slash-line. … Padres pitching struck out 15 in the game. Reinier Parra, who signed out of the Dominican Republic as an 18-year-old in 2019, set the tone with seven whiffs over three innings of work. Ben Miller and Ethan Routzahn, who each signed as undrafted free agents last month, worked scoress frames in their professional debuts, with Miller striking out the side.
