
Nick Tanielu hit his tenth home run on Sunday. (Photo: Jorge Salgado).
Chihuahuas 6, Sacramento Rivercats 3
Key Stats: C Luis Campusano 2-for-4, HR (11), 4 RBI, PB; CF Matthew Batten 2-for-5, 2 R; 3B Nick Tanielu 2-for-3, HR (10), BB; RHP Brett Kennedy 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R (1 ER), 6 K, 1 BB; LHP Nick Ramirez 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 K
Prospect Watch: Luis Campusano hit a three-run homer as part of a four-run first inning and the Chihuahuas never looked back as they snapped a three-game losing streak. Campusano added a single late in the game to push his OPS to a season-high .872. The 22-year-old backstop has struck out just 17 times over 103 plate appearances since the start of June. His receiving behind the plate continues to develop, though his sixth passed ball of the year set up an unearned run Sunday afternoon. … Brett Kennedy tossed 93 pitches on his way to 4.2 innings of work in his first start since returning to the El Paso roster. The 27-year-old righty, who made his big league debut exactly three years ago, struck out six – his best total in seven starts in Triple-A this year. Kennedy held Evan Longoria, rehabbing with Sacramento before he rejoins the Giants, to a groundball single in three trips to the plate. … Nick Ramirez, who was optioned to El Paso at the end of a brief rehab assignment of his own last month, picked up the victory with a clean 1.1 innings of work that included three strikeouts. The lefty owns a 2.70 ERA for the Chihuahuas, but a 5.75 mark in 20.1 big league innings this year.

Jose Azocar was 2-4 on Sunday with a solo home run. (Photo: Joe Alexander)
Corpus Christi Hooks 3, Missions 1
Key Stats: Jose Azocar 2-for-4, HR (9); Allen Cordoba 2-for-4; RHP Pedro Avila 2.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 K, 2 BB, HBP; LHP Joe Beimel 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 K, 1 BB

Joe Beimel is working his way back into consideration at 44 years of age. (Photo: Joe Alexander)
Prospect Watch: The Missions lineup continued to struggle to put runs on the board as they dropped their fourth straight and seventh in eight games. Pedro Avila fell behind early, allowing a leadoff homer among four hits in the first inning. After a clean second, he loaded the bases on a walk, single and hit batter before giving way. The 24-year-old righty hadn’t worked more than three innings all year until his last outing. … Joe Beimel came on behind Avila and worked 2.1 innings in his longest outing yet since beginning his improbable comeback attempt. The 44-year-old lefty cut short the Corpus rally, getting a lazy fly ball to end the third then worked around a one-out double in the fourth. He now hasn’t allowed a run in his last four outings. … Jose Azocar connected on his ninth homer of the year to help the Missions avoid a shutout. The right-handed outfielder is now one short of his career high of 10 home runs, set in 2019 with the Tigers’ Double-A affiliate. His .792 OPS is his best mark since coming stateside for the 2015 season.

Tirso Ornelas. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
TinCaps 6, Great Lakes Loons 3
Key Stats: RF Tirso Ornelas 2-for-4, HR (4), BB; 2B Ethan Skender 2-for-4, 2B; RHP Moises Lugo 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 6 K, 2 BB, WP; Wen-Hua Sung 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 K
Prospect Watch: Fort Wayne fell behind early as Moises Lugo gave up a pair of first-inning runs, but the 22-year-old bounced back and retired 12 of the last 14 batters he faced. The righty from the Dominican Republic has completed five innings in each of his last four starts and set a new career high with 69.1 innings across 16 outings. While the four hits he gave up Sunday pushed his opponents’ average up to .201, he struck out six more to push his team-best total to 85 for the year. … Tirso Ornelas connected on his fourth homer of the year – and the month – to tie the game, and reached base three times. The big man has struggled to keep much of anything going this year and, even with the recent power spike, his slash line sits at an uninspiring .239/.336/.382. … Justin Lopez – who like Ornelas, earned a seven-figure bonus to sign with the Padres in 2016 – collected a pair of singles for his first multi-hit game in three weeks. Lopez came into the day on a 3-for-40 slide.

Jarryd Dale at the plate for Lake Elsinore. (Photo: Dinur Blum)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 13, Storm 5
Key Stats: 3B Jarryd Dale 3-for-4, 2 HR (5); LF Sean Guilbe 2-for-4; RHP Jairo Iriarte 3 IP, 8 H, 8 ER, 2 K, 1 BB; LHP Cullen Dana 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 K, 1 BB
Prospect Watch: The Quakes jumped Jairo Iriarte, who joined the Storm staff to backfill the losses to COVID protocols this week, for eight earned runs over three innings and never looked back as they cruised to victory Sunday. Iriarte, 19, signed as an international free agent in 2018 and pitched to solid results in the DSL in 2019. He’d posted a 5.11 ERA in 12.1 innings in the ACL this summer, but his underlying stats, including a 1.14 WHIP and .227 average allowed, were encouraging. … After the first four Storm pitchers allowed runs, Cullen Dana finished the night by recording the last four outs in another shutout appearance. The big lefty from New York missed the first two months of the season but has allowed just one run in 9.1 innings since rejoining Elsinore in mid-July. Dana was already rehabbing from Tommy John surgery when the Padres drafted him in the 30th round in 2018 and pitched to mixed results in 2019. This year, he’s struck out 11 against only one walk. … Jarryd Dale connected on solo homers in his first two trips to the plate and finished with a three-hit game. The 20-year-old Australian didn’t homer in his two seasons playing in Arizona but has hit five for the Storm this year.