Reno Aces 9, Chihuahuas 4 (game one)
Key Statistics: LF Matthew Batten, 2-for-4, R, SB (16); 3B Nick Tanielu. 2-for-3. R, HR (12), 3 RBI; LHP Kyle McGrath (L, 2-3) 2.1 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 5 ER, BB, K; RHP Shaun Anderson, 2 IP, H, ER, BB, 4 K; RHP Taylor Williams, 1.2 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 2 K.
Chihuahuas 6, Reno Aces 2 (game two)
Key Statistics: 1B Luis Campusano, 1-for-2, R, BB; LF Gosuke Katoh, 2-for-3, R, HR (6), 4 RBI; RHP Caleb Boushley, 4.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K; LHP Nick Ramirez (W, 2-2) IP, H, BB; RHP James Norwood, IP, H, 3 K.
Prospect Watch: Mark and John were on-site in El Paso Friday night, as the Chihuahuas split a doubleheader with the Diamondbacks’ AAA team. Read Mark’s recap – including the inevitable rain – here.
Missions 8, Midland RockHounds 1
Allen Cordoba is having his best season since joining the Padres in the Rule 5 draft. (Photo: Joe Alexander)
Key Statistics: RF Esteury Ruiz, 1-for-4, 2 R, HR (4), 2 RBI, 2 SB (23, 24); CF Agustin Ruiz, 2-for-5; SS Eguy Rosario, 2-for-3, R, 2B, BB, 2 RBI; 3B Allen Cordoba, 4-for-5, 2B, R, RBI; 1B Kyle Overstreet, 3-for-5, R, 2B, 2 RBI; DH Michael Curry, 2-for-5, SB (1); LHP Jerry Keel, IP, 2 K; RHP Brandon Komar (W, 1-1) 3 IP, H, 2 BB; LHP Joe Beimel, IP, H, K.
Prospect Watch: The Missions had 15 hits and cruised to a win against Midland. … Esteury Ruiz hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning, extending his hitting streak to four games. He also stole a pair of bags and scored two runs. The 22-year-old has been on fire in August, with a .341/.431/.568 slash-line. He missed a month with a hand injury but has produced since returning. After limping through a rough May, Ruiz is hitting .313/.375/.465 in just over 100 plate appearances since. … Third baseman Allen Cordoba tied a career-high with four hits, including a double. The 25-year-old has hit well in August but perhaps more impressively, he has struck out just three times in 38 plate appearances this month. … Kyle Overstreet had three hits to tie his season-high. The 27-year-old catcher/infielder was just 4-for-31 in August coming into Friday’s game. He is still sporting a .362 on-base percentage this month, thanks to ten walks. … LHP Jerry Keel started the game and struck out two in his lone inning of work. As Keel walked off the field, his glove was inspected and he was ultimately ejected from the game. He, his catcher Chandler Seagle and pitching coach Pete Zamora all seemed genuinely shocked – and in the case of Zamora, angry – by the situation. He becomes the second member of the system ejected under the new policy this year. … RHP Brandon Komar relieved Keel and tossed three scoreless innings. The 22-year-old Komar has quietly performed quite well as a multi-inning reliever. He started the year with the TinCaps and threw 30 innings before being promoted to San Antonio. With the Missions, Komar has thrown 33 innings in 13 appearances, pitching to a 3.00 ERA while averaging roughly a strikeout per inning. He was the Padres’ 13th-round pick in 2019, out of Madison Area Technical College, a junior college in Wisconsin.
Adam Kerner has had a good start to the month of August with the bat. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
TinCaps 7, South Bend Cubs 2
Key Statistics: PH-LF Tyler Malone, 2-for-4, R, 2B, RBI; SS Chris Givin, 3-for-4, 2 RBI; 2B Justin Lopez, 2-for-4, R; C Adam Kerner, 2-for-4, 2 R, HR (1), 3 RBI; LHP Danny Denz, 4.1 IP, H, 3 BB, K; Edwuin Bencomo (W, 5-3) 1.2 IP, 3 K.
Prospect Watch: A night after being no-hit, the TinCaps had 13 hits and scored seven runs to cruise to a victory. Baseball is weird. … The big blow came in the second inning when catcher Adam Kerner slammed a three-run homer to left to give Fort Wayne all the runs they would need. Kerner, 23, signed last year as an undrafted free agent out of the University of San Diego as a defense-first backstop. With Jonny Homza continuing to battle a shoulder injury, Kerner has seen the bulk of the playing time behind the plate in August. Kerner is hitting .269/.296/.462 in 26 plate appearances this month. … Tyler Malone entered the game as a pinch-hitter and had a pair of hits. Malone, 23, has spent most of the season on the El Paso taxi squad, where he played sparingly. He was assigned to Fort Wayne on July 14 and has appeared in 13 games with the TinCaps. … Malone took over for Grant Little, who left the game with an apparent injury after sliding into third base. We will keep you up-to-date on his status in the coming days. … SS Chris Givin had three singles, tying his professional-high. The former Xavier shortstop has a solid 14% walk-rate with Fort Wayne but has an incredibly low .211 BABIP. In 133 plate appearances with the TinCaps, Givin has a .608 OPS. … LHP Danny Denz shut down the Cubs, pitching into the fifth before running into some trouble. Denz walked a pair of hitters before Edwuin Bencomo finished the inning. Denz extended his scoreless streak to 18 innings. The former undrafted free agent has pitched to a 1.46 ERA in seven starts for the TinCaps, despite not possessing wipeout stuff. He has shown a very good curve and a low-90s fastball.
Storm 3, Visalia Rawhide 2
Key Statistics: DH Colton Bender, 2-for-4; 1B Carlos Luis, 2-for-4, 2B, RBI; RHP Nick Thwaits, 5 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 BB, 3 K; LHP Hazahel Quijada (W, 3-1) 1.1 IP, 3 H, R, BB, 2 K.
Prospect Watch: The Storm won on a walk-off single by first baseman Carlos Luis. … Luis was the offensive star of the game, as he also doubled Friday night. It was the second consecutive multi-hit game of the season for the 21-year-old and his third in August. The first baseman was clearly overmatched in his first month in Low-A but he has swung the bat well this month and is hitting .320/.346/.520 in 26 August plate appearances. … Outfielder Robert Hassell III went 0-for-3 with a walk as he returned to the Storm lineup after being removed from Wednesday’s game. He appeared in Thursday’s game as a pinch-runner. … Colton Bender had a pair of singles as he continues to rake after being promoted from the complex league. Bender, 22, was the Padres’ 10th-rounder in July, out of Qunnipiac University. In four games with the Storm, he is 9-for-17 with a homer. … RHP Nick Thwaits turned in one of best outings of the season but did not factor in the decision. Thwaits completed five innings and allowed just one run on four hits, walking two and striking out three. The 22-year-old has been hit hard at times this season and has struggled to put batters away. While he is averaging a strikeout per inning, his SwStr% is 10.9% which is the fourth-lowest in the Low-A West league (minimum 50 innings). Overall, he has a 6.14 ERA in 16 games (14 starts).
ACL Padres 10, ACL Rangers 5
Key Statistics: SS Jackson Merrill, 1-for-3, 2 R, 2B, 2 BB; RF Jorge Ona, 1-for-4, 2B, R; 1B Jared Alvarez-Lopez, 2-for-3, 2 R, BB; 3B Cole Cummings, 1-for-4, R, HR (1), 3 RBI; RHP Ryan Bergert, IP, H, R; RHP Kevin Kopps, IP, 2 K; RHP Seth Mayberry (W, 2-0) 1.2 IP, H; RHP Ethan Routzahn, 1.1 IP, 3 K.
Prospect Watch: The ACL Padres jumped all over former second-rounder Alex Speas as he rehabbed, scoring five runs in the first to cruise to victory. … After going hitless the last two games, Jackson Merrill doubled and scored two runs. Merrill started his career with a ten-game hitting streak before going into a mini-slump. He is off to a .310/.408/.429 start to his pro career. … RF Jorge Oña started his rehab assignment in the desert and had a double in four at-bats. He had a bone spur removed from his elbow in May and hasn’t seen game action all year. … Another day, another pro debut in a Phoenix monsoon. This time it was Ryan Bergert‘s turn. The former West Virginia righty pitched one inning and allowed an unearned run. Bergert, who was teammates with Padres’ fourth-rounder Jackson Wolf, did not pitch during the 2021 season after undergoing UCL repair surgery last November. He was drafted in the sixth round in July. … RHP Kevin Kopps tossed a scoreless inning, punching out two hitters. As expected, the 2021 Golden Spikes Award winner has dominated the ACL. In 4.2 innings, he racked up 10 strikeouts while walking just one batter.
