The El Paso Chihuahuas split with Sugar Land thanks to dropping a resumed game from August 3rd, the Missions and Storm both took losses to their opponents as the TinCaps lost to Mother Nature. In the desert, the last of the Padres’ 2021 draft class made his professional debut.
Brian O’Grady has gotten hot again for the El Paso Chihuahuas. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Game 1: Sugar Land Skeeters 9, Chihuahuas 2 (Suspended on Thursday)
Key Stats: DH Brian O’Grady, 1-for-3, HR, R, RBI; CF Matt Batten, 1-for-3; RHP Parker Markel, 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, 2 K
Prospect Watch: Talk about a tough day, less than 24 hours after Daniel Camarena took the loss in a 16-inning heartbreaker at Petco Park, he’s booked for the loss in a game he started on August 3rd, resumed tonight in El Paso with the Chihuahuas as the visiting team in their own ballpark. … With action picking up with El Paso down 7-1, the only Chihuahuas run in this game tonight came courtesy of a Brian O’Grady solo shot in the 9th. By the calendar, this was O’Grady’s third hit in as many games, but, of course, this statistic will go back in time to August 3rd. … It took 24 days for it to count, but Matt Batten added a single while playing center field. The 26-year-old Batten, a 32nd rounder in 2017 out of Quinnipiac, has made appearances in all three outfield spots, second base, shortstop, and third base, and also five mop-up appearances on the mound for the Chihuahuas.
Evan Miller has been a key contributor to the El Paso pitching staff. (Photo: Jorge Salgado).
Game 2: Chihuahuas 11, Sugar Land Skeeters 6
Key Stats: RHP Evan Miller (W, 3-3), 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, BB, 3 K; C Luis Campusano, 2-for-4, 2B, R, RF Brian O’Grady, 2-for-4, R; SS Matt Batten, 3-for-3, 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI; 2B Ivan Castillo, 2-for-3, 2B, R, 3 RBI;
Prospect Watch: All it took was a change into the dazzlingly fluorescent uniforms of the El Paso Margaritas and a switch back to being the home team. El Paso put the Skeeters in a blender with an offense which delivered 14 hits and scored 11 runs without hitting a single home run in the notoriously atmospheric Triple-A West. The win in this high-scoring affair went to Evan Miller, who struck out three in 2.2 innings, allowing two hits and one earned run. Miller, a product of Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne, is 1-0 with a 9.26 ERA in August, but his 1.46 WHIP is his lowest of any month this season. He’s 2-1 with a 4.32 ERA in games played at Southwest University Park, while 1-2 with a 6.28 ERA away from El Paso. … There was a catcher batting leadoff tonight as Padres’ core prospect Luis Campusano set the table tonight with two hits, including a double. Campusano’s scorching August has produced a slash line of .372/.471/.674, good for an OPS of 1.145 for the month, continuing a trend of improving with the bat each month of the 2021 season. After going hitless in five of six games in the middle of the month, Brian O’Grady has continued to return to form, adding a pair of hits tonight to continue a three-game hitting streak. The 29-year-old O’Grady, signed in the off-season by the Padres as a free agent, has a .951 OPS in August for El Paso, nothing to look down upon, unless you include his 1.162 OPS in May and his 1.269 OPS in July. … The previous game’s center fielder moved back to his more familiar shortstop, and Matt Batten responded with a trio of base knocks for the El Paso Margaritas. Batten is slashing .291/.378/.389 for El Paso in the 2021 season. … Two hits and three RBIs punctuated a solid evening for Ivan Castillo. The switch-hitting Castillo, who made his major league debut this year with the Padres, is batting .189 vs lefties, and .302 against right-handers this season.
Allen Cordoba is having one of his best seasons at age 25. (Photo: Rey Holguin)
Midland RockHounds 3, Missions 2
Key Stats: 1B Allen Cordoba, 2-for-4, 2B, R; LF Michael Curry, 2-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI; LHP Sam Williams, 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB; RHP Jordan Humphreys, 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, BB; RHP Carlos Belen, 2 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB
Prospect Watch: San Antonio saw a 2-1 lead from a Michael Curry home run vanish quickly in the fourth, but the bullpen worked hard to keep the Missions in the game all evening. Curry’s seventh home run of the year has put him in double-digit RBI totals for the second month in a row. All seven of his big flies have come in July and August, and in August his increased plate discipline has been paying dividends, with 14 walks to go against his 19 strikeouts in 73 at-bats. … 25-year-old Allen Cordoba is a familiar name to Padres fans after spending 2017 in San Diego after the Rule 5 Draft. After a series of injuries and the pandemic, Cordoba is back in action and playing some the best ball of his professional career. His two hits tonight continue a blazing
All seven of Michael Curry’s home runs have come in the past two months. (Photo: Joe Alexander)
August in which he’s slashing .384/.451/.534 for the Missions. … Two scoreless innings on the part of Sam Williams continued his solid work since returning to the Missions on August 12th. Williams, a 25-year-old lefty out of Northern Kentucky, has allowed one earned run in 5.2 innings while striking out seven and walking two for San Antonio this month. … Tonight marked the third straight scoreless outing for Jordan Humphreys. Humphreys, a 25-year-old righty from Crystal River, Florida, was selected off waivers by the Padres in February of this year via the Giants organization. An 18th round selection by the New York Mets in 2015, Humphreys has also spent time in the Cleveland organization in between stints with the Giants. … Also throwing a deuce of scoreless innings was Carlos Belen, the 25-year-old from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Belen is 2-0 with a 0.66 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 13.2 innings across eight appearances in the month of August.
Fort Wayne TinCaps
The TinCaps saw their game at ParkView Field against the Dayton Dragons suspended in the second inning due to rain. The game will resume as part of a Friday doubleheader between the two clubs.
San Jose Giants 10, Storm 3
Key Stats: RHP Dinelson Lamet, 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K; RHP Miguel Rondon, 2 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 2 K; RHP Alek Jacob, 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, K; SS Euribiel Angeles, 3-for-4, RF Joshua Mears, 1-for-4, 2B, R; DH Colton Bender, 1-for-4, R, RBI
Prospect Watch: Despite a few impressive performances at the plate and some solid relief pitching, this game was a blowout before it even really got going, with a 10-run second inning for San Jose. Not only did Dinelson Lamet pitch two innings in his third appearance for the Storm, he did so on a day’s rest, both encouraging signs for Padres fans as he seeks to return to the majors as a reliever this season. This time, he allowed only one hit, and walked none in two scoreless innings of work. … Tonight marked the first scoreless appearance of the six made by Miguel Rondon since returning to Lake Elsinore from the Arizona Complex League. Rondon, a 20-year-old righty, signed with the Padres in the summer of 2017. … 2021 16th rounder Alek Jacob continued his impressive start to his professional career, bringing his scoreless innings
Euribiel Angeles is the leader for the Low-A West batting title. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
streak to 9.2. Jacob, a 23-year-old righty out of Gonzaga, has thrown all but one of those innings for the Storm, his first inning coming in the Complex League. … The fifth three-hit game of August for Euribiel Angeles has given him a nine-point lead in the race for the Low-A West batting title with his .342 average. The 19-year-old Angeles is slashing .342/.397/.459 in his first full season of professional baseball. … Nearly 51% of the hits off the bat of Joshua Mears have gone for extra bases, including tonight’s double, his 10th of the year. The 20-year-old 2019 second-round pick’s .946 OPS is good for second in the league. … 2021 10th round pick Colton Bender was sent to Lake Elsinore from the Complex League when several members of the Storm were held out of games due to COVID protocols, but Bender has yet to go back as he is now slashing .326/.362/.442 in 10 games for Lake Elsinore. Bender, a catcher from Quinnipiac, only played four games for the ACL Padres before his emergency promotion.
Jackson Merrill has impressed at the plate in his first pro season. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
ACL Cleveland 2, ACL Padres 1
Key Stats: CF John Andreoli, 1-for-3, HR, R, RBI; SS Jackson Merrill, 2-for-3, 2B; RHP Ryan Bergert, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; RHP Kobe Robinson, 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, K
Prospect Watch: The lone run of the game for the Complex League Padres came off the bat of John Andreoli, who is on a rehab assignment from El Paso. The 31-year-old Andreoli was slashing .206/.347/.402 for El Paso before finding his way on the IL on June 16h. … Jackson Merrill bounced back from a rare hitless game with a two-hit performance, the third time in his last four games he’s had two or more hits. The 2021 first round pick is slashing .333/.390/.449 in the first 20 games of his professional career. … After the third appearance of his professional career, Ryan Bergert has yet to allow a walk and has only allowed one hit in three innings while striking out four. Bergert, the Padres’ sixth-round selection in 2021 out of West Virginia, is a 21-year-old right-hander who had been projected to be taken as high as the second round before missing the 2021 collegiate season due to an elbow injury. … The final 2021 debut in the desert for the 2021 draft class went to Kobe Robinson, who began his pro career with an adventurous inning, one which included two singles, a walk, two wild pitches, and none of those runs crossing the plate. 0.00 ERA, 3.00 WHIP for Robinson, who was the Padres’ 13th round selection this summer out of Chattanooga State Community College, where the Tennessee native starred for two seasons.
