Luis Campusano is hitting .367 in August. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Sugar Land Skeeters 5, Chihuahuas 1
Key Stats: C Luis Campusano 2-for-4, 2B, HR (14); SS Matt Batten 2-for-4, SB (18); RHP Caleb Boushley 4.2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K; RHP Steven Wilson 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 4 K
Prospect Watch: Luis Campusano collected a double and a solo homer to continue a torrid month at the plate, but El Paso managed little else on the night and fell to Sugar Land. The 22-year-old, who missed four games last week and has been in the DH slot in the three games since he returned, sports a .367/.456/.714 line in 57 August plate appearances. He’s connected on 10 of his 14 homers since the start of July and now owns a .895 OPS for the year. … Starter Caleb Boushley retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced, but gave up a pair of homers and three walks as the wheels came off over the next two innings. Boushely, 27, now has a 5.65 ERA across 65.1 innings in Triple-A this season. … Reliever Steven Wilson worked two perfect innings, striking out four of the six batters he faced. The righty has struck out 39% of the batters he’s faced with El Paso and is holding Triple-A opponents to a .165 average.
Midland RockHounds 4, Missions 3
Key Stats: CF Esteury Ruiz 1-for-4, RBI; 1B Allen Cordoba 2-for-3, BB; 3B Olivier Basabe 2-for-3, 2B, HR (2); LHP Jerry Keel 5 IP, 9 H, 4 R (3 ER), 0 BB, 5 K; RHP Henry Henry 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 K, 0 BB
Allen Cordoba continued his hot August. (Photo: Rey Holguin)
Prospect Watch: The Missions closed to within a run on Olivier Basabe‘s two-out, two-run homer in the fifth, but couldn’t manage another hit all evening as they dropped the series finale. Basabe, 24, put together the biggest night of his season, connecting on a double and his second homer of the year, and drawing a walk for good measure. The Padres’ eighth-round pick out of Faulkner University in 2017, Basabe has an OPS of just .549 for the year. … Allen Cordoba, in the lineup as a first baseman, was the only other Missions batter to collect multiple hits in the game. While his 12-game hitting streak came to an end on Friday, the 25-year-old is hitting .361/.426/.494 this month. … LHP Jerry Keel returned to the mound after serving a 10-game suspension for having a foreign substance on his glove and gave up three earned runs over five frames. The big lefty struck out five without issuing a walk. While he issued too many free passes in 50.2 innings with El Paso earlier in the year, the Cal State Northridge product has allowed just six in 25 innings for the Missions.
Dayton Dragons 8, TinCaps 6
Key Stats: C Brandon Valenzuela 1-for-3, 2 BB, 2 RBI, E; SS Justin Lopez 3-for-4, 2B, 4 RBI; RHP Carlos Guarate 3.1 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K; RHP Austin Smith 1 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 5 WP
Justin Lopez had another big day at the plate. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Prospect Watch: Fort Wayne couldn’t convert on the chance to win their series against the Reds’ affiliate and had to settle for a split as Robert Hassell III, Euribiel Angeles and Brandon Valenzuela all made their High-A debuts. Valenzuela had the best afternoon, reaching base on an RBI single and two walks. Angeles, playing third base, had a single and drew a walk while Hassell drew one free pass out of the leadoff spot. Each of the trio scored once. … Justin Lopez went 3-for-4, with a double to push his average for the month up to .291. His strikeout rate for the month is at a season-best 25%. … Carlos Guarate was tagged for eight more hits and three runs in 3.1 innings. In eight starts since joining the TinCaps, the 20-year-old righty from Venezuela has allowed a .340 average. … Austin Smith uncorked five wild pitches – two of which allowed runs to score – in his inning of work. While he’s posted a reasonable 3.48 BB/9 rate on the year, he’s unleashed 14 wild pitches in 51.2 innings. … Luke Boyd, who was the first 2021 draftee to make it to Fort Wayne, struck out two in a perfect inning of work. The 17th-rounder out of Baylor has posted a stellar 14:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 8.2 innings in the High-A Central League.
Lucas Dunn hit his first home run for the Storm on Sunday. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Storm 2, San Jose Giants 1
Key Stats: 3B Lucas Dunn 1-for-4, HR (1); RF Jack Stronach 2-for-2, BB; LHP Jackson Wolf 2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K; RHP Dwayne Matos 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Prospect Watch: The Storm jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead as Joshua Mears hit a sacrifice fly and Lucas Dunn hit his first professional homer in the bottom of the first but didn’t manage another run all night. For the second night in a row, the Elsinore pitching staff made that small output hold up for victory as five relieves combined on seven shutout innings after another solid appearance by fourth-rounder Jackson Wolf. Dunn, the Padres’ eighth-rounder out of Louisville is sitting at .238/.304/.413 since joining the Storm three weeks ago. … Wolf, 22, worked around a one-out walk in the first inning, then gave up three singles in the second before ending the frame and his outing with his third strikeout of the evening. The 6-foot-7 lefty out of West Virginia has struggled to avoid contact in his two brief full-season appearances, but has struck out six in his first four innings of work. … Righty Alek Jacob worked 1.1 scoreless innings. The Padres’ 16th-rounder hasn’t allowed a run in his first 11 professional frames and has 15 strikeouts without issuing a walk.
