Matt Batten has played four different positions for El Paso this year. (Photo: Jorge Salgado).
Chihuahuas 8, Reno Aces 6
Key Stats: CF Thomas Milone 2-for-3, 3B, HR (1), BB, 5 RBI; 1B Aderlin Rodriguez 2-for-4, RBI; 2B Matthew Batten 1-for-2, BB, HBP, SB (5); C Webster Rivas 1-for-3, BB; RHP 4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 K, 5 BB
Prospect Watch: Thomas Milone made the most of his third start of the series, slashing a bases-clearing triple to start the Chihuahuas’ scoring and connecting on his first homer of the year in his next at-bat. The left-handed hitter, signed as a minor league free agent as the lockout ended, jumped his season OPS 187 points with the big game. Now 27, the Connecticut native was originally a third-round pick by the Rays back in 2013 and played in the Yankees system last year. … Nomar Mazarra had a single to extend his season-long hitting streak to 12 games. … Webster Rivas, making his third start since Luis Campusano joined the big league team, collected a hit and a walk. Through 27 plate appearances to open the season, the minor league veteran is hitting .318/.444/.364. He’ll likely go back to less regular playing time as Campusano, and RHP Pedro Avila were optioned back to El Paso Sunday evening as MLB rosters were dropped back to 26 players. … Eguy Rosario injured his left hand on a foul ball in the fourth inning, and exited the game. A member of the 40-player roster, Rosario had a five-game hitting streak snapped on Saturday. While there was no immediate update, it appeared he had pain at the base of the palm.
Reggie Lawson has struggled in his return to action in 2022. (Photo: John Moore)
Springfield Cardinals 6, Missions 0
Key Stats: DH Esteury Ruiz 1-for-3, 2 HBP, SB (15); 2B Chris Givin 2-for-4; RHP Reggie Lawson 3.2 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 2K, 2 BB; RHP Ryan Lillie 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 K, 2 BB; LHP Tom Cosgrove 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 K, 1 BB; RHP Alek Jacob 1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 K
Prospect Watch: The Missions went just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and managed no extra-base hits as they were blanked by Springfield and settled for a series split. Reggie Lawson continued to struggle, making his third start, allowing five runs over just 3.2 innings. The 24-year-old struggled in four outings last year as he attempted to return from 2020 Tommy John surgery before ultimately shutting it down with a shoulder injury. In his eight innings this year, opponents are hitting .389, and he’s walked eight and hit a pair against only three strikeouts. Once one of the top performers in the system, Lawson now sports a 7.44 in Double-A across only 13 starts dating back to 2019. … Alek Jacob made it through an appearance in the ACL, 19 at Low-A, four with Fort Wayne this year and his first appearance in Double-A without allowing an earned run, but he was finally touched for one Sunday. The soft-tossing righty allowed a leadoff double but then looked to be on the verge of escaping with two straight strikeouts before the Cardinals got back-to-back hits and a walk. He ultimately got the third strikeout to stop further damage. The outing pushed his opponents’ batting average for the year up to a meager .178. … Esteury Ruiz was hit twice and collected a single Sunday, keeping his on-base percentage at a robust .510 through 98 plate appearances. He swiped his 15th base in 17 attempts and now leads all the upper minors.
Dayton Dragons 8, TinCaps 0
Key Stats: LF Corey Rosier 1-for-3, HBP, E; 1B Olivier Basabe 1-for-3; LHP Robert Gasser 4 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 9 K, 1 HBP; RHP Wen-Hua Sung 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 K, 1 BB
The TinCaps were blanked for the fourth time in the series as John Conniff finished off his trip to the Summit City.
Lucas Dunn has been among the best performers over the first month in the Cal League. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Storm 3, Inland Empire 2
Key Stats: 1B Carlos Luis 1-for-4, HR (1); 3B Lucas Dunn 2-for-2, BB, HBP, Sac; CF James Wood 1-for-2, 3 BB; DH Cole Cummings 2-for-5, RBI; LHP Jesus Gonzalez 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5 K, 0 BB; LHP Alexuan Vega 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB
Prospect Watch: Cole Cummings hit a hard one-hopper to center, and James Wood trucked around from second base with the winning run to give the Storm their second consecutive walk-off victory and a 5-1 series win. Wood, who had reached on his third walk of the game, reached base in 16 of his 32 trips to the plate in the series and now has a 1.110 OPS that would be good for third on the circuit if he had enough plate appearances. He’s struck out just eight times in 55 plate appearances, less than half the rate he posted in his ACL debut last summer. … Lucas Dunn, who turned 23 Saturday, is almost matching Wood’s production. After two more hits, a walk and getting hit by a pitch Sunday, his season line is at .311/.494/.541. Each of the three stats ranks in the top 10 in the Cal League, and his OPS is third among qualifiers. Like Wood, the eighth-round pick out of Louisville has walked more than he’s struck out on the year. … Carlos Luis connected on his first homer of the season, a monster shot over the batter’s eye in center fielder. Since signing out of the Dominican Republic, the 22-year-old has grown about four inches and added at least 60 pounds since signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2016. While he’s always put on a show in batting practice, he’s had to work hard to build in-game skills and improve his athleticism. Sunday, he made a stellar leaping grab of a line drive and several solid plays on grounders at first base. … Jesus Gonzalez continued his strong start to the campaign, allowing only a wind-aided home run over five innings of work. The 20-year-old lefty from Venezuela struck out a season-high five batters and didn’t issue a walk. Opponents are hitting just .203 against him, and he’s induced more than twice as many grounders as fly balls on his way to a 1.50 ERA. He picked off both runners who reached base against him.
