Connor Hollis keeps producing. (Photo: Rey Holguin)
Chihuahuas 11, Sacramento River Cats 7
Key Statistics: LF Taylor Kohlwey, 2-for-5, R, 2B; DH Brent Rooker, 1-for-5, R, HR (3), RBI; RF Nomar Mazara, 1-for-5, R, HR (4), 2 RBI; 1B Aderlin Rodriguez, 1-for-3, 3 R, HR (7), RBI, 2 BB; SS Matthew Batten, 3-for-4, 3 R, HR (3), 2 RBI; CF Luis Liberato, 1-for-3, R, HR (4), 3 RBI; LHP Blake Snell, (W, 1-0) 5 IP, 3 H, ER, 7 K
Prospect Watch: The Blake Snell bumpday tour marched on, this time in El Paso. Snell looked sharp and efficient and made quick work of the Sacramento lineup. Snell finished five innings on just 59 pitches – 41 for strikes. The former Cy Young Award winner allowed a run on five hits, with no walks and seven strikeouts. Tuesday’s outing should be Snell’s last in the minors and it will be interesting to see what the Padres rotation will look like a week from now. … Brent Rooker made his return to the El Paso lineup after three weeks on the IL and clubbed his third homer of the year. The former Twin has plenty of power and is already on the 40-player roster, so could be an option for the Padres at some point this season. … Versatile Matthew Batten had three hits, including his third homer of the year. The 26-year-old is hitting .308/.397/.452 this season and has played four different positions defensively. … First baseman Aderlin Rodriguez walked twice and slugged his seventh homer of the year in the El Paso victory. Rodriguez leads active El Paso hitters with seven homers (recently designated outfielder Trayce Thompson leads the club with nine) and he ranks fifth in the PCL overall. Despite the power displayed, Rodriguez’s offense production has been far below the PCL average, in part because of a .237 BABIP. Rodriguez hit 29 homers in the Tigers system last year but has never gotten a chance at the big league level.
Brent Rooker in action earlier in the year with El Paso. (Photo: Jorge Salgado/El Paso Chihuahuas)
Roster Moves: In addition to Rooker, LHP Travis Bergen came off the development list, and LHP Jose Castillo was transferred from the Storm.
Castillo, 26, pitched 5.1 innings for the Storm in five appearances. He will give the Padres an experienced arm should they need to fortify the bullpen with an internal move. CJ Abrams was also optioned to El Paso and figures to make his Triple-A debut Wednesday.
Missions 6, Arkansas Travelers 5
Key Statistics: 3B Connor Hollis, 2-for-2, 2 R, 3 BB, RBI; RF Agustin Ruiz, 2-for-5, 2 RBI; PH Juan Fernandez, 1-for-1, 2 RBI; RHP Dwayne Matos, 2.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 5 BB; LHP Tom Cosgrove, 1.1 IP, 4 K; RHP Angel Felipe (W, 2-0) 1.2 IP, BB, 2 K
Agustin Ruiz was 2-5 on the night with a pair of RBI. (Photo: Reynaldo Holguin).
Prospect Watch: The Missions used a pinch-hit, two-run single in the bottom of the ninth off of the bat of Juan Fernandez to complete the comeback against the Mariners’ Double-A affiliate. … Reigning MadFriars Player of the Week Connor Hollis continued his assault on the Texas League with another excellent night at the plate. Hollis reached base five times with a pair of singles and three walks. The former Ray is hitting .519/.667/.815 in May. … Agustin Ruiz had two hits, including a two-run single that helped the Missions’ comeback. The 23-year-old has significantly increased his walk rate in his second tour of the Texas League but his power production hasn’t been what it was when he broke out in Fort Wayne last year. Overall, Ruiz has produced just below league-average offensively. … RHP Dwayne Matos started for the Missions and struggled mightily before exiting the start with an apparent arm injury. Matos allowed four earned runs in 2.2 innings, which included five walks. The 21-year-old has allowed 20 earned runs in 15 innings (12.00 ERA) with the Missions this season. We will be sure to update our readers on any injury-related updates. … LHP Tom Cosgrove struck out all four batters he faced Tuesday night. Cosgrove’s transition to a reliever had positive results last year in San Antonio and this year has been even better. The former Manhattan starter has a 2.13 ERA in 12.2 innings out of the Missions’ bullpen.
Roster Moves: The Padres signed infielder Connor Kaiser to a minor-league contract and assigned him to the Missions. Kaiser, 25, the Pirates’ third-round pick in 2018 out of Vanderbilt University – taken two picks after the Padres drafted infielder Owen Miller – signed for $625,000. Kaiser spent some time with Triple-A Indianapolis before the Pirates released him earlier this month. He has hit .210/.316/.316 in 182 games as a professional.
Wyatt Hoffman, son of Trevor, will head back to extended spring training. Hoffman, 22, went 1-for-5 in a pair of games with the Missions. … With all the movement in the El Paso outfield, Thomas Milone was sent down to the Missions. The 27-year-old got off to a slow start with the Chihuahuas but he had been red-hot, hitting .368/.429/.632 with a homer in 19 May at-bats.
Robert Hassell III has five hits in his last two games. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
South Bend Cubs 9, TinCaps 7
Key Statistics: LF Corey Rosier, 2-for-4, R, BB, SB (11), 2 RBI; CF Robert Hassell III, 3-for-5, R, 2B, RBI, 2 SB (10, 11); DH Angel Solarte, 2-for-4, R, 2B, RBI; 1B Jack Stronach, 1-for-4, HR (2), 2 RBI; RHP Ryan Bergert 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K; RHP Nick Thwaits, IP, 3 H, 4 ER, BB; RHP Luke Boyd (L, 0-1) ) 0.2 IP, H, 2 R, K
Prospect Watch: The TinCaps had a 7-2 lead in this one but the bullpen faltered late. Former Padres draft pick Owen Caissie hit a grand slam in the sixth inning off of RHP Nick Thwaits. The TinCaps are 2-11 in their last 13 games. … Robert Hassell III had a nice game, doubling in a run in the first inning as part of a three-hit night. Hassell was a pest on the basepaths as well, as he added a pair of stolen bases to his ledger. He has 11 on the season. The 20-year-old outfielder got off to a slow start when the calendar shifted to May but he has five hits in his last two games. … Corey Rosier reached base three times and drove in a pair. Rosier is second in the Midwest League with 24 walks and his .397 on-base percentage ranks eighth. … Helix High alum Jack Stronach homered and drove in a pair Tuesday night. Stronach has played sparingly this season and has struggled when given the chance, hitting just .153 overall. His homer did extend his hitting streak to three games. … RHP Ryan Bergert started and had a bit of an uneven outing, exiting with two outs in the fifth. Bergert missed plenty of bats but also struggled to locate his fastball and allowed a long home run. The 22-year-old has 34 strikeouts in 24 innings and has a solid 1.04 WHIP, but has allowed four homers in 24.2 innings which helps explain his 4.74 ERA despite his success with limiting base runners.
Roster Moves: The TinCaps made a pair of roster moves, with LHP Ramon Perez heading to the Summit City and RHP Jason Reynolds retiring. Perez, 22, has pitched for three different affiliates this year, pitching to a 7.36 ERA in 11 innings.
Reynolds, 23, was drafted by the Padres in the 32nd round out of Lehigh University in 2019. He pitched well last year for the Storm but struggled this year with the TinCaps. In six outings, Reynolds had a 9.82 ERA in 7.1 innings. We wish Jason all the best.
Adrian Morejon, in 2018 with the then High-A Lake Elsinore, returned to action Tuesday night. (Photo: Cherished Memories)
Storm 3, San Jose Giants 2 (10 innings)
Key Statistics: 1B Cole Cummings, 1-for-3, 2 BB, 2B; LF Albert Fabian, 1-for-4, 2B, R, BB; LHP Adrian Morejon, 3 IP, 2 H, ER, 5 K; RHP Michel Baez, IP, 2 K; RHP Kobe Robinson, 3 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 4 K; LHP Hazahel Quijada (W, 2-0) 1.1 IP, BB, K
Prospect Watch: The Storm used a bases-loaded walk by Albert Fabian to win the opening game of their series with San Jose. … LHP Adrian Morejon began his path back from Tommy John surgery Tuesday night. The left-hander allowed a lead-off homer but settled in nicely after that. Morejon completed three innings and allowed two hits and just the one earned run. Morejon displayed good command and did not allow a walk and struck out five batters. He threw 40 pitches, and 29 for strikes. … Fellow rehabber Michel Baez came in after Morejon and fired a scoreless inning. Baez worked three innings in his last outing, but certainly presents more short-term value at the big league level as a reliever. … LHP Hazahel Quijada recorded the final four outs to earn his second victory of the season. The former UC Riverside hurler has allowed 17 baserunners in 9.2 innings but he’s been able to keep teams from scoring against him. Quijada has a 0.93 ERA this season but will need to be sharper going forward to continue to prevent runs.