Ryan Weathers has had an up and down season. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)

Chihuahuas 4, Tacoma Rainiers 1

Key Statistics: 1B Wil Myers, 2-for-4; SS Eguy Rosario, 2-for-4, R, HR (15), 2 RBI; 3B Brett Sullivan, 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI; LHP Ryan Weathers (W, 5-6) 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 4 K; RHP Robert Suarez, IP, K; LHP Ray Kerr (S, 2) IP, H, BB, K

Prospect Watch: El Paso generated just enough offense to ride an excellent outing from Ryan Weathers to victory. … Weathers fired six innings and allowed just one unearned run. He only allowed two hits, tying a season-low. He did allow three walks but was able to mitigate the traffic by picking off a pair of baserunners. The 22-year-old has picked off 13 baserunners this year. In four July starts, Weathers pitched to a 4.81 ERA. On paper, that doesn’t look impressive but it’s more than passable for the PCL. Perhaps more impressively, Weathers completed six innings in three of those four starts. The strikeouts still aren’t plentiful (17 in 24.1 innings in July) but Weathers has been finding a way to give El Paso a chance to win in recent outings. … Shortstop Eguy Rosario had a pair of hits, including his 15th homer of the year. Rosario has already surpassed his career-high in homers and is a good bet to reach 20 homers this year, assuming he stays in Triple-A the rest of the season. It’s easy to dismiss Rosario’s power surge as a byproduct of the Pacific Coast League but he continues to improve as a hitter. His walk rate is the highest of his career and his strikeout rate is 21% which is more than passable. He is still just 22 years old. … Righty Robert Suarez pitched a scoreless inning in the second appearance of his rehab assignment. He didn’t allow a baserunner and struck out a batter. He’s eligible to come off the 60-day IL on August 5. … Southpaw Ray Kerr notched his second save by closing out the ninth without allowing a run. In eight Triple-A innings this month, Kerr has allowed just one earned run with ten strikeouts.

Missions 6, Midland RockHounds 5

Key Statistics: 2B-SS Domingo Leyba, 3-for-4, RBI; 3B Juan Fernandez, 2-for-4; CF Thomas Milone, 1-for-4, R, HR (6), 2 RBI; C Chandler Seagle, 2-for-3, R; LHP Ben Krauth, 4 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K; RHP Moises Lugo (W, 6-0) 3 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, 2 K; RHP Kevin Kopps (S, 4) 0.1 IP, BB

Domingo Leyba continues to fuel the MIssions offense. (Photo: John Moore)

Prospect Watch: The Missions used a 12-hit attack to defeat the RockHounds on the road. … Catcher Chandler Seagle had two hits and scored a run. It was Seagle’s first multi-hit game in three weeks. The former Appalachian State catcher has shown improvements as a hitter this season but his path to the big leagues is through his excellent defense behind the plate. He’s thrown out 44% of runners trying to steal this season. … Shortstop Domingo Leyba had three singles and drove in a run. The former big leaguer has been the Missions’ best hitter in July, hitting .310/.365/.536 with four homers. … Right-handed pitcher Moises Lugo earned his sixth win of the season by firing three solid innings in relief. Lugo allowed one run on two hits with two walks and a pair of strikeouts. The 23-year-old has appeared in five games this month and has a 3.65 ERA in 12.1 innings. … As Joe Alexander astutely noted, designated hitter Jorge Oña appeared to have a leg injury after a double in his second at-bat. He was pinch hit for in his next trip to the plate. We’ll have more if we get it.

Roster Moves: The Missions activated infielder Connor Kaiser before the game. He started at shortstop and went 1-for-4. The 25-year-old has been on the injured list since June 15.

Peoria Chiefs 4, TinCaps 2

Key Statistics: SS Max Ferguson, 1-for-4, R, 2B, BB; CF Robert Hassell III, 1-for-4, BB, SB (20); RF Joshua Mears, 2-for-4, R; C Anthony Vilar, 1-for-2, 2B, 2 BB, RBI; RHP Ryan Bergert (L, 2-7) 5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, BB, 7 K; RHP Nick Thwaits, 2 IP, 4 H, BB, K

Joshua Mears had two hits Friday night. (Photo: Natasha Daniels Team Photographer, Lansing Lugnuts).

Prospect Watch: The TinCaps fell behind early and couldn’t string together enough hits to beat Peoria. … Despite the loss, it was an encouraging night for outfielder Joshua Mears. The 21-year-old outfielder had a pair of singles and struck out just once in four plate appearances. As we’ve documented throughout his time in the Padres’ system, Mears has prodigious power, but he struggles to make consistent contact. Since returning to the TinCaps, Mears is 4-for-17 with a homer and 11 strikeouts. … Catcher Anthony Vilar reached base three times and drove in a run. He also drew a pair of walks. The 23-year-old catcher from the University of Miami has played sparingly this year behind Brandon Valenzuela. When he has had a chance to play, he’s been able to give the TinCaps a quality at-bat. In 40 plate appearances in July, he has a .375 on-base percentage. … Right-handed starter Ryan Bergert worked five innings but ended up taking the loss. Bergert was tagged for a pair of homers and allowed four earned runs overall. On the positive side, the former West Virginia hurler walked just one and struck out seven. In 75.1 innings this year, Bergert has notched 91 strikeouts. His biggest issue has been limiting the longball; he’s allowed 15 homers this year, the second-highest total in the Midwest League.

Storm 17, Stockton Ports 0

Key Statistics: Nerwilian Cedeño, 2-for-3, 5 R, 3 BB, SB (14); CF James Wood, 2-for-3, 3 R, 2B, BB, 2 RBI, SB (15); LF Albert Fabian, 2-for-3, 3 R, HR (11), 5 RBI, 3 BB; 3B Marcos Castañon, 3-for-6, R, 2B, 2 RBI; 1B Carlos Luis, 3-for-4, R 2 2B, BB, 4 RBI; RHP Garrett Hawkins, 4 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 9 K; LHP Hazahel Quijada (W, 4-0) IP, 2 K; RHP Duncan Snider, 2 IP, H, 2 K

Carlos Luis has broken out in 2022. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)

Prospect Watch: The Storm scored 17 runs, had 15 hits, and drew 10 walks in a whitewashing of Stockton. The Storm went 8-for-20 with runners in scoring position … Nerwilian Cedeño reached base five times out of the lead-off spot, collecting two hits and three walks, scoring five runs, and stealing his 14th base for good measure. The 20-year-old, switch-hitting infielder has been a steady contributor in his first taste of full-season ball. Friday’s big night raised his season slash-line to .278/.366/.396 with the Storm. … Left fielder Albert Fabian had two hits, including his 11th homer of the season. Fabian also tied a career-high with 5 RBI. The left-handed slugger has been one of the surprise performers in the entire system this season. In 263 plate appearances with the Storm, Fabian has a .863 OPS. … Third baseman Marcos Castañon had three hits and a double to go with a pair of RBI. The 23-year-old has been on an absolute tear this month. The former UCSB star is hitting a blistering .318/.426/.624 with five homers and 23 RBI. He also ranks ninth in the Cal League with a .401 on-base percentage. … Carlos Luis had three hits, including a pair of doubles in his fourth straight multi-hit game. Luis also drove in four runs. Luis ranks third in the Cal League with a .318 batting average and also ranks in the top ten in RBI (66) and doubles (24). He only has five homers, but he has improved immensely as a hitter this year. … Right-hander Garrett Hawkins capped off an excellent July by dominating the Ports over four innings. If you wanted to nitpick, you can make the argument that Hawkins was not efficient; he threw 77 pitches in four innings. However, he struck out nine hitters and walked two. He didn’t complete five innings so he failed to notch the win. After a rough June, Hawkins completely dominated in July. In 19 innings, he allowed just one earned run. Opposing hitters batted just .167 against the Canadian-born hurler.

ACL Dodgers 3, ACL Padres 0

Key Statistics: SS Jackson Merrill, 1-for-3, BB; 2B Rosman Verdugo, 2-for-4; LHP Fernando Sanchez (L, 1-2) 5 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 2 K; RHP Justin Lopez, IP, H, 2 K

Prospect Watch: The ACL bunch managed just five hits in a shutout loss. … Shortstop Jackson Merrill had a single and reached base with a walk. Merrill has played 10 games with the ACL Padres on two different rehab stints and, barring a different setback, should be back in Lake Elsinore very soon. … Left-handed pitcher Fernando Sanchez pitched well but was the tough-luck loser. The 21-year-old from the Mexican state of Sonora completed five innings and allowed just one run on two hits, walking two and striking out a pair. Sanchez had his worst outing of the year against the ACL Dodgers on July 14 when he allowed seven earned runs, so he was able to exact a little revenge. In 17.2 innings as he works back from spending most of 2021 on the IL, Sanchez has struck out 25 batters. … Justin Lopez pitched for the second time in three games, tossing another scoreless inning, allowing a hit and striking out a pair of batters. In a pair of ACL innings, he’s struck out four without allowing a run.The former infielder is following the path of Carlos Belen after showing good hands at shortstop but not being able to hit enough to advance past High-A.

Posted by Kevin Charity

Kevin Charity has written for MadFriars since 2015 and has had work featured on Fox Sports San Diego. He is a lifelong San Diego native and is looking forward to seeing the current wave of prospects thrive in San Diego.

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