Chihuahuas 8, Albuquerque Isotopes 5

CJ Hinojosa hit home run #12 on Friday. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)

Key Statistics: RF Matt Beaty, 2-for-5, 2 R, 2B; 2B Eguy Rosario, 3-for-5, 3 R, HR (18), RBI; C Luis Campusano, 3-for-3, R, HR (10), 4 RBI, 2 BB; CF Jose Azocar, 2-for-5, R; LF Brett Sullivan, 2-for-4, RBI; SS C.J. Hinojosa, 2-for-4, R, HR (12), RBI; RHP Matt Waldron, 5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K; RHP Alek Jacob (W, 1-1) IP, 3 H, ER; RHP Michel Baez 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R,1 K, 1 BB, 1 HBP; LHP Jose Castillo 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 K

Prospect Watch: El Paso had 16 hits, including three homers in a win against the Isotopes. … Eguy Rosario has a case to be considered the top prospect in a system that was thinned out quite a bit this week. The infielder had three hits, including his 18th homer of the year. He’s hit 15 of them since June 1. In four games this month, the 22-year-old is 11-for-18 with two doubles, two homers, two walks, and a single strikeout. … The other top prospect on the El Paso roster, Luis Campusano, had three hits, including his 10th homer of the year. He also drew two walks and drove in four runs. The 23-year-old catcher struggled in July, hitting just .217/.289/.348 with three homers. However, like Rosario, the Georgia native has been red-hot early in August. He has homered three times in his last six starts, and he’s 7-for-17 this month. … Shortstop C.J. Hinojosa had two hits, including a homer. Hinojosa’s homer was his 12th of the year, setting a new career-high for the veteran infielder. After a slow start, the former Giant and Astros farmhand has given the Chihuahuas defensive versatility and an above-average bat. … Right-hander Matt Waldron survived a rocky first inning and ended up gutting out five solid innings. Waldron allowed a pair of walks in the first before serving up a three-run homer. After that, Waldron pitched four shutout innings and struck out five batters. The former Nebraska Cornhusker has struggled in his first stint in Triple-A. He has allowed a whopping 31 earned runs in just 30.2 innings (9.10 ERA). The biggest issue for Waldron has been the long ball as he’s allowed seven homers. Even in the Pacific Coast League, it’s difficult, if not impossible, for a pitcher to succeed allowing that many home runs. … Matt Beaty had two more hits and is now 9-for-26 in his third pass at working back from a shoulder injury he sustained in April.

Wichita Wind Surge 1, Missions 0

Key Statistics: LF Tirso Ornelas, 1-for-4, 2B; 3B Juan Fernandez, 1-for-4; RHP Brandon Komar, 6 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K; RHP Kevin Kopps, 1.1 IP, H, 3 K; LHP Fred Schlichtholz (L, 0-2) 1.2 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 K

Brandon Komar threw six shutout innings on Friday. (Photo: John Moore)

Prospect Watch: The Missions managed just four hits and lost at home to Wichita. The winning run scored in the ninth inning on a bunt single and a throwing error by third baseman Juan Fernandez. … San Antonio’s offense struggled, but righty Brandon Komar certainly deserved a better fate. Komar pitched six shutout innings and allowed just three hits. He walked three and struck out five. The 23-year-old threw the ball well in Fort Wayne this year as a multi-inning reliever but has been mostly a starter upon his promotion to San Antonio. Over his last 16.2 innings, Komar has a 2.81 ERA. … Reliever Kevin Kopps took over for Komar and pitched well again. He recorded four outs, three of them via a strikeout. Since the beginning of July, the 25-year-old has a 1.28 ERA in 14 innings. More importantly, he’s done a much better of limiting the walks. In June, Kopps walked nine batters in 9.1 innings, but over his last 14 innings, he’s walked just four.

Roster Moves: The Missions will welcome Fernando Tatis Jr. back on Saturday as the superstar begins his rehab assignment in the Texas League this weekend. It remains to be seen how long he will be with the Missions. The Missions travel to Frisco next week. The Storm play at home, so perhaps Tatis’s rehab will be moved closer to home, but that’s purely speculation.

Ryan Bergert took the mound for the Manzanas Luchadores. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)

TinCaps 6, South Bend Cubs 5

Key Statistics: SS Jarryd Dale, 1-for-5, 3B, 2 RBI; LF Albert Fabian, 1-for-4, R, HR (1), RBI; RF Agustin Ruiz, 2-for-4, R, 2B, RBI; RHP Ryan Bergert, 4 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, BB, 6 K; RHP Nick Thwaits, 3 IP, 2 H, 3 K; RHP Edwuin Bencomo (W, 4-2) 1.2 IP, H, 2 K

Shortstop Jarryd Dale had the game-winning hit. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)

Prospect Watch: The TinCaps won in dramatic fashion. A two-run single off the bat of Jarryd Dale gave the TinCaps a walk-off win. … Outfielder Albert Fabian connected on his first High-A homer, his 13th overall. The 20-year-old outfielder has gone 1-for-4 in each of his first two games as a TinCap. Between the two stops, plus a brief three-game rehab stint in the ACL, Fabian is slugging .508 in his first taste of full-season ball. … Right fielder Agustin Ruiz had a double and a single and drove in a run. After breaking out offensively last year with the TinCaps, the right fielder has struggled this season. He came into Friday’s matchup in a 2-for-23 slump. Overall, he is hitting .186/.336/.324 in the Midwest League. … Right-hander Nick Thwaits took over for Ryan Bergert and pitched three shutout innings. He allowed just two hits and struck out three batters. Over his last 11.2 innings, Thwaits has allowed just a single earned run. The stretch of excellence has lowered his ERA from 4.73 to 3.56.

Storm 6, Visalia Rawhide 3

Key Statistics: SS Jackson Merrill, 3-for-4; BB, RBI; CF Samuel Zavala, 2-for-3, 2 R, BB, SB (1); LF Ruben Salinas, 1-for-3, R, BB, RBI; RHP Garrett Hawkins (W, 5-5) 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 8 K; LHP Ryan Och (S, 1) 1.2 IP, 5 K

Garrett Hawkins got the win for the Storm. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza).

Prospect Watch: The Storm bounced back after consecutive losses to even their series with Visalia. … Shortstop Jackson Merrill busted out of a mini-slump to pace the Storm offensive attack. Hitting out of the lead-off spot, Merrill singled three times and drew a walk. He came into Friday’s action in a 2-for-17 stretch since returning from his rehab assignment. Merrill, the Padres’ first-rounder last year, is hitting .351/.415/.446 in 17 games with the Storm this season. … Center fielder Samuel Zavala had a pair of hits and drew a walk. The 18-year-old got off to a hot start in the desert and was promoted to Lake Elsinore almost out of necessity. He’s off to a nice start, hitting .333/.500/.333 in his first three games with the Storm. … Right-hander Garrett Hawkins celebrated winning the MILB Single-A Pitcher of the Month by dominating the Rawhide. The 22-year-old, who was also the MadFriars system pitcher of the month, worked five innings, earning his fifth win. Hawkins allowed a pair of unearned runs on five hits. He didn’t walk a batter, and he struck out eight. Over his last 24.2 innings, he has allowed just two earned runs with six walks and 30 strikeouts. … After Hawkins departed, lefty Ryan Och came in and blew away the Rawhide. Och faced five hitters and struck them all out. The 24-year-old started the season with the TinCaps but struggled with command before being placed on the injured list at the end of May. He was activated on July 27 and sent to the Storm. In 3.2 innings with the Storm, he’s struck out nine batters and has allowed just one hit.

Griffin Doersching cracked his first professional home run.  (Photo: Jerry Espinoza).

ACL Padres 6, ACL Royals 5

Key Statistics: 1B Griffin Doersching, 1-for-3, 2 R, HR (1), RBI; 2B Rosman Verdugo, 1-for-3, R, BB, 2 RBI; LF-RF Braedon Karpathios, 2-for-4, R, HR (1), 3 RBI; LHP Drew Pomeranz, IP, 2 K; RHP Adrian Luna (W, 3-1) 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K; LHP Mason Feole, IP, BB, 3 K; RHP Joshua Paulina (S, 1) IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K

Prospect Watch: The ACL Padres used a pair of home runs to beat the ACL Royals in Surprise. … Throughout the A.J. Preller era, the Padres have rarely drafted pure first base prospects. They selected two this year. Eighth-rounder Griffin Doersching made his presence known in his second professional game by connecting on his first homer. Doersching turns 24 next week, so he’s much older than the average player in the ACL, but he has legitimate power. In 2021, he hit 20 homers with Northern Kentucky of the Horizon League. He transferred to Oklahoma State and hit .296/.407/.573 with 15 homers. The right-handed hitter may not be in the desert for too much longer. … Right fielder Braedon Karpathios had a pair of hits, including his first professional homer. The 19-year-old from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was a two-way player for Harford Community College in Maryland. He hit .377 with 10 homers at the plate and had a 4.13 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 32.2 innings before signing as an undrafted free agent. … Drew Pomeranz started his push back to the big league club. He struck out a pair of batters in an inning of work. He last saw competitive action August 10, last year. It’s expected that his rehab will last longer than that of Robert Suarez, who got underway 11 days ago and could be activated this weekend.

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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