Sugar Land Space Cowboys 4, Chihuahuas 3
Key Stats: CF David Dahl 0-for-5, K; DH Rangel Ravelo 1-for-2, HR (2), 2 BB; SS Matt Batten 1-for-4, 2B, BB; RHP Pedro Avila 3 IP, 1 H 1 R (0 ER), 4 K, 1 BB; RHP Reiss Knehr 2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 K, 1 BBLHP Jose Castillo 0.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, RHP Moises Lugo 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 4 K, WP
Pedro Avila had a much-needed strong outing for El Paso. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Prospect Watch: El Paso got the tying and winning runs into scoring position in the ninth but couldn’t convert and dropped the series finale at Sugar Land. … Pedro Avila, who has struggled mightily, allowed just one unearned run over three innings in his best outing of the year. The 26-year-old righty struck out four and walked just one batter as he relied more on his curve and sinker Sunday afternoon. … Jose Castillo made his third rehab appearance of the series. The big lefty surrendered three singles while recording just one out, but that included an opposite-field flare and two infield singles. The BABIP gods were not with Castillo, who didn’t allow a ball in play with an exit velocity over 84 mph. The 27-year-old’s slider has never fully returned to what it was in 2018 before a litany of injuries, and he wasn’t able to get any swings-and-misses with it Sunday. … Moises Lugo followed Castillo with his best outing of the year, striking out four of the five batters he faced. The righty worked 93-95 with his fastball. After walking eight in his first nine innings of the year, he hasn’t issued a free pass in his last two outings. … Pedro Severino earned a pair of walks in four trips to the plate and now has a .400 on-base percentage on the year. Since coming off the IL last week, the MLB veteran catcher is just 1-for-11 but has drawn six walks. Sugar Land baserunners were successful in all three stolen base attempts Sunday, and Severino has caught just 3 of 20 this season.
Jackson Wolf dominated on Sunday. (Photo: San Antonio Missions)
Corpus Christi Hooks 1, Missions 0
Key Stats: 3B Juan Fernandez 2-for-3, BB; LHP Jackson Wolf 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 8 K; RHP Alek Jacob 2 IP, 2 K
Prospect Watch: Three of the first four Hooks to come to the plate Sunday singled, plating one run. Then, starter Jackson Wolf found his footing and absolutely steamrolled through seven innings, retiring 19 of the final 20 batters he faced. Unfortunately for the lefty, his offense managed just three hits of their own all afternoon and fell 1-0 to snap a five-game winning streak. Wolf turned in one of the best starts of his career, striking out eight without issuing a walk. The 24-year-old is tied for second in the Texas League with 44 strikeouts in 28.2 innings as his K rate is up nearly 50% from last year, while he’s also shaved his walk rate to below 8%. Wolf’s focus on strength and conditioning over the winter has helped add a few ticks to his fastball, but he continues to rely on breaking stuff and a tough-to-spot release point. Impressively, he’s held right-handed batters to a .195 average on the year. … Alek Jacob was equally effective, blowing through two perfect innings on just 24 pitches. The righty threw just four pitches and called for balls as he struck out a pair. After a late start to the season, he’s holding opponents to a .567 OPS. … Juan Fernandez represented almost all of the Missions’ offense as he collected two of the club’s three hits and one of the lineup’s two walks. Fernandez has appeared almost exclusively at the infield corners this year, logging just two games behind the plate after spending most of his first five seasons at catcher. The 24-year-old is hitting a career-best .357/.451/.414.
TinCaps 7, Beloit Sky Carp 2
Key Stats: 2B Lucas Dunn 3-for-4, 2B, CS (2); 1B Cole Cummings 3-for-4, 2B, 3B; RF Justin Farmer 2-for-4, 2B; LHP Bodi Rascon 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 K, 4 BB; RHP Ryan Bergert 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 K, 1 BB
Prospect Watch: John Conniff has the gamer from his last day in the Summit City.
San Jose Giants 6, Storm 5 (F/10 innings)
Key Stats: 1B Victor Duarte 2-for-4, SF; 2B/SS Rosman Verdugo 1-for-4, Sac, SB (7); LHP Austin Krob 4 IP, 2 H, 3 R (1 ER), 4 K , 2 BB, 2 HBP, E; RHP Kobe Robinson 3.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 5 K, HBP
Prospect Watch: The Storm and Giants went to extra innings tied 3-3 before a sloppy inning on both sides ended with San Jose walking off with a 6-5 win courtesy of a Carter Loewen throwing error. The inning also featured Storm runs fueled by an error, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly, and the Giants tied the game on a passed ball. The two sides combined for just 11 total hits in the contest, one for extra bases. … Austin Krob allowed just one earned run over four innings but had something of an uneven outing. The Iowa-born lefty gave up just two singles, but walked a pair, hit two more batters, and had a fielding error that contributed to a pair of unearned runs. While Krob has an impressive 2.19 ERA and is holding opponents to a .180 average, he improbably has committed five errors in 24 innings, contributing to six unearned runs allowed. … Kobe Robinson, as he has all year, followed Krob and delivered his best results since his season opener. The hard-throwing righty blanked San Jose on three singles, striking out five over 3.1 innings. After missing much of last season with an elbow issue, the Tennessee native has struck out 18 in 16 innings of work this year. … Victor Duarte had two of the Storm’s four hits and drove in a run on a sacrifice fly. The 21-year-old catcher made his first start at first base since his debut season in the DSL back in 2019.
