Round Rock Express 6, Chihuahuas 3
Key Stats: 2B Tim Lopes 2-for-4, 3B Jantzen Witte 1-for-4, 2B; 1B Alfonso Rivas 1-for-2, 2B, 2 BB; RHP Pedro Avila 3 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 4 K, 1 BB; LHP Adrián Morejón 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 3 K, 1 BB
Tim Lopes had two more hits Sunday. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Prospect Watch: El Paso fell behind early and never closed the gap to less than two runs as they dropped Sunday’s series finale. Tim Lopes had two of the Chihuahuas’ five hits, his seventh multi-hit game of the month. The 28-year-old infielder’s .307 average on the year is on track for a career-best. … Third baseman Jantzen Witte, who signed as a free agent after spending last year in Japan, had a double in four trips to the plate and now has a .495 slugging percentage on the year. He last topped that in his first season of full-season ball in 2014 in the Red Sox organization. … After a bumpy start from Pedro Avila, five El Paso relievers – four of them on the Padres’ 40-player roster – combined to allow just one unearned run over five innings. Adrián Morejón struck out three and gave up two singles – one an infield hit – over 1.2 innings of work. The lefty got 11 whiffs on 19 swings in the outing while sitting 94-95 with his fastball.
Missions 11, Amarillo Sod Poodles 4
Key Stats: SS Ripken Reyes 2-for-4, 2B, BB; DH Tirso Ornelas 2-for-4, HR (8), BB; 1B Pedro Castellanos 2-for-5, 2 2B; LF Ray-Patrick Didder 2-for-5, HR (4); LHP Jackson Wolf 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R (3 ER), 6 K, 2 BB; RHP Michel Baez 1 IP, 1 K
Jackson Wolf getting fully extended. (Photo: Joe Alezander).
Prospect Watch: The Missions came into Amarillo with the Texas League’s least productive offense and put up their third double-digit run total of the week to claim a 4-2 series victory. The club pounded eight more extra-base hits as every batter in the lineup collected at least one hit. Tirso Ornelas singled, homered, and drew a walk to cap a monster series in the friendly confines of Hodgetown. The corner outfielder went 13-for-25 with four homers, matching his total for the year entering the series. He added .112 points to his season OPS in the series, and all three of his slash line totals of .271/.377/.449 are at their highest point of the season. The 22-year-old will look to carry over the success back at sea level in the coming week. … Utilityman Kervin Pichardo, playing in left field, connected on his first homer since joining the Missions. The 21-year-old from the Bronx has a .193 average in 342 at-bats since coming over from the Phillies at the start of the 2022 campaign. … After a rough night Tuesday, Jackson Wolf bounced back with a Quality Start Sunday afternoon to pick up the victory. The lefty struck out six more and now has a strong 80:16 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 62 frames for the year. Three of the five hits he gave up went for extra bases, including a pair of Pandhandle-aided homers. He had allowed just five round-trippers through his first 11 starts of the year.
TinCaps 2, Dayton Dragons 1
Key Stats: SS Jackson Merrill 3-for-4; C Brandon Valenzuela 2-for-4, 2B; RHP Jairo Iriarte 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 6 K, 3 BB; RHP Keegan Collett IP, 2 K
Jairo Iriarte continues to mow down Midwest League hitters. (Photo: John Nagel)
Prospect Watch: Jairo Iriarte matched his season high with six innings of strong work to help the TinCaps split their series at home. The 21-year-old righty struck out six and allowed just one earned run. He’s had to make adjustments as the league learned to lay off the new slider he broke out this season, but after a pair of rough outings at the end of May, Iriarte is back to a 1.33 WHIP on the year. He’s just short of innings to qualify among league leaders. Still, his 3.12 ERA would be ninth on the circuit. … Jackson Merrill, who has been streaky at the plate this year, collected his second three-hit game of the series, pulling the ball twice and then lining a single into left. The 20-year-old is hovering at a .750 OPS for the month but has struck out just six times in 75 trips to the plate. He hasn’t struck out in his last seven games. … Brandon Valenzuela drove in the first run with the TinCaps’ only extra-base hit of the game, then turned around and singled from the right side before scoring the game-winner. The 22-year-old has had only 19 at-bats from the right side this year, yielding a .602 OPS. Left-handed, he sports a .934 OPS in more than five times as many trips to the plate. Overall, his 153 wRC+ is tied for sixth among Midwest League hitters who’ve come to the plate as often as he has.
Stockton Ports 6, Storm 0
Key Stats: CF Samuel Zavala 1-for-3, 2B, BB, E (4); RF Albert Fabian 1-for-4; RHP Miguel Mendez 2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 K, 2 BB; RHP Thomas Balboni 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 K; RHP Will Geerdes 1 IP, 2K
Prospect Watch: The Storm finished their homestand with a clunker, managing just three hits in a 6-0 loss to Stockton. Ports starter Wander Guante, who entered the game with an ERA over six, took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Samuel Zavala was the only Storm hitter to reach base multiple times and collected a leadoff double in the ninth for the home team’s only extra-base hit. The 18-year-old outfielder has reached base safely in all but one game this month and has a solid 17:15 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 66 June plate appearances. After starting the year slowly, he’s worked his way into the top 20 in the Cal League with a 127 RC+ despite being the third-youngest qualified hitter on the circuit. … Albert Fabian extended his hitting streak to seven games with a single. The left-handed corner bat has added 64 points to his season OPS across the streak. … Righty Will Geerdes, one of two University of Virginia alums on the Storm roster to sign as an undrafted free agent last summer, continues to rack up strikeouts with a nasty slider. The 23-year-old righty added two more Ks to his tally Sunday and now has 38 in 32.1 innings while posting a 2.78 ERA in his first entire professional season.
The Arizona Complex League is off on Sundays.
