Chihuahuas 7, Round Rock Express 2
Key Statistics: 3B Clay Dungan 1-for-4, 2B, 4 RBI; SS Mason McCoy 1-for-2, 2 BB, 3 SB, RBI; 1B Kevin Plawecki 0-for-1, 3 BB; LF Cal Mitchell 2-for-5, 2B, SB; RF Tim Locastro 2-for-2, SB, 2 HBP, RBI; LHP Jackson Wolf 2.1 IP 3 H 2 R 2 BB 2 K; RHP Lake Bachar 2.2 IP 2 H 2 BB K; RHP Matt Festa 1.0 IP H BB K; RHP Alek Jacob 1.0 IP 2 H K
Lake Bachar with the Missions last year. (Photo: Joe Alexander)
Prospect Watch: With the game tied in the fifth inning, the Chihuahuas sent 10 players to the plate and scored five times, led by Clay Dungan’s bases-loaded double that drove home three. So far, in eight games, Dungan, 28, was selected as a minor league Rule 5 selection from Kansas City. The left-handed hitter from Terre Haute, Indiana, had a .751 OPS in Triple-A Omaha in 2023 and has gotten off to a scorching start this season with 15 RBI in El Paso’s first eight games. .. Tim Locastro, 31, reached base four times tonight, two via being hit by pitches. This season, he’s already been hit four times in 13 plate appearances. .. Lake Bachar, 29, got his first win of the season and had his 11th straight appearance going back to last year in San Antonio without allowing a run. Fellow reliever Matt Festa, 31, also has a similar streak of 14 consecutive appearances dating back to his time last year with the Mariners. … Jackson Wolf, 25, returned to the Padres’ organization after being traded to the Pirates last year. The 6-foot-7 former Mountaineer was a little off, throwing 51 pitches, with 28 for strikes. .. El Paso is now 5 and 3 on the season.
Missions 18, Amarillo Sod Poodles 5
Key Statistics: CF Jakob Marsee 1-for-5, 2 BB, 3 SB; 1B Nathan Martorella 2-for-3, 2B, HR (1), 3 RBI, 3 BB; LF Cole Cummings 2-for-5, 2B; RBI; C Miguel De L Cruz 1-for-5, SB, BB; RF Robert Perez, Jr. 1-for-4, BB; DH Zach Reks 1-for-4, HR (1), 2 BBs, 4 RBI; SS Ray-Patrick Didier 2-for-4, 2 HR (2), 2 BB, 6 RBI; LHP Robby Snelling 4.0 IP 2 H R 3 BB 4 K HR; RHP Josh Robertson (W, 1-0) 1.0 IP K; RHP Yovanny Cruz 1.0 IP 2 H
Zach Reks was in an exhibition earlier this year. (Photo: San Antonio Missions)
Prospect Watch: For the second night in a row, the Missions offense pounded the Arizona Diamondbacks affiliate for double digits, with most of the damage coming off the long ball as the wind blew out in the altitude of the Texas Panhandle. Thirteen of San Antonio’s 18 runs came from the long ball as the Missions hit four home runs and two grand slams. Nathan Martorella, Zach Reks, and Ray-Patrick Didier went deep and did it twice. What may have helped even more than the wind was Sod Poodles issued 14 walks and made four errors. .. Robby Snelling threw more pitches than he would have liked to get through four innings, but only giving up a solo home run in this environment is a win in any book. … Jakob Marsee reached base three times and stole three bases. Last year, he stole 46 bases in 55 attempts between Fort Wayne and San Antonio and is off to a strong start. It was a massive night for Martorella with a double and home run after three hits on Friday. The organization raved at his work on his body in the offseason, keeping strength but increasing his lean muscle mass. .. The left-handed hitting Zach Reks, 30, came over from the Texas Rangers organization and was with the Dodgers before that. In six minor league seasons, he has a career .882 OPS before struggling with the Lotte Giants in the KBO, hitting .246 with a .682 OPS. .. Cole Cummings is off to a great start on the season with five hits and two walks in the first two games. Last year, he had a .738 OPS between Fort Wayne and San Antonio, but all 12 of his home runs came in Double-A in the second half of the season. .. Ray-Patrick Didier may have had the best night of his career, reaching base four times with two home runs. Last year, he saw time in San Antonio and El Paso, with the Aruba native playing well with the Chihuahuas, hitting .288/.426/.491 in 202 plate appearances after only batting .198 with San Antonio. … It doesn’t get any easier for the Sod Poodles on Sunday, as San Antonio will start another top pitching prospect in Ryan Bergert.
Great Lakes Loons 5, TinCaps 4
Key Statistics: DH Ethan Salas 2-for-5, 2 RBI; CF Homer Bush, Jr. 2-for-4, BB: LF Kai Murphy 1-for-4, HR (1), RBI, 1B Griffin Doersching 1-for-4; 3B Devin Ortiz 1-for-3, BB; RHP Sam Whiting 2.2 IP 2 H 2 BB 5 K; Will Geredes (L,0-1) 2.1 IP 3 H 2 R
Ethan Salas in Spring Training. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Prospect Watch: Down 5-1 going into the top of the ninth, the visiting TinCaps made a run with one out. Griffin Doershing singled, followed by a pair of walks to pinch-hitter Nerwilian Cedeno and Devin Ortiz. After the Loons pitcher struck out another pinch-hitter, Colton Bender, Lucas Dunn walked with the bases loaded to bring up Ethan Salas with Fort Wayne. After getting down in the count 1-2, Salas laid off two balls in the zone and then lofted a ball over second base to drive in two runs. Homer Bush, Jr. then received the fourth walk in the inning to bring up Kai Murphy, who had hit his first home run of the year in the first inning. Murphy, on a 1-0 count, hit a soft fly to the first baseman to end the game and give the TinCaps their second one-run loss in the first two games. It was a nice outing by Sam Whiting, a 16th-round pick from UCSB in 2023. Whiting, 23, got a brief taste of pro ball last season, throwing 8.2 innings between Lake Elsinore and the ACL with a 2.08 ERA. He should get an opportunity to throw many more innings this season. .. In the first two games, quick starts by Salas and Bush, Jr., 22, played briefly last season in Double-A. Each has three hits and a walk, and Bush, Jr. has stolen two bases in two attempts. Expect to see him run this year at every opportunity. … So far, as last year, the plan seems to be to have Salas spend half his time as a designated hitter, the same as last year for the now 17-year-old Venezuelan.
Isaiah Lowe made his first start of the year. (Photo: Robert Escalante)
Storm 7, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 5
Key Statistics: Dillon Head 2-for-5, 2B, SB; 3B Jay Beshears 1-for-3, 2 BB, HR (1), RBI; SS Rosman Verdugo 2-for-5, HR (1), RBI RF Braedon Karpathios 3-for-5, HR (1), 4 RBI; DH Oswaldo Linares 0-for-1, 3 BB; RHP Isaiah Lowe 3.0 IP H 2 BB 4 K; RHP Jose Luis Reyes (W, 1-0) 2.0 IP 4 H 3 R BB 4 K; RHP Kobe Robinson 2.0 IP 1.0 IP 4 K; RHP Bradgley Rodriguez 1.1 IP 2 K (S,1)
Dillon Head on deck. (Photo: Robert Escalante)
Prospect Watch: The Storm rode two big innings as they got their second win of the season, led by a two-run home run by Rosman Verdugo in the fourth inning and home runs by Jay Beshears and Braedon Karpathios in the fifth. .. Karpathios 20, had a massive day with three hits and four RBI. Last season, the left-handed outfielder put up huge numbers in the ACL, scoring .361/.512/.525 slash line in 82 plate appearances, but had one of the stranger lines in Lake Elsinore with a .181 batting average but a .410 on-base percentage in 161 plate appearances. The undrafted free agent is off to a solid start, with four hits in his first two games. .. Top prospect Dillon Head got his first hits tonight and stole a base in two attempts. .. Isaiah Lowe made his first start of the year and looked good. Earlier in the week, we chatted with Lowe in Spring Training about returning from an injury and his goals for this year. He was part of the Padres 2022 draft class and could be someone to watch. .. Finally, Venezuelan Bradgley Rodriguez came in for his first appearance of the year and to unleash a few 100 mph fastballs on Low-A hitters, which doesn’t seem fair.
