Bryce Johnson had a pair of hits on Saturday. (Jorge Salgado)
Chihuahuas 6, Sugar Land Space Cowboys 4
Key Statistics: DH Donovan Solano 2-for-3, BB; 1B/2B Nate Mondou 1-for-3, SB, BB; CF Bryce Johnson 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI; LF Tirso Ornelas 2-for-4, RBI; SS Mason McCoy 2-for-3, 2B, BB; RF/1B Tim Locastro 0-for-1, 3 BB, RBI; LHP Ryan Carpenter (W, 1-2) 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 6 K, HR; RHP Sean Reynolds 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K; LHP Austin Davis (S,3) IP, H
Sean Reynolds unleashing his 6-foot-8 frame into the pitch. (Photo:Jorge Salgado)
Prospect Watch: After trailing early, El Paso tied it up with three runs in the fourth, then put up three more against former Padre Miguel Díaz in the next inning. Bryce Johnson doubled to drive in two, and Tirso Ornelas added an RBI single. The Chihuahuas have now taken three out of five from the visiting Space Cowboys. … Ornelas has been on a hot streak, collecting eight hits in his last 17 plate appearances including three for extra-bases. After a rough start to the year, the 24-year-old outfielder is up to a .275/.348/.450 line, just below league average production. He’s pulling the ball more than ever this year, but still putting fewer than a third of his balls in play in the air. … Johnson, 28, also struggled to a .203 average in April, after his two-hit game, he’s hit in three straight and has his on-base percentage up to .391. The switch-hitter signed a minor league free agent deal in the offseason after getting stints in the big leagues with the Giants in 2022 and 2023. Last year, he had an .828 OPS for Triple-A Sacramento. … Sean Reynolds turned in another solid outing as the 6-foot-8 righthander delivered two clean innings and no walks. In was the third time in 11 appearances he has not walked anyone as he continues to fight control issues. His four-seam fastball sat between 95 and 97 in the contest, touching 99.8. Before he 26-year-old came over from the Marlins via trade last year, he had a 2.35 ERA in Double-A Pensacola with 37 strikeouts against 16 walks in 30.2 innings.
Arkansas Travelers 6, Missions 0
Key Statistics: RHP Victor Lizarraga (L, 0-1) 3.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB. 2 K, HR; RHP Jared Kollar 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, BB, 5 K
Ripken Reyes has played six different positions in 2024. (Photo: San Antonio Missions)
Prospect Watch: After the trade of their two best offensive players, the Missions’ offense was held to five singles and did not have a player reach base twice. … Victor Lizarraga, who had not allowed any runs through his first three starts and 8.2 innings, gave up four as he put nine men on base in 3.2 innings. The 20-year-old, who landed his breaking pitches early in the count during his last start, struggled with location this time out, allowing the Travelers to sit on pitches once they were ahead in the count. … Jared Kollar, 25, who was initially scheduled to start Sunday, was summoned in relief and again pitched well. The righty finished the fourth without then tossed three more scoreless innings. He gave up two in his final inning of work, but finished the game with five strikeouts. Kollar’s 2.78 ERA is second only to Adam Mazur on the Missions. … Ripken Reyes, 27, got his third start of the year in center field, one of six positions he’s already seen on the year. He and Ray-Patrick Didder, who are both primarily infielders, will likely be called on to cover in center for the foreseeable future. … In order to have one position player active on the bench for the contest, Marcos Castañon was activated before the game. The infielder is recovering from being hit in the face with a pitch two weeks ago and did not play in the game.
Homer Bush, Jr. had two hits on the night. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Lake Country Captains 10, TinCaps 1
Key Statistics: CF Homer Bush, Jr. 2-for-4; 1B Anthony Vilar 1-for-3, BB; RF Kai Murphy 1-for-3, 2B, RBI; RHP Dylan Lesko (L, 0-2) 0.2 IP 2 H 6 R 4 BB; RHP Jose Geraldo 1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 BB, K; RHP Bradgley Rodriguez 2.1 IP, H, 3 K; LHP Ryan Och 2 IP, 2 H, BB, 4 K
Ryan Och had four strikeouts on a tough night for Fort Wayne. (Photo: Jeff Nycz).
Prospect Watch: Dylan Lesko couldn’t make it out of the first inning as he walked the first two batters and four of the eight he faced. The 20-year-old left with the bases loaded and two outs after throwing just 17 of his 39 pitches for strikes. All three runners scored to leave him with an ugly 9.39 ERA after five starts. Lesko, our top pitching prospect going into the season, has held batters to a .163 batting average, but has walked 20 in 15.1 innings as he tries to find feel for a curve that can induce swings. … Homer Bush, Jr., 22, had a pair of hits, including another infield single. The speedster, who is third in the Midwest League with 11 steals in 14 attempts, but is hitting just .224 and doesn’t have an extra-base hit in 85 plate appearances. … Bradgley Rodgriguez, Will Geerdes, and Ryan Och shined in relief to keep this one from getting even further out of hand, allowing just four hits and striking out eight over the final 6.1 innings. Och recorded four punchouts in the final two innings. On the season, he has 22 in 11 innings against six walks. While he had a bad outing on Wednesday to blow up his ERA to 4.09, the 25-year-old is putting together an otherwise solid year as he returns from Tommy John surgery.
Storm rained out
Lake Elsinore’s game at the San Jose Giants was postponed and will be made up Sunday as part of a doubleheader.
ACL Padres 10, ACL Royals 6 (7 innings)
Key Statistics: DH Donte Grant 0-for-1, 3 BB, RBI; 1B Ethan Long 3-for-4, 2 2B, 4 RBI; 3B Alain Camou 2-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI; C Kaden Hollow 3-for-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI; SS B.Y. Choi 1-for-3, BB; RHP Langston Burkett (W, 1-0) 3.0 IP 4 H 4 R BB 2 K; LHP Brian Salazar 2.0 IP H 2; RHP Maikel Miralles 1 IP
Prospect Watch: The ACL Padres opened the season by posting nine runs in the first inning against the Royals. The first six batters reached base as the club sent 13 men to the plate. Ethan Long and Kaden Hollow led the charge as each had a pair of doubles as part of three-hit games. … Hollow, 23, a left-handed hitting catcher from Dixie State University (now Utah Tech), is repeating after a posting a .975 OPS in 16 games and 47 plate appearances in 2023. … Long, an Arizona native and ASU Sun Devil, signed as an undrafted free agent last summer. The 22-year-old had a big freshman year before falling off his last two seasons. … Fellow undrafted free agent, Langston Burkett, had a rough go in his first professional game. After breezing through his first frame, the 6-foot-6 19-year-old was tagged for a pair of runs in each of his next two innings. He’ll be one to keep an eye on throughout the year as he settles into his professional career. … If you missed it, you can catch our season preview of the rookie league club here.
