Las Vegas Aviators 7, Chihuahuas 4
Key Statistics: 1B Nate Mondou 1-for-3, R, 2 BB; 3B Matthew Batten 3-for-4, R, RBI; LF Tirso Ornelas 1-for-3, 2 R, HR (5), RBI; LHP Jackson Wolf (L, 1-4) 4 IP, 10 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 3 K; RHP Lake Bachar 3 IP, H, 3 BB, 3 K
Matthew Batten is back on track after a slow start. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Prospect Watch: El Paso is not having a good time in Sin City. The Chihuahuas lost Friday night and have dropped the first four games of the series against the Aviators. Overall, El Paso has lost five consecutive games. … Matthew Batten has been one of the hottest hitters in professional baseball over the last two weeks. On Friday, he collected his third consecutive three-hit game and extended his hitting streak to 10 games. During the streak, Batten has gone 21-49 (.429 average) with six doubles, a triple, seven walks, and 12 RBI. The former Quinnipiac infielder has raised his batting average from .230 to .313 during that stretch. … Tirso Ornelas homered for the third consecutive game, giving him five homers this season. A night after he launched one 449 feet, this blast traveled an estimated 457 feet and left his bat at 104 mph. He extended his hitting streak to six games. The left-handed hitting outfielder has been red-hot in May, hitting .341/.400/.610. Ornelas still hits the ball on the ground too much (his 51.8% groundball rate is the seventh-highest in the PCL) but he has been hitting the ball extremely hard while striking out in just 16% of his plate appearances. … Lefty Jackson Wolf has pitched well recently but he struggled in the hitter-friendly confines of Las Vegas. Wolf allowed seven runs on 10 hits in his four innings of work. He walked two and struck out three. The poor start ended a string of four straight starts in which Wolf allowed three runs or less. Overall, Wolf has a 5.80 ERA for El Paso this season.
Roster Moves: The Padres released reliever Matt Festa Friday, according to the MILB transactions page. It is unclear whether he opted out of his deal. The 31-year-old big league veteran had a 4.50 ERA in 16 appearances for the Chihuahuas.
Missions 3, Corpus Christi Hooks 2
Key Statistics: LF Cole Cummings, 1-for-4, SS Ripken Reyes, 1-for-3, R, 3B, RBI; 3B Marcos Castañon, 1-for-3, R, HR (2), RBI; LHP Robby Snelling, 6 IP, 2 H, ER, 7 K; LHP Jayvien Sandridge (W, 2-2), 2 IP, H, 5 K
Robby Snelling was on his game Friday night. (Photo: Ray Holguin)
Prospect Watch: Despite notching just three hits, the Missions won in ten innings on a sacrifice fly from Ripken Reyes. … Third baseman Marcos Castañon connected on a solo homer, his second big fly of the year. The former UC Santa Barbara Gaucho spent some time on the injured list after getting hit in the face by an errant pitch. The infielder has always put up solid offensive numbers but has gotten off to a slow start. In 82 at-bats, the 25-year-old has a .634 OPS this season. … Lefty Robby Snelling turned in his best outing of the season but took a no-decision for his effort. Snelling worked six innings and allowed just a run on two hits. He struck out seven without walking a batter. It was the first outing this season that Snelling didn’t issue a free pass. One of the most impressive things about Snelling in his short time as a professional has been his resilience after a poor outing. On April 26, Snelling allowed four earned runs on eight hits in just 2.2 innings. Since then, the 20-year-old has a 3.06 ERA in three starts, pitching into the sixth inning in each outing. Overall, Snelling has a 3.44 mark in seven starts this year. … Jayvien Sandridge picked up the win, pitching the final two innings for the Missions. In those two innings he allowed a single hit and racked up five strikeouts. The 25-year-old has has punched out 26 in just 14.1 innings this season while posting a solid 2.51 ERA and a pair of saves for the Missions.
TinCaps 8, South Bend Cubs 7
Key Statistics: 3B Jay Beshears, 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 2B, BB; LF Albert Fabian, 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 2B, BB, 4 RBI; DH Ethan Salas, 1-for-2, 2 R, 2 BB; RHP Henry Baez, 4 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K; RHP Jose Geraldo, 2 IP, 2 H, ER, 5 K; LHP Ryan Och, IP, 3 K; Will Geerdes (W, 1-2) IP, K; LHP Mitch Miller (S, 3) IP, H, K
Ryan Och delivers for the TinCaps. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Prospect Watch: The TinCaps overcame a five-run deficit to win at home against South Bend. The winning run scored via a wild pitch in the eighth inning. … The TinCaps had four extra-base hits and they came from two players. Jay Beshears had two doubles, drew a walk, and scored a pair of runs. Beshears is 4-for-10 since being promoted from Lake Elsinore where he hit .320/.489/.454. … Albert Fabian also doubled twice as part of a multi-hit effort. Fabian also drew a walk and drove in four runs for the ‘Caps. The multi-hit effort extended Fabian’s hitting streak to five games. The outfielder/first baseman has yet to connect on a homer this season but he’s swung the bat better in May. In 34 plate appearances this month, Fabian is hitting a solid .286/.412/.393 with just five strikeouts. … Despite the offensive heroics from Beshears and Fabian, the real hero of the game was the TinCaps’ bullpen. After Henry Baez allowed six runs (four earned) in four innings, Fort Wayne got five solid innings from four different pitchers. Jose Geraldo pitched two innings and allowed an earned run on two hits but notched five strikeouts. Southpaw Ryan Och pitched a perfect seventh, striking out the side in order. The 25-year-old Och has allowed 18 hits in 15 innings but he’s racked up a staggering 31 strikeouts. … Will Geerdes picked up the victory with a scoreless eighth, striking out one. The scoreless outing lowered his ERA to 3.95. … Mitch Miller finished off the Cubs with a scoreless ninth, picking up his third save in the process. The 26-year-old has a 4.70 ERA in 12 outings this season.
Visalia Rawhide 12, Storm 8
Key Statistics: SS Leodalis De Vries, 1-for-4, R, 2B, BB; 1B Romeo Sanabria, 2-for-5, 2 R, 2B; LF Ryan Wilson, 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI; C J.D. Gonzalez, 1-for-4, R, 2 RBI; RHP Eric Yost, 4.2 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, BB, 4 K; LHP Harry Gustin (L, 1-3) 1.2 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, BB, 4 K
Ryan Wilson is looking to get back on track. (Photo: Robert Escalante)
Prospect Watch: The Storm led 8-2 before the Rawhide scored five in the fifth inning and five more in the eighth to even up the series. … Romeo Sanabria continues to be a one-man wrecking crew for the Storm. He had a pair of hits, including a double to extend his hitting streak to eight games. Sanabria’s .331 batting average and .957 OPS both rank third on the circuit. … Ryan Wilson had two singles and drove in a pair of runs. The former Davidson outfielder has struggled mightily in May but he appears to be breaking out of it. Wilson has put together back-to-back multi-hit efforts after starting the month 2-for-29. Despite the struggles, Wilson ranks sixth in the league with an 18.8% walk rate, leaving him with an excellent .397 on-base percentage. … RIghty Eric Yost cruised through the first three innings before allowing a pair of runs in the fourth. He came back out for the fifth and allowed five more runs before departing. Yost put together a pair of good starts since joining the Storm rotation but he’s struggled in his last two outings. Over his last 9.2 innings, the 21-year-old has given 12 earned runs.
ACL Padres 7, ACL Brewers 4
Key Statistics: SS B.Y. Choi, 1-for-4, R, HR (3), 2 RBI; RF Kaden Hollow, 2-for-2, 2 R, BB, RBI; 1B Addison Kopack, 2-for-4, R, 2B, RBI; 2B ismael Javier, 3-for-4; 3B Yendry Rojas, 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 SB (3, 4); LHP Ruben Salinas, IP, K; Yerry Landinez (W, 1-0) 1.2 IP, H, BB, 3 K; RHP Langston Burkett 0.2 IP, 2 H, 4 R (2 ER), K, 3 BB; RHP Bernard Jose (S, 1) 1.2 IP, H, 2 K
B.Y. Choi squares one up. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Prospect Watch: The ACL Padres jumped out early and held off the ACL Brewers to climb back above .500 at 6-5. … The early breakout story of the ACL season has been B.Y. Choi. The 22-year-old shortstop connected on his third homer in nine games and is hitting .320/.485/.760. Last year’s 20th-round pick has a K-rate of 30% this season – down from a 59% rate in 22 plate appearances last year – but his power has been impressive. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him in Lake Elsinore later this summer. … Right fielder Kaden Hollow had a pair of hits and drew a walk. The 23-year-old from Dixie State is 7-for-20 with three doubles in eight games for the ACL Padres. … The last time we saw Ruben Salinas, he was impressing as an outfielder. Now the young lefty has moved back to the mound. Shortly after making the conversion last year, he underwent Tommy John surgery and missed all of last year. On Friday, he pitched a scoreless innings, striking out a batter. When the Padres signed Salinas, there was talk of having him hit and pitch but he played exclusively as an outfielder in his first two pro seasons. His rehab progression will be a storyline to watch this season. … On the topic of rehabbing position-players-turned-pitchers, Yerry Landinez picked up the win, pitching 1.2 scoreless innings. He walked one and struck out three batters. Landinez is coming back from Tommy John surgery himself after pitching for the Storm in 2022.
