Las Vegas Aviators 7, Chihuahuas 3
Key Stats: LHP Miguel Cienfuegos (L, 0-1) 4.2 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 K; RHP Lake Bachar 1.2 IP, BB; LHP Tom Cosgrove IP, BB; DH Eguy Rosario 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI; 2B Graham Pauley 0-for-3, BB; 1B Nate Mondou 2-for-3, 2 2B, R, BB; C Chandler Seagle 1-for-4, HR (1), RBI
Eguy Rosario continues to make a case for another shot at the big leagues. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Prospect Watch: Lefthander Miguel Cienfuegos made his first Triple-A start following a promotion from High-A Fort Wayne over the weekend. After an easy first inning, the 27-year-old gave up homers in the second and fourth inning and was charged with five earned runs over 4.2 innings. The Canadian was coming off a 3.52 ERA in May with Fort Wayne. He had gone at least five innings in each of his last five starts. … The Chihuahuas offense opened the game with three straight doubles but then managed just three more hits the rest of the game. Their big hit was a two-run double from Eguy Rosario, who continues to destroy left-handed pitching. Rosario lined a high slider to left. In 29 plate appearances against southpaws since joining El Paso, the 24-year-old is slashing .333/.400/.815 while maintaining a more-than-respectable .263/.425/.544 line against righties. He has a 157 wRC+ and .350 ISO, which might be enough to earn another shot at the big leagues. … First baseman Nate Mondou, 29, is riding a seven-game hitting streak after collecting two doubles. If nothing else, Mondou has been consistent. In his four seasons in Triple-A, Mondou has posted annual OPS’s of .803, .805, and .813, and he’s currently at .816. … Tom Cosgrove threw a scoreless inning, walking a batter. It was his fifth straight appearance without allowing an earned run. The lefty looks to be doing a better job spotting his sweeper, which still doesn’t have quite the horizontal movement it showed last year. He will probably be asked to do it more consistently before getting another opportunity with San Diego.
Roster Moves: With Nick Hernandez now on the big league roster in Houston, the Padres signed an old friend to a minor league deal. Lefty Luke Westphal was assigned to El Paso where he will be looked at to eat innings. Westphal will turn 35 on June 14. He pitched for the Chihuahuas in 2021 and 2022, posting a respectable 4.88 ERA in 47 games. The veteran pitcher is a lesson on perseverance. He’s seen extensive time in the independent Atlantic League, as well as the American Association. Westphal was pitching for the Tijuana Toros this season, where he had a solid 3.32 ERA in eight starts.
Missions 10, Midland RockHounds 4 (11 innings)
Victor Lizarraga bounced back on Wednesday. (Photo: Rey Holguin)
Key Stats: RHP Victor Lizarraga 4.2 IP, 4 H, ER, 4 BB, 4 K; CF Connor Hollis 1-for-5, R, 2 RBI, BB; C Brandon Valenzuela 2-for-5, 2 R; 2B Marcos Castañon 2-for-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI; RF Robert Perez Jr. 2-for-3, HR (4), 3 R, RBI, 2 BB
Prospect Watch: This one went to extra innings tied at three before the Missions erupted for seven runs in the 11th inning to claim the victory. After giving up a season-high five earned runs in his last start, Victor Lizarraga rebounded to allow one over 4.2 innings. It was the fourth time this year that the San Diego native has gone at least four innings while allowing one run or less. He’s often needed too many pitches to get much deeper in games. Wednesday, he had thrown 88 pitches – only 48 for strikes – before he gave way with the bases loaded in the fifth. A year after struggling in Fort Wayne, the 20-year-old has a 3.60 ERA in Double-A. … Second baseman Marcos Castañon collected two more hits for his third multi-hit game in four June contests. The sample size is small, but the UC Santa Barbara product is hitting .353/.421/.588 this month. … Connor Hollis, 29, collected a pair of RBIs in his first game with San Antonio since hitting the IL after the April 25 contest. Injuries have cost Hollis extended periods each of the last two years, but when he was healthy, Hollis won the 2022 Texas League bating title by hitting .333 with a .901 OPS. … Right fielder Robert Perez Jr. had a pair of hits, including his fourth homer of the year. In addition, he scored three runs. The former Mariners farmhand has looked much better at the plate since April. He has three doubles and two homers in his last eight starts.
Peoria Chiefs 7, TinCaps 3
Key Stats: LHP Jagger Haynes 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, BB, 6 K; RHP Cole Paplham (L, 0-1) 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, K; CF Homer Bush Jr 1-for-2, R, BB, SB (27); DH Ethan Salas 1-for-4, 3B, R, RBI; RF Tyler Robertson 2-for-4, RBI
When Homer Bush Jr. reaches base, he’s a threat. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Prospect Watch: Batting in the three hole, Ethan Salas collected his first triple since May 7 to drive in the game’s first run, then came around to score in a second straight game. The now-18-year-old did strike out in two of his three other at-bats. Salas has had one hit in each of the first two games in the series as he tries to rebound from a 1-for-21 series last week. … Center fielder Homer Bush Jr. walked and stole a base for the first time in a week. Bush continues to lead the organization and league in stolen bases (27). More impressively, since May 1, Bush has stolen 17 bases and has been caught once. While Bush only walks in 8.7% of at-bats this year, he has kept his strikeout rate to 15.9%. … Jagger Haynes cruised through five shutout innings with six strikeouts and no walks. The lefty started the sixth by allowing a walk and a single. He retired the next two batters before leaving a changeup up in the zone to the number nine hitter, who did not miss. The ensuing three-run home run turned a dominant shutout into merely a quality start. While it was the most runs he’s allowed in a start since April, Haynes also tallied a new career high with six strikeouts. Haynes has also set a new career high in innings with 38.1. Haynes is more than two years removed from a torn UCL so it will be interesting to see how close to a full workload he will be given.
Inland Empire 66ers 16, Storm 8
Key Stats: SS Leo De Vries 2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI, BB; 3B Rosman Verdugo 1-for-5, 2B, R, RBI; 1B Romeo Sanabria 3-for-4, 2 R, RBI, BB; CF Nick Vogt 3-for-5, 2 2B, 2 R; DH Jacob Campbell 2-for-5, 2B; C J.D. Gonzalez 2-for-4, 2 RBI, BB; RHP Jose Reyes 4 IP, 7 H, 7 R (6 ER), 2 K, 2 BB; RHP Keegan Collett 0.2 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 3 BB; RHP Kobe Robinson IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 2 K, 3 BB
David Jay had on-site coverage of the Storm’s loss at Inland Empire. The final score was ugly, but key prospects looked impressive.
ACL D-Backs 6, ACL Padres 5 (10 innings)
Key Stats: RHP Johan Moreno 4 IP, 3 H, BB, 4 K; RHP Ruben Salinas IP, H, K; C Colton Vincent 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 2B; DH Hugo Sanchez 1-for-3, R, 2 BB
Prospect Watch: Converted outfielder Ruben Salinas continued his excellent maiden voyage as a pitcher, making his sixth consecutive scoreless appearance. Salinas, 21, went to the mound full time in advance of last season, but quickly needed Tommy John surgery. He hasn’t show big velocity yet, but the lefty has yet to allow an earned run over 7.1 innings and has an impressive 9:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. … Righty Johan Moreno followed and had his best stateside outing. The 21-year-old righty, who came over to the U.S. late last summer after starting his first professional year in the DSL, tossed four shutout innings and struck out a stateside-high of four. Most notably, after walking 15 batters in 11 innings last month, Moreno issued just one free pass. … Switch-hitting catcher Colton Vincent, who has also seen time at both outfield corner positions this year, was the only Padres batter with multiple hits. The Florida State product, who signed as an undrafted free agent last summer, connected on two doubles and now has a .936 OPS in 10 games in the desert this year. He had brief stints with both Lake Elsinore and Fort Wayne, where he also hit well in limited action.
