Chihuahuas 9, OKC Baseball Club 3
Key Statistics: 3B Matthew Batten 2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI; 1B Nate Mondou 1-for-4, 2B, RBI, 2B, BB; RF Eguy Rosario 0-for-3, 2 BB; LF Tirso Ornelas 3-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB; SS Mason McCoy 1-for-3, RBI, 2 BB; 2B Clay Dungan 1-for-2, 2B, 2 SB (7), BB; C Chandler Seagle 1-for-2, RBI, BB; LHP Jackson Wolf 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R (2 ER), 3 BB, 5 K; LHP Omar Cruz (W, 1-0) 2 IP, H, 3 K; RHP Tommy Nance (S, 2) 2 IP, 2 K
Tirso Ornelas is having a fun year. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Prospect Watch: After being held hitless for three innings by rehabbing future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw, El Paso scored nine unanswered runs to defeat the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate at Southwest University Park. … Tirso Ornelas collected three more hits, including a double, to remain red-hot. The 24-year-old now has a slash line of .462/.488/.641 in 52 plate appearances across 10 games this month. For the year, his .909 OPS is 155 points better than his seven-year MiLB career mark. Defensively, he is limited almost exclusively to left field, but he is elevating the ball more and striking out less than he has at any other point in his career. … Eguy Rosario drew a pair of walks, but made his first error in his third start in right field. Rosario has mainly played third base this season but can also play second. The organization would potentially like to get his bat into the big league lineup. … After spending nearly three full years at Double-A, lefty Omar Cruz finally earned a promotion to Triple-A and threw a pair of scoreless frames to pick up the victory in his first appearance. Cruz was part of the Joe Musgrove trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2021, but San Diego selected him in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft last winter, and he has been outstanding in his return to the organization. In San Antonio, the 25-year-old racked up 70 strikeouts in 47.2 innings against only 13 walks while holding opponents to a .205 average in a multi-inning relief role.
Miguel Cienfuegos struck out a season-high 10 batters on Saturday. (Photo: Rey Holguin)
Missions 5, Amarillo Sod Poodles 3
Key Statistics: Ripken Reyes 1-for-3, SB (13), BB; LF Cole Cummings 2-for-4; 1B Robbie Tenerowicz 2-for-2, 2B, 2 HBP; 3B Marcos Castañon 1-for-3, HR (7), 2 RBI, BB; C Michael De La Cruz 2-for-4, 2 RBI; LHP Miguel Cienfuegos (W, 2-0) 7 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, BB, 10 , HR; RHP David Morgan IP, BB, K; RHP Ethan Routzahn (S, 5) IP, H
Marcos Castañon hit home run number seven on Harry Potter night. (Photo: Rey Holguin)
Prospect Watch: Miguel Cienfuegos, 27, led the Missions to their third win in five games over the Padres’ former Amarillo affiliate. The Canadian native went seven innings for the third time this year, recording a season-high10 strikeouts. After opening the season with a 3.91 ERA for High-A Fort Wayne, Cienfuegos struggled through five starts with El Paso before joining San Antonio. In two starts for the Missions, he has recorded 15 strikeouts in 12 innings against only a single walk while posting a 3.00 ERA in his first two appearances. … Righty Ethan Routzahn closed out the victory with a scoreless ninth to pick up his fifth save. The 2021 undrafted free agent hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last 13 appearances and has given up just one earned run over his last 27 innings. … Marcos Castañon delivered the big hit of the night, a two-run home run in the sixth to put the Missions up 4-3. After slugging just .340 through the first three months of the season, the 25-year-old has three homers in seven games this month. … Robbie Tenerowicz had a single, double and was hit by two pitches. The 29-year-old leads the team with a .778 OPS since signing as a free agent in May.
Great Lakes Loons 7, TinCaps 4
Key Statistics: SS Jay Beshears 1-for-3, BB; 2B Nerwilian Cedeño 1-for-3, BB; RF Joshua Mears 1-for-3, HR (4), 2 RBI; RHP Dylan Lesko (L, 1-8) 5 IP, 3 H, 4 R (3 ER), 3 BB, 9 K
Joshua Mears shows some of his immense power. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Prospect Watch: Dylan Lesko struck out a career-high nine but still took his eighth loss of the year. He started great by striking out the side in the first inning and didn’t allow a hit until the third. While Lesko only allowed three hits, two were doubles and the other was a triple with runners on base. The Georgia right-hander made it through five innings on 92 pitches, 53 for strikes, but he is still searching for a consistent breaking ball to go along with his fastball/changeup combination. … Joshua Mears, 23, hit his fourth home run of the season but is still struggling to find consistency at the plate. The big outfielder is batting just .169 with a .574 OPS in 102 plate appearances in his third trip through the Midwest League.
Storm 2, Fresno Grizzlies 1 (10 innings)
Key Statistics: SS Leo De Vries 0-for-2, 3 BB; 3B Rosman Verdugo 3-for-4, BB; PH Ethan Long 1-for1, RBI; RHP Miguel Mendez 5 IP, 4 H, BB, 6 K; LHP Thomas Balboni IP, H, BB, K; RHP Luis German IP, H, ER, BB; RHP Yerry Landinez IP, BB; LHP Javier Chacon (W, 4-1) 2 IP, 2 K
Ethan Long came up big on Saturday. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Prospect Watch: With the Storm down 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth, Ryan Wilson reached base on an error, then sacrificed to second by Chase Valentine. Ethan Long came on to pinch-hit and delivered a clutch line drive to left to tie the game. Javier Chacon held serve in his second inning of work, striking out two batters. Rosman Verdugo laced his third hit of the night to open the bottom of the 10th before Jacob Campbell’s game-winning hit to center. … After hitting .194 in May and .253 in June, Verdugo, 19, is in the midst of the best ten-game stretch of his career with a .513/.565/.872 slash line that has pushed his overall OPS to .814 on the season. … Long, who we profiled earlier this week, continues to produce in his first 28 games with the Storm, collecting 10 extra-base hits. He’s played first and third base and taken fly balls in left and right. At 23, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound former ASU Sundevil is a likely candidate for promotion after the draft. … Chacon now has 65 strikeouts in 50.1 innings and has held Cal League hitters to a .182 average. The 21-year-old Cuban still loses the zone with his fastball, leading to 28 walks, but his changeup has become a real weapon.
ACL D-Backs 8, ACL Padres 7 (10 innings)
Key Statistics: 2B Lucas Dunn 1-for-4, RBI, 2 BB, SB; CF Spence Coffman 1-for-3, BB; LF L.J. Jones 2-for-4, HR (5), RBI, BB; C Colton Vincent 1-for-3, 2 BB; LHP Zack Qin 2.0 IP 4 H, R, BB 4 K; RHP Miguel Valdez 2.2 IP 2 H, 3 K
Spence Coffman leads the ACL Padres with 51 hits. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Prospect Watch: The ACL Padres rallied for two to tie in the ninth, but fell to the Diamondbacks in a game that began with temperatures still at 100 degrees. … San Diego native L.J. Jones connected on his fifth home run since signing a minor league deal with the club in June. The 24-year-old, who spent last year with the Cardinals’ Double-A affiliate, has 13 extra-base hits in 20 games, but has been waylaid with a minor injury as he works his way into shape to go out to an affiliate. … Spence Coffman reached base twice, collecting his team-leading 51st hit. The Mississippi native still only has seven extra-base hits in 188 plate appearances. … Zack Qin, a native of mainland China, continued his rehab progression, recording four strikeouts in two innings. The 18-year-old has allowed one run in six innings as he works into form.
All-Star Futures Game
Robby Snelling only faced one batter, but made the most of it. Brought on with the bases loaded to face Mariners’ top prospect Cole Young, Snelling got a pop up to escape the jam and hold a 4-1 lead for the N.L. squad. … Ethan Salas got the start at catcher and had a single in two at-bats. The 18-year-old was charged with catcher’s interference behind the plate, which has also happened three times in the last week of regular season competition as he works to receive the ball closer to the plate.
