Salt Lake Bees 4, Chihuahuas 3
Key Statistics: 3B Eguy Rosario, 2-for-4, 2 R; LF Tirso Ornelas, 3-for-4, R; 1B Kevin Plawecki, 1-for-3, BB, 2 RBI; RHP Nabil Crismatt, 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB; LHP Tom Cosgrove, IP; Lake Bachar (L, 5-2) 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R (0 ER), K
Eguy Rosario likely won’t be wearing an El Paso uniform much longer. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Prospect Watch: El Paso had a 3-2 lead in the ninth with two outs and two runners on. Salt Lake left fielder Bryce Teodosio hit a fly ball to Oscar Mercado that should have ended the game. However, Mercado dropped the fly ball, two runs scored, and El Paso snatched defeat from the jaws of the victory. … Eguy Rosario had a pair of singles and scored a pair of runs in the loss. The 24-year-old has been fantastic for El Paso while he waits for his eventual return to the big leagues. The multi-hit effort raised his Triple-A slash-line to .286/.393/.616 with 13 homers in 49 games. … Tirso Ornelas singled three times to collect his second consecutive multi-hit game. The 24-year-old has been incredible in July, hitting a blistering .397/.447/.603 with four homers and 14 RBI. Ornelas ranks third in the PCL with a .314 batting average this season as he continues to pull more fly balls than at any point in his career. … Nabil Crismatt made his case for a big-league job on Friday with a solid outing. The veteran righty made the start and pitched five solid innings, allowing two runs on five hits. He walked one but failed to notch a strikeout. The former Padre has been well-traveled this year, seeing big league time with the Dodgers in addition to pitching for the Rangers’ Triple-A team. The 29-year-old has appeared in five games for El Paso since rejoining the organization. In 15.1 innings, he has a 5.28 ERA, although he’s struck out just six batters while walking seven.
Roster Moves: Before the game, the Padres officially activated Tom Cosgrove from the Injured List and optioned him to El Paso. The lefty worked a scoreless inning after a pair of rehab appearances in Lake Elsinore.
Midland RockHounds 10, Missions 2
Key Statistics: LF Cole Cummings, 2-for-4; 1B Robbie Tenerowicz, 2-for-4, R, RBI; C Michael De La Cruz, 1-for-4, 2B, RBI; LHP Austin Krob (L, 3-7) 1.2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, K; LHP Miguel Cienfuegos, 2.1 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, BB, K; RHP David Morgan, 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K
Robbie Tenerowicz has carried the Missions offense. (Photo: San Antonio Missions)
Prospect Watch: Midland scored 10 runs in the first four innings to blow out the Missions. … Cole Cummings had a pair of singles in the loss. The 26-year-old struggled at the start of the month but has looked better of late, hitting safely in seven of his last eight games. The former UC Santa Barbara slugger has been a roughly league-average bat this season for the Missions. He has 40 RBI this season, nearly matching the 41 runs he drove last season for San Antonio. … First baseman Robbie Tenerowicz had a pair of singles and drove in a run in the loss. The 29-year-old has been a solid contributor for the Missions since joining the organization as a free agent signing in May. He has held his K-rate under 18% and a .749 OPS since joining the Padres organization. … Lefty Austin Krob has had a wildly inconsistent season in 2024. Just two starts ago, he pitched six solid innings and notched 10 strikeouts while allowing just two runs. Since then, he has been throttled by Texas League hitters. Krob lasted just 1.2 innings against the RockHounds, allowing five runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out one. Over his last two starts, the former TCU southpaw has allowed 10 runs in 5.1 innings. The poor outing raised his ERA to 5.58.
TinCaps 3, Dayton Dragons 0
Key Statistics: RF Kai Murphy, 2-for-5, R; LF Nick Vogt, 1-for-3, BB, RBI; C Anthony Vilar, 1-for-2, RBI, 2B; RHP Braden Nett (W, 1-1) 5 IP, H, 4 BB, 2 K; LHP Fernando Sanchez, 3 IP, H, 6 K; RHP Manuel Castro (S, 7) IP, 2 K
Braden Nett generates big velocity. (Photo: Fort Wayne TinCaps)
Prospect Watch: Fort Wayne rode excellent pitching, as three pitchers combined for a two-hit shutout to snap a six-game losing streak. … At the plate, Kai Murphy was the only TinCaps batter to collect more than one hit. The former ASU outfielder singled twice and scored a run in the victory. The 23-year-old got off to a solid start to the season but he hasn’t hit much over the last few months. In 45 at-bats in July, Murphy is hitting just .178/.288/.244. … Braden Nett earned his first win of the season, stretching out to five innings for the first time this season. Nett allowed just one hit but he did walk four batters while striking out a pair. The 22-year-old has battled injuries this year but he has one of the most electric arms in the organization. The results haven’t been great as he continues to struggle with command, but Nett working five innings in his final start of July bodes well for a strong finish this season. … After Nett departed, Fernando Sanchez pitched three strong innings. He allowed just one hit, striking out six in the process. The 23-year-old has a 0.82 ERA in four outings this month, although he did allow four unearned runs to Lake County on July 20. The most intriguing result for Sanchez has been his K/BB ratio. In 11 innings this month, he’s punched out 16 batters while walking just two. After spending most of the last four seasons in the lower levels of the minors, Sanchez is developing into an intriguing southpaw who is capable of working multiple innings. … Manuel Castro punched out two in a scoreless inning to notch his seventh save of the season. The 22-year-old from Guasave, Mexico, has moved into the bullpen full-time this season and the results have been encouraging. He has a solid 3.38 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 40 innings. He has not blown a save this season.
Storm 1, Visalia Rawhide 0
Key Statistics: SS Leo De Vries, 2-for-4, R, 2B; 1B Ethan Long, 1-for-4; RF Ryan Wilson, 1-for-2, 2B, BB; RHP Ian Koenig, 4 IP, 2 H, BB, 3 K; RHP Johan Moreno (W, 5-1) 4 IP, H, 3 K; RHP Will Varmette (S, 1) IP, H, 2 K
Ian Koenig has showed promise as he works back from Tommy John surgery, (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Prospect Watch: One got it done. The Storm scored a run in the first and made it hold up, as three pitchers combined on a four-hit shutout. … Lake Elsinore only had five hits, with two coming off the bat of prized prospect Leo De Vries. The 17-year-old shortstop had a single and a double and scored the lone run of the game. De Vries has four consecutive multi-hit games and he’s hit safely in five overall. Despite playing in just 58 games this season, his 19 doubles are the sixth-most in the Cal League and he’s just outside the top-ten with nine homers. De Vries left the game after fouling a ball off himself in the seventh. … Ian Koenig pitched well again, tossing four shutout innings to start things off. He allowed just two hits, walked one, and struck out three. The 23-year-old has stretched out slowly after undergoing Tommy John surgery last season. Over his last three starts, spanning 11 innings, he’s allowed just two earned runs while punching out 12 batters and walking just one batter. While his 6.93 ERA this season isn’t pretty, the young righty seems to be getting stronger as the season has progressed. … After Koenig departed, Johan Moreno pitched the next four innings to notch his fifth win of the season. Moreno allowed just one hit and struck out three. The 21-year-old righty has pitched to a 4.28 ERA for the Storm this season.
Roster Moves: The ACL season wrapped up Thursday and the Storm received some reinforcements from the desert. Shortstop B.Y. Choi and catcher/designated hitter Lamar King Jr. were promoted to the Cal League. King Jr. started at designated hitter on Friday, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. In a corresponding move, Alain Camou was released. The 20-year-old infielder hit just .191/.220/.255 between Fort Wayne, Lake Elsinore, and one game in the ACL this season.
