Chihuahuas 7, Oklahoma City Baseball Club 2
Key Statistics: CF Brandon Lockridge, 1-for-3, R, BB; DH Tirso Ornelas, 2-for-4, 2 R, HR (16), 3 RBI; 3B Eguy Rosario, 1-for-4, R, HR (15), 3 RBI; C Brett Sullivan, 2-for-4, R, 2B, SB (2); SS Mason McCoy, 3-for-4, R, 3B; RHP Jared Kollar (W, 1-0) 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K; RHP Tommy Nance, IP; LHP Tom Cosgrove, IP, 2 BB, 2 K
Tirso Ornelas leads El Paso with 15 home runs. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Prospect Watch: El Paso scored four runs in the fourth inning to pull away from OKC and head into the weekend with a chance to claim their first series victory in two months. … Tirso Ornelas had two more hits, including his 16th homer of the season to set a new career high. He hit 15 homers last year between San Antonio and El Paso. Over the last 30 days, Ornelas ranks sixth in the circuit with a .398 batting average. In addition, he ranks seventh in slugging percentage (.648), and he’s tied for fourth in homers with six. Since starting the year in a dreadful 3-for-34 slump, the 24-year-old outfielder is hitting .353. … Eguy Rosario only had one hit but he made it count, as he connected on his 15th homer of the season. The power-hitting infielder has an impressive .999 OPS in his time with the Chihuahuas. Rosario is 5-for-12 with a pair of homers in the current series against Oklahoma City. … Shortstop Mason McCoy had three hits, including a triple. The 29-year-old has struggled offensively this season, managing just a .237/.314/.342 slash-line. He hit 21 homers in 2022 when he played with Tacoma in the Mariners organization, but has just four this season. … Righty Jared Kollar earned his first win in the PCL, pitching six solid innings in his second start since joining El Paso. The former undrafted free agent out of Rutgers allowed just two runs on four hits, walking two and striking out four. The 26-year-old has quietly been one of the most productive pitchers in the entire San Diego Padres system this year. He has a 10-3 record with a 3.18 ERA between San Antonio and El Paso. He’s struck out 86 batters in 93.1 innings between the two stops.
Roster Moves: Veteran outfielder Oscar Mercado was released from the El Paso roster Thursday. Steve Adams of MLBTradeRumors.com reported on X (formerly Twitter) that Mercado opted out of his deal. He was hitting .226/.307/.425 with El Paso this season.
Ripken Reyes had the big hit on Friday. (Photo: Ray Holguin)
Missions 5, Frisco RoughRiders 2
Key Statistics: SS Ripken Reyes, 2-for-3, R, 2B, 4 RBI; C Brandon Valenzuela, 2-for-4; CF Connor Hollis, 2-for-3, 2 R, 3B; RHP Henry Baez (W, 1-0) 6 IP, H, ER, BB, 7 K; RHP Ethan Routzahn (S, 6) IP, H
Henry Baez was dominant in his second Double-A start. (Photo: Ray Holguin)
Key Statistics: Righty Henry Baez turned in arguably his best start of the season and earned his first Double-A win for his effort. Baez carried a perfect game through five innings but he allowed a homer with one out in the sixth. Aside from one bad pitch, Baez dominated a very good Frisco club. He walked just one batter and struck out seven. After producing a 2.95 ERA in 17 starts with the TinCaps, the 21-year-old has a 2.38 ERA in his first two starts with the Missions. He allowed just three fly balls on Friday. … Through the first four innings, Frisco starter Kumar Rocker was nearly as dominant as Baez, but the Missions broke a scoreless tie with four runs in the fifth inning. The big hit came off the bat of Ripken Reyes, who ripped a bases-clearing double to put the Missions up for good. Reyes, 27, put up a solid 118 wRC+ with the Missions last year but he has not been able to replicate that success in 2024. The main reason has been the lack of luck with balls in play. Last season, the former USD infielder hit .304 on balls in play while this year, that has dropped to just .247 – the third-lowest mark in the league. As a result, Reyes’ wRC+ stands at 89 this season. … Connor Hollis singled, tripled and scored two runs while playing in center field. The versatile Hollis won the Texas League batting title two years ago but he has not been able to find the same success over the last two seasons. After he posted a .901 OPS for the Missions in 2022, that mark dropped to .673 last season and has plummeted even further this year to just .594.
Roster Moves: Outfielder Zach Reks was placed on the 7-day injured list on Friday. Former big leaguer Daniel Camarena was promoted to San Antonio to take his place on the roster. When Camarena appears for the Missions, he will have thrown a pitch for all five stateside affiliates this season.
TinCaps rained out
A downpour wiped out Friday night’s game. The TinCaps will play a doubleheader Saturday in the Summit City.
Fresno Grizzlies 6, Storm 1
Key Statistics: CF Braedon Karpathios, 1-for-3, BB; DH Lamar King Jr., 1-for-4, 3B; C Colton Vincent, 1-for-3, 2B, RBI; RHP Ian Koenig (L, 0-3) 4 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 4 ER, BB, 2 K; RHP Will Varmette, IP, 3 K
Lamar King looks to build on the success he had at the plate in the ACL this summer. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Prospect Watch: The Storm managed just five hits and lost in Fresno Friday. The Storm have lost three of the first four games in the series. … Lamar King Jr. tripled – his only hit in four plate appearances. The 20-year-old has mostly been relegated to designated hitter duty as he recovers from shoulder surgery. King had five triples in just 37 games for the ACL club. In four games with the Storm, the former fourth-round pick is 2-for-13. … Starter Ian Koenig struggled Friday night and took the loss. The 23-year-old from San Jose has shown some flashes this season after having Tommy John surgery last year. In 10 starts with the Storm, Koenig has struck out 31 batters in 28.2 innings but he has also been hit hard. He’s allowed six homers, resulting in an ERA of 7.22. … Righty Will Varmette pitched a scoreless inning, striking out the side in the process. The Alabama native has punched out 64 batters in 47 innings. Opposing batters have hit just .222 against him in his first full pro season as he dials it up to 96, but the 34 walks he’s allowed have hampered his overall effectiveness.
