Tacoma Rainers 6, Chihuahuas 4 (7 innings)
Key Statistics: 3B Eguy Rosario 2-for-3, RBI, HR (18); DH Cal Mitchell 2-for-3, RBI, 2B, HR (14), 2B; 1B Kevin Plawecki 2-for-3, RBI, 2B; RHP Matt Waldron 4.2 IP 4 H, 3 R (2 ER), 4 K, 2 HR; RHP Francis Pena IP, H, K; RHP Logan Gillaspie (L, 2-1) IP, H, 3 R (2 ER), 3 BB, K, HR
Chihuahuas 7, Tacoma Rainers 5 (Completion of August 30 Game)
Key Statistics: CF Brandon Lockridge 2-for-3, 2B, 2 BB, 2 SB (10); RF Jose Azocar 2-for-5, RBI, 4 SB (24); 3B Eguy Rosario 2-for-4, 2B, SB (13); 2B Jose Sanabria 2-for-4, 2B; LF-1B Tirso Ornelas 1-for-4, 2 RBI; RHP Nabil Crismatt 2 IP BB; RHP Jared Kolar 4 IP, 7 H, 3 R, HR; RHP Lake Bachar (W, 6-3) 2 IP 2 H, BB, 3 K
Matt Waldron with El Paso in 2023. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Prospect Watch: The Chihuahuas resumed Friday night’s suspended game, beat the Rainers, then played a shortened seven innings game and lost to the Rainers in the nightcap. The big news was Matt Waldron appearing for the Chihuahuas 10 days after he was sent back to El Paso. At the time he was sent back, the club said it was to give him some rest and “a reset.” After skipping one turn, half the 72 pitches he threw Saturday were knuckleballs, but the two home runs he allowed came on sinkers. Despite the difficult environment for the knuckler in El Paso, Waldron had it dancing as he works back into shape to rejoin the Padres. … Jose Azocar stole four bases in the resumed game and now has 24 in 29 attempts since being sent down to El Paso. The 28-year-old sports a .727 OPS in 51 games. … Eguy Rosario had four hits over the two games and hit a monster 459 foot moonshot for his 18th home run with the Chihuahuas. Rosario has had a strong season in the Sun City with 42 extra-base hits in 77 games and a .913 OPS. He’s still only 24, but he should be in the major leagues somewhere next season. … El Paso has taken four games out of five in the series after winning only one last week in Oklahoma City.
Henry Baez has had a solid year. (Photo: Rey Holguin)
Midland RockHounds 7, Missions 4
Key Statistics: SS Ray-Patrick Didder 1-for-4, RBI; DH Juan Zabala 1-for-3, HR (3), 3 RBI; RHP Henry Baez 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R, BB, 2 K; RHP Raul Brito 3 IP, 2 BB, 3 K; LHP Jackson Wolf (L, 0-1) 2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, K
Raul Brito in action with the Missions. (Photo: Rey Holguin)
Prospect Watch: Down 4-0 in the fourth inning, Ray-Patrick Didder delivered an RBI single with two outs, before Juan Zabala homered to left field to tie the contest. Unfortunately, Midland pushed across three runs in the eight and the final six Missions batters went down, sending San Antonio to their fourth loss in the series. … Henry Baez needed 80 pitches to work through four innings, giving up six hits and four earned runs. He struck out only two in his second straight rocky start for San Antonio. The 21-year-old has thrown 114 innings – well beyond the 98 he threw last year between Lake Elsinore and Fort Wayne – so could be showing signs of fatigue. On the season, he has a 3.95 ERA with a 103:37 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 24 starts. The 6-foot-3 Dominican will go into the offseason as one of the organization’s top pitching prospects. … Raul Brito, 27, turned in an excellent outing with three shutout innings. Brito has had a very good August, posting a 1.62 ERA with 17 strikeouts against eight walks in 16.2 innings. Opponents have hit just .157 against him this month.
TinCaps 3, Lansing Lugnuts 2
Key Statistics: LF Tyler Robertson 2-for-4, RBI, BB, SB (14); 3B Devin Ortiz 3-for-4; 2B Nerwilian Cedeno 1-for-3, RBI, BB; C Colton Bender 1-for-3, BB; RHP Jose Reyes 4 IP, 2 H, 4 BB, K; RHP Eric Yost (W, 1-1) 4 IP, 5 H, R, 4 K; RHP Manuel Castro (S, 11) IP, 2 H, R, K, HR
Manuel Castro continues to rack up saves for the TinCaps. (Jeff Nycz)
Prospect Watch: The TinCaps scored twice in the first inning on the road, once in the second, and then rode solid pitching performances by Jose Luis Reyes, Eric Yost, and Manuel Castro to the victory, Castro picked up his 11th save despite allowing a solo home run in the ninth that made it a little closer than Fort Wayne wanted. The 22-year-old from Mexico has a stellar 6.2% walk rate and has struck out 28% of opponents, but opponents have made loud contact when they put the ball in play. … Reyes, 21, made his first start since being promoted from Lake Elsinore early in the month and threw well. The righty, who has been working in a piggyback role, tossed four innings of two-hit ball. Since joining Fort Wayne, he has posted a 2.50 ERA in 18 innings despite just 11 strikeouts. That’s more than four runs better than he put up in 70 innings with the Storm, though his FIP across the two levels is nearly the same. … Tyler Robertson remained red-hot, adding two more hits and a walk in five trips to the plate and swiping his 14th base of the year. The 24-year-old has reached base at a .500 clip in 44 plate appearances since he came of the IL to push his season slash line to .289/.360/.408. Robertson, who missed significant time this season, appears to be a prime candidate for the Arizona Fall League. As we have also written here many times, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Alabama native is one of the better athletes in the Padres’ system. … Devin Ortiz had three more hits, including a double for the club’s only extra-base hit. Ortiz, 25, has had an up-and-down year, but has posted three straight multi-hit games and is second on the team with 93 hits and third in total bases with 123.
Modesto Nuts 6, Storm 4
Key Statistics: CF Braedon Karpathios 2-for-4, 2B; SS Ryan Jackson 2-for-3, RBI, SB (3), BB; 2B Chase Valentine 3-for-3, RBI, BB, 2B, HR (5), SB (4); RHP Miguel Mendez (L, 3-5) 6 IP 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, K; RHP Tyson Neighbors IP, BB, 3 K
Miguel Mendez generates big velocity despite his slight frame. (Photo: Robert Escalante)
Prospect Watch: Lake Elsinore lost on Saturday night but has won three times against Modesto and will try to take the series on Sunday. … Chase Valentine rapped out three hits, two of them for extra-bases, and stole his fourth bag of the year. He also drew a walk as he came up a triple short of the cycle. Defensively, the 22-year-old has bounced around the infield, seeing most of his time at second and shortstop. He’s appeared in 74 games, by far his highest season total since signing as an undrafted free agent out of junior college in 2022. … Miguel Mendez needed 86 pitches as he stretched out to six innings for just the second time in his career. The slightly-built righty was tagged for four runs and only struck out one. He’s up to 77.2 innings on the year, more than he pitched in the last two seasons combined. His big fastball and feel for three pitches make him an interesting arm to watch if he can continue to cut his walk rates. … Tyson Neighbors, the Padres’ fourth-round pick this year, made his second professional appearance and was impressive striking out the side. The 21-year-old with the makings of three plus pitches, who MLB’s Jim Callis told us could be the quickest draftee to reach the big leagues, hasn’t allowed a hit but has issued three walks in his first two innings… Another 2024 draft pick who has played a significant role in the Storm’s surge is Ryan Jackson, a 17th-round pick out of the University of Southern California. The 22-year-old from the Bay Area has a .928 OPS in his first 32 plate appearances after hitting .323/.407/.461 for the Trojans this season. With USC, he mainly played second base, but he will play around the infield in the Padres system.
