Las Vegas Aviators 8, Chihuahuas 7 (12 innings)
Key Statistics: 2B Clay Dungan 2-for-5, HR (11) RBI; DH Yonathan Perlaza 1-for-5, BB; 1B Nate Mondou 1-for-5, BB; LF Tim Locastro 2-for-5, 2B; RF Forrest Wall 3-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI; RHP Stephen Kolek 3 IP 5H, R, BB, K; LHP Kyle Hart 3.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, BB, 4 K, HR; RHP Sean Reynolds 0.2 IP; RHP Francis Peña (L, 3-2) H, 2 R
Clay Dungan has reached a career high in home runs with 11. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Prospect Watch: Down 4-3, Tim Locastro opened the ninth inning with a double and scored from second when the Aviator’s third baseman made a throwing error on Brandon Lockridge’s sacrifice bunt. Luis Campusano and Yonathan Perlaza couldn’t push across the winning run, so the game went to extra innings. Both clubs scored a run each in the 10th and 11th to extend the game, but after the Aviators scored again in the 12th, the Chihuahuas went down in order. … Campusano had a rare off night for El Paso, going 0-for-6. … Following a two-plus month run in the Padres rotation, Steven Kolek made his first PCL appearance after getting sent out last weekend. He needed 60 pitches to get through three innings, but still only gave up a run while scattering five hits. … Kyle Hart followed Kolek in a piggyback role after making his own appearance in San Diego last weekend. The 32-year-old lefty got 31 strikes on 48 pitches. Former top prospect JJ Bleday got to him for a homer in the sixth before the Aviators chased him as he hit his pitch count the next inning. … Francis Peña took the loss, allowing the Manfred Man to score in each of his two innings of work. Encouragingly, he didn’t give up any walks, which has been the biggest negative on his season so far. On the year, Peña has 35 strikeouts in 35 innings, but has also allowed 23 on his way to a 3.82 ERA. His manager, Pete Zamora, told us that Peña was experiencing some delivery issues, but he believes those are behind him. Peña’s sinker sat at 96 while he leaned on his slider. He remains a candidate to contribute to the big league bullpen in the second half. … Clay Dungan hit his eleventh home run on Saturday, two more than his previous career high. His .838 OPS so far is also a career best. … The Chihuahuas will attempt to split the series on Sunday.
Henry Baez leads the Missions in ERA and innings pitched. (Photo: San Antonio Missions)
Missions 4, Wichita Wind Surge 2
Key Statistics: SS Ripken Reyes 1-for-4, BB; 1B Romeo Sanabria 3-for-4; 3B Devin Ortiz 2-for-4, RBI, SB (12); CF Kai Murphy 1-for-3, 2 RBI; RHP Henry Baez 6 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K; RHP Kevin Kopps (W, 1-0) 1 IP, H, R, BB
Prospect Watch: On the road in Wichita, San Antonio scratched out eight hits singles, but they rode a strong pitching performance by Henry Baez and a pair of RBIs from Kai Murphy to win their fourth straight. … Baez, the organization’s pitcher of the year in 2024, is quietly having an even better campaign this season. After throwing six more shutout innings Saturday, he leads the Texas League with a 2.08 ERA while throwing an organization-best 86.2 innings through his first 18 starts. Baez has blanked his opponents in eight of his last 10 outings. … Romeo Sanabria collected three hits for the second straight night and now has eight in his last three games to stabilize things after an extended slump. The sweet-swinging lefty out of Miami had seen his OPS crater to .712 last week after an uncharacteristic stretch of poor swing decisions and struggles to catch up to pitches. He has only punched out three times in his last 31 trips to the plate, though he also hasn’t drawn a walk in that stretch.
It was Brandon Butterworth’s world on Saturday. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
TinCaps 11, Quad City River Bandits 8
Key Statistics: CF Kai Roberts 1-for-4, 2B, BB; SS Brandon Butterworth 4-for-5, 2 HRs (9), 3 RBI; RF Braedon Karpathios 4-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 SB (5); 1B Kaden Hollow 2-for-4, 2B, RBI; LF Jack Costello 2-for-4; RHP Eric Yost 5 IP7 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 4 K, HR; RHP Will Varmette (W, 1-1) 3 IP, 5 H, 4 R, BB, 2 HR; RHP Nick Wissman (S, 1) 1 IP, 1 H
Braedon Karpathios has 15 hits in his last five games. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Prospect Watch: With Leo De Vries away for the Future’s Game, Brandon Butterworth has shined in his spot at shortstop. The 22-year-old, who has been showing off his versatility defensively this year, connected on two home runs, including a blast into the center field seats to put the TinCaps up for good in the eighth inning as part of a four-hit night against Quad City. After hitting just two homers through his first 193 at-bats of the year, the North Carolina native have blasted seven in his last 95. He is having a career month with a .395/.422/791 slash line in July and is just off the minor league lead for the month with 17 hits. He has boosted his OPS up to .806, which now leads the club. Subscribers, of course, learned more about Butterworth in our profile earlier this month. … Braedon Karpathios also had four hits on the night and drove in three for the second consecutive night to help the TinCaps claim their third straight win. Last season, Karpathios surged in the second half for Lake Elsinore, and the undrafted free agent out of junior college in Maryland appears to be on that trajectory again. The 22-year-old has a career on-base percentage of .392 in 264 career minor league games. The criticism is that he can be too passive at times. With 15 hits in the last five games, including two doubles and a pair of home runs, he’s showing that he can do damage on contact too. … Nick Wissman, who the Padres drafted out of the University of Dayton as a senior sign last year, recorded his first professional save as he worked a scoreless ninth inning. A closer for the Flyers, the submarining righty has worked to a 5.35 ERA in 37 innings of mostly middle relief this year.
Future’s Game: Leo De Vries was 0-for-1 with a punchout in his trip to Atlanta for the All-Star Futures Game. He got in the field for a pair of innings at shortstop.
Visalia Rawhide 11, Storm 3
Key Statistics: SS Cobb Hightower 2-for-5; C Lamar King Jr. 2-for-4; RF Victor Figueroa 1-for-4, 2 RBI, BB; CF Chase Valentine 2-for-3, BB; RHP Bryan Balzer (L, 1-3) 3 H, 4 R, 2 BB, K; RHP Tanner Smith 1.1 IP, 2 H, 3 K
Bryan Balzer has experienced growing pains in his first year as a professional. (Photo: Robert Escalante)
Prospect Watch: It was not a great night for the Storm on the road in Visalia, as starter Bryan Balzer had one of his worst outings of the year, allowing four earned runs without getting out of the inning. Five out of the first seven batters reached base before Balzer was pulled after 32 pitches. Balzer, who has the unenviable combination of coming off Tommy John surgery and attempting to learn how to pitch after mainly being a first baseman and outfielder in high school in Japan, is a very much a developmental project. His arsenal shows plenty of promise, helping him to 33 strikeouts in 31 innings, but he has also allowed 28 earned runs for a 8.13 ERA. If anyone could have benefited from now-defunct short-season leagues, it’s Balzer. … With Kale Fountain joining the Storm, expect Victor Figueroa to continue to get more opportunities in right field as Lake Elsinore will rotate Fountain, Lamar King Jr. and Figueroa in at first base. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound Figueroa has a decent arm and surprising agility for a man his size. He reached base twice against Visalia to add to his .370 on-base percentage.
ACL Padres 4, ACL Dodgers 1
Key Statistics: CF Kasen Wells 1-for-2, BB, SB (2); DH Alex McCoy 1-for-3, 2B, RBI; 3B Ismael Javier 1-for-2, RBI, BB; RF Jesmaylin Arias 1-for-3, HR (3), RBI; RHP Erick Batista 3 IP, R, 2 BB, 5K; RHP Alejandro Lugo 2 IP, H, BB, 4 K; RHP Xavier Ruiz 1 IP, 2 K; LHP Yovannki Pascual 1 IP, 2 BB, 2 K
Alex McCoy is a threat at the plate. (Photo: Robert Escalante)
Prospect Watch: The ACL Padres got their thirteenth win of the year, assuring they won’t finish with the worst record in the 40-year history of complex league baseball in Arizona. This one cam with some help from several players on rehab assignments. Alex McCoy made his return to the field after a quad injury he sustained in an awkward collision at first base in May. He reached base twice and opening the scoring with a double to left. The 6-foot-6, 260-pound undrafted free agent from Hofstra University posted a .748 OPS and saw time at all three outfield positions in 16 games for the Storm. Watching both McCoy and Figueroa in the same outfield with the Storm later this summer would be reason enough for a drive up I-15 to the Diamond. … Kasen Wells played in his third rehab game and was solid, reaching base twice, and collecting his second steal. Wells had 23 steals in 24 attempts to go along with a .756 OPS with the Storm before fouling a ball off his foot in late May. Wells was a 16th-round selection by San Diego in last year’s draft out of Weatherford Junior College in Texas after starting his collegiate career at Texas A&M. Wells was the Offensive Player of the Year in the Northern Texas Junior College Athletic Conference in 2024.
