Luis Campusano became El Paso’s home run king: Photo: Jorge Salgado.
Chihuahuas 12, Reno Aces 3
Key Stats: RHP Logan Gillaspie 5 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K; C Luis Campusano 3-for-5, 2 HR (19), 3 R, 3 RBI; CF Tyler Wade 3-for-5, 2B, 4 RBI; 3B Will Wagner 2-for-5, R, RBI; DH Tirso Ornelas 1-for-4, 2B, BB; RF Clay Dungan 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI; LF Tim Locastro 2-for-5, R, RBI
Prospect Watch: There is a new all-time home run Leader for the El Paso Chihuahuas, and his name is Luis Campusano. Campusano came into the game tied with El Paso legend Cody Decker, one behind current Padres farmhand Eguy Rosario. He broke a scoreless tie in the sixth inning when he rifled one out at 108 mph off the bat, then, an inning later, he gave El Paso a 7-0 lead with his his second homer of the day and 19th of the year. In 252 Triple-A games, Campusano has 50 home runs and owns a stellar 304/.386/.531 line. While there is nothing left for him to prove at the plate in Triple-A, there also appears to be no path to the big leagues with the Padres. … The pride of Murrieta, Tyler Wade, paced the El Paso offense with four RBIs. Wade had a pair of bases-loaded singles, driving in two each time. The 30-year-old, who passed through waivers for the second time this year to join the Chihuahuas, is hitting .308/.379/.346 while primarily playing the outfield in his first 11 games with El Paso. … Newly acquired Will Wagner has not stopped hitting since being acquired. Wagner collected a pair of hits and has hit safely in all nine games with El Paso, hitting a smoldering .375/.444/.500 while striking out only four times. … Logan Gillaspie gave the offense plenty of time to get going over the final four innings, tossing five innings of scoreless ball. The righty opened the year in the Padres bullpen, but hit the IL in late April and was optioned when he finished his rehab assignment. He’s gone five innings in each of his last three appearances, posting a 13:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Miguel Mendez got hit hard Wednesday. (Photo: Rey Holguin)
Tulsa Drillers 14, Missions 8
Key Stats: RHP Miguel Mendez 3.2 IP, 4 H, 8 ER, 5 BB, 3 K; 1B Romeo Sanabria 2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB; 3B Devin Ortiz 2-for-4, R, RBI, BB; 2B Marcos Castañon 2-for-4, 2B, 3 RS, RBI; RF Moisés Gómez 2-for-4, 3 RBI
Prospect Watch: For the first time all year, Miguel Mendez had a true clunker of a start. In his second appearance in San Antonio, Mendez allowed a career-high eight earned runs over 3.2 innings. A majority of the damage happened in the fourth when Mendez lost the plate. and he walked four batters. He finally got the potential double-play grounder he needed, but it rolled under a glove for a single. Mendez was removed after walking in a run, and all three inherited runners came around when José Geraldo gave up a grand slam to the first batter. Despite the horrendous outing, Mendez still passed the 100-strikeout mark for the first time in his career and he still owns a 2.40 ERA in 82.1 innings across three levels this year. He will look to rebound next week as he adjusts to the five-man rotation in Double-A. … Romeo Sanabria had his first multi-hit game since July 20 as he looks to extricate himself from a two-month slump. The top hitter on the Missions had gone just 10-for-63 (.159 average) entering the day. His double was just his second extra-base hit in three weeks as teams continue to bust him in with fastballs and go away with breaking pitches. The slump has dropped Sanabria’s OPS all the way down to .705 on the season. … Marcos Castañon extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a two-hit performance. During this 10-game stretch, the infielder has scored 10 and driven in nine while posting a 1.068 OPS.
West Michigan Whitecaps 5, TinCaps 4
Fernando Sanchez has put up plenty of zeroes for the Fort Wayne bullpen. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Key Statistics: RHP Clark Candiotti 2.2 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, K; LHP Fernando Sanchez 4.1 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 K; 3B Ryan Jackson 2-for-4, RBI; RF Braedon Karpathios 2-for-5, RBI, SB (9); C Lamar King Jr 3-for-4, 2B, R; 1 Jack Costello 1-for-3, R, RBI
Prospect Watch: Against a West Michigan club that is 75-34 on the year and arguably the best team in the minors, the TinCaps’ uphill battle that was made tougher four batters into the game when Clark Candiotti gave up a three-run home run to Izaac Pacheco. The big righty appeared to settle down after that, until Pacheco tagged him for another home run to effectively ended his night two innings later. The 24-year-old has racked up 49 strikeouts this year, but has a 5.35 ERA in 38.2 innings. … Despite earning the loss, Fernando Sanchez turned in a great effort in relief. The former starter tossed a season-high 4.1 innings, allowing only one run while striking out three. The lefty has been one of the most consistent relievers on the team, pitching to a 2.65 ERA over 57.2 innings. … Braedon Karpathios put together his sixth multi-hit game in 11 games and the 22-year-old is hitting .415 with a 1.050 OPS for August. From After swiping just four bases between May 8 to August 8, Karpathios has three stolen bases in his last four games. His nine steals on the season are a new career high, and his current.804 OPS would also be a career best. … Lamar King Jr. had his first three-hit game with the TinCaps, collecting a double and scoring a run in the loss. Since joining Fort Wayne, King is hitting .333/.379/.487. Between Lake Elsinore and Fort Wayne, King has a .779 OPS with 31 extra-base-hits and 19 stolen bases.
Kash Mayfield picked up his first win. (Photo: Robert Escalante)
Storm 7, San Jose Giants 0
Key Statistics: LHP Kash Mayfield 5 IP, H, 3 BB, 7 K; DH Alex McCoy 3-for-4, 3 R, 2B, BB; SS Jorge Quintana 2-for-3, 2 R, RBI, SB (2), SF; C Carlos Rodriguez 2-for-2, 2B, 3 RBI, BB; 1B Kale Fountain 1-for-4, R, RBI, SB (7)
Prospect Watch: It took 16 starts, but top prospect Kash Mayfield, finally earned his first professional win as he went past four innings for just the second time all season while the Padres carefully monitor his workload. Last year’s top pick gave up just one hit over five scoreless frames, marking the eighth time in 16 starts he has not allowed an earned run. The 20-year-old was still erratic, walking three but he struck out seven and now owns a stellar 34.3 strikeout rate across 49.1 innings this season. On the season, opposing batters are hitting just .197 against him. … After going 2-for-14 in his first four games with the Storm, newly acquired Jorge Quintana has five hits over his last three games, and has scored four times. He showed off his dynamism scoring his second of the night, breaking for home on a pickoff attempt on the trail runner at first and making it easily without a throw. The 18-year-old has reached base in six of seven games since joining the Padres. … Alex McCoy continued his red-hot August as the former Hofstra standout reached base four times on two singles and a double. Over his last 10 games, McCoy is hitting .471/.561/1.000 with eight extra-base-hits. On the season, the 23-year-old outfielder is now hitting .306/.390/.540. … Venezuelan backstop Carlos Rodriguez provided more than enough offense to back his battery-mate’s strong outing. He doubled for the first run of the game, added another RBI on a sac fly, and for good measure, singled home a third run in the sixth. While Rodriguez has played sparingly in August, he is hitting 6-for-18 with two doubles, six walks and four RBI.
