Chihuahuas 7, Round Rock Express 6 (10 innings)
Nate Mondou squares one up. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Key Stats: LF Nick Solak 2-for-4, BB; RF Nick Schnell 2-for-5; 1B Nick Pratto 1-for-4, HR (5); 2B Nate Mondou 2-for-4, 2 2B; CF Carlos Rodriguez 1-for-5; LHP JP Sears 5.1 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, K; RHP Alek Jacob 2 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 K; LHP Kyle Hart 2 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 K, BB
Prospect Watch: Former Reds closer Alexis Díaz uncorked two wild pitches to push across the Chihuahuas’ Manfred man in the tenth and give the Chihuahuas a win on the road in Round Rock. Nate Mondou paced the El Paso offense out of the nine spot, collecting a pair of RBI doubles on the night. The 31-year-old left-handed hitter is slugging .478 on the year, his sixth in the PCL. … Nick Pratto, who started the series as a member of the Round Rock roster but was released by the Rangers and immediately signed with the Padres organization on Wednesday, connected on a solo homer for the Chihuahuas. The one-time Royals first-rounder, saw some big league time in Kansas City in 2022 and 2023, but has largely spent most of the last six years in Triple-A. His production has been limited by a strikeout rate that has hovered near 30% throughout his career. … Lefty Kyle Hart gave up the tying run to send this one to extra innings, but ended the game in unique fashion to pick up the win in the tenth. With runners on the corners and one out, Hart picked off Jarred Kelenic, who kept going and tried to beat the return throw to second base. He was tagged out by Mondou, who wound up on the ground, giving the runner at third a chance to try to score. Instead, Mondou popped up and threw him out at home for the old 1-3-4-2 double play to end the game.
Frisco RoughRiders 6, Missions 3
Key Stats: RHP Miguel Mendez 4 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, K, BB; LHP Omar Cruz 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 8 K; RHP Andrew Moore 2 IP, 2 K, 2 BB; 2B Ryan Jackson 3-for-4, SB (6); LF Albert Fabian 1-for-4, HR (4); 2B Francisco Acuña 1-for-3, 2B, BB
Prospect Watch: The Missions dropped their third straight to Frisco. John Conniff has the report with all the details.
Dayton Dragons 5, TinCaps 4
Kavares Tears stays closed to square one up for the TinCaps. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Key Stats: RF Kavares Tears 2-for-4, 2B; CF Kasen Wells 2-for-4, SB (13); DH Mason McCoy 1-for-3, BB; RHP Carson Montgomery 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 6 K, BB; LHP Javier Chacon 1.1 IP, K; RHP Tucker Musgrove 0.2 IP, H, 2 K, BB; RHP Clay Edmondson 1.1 IP, ER, K, 3 BB, HBP
Prospect Watch: The Dragons loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth on a pair of walks and a hit batter before walking off with a victory on a straight steal of home plate to send the TinCaps to their eighth loss in a row. Kavares Tears led the Fort Wayne offense with a pair of hits, including a double. The left-handed hitter, who had sat out the first two games of the series, has five extra-base in his last six contests, adding 65 points to his slugging percentage in the process. On the year, he’s hitting .213/.331/.426. … Alex McCoy had an RBI single and a walk to reach base multiple times for just the second time in two weeks. The big man is just 7-for-49 over the last three series, all against teams that are seeing him for the second time and have largely stopped throwing fastballs to him in the zone. … Carson Montgomery had better control in this one than his last several times out, but his command within the zone wasn’t stellar as he gave up three earned runs over four innings. The righty struck out six and walked only one after issuing 10 free passes in his previous 9.1 innings. Opponents are hitting just .188 against him on the year, but that’s been fueled by an improbably-low .224 average on balls in play against him.
Ontario Tower Buzzers 10, Storm 8 (10 innings)
Bryan Balzer delivers for Lake Elsinore. (Photo: Robert Escalante)
Key Stats: DH Luke Cantwell 2-for-5, 2B, BB, 3 R; 3B Bradley Frye 2-for-3, 2B, 2 BB, SB (16); LF Conner Westenburg 1-for-3, 2B, BB; LHP Bryan Balzer 6 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 4 K, 3 BB; RHP Sean Barnett 1.1 IP, H, 2 R (1 ER), 3 K, 2 BB
Prospect Watch: The Storm led 8-5 after seven, but gave up the lead in regulation and surrendered two in the tenth to take the loss. They continue to hold a one-game lead in the division with a week left in the first half. For the second straight night, Ontario pitchers allowed 10 walks, but Elsinore went just 5-for-21 with runners in scoring position and left 12 on base in a losing effort. Luke Cantwell had a double among two hits and a walk on the night. The left-handed slugger has gone 9-for-17 with four extra-base hits and a pair of walks in four games since coming back from a three-week stint on the IL and now has a 1.015 OPS through 124 plate appearances on the year. The 23-year-old, who the Padres drafted in the 20th round last year, plays first base exclusively, so his path through the minors will be a tough one, but he has emerged as a key clubhouse leader with the STorm and could be part of system moves after the end of the first half. … Third baseman Bradley Frye had a pair of hits and two walks, continuing a strong June. The Georgia native, signed out of Mercer after last year’s draft, is hitting .292/.485/.500 this month with a strong 15.2% strikeout rate. The 23-year-old also swiped his 16th base of the year in 20 attempts. He is one of four Storm players in the top 10 in stolen bases in the Cal League. … Bryan Balzer didn’t have his best stuff Thursday, but pushed through six innings and was in line for a victory before the bullpen struggled through the end. Balzer, 21, gave up five earned runs on five hits and three walks as he matched his season high with 90 pitches. The righty, who has hit triple-digits on his four-seam fastball this year, struck out four. On the season, he sports a 4.72 ERA with 55 strikeouts against 20 walks in 55.1 innings.
ACL Padres 10, ACL Rangers 7 (10 innings)
Key Stats: DH Dawson Willis 2-for-5, 2 HR (4), 3 K; RF Jesmaylin Arias 2-for-4, HR (2), BB, SB (2); CF Moises Valdez 1-for-5, SB (7), PO; 2B Luis De Leon 2-for-3, BB, HBP, 2 SB (10); LHP Zack Qin 4 IP, 3 H, 1ER, 2 K
Prospect Watch: The Padres club rallied for three runs in the top of the ninth, but gave back two of them to send this one to extra innings as well. Dawson Willis then clubbed his second homer of the night as part of a three-run 10th inning to seal a victory and move to three games above .500 on the year. Willis, who finished the day with four RBIs, is now hitting .302/.373/.668 through his first 59 professional at-bats after signing as an undrafted free agent last summer. The 22-year-old, who has played mostly third base, punched out in his other three at-bats and has punched out at least once in nine straight games, and his K-rate is hovering at 28.8% on the year. The 6-foot-4 Louisiana native slugged only .370 and struck out at a 30% clip in his one season at the University of Oklahoma last year. … Luis De Leon had a pair of hits, a walk, and was hit by the plate to reach four times in five trips to the plate. The diminutive 20-year-old infielder also stole two bases and now has a team-best 10 as he repeats again in the desert. … Lefty Zack Qin, who was officially activated from the 60-day IL and assigned to the ACL squad earlier in the week, gave up one earned run over four innings of work, allowing three hits and striking out a season-low two strikeouts. The 20-year-old, whose build-up from Tommy John surgery has been gradual, has struck out 32 over 19.2 innings of work in six appearances, working to a 1.37 ERA. He will likely be a key part of the Storm rotation in the second half.
