Chihuahuas 3, Round Rock Express 2
Key Statistics: PH-DH Blake Hunt 1-for-3, BB, 2B; CF Carlos Rodriguez 1-for-3, R, BB; 1B Nick Pratto 1-for-4, RBI; RF Nick Schnell 1-for-4, R, 2 RBI; RHP Germán Márquez 4 IP, 3 H, BB, 2 K; RHP Triston McKenzie IP, 2 H, ER, BB, K; RHP Misael Tamarez IP, H; RHP Ethan Routzahn (S, 6) IP, K
Blake Hunt has settled back in as the primary catcher in El Paso. (Photo: El Paso Chihuahuas)
Prospect Watch: The Chihuahuas plated a pair of runs in the eighth inning for a comeback victory. El Paso has won three of the first four, earning at least a split with the Express. … Blake Hunt initially wasn’t in the lineup for the Chihuahuas, but he took over at designated hitter for Pablo Reyes after pinch-hitting for him in the third inning. Hunt reached base twice with a walk and a double. The 27-year-old from Orange County has a .915 OPS in a small, seven-game samplefor El Paso this season. … Germán Márquez continued his rehab assignment and tossed four innings before departing. The 31-year-old righty looked sharp, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out two. He threw 62 pitches – 40 for strikes. Based on his pitch count Friday, it seems Marquez could pitch one more time in the minors before the Padres consider activating him from the injured list. … Ethan Routzahn pitched a scoreless ninth to notch his sixth save of the season. The right-hander allowed one hit in his inning of work while striking out one. While El Paso is tied with Albuquerque for the highest ERA (6.51) in the PCL, Routzahn has been an exceptional outlier. Friday’s outing lowered his ERA to 3.21. While the run prevention has been excellent, the numbers under the hood are a little more concerning. His subpar K-percentage of 15.9% is nearly matched by a troubling walk rate of 15.2%. The 28-year-old has only allowed two homers this season, which helps partially explain his success, despite struggling to keep runners off base via the free pass.
Missions 3, Frisco RoughRiders 0
Key Statistics: C Ethan Salas 1-for-4, R; 2B Ryan Jackson 2-for-4, 2B; 3B Luis Verdugo 1-for-3; LHP Jagger Haynes 6 IP, H, 2 BB, 5 K; RHP Josh Mallitz (W, 2-0) 2 IP, 3 K; RHP Johan Moreno (S, 4) IP, H, K
Jagger Haynes is getting better results in San Antonio. (Photo: Wichita Wind Surge)
Prospect Watch: Much like the Chihuahuas, the Missions received excellent starting pitching en route to a shutout victory of Frisco at home. … Second baseman Ryan Jackson had a pair of hits, including a double in the victory. The 24-year-old is off to a nice start in June, generating a .313/.353/.375 slash-line. Overall, Jackson has a solid 9.3% walk-rate, leading to a .353 on-base percentage. However, with his slugging percentage just over .300, his overall production has lagged about eight percent below the league average in 2026. … For the second time in four starts, 23-year-old lefty Jagger Haynes tossed six scoreless innings. The southpaw allowed just one hit, walking two and striking out five before departing. Haynes struggled in April, posting an ERA north of six. Since May 1, Haynes has an ERA of 3.82 and a solid 23.5% strikeout rate. Haynes has averaged more than five innings per start this season. … Righty Josh Mallitz took over for Haynes and tossed a scoreless pair of innings, striking out three to earn his second win of the season. The former Mississippi righty got off to a miserable start this season, allowing a staggering 11 runs in his first three innings of work. Since then, he has pitched extremely well. Over his last 17 innings, Mallitz has allowed just two runs. He has averaged a strikeout per inning while walking just five. The 24-year-old has a 5.85 ERA overall.
TinCaps 10, Dayton Dragons 6
Key Statistics: SS Justin DeCriscio, 2-for-5, R, HR (3), 4 RBI; LF Alex McCoy, 3-for-5, 2 2B, BB; 2B Rosman Verdugo, 3-for-5, R, HR (10), 3 RBI, BB; DH Kavares Tears, 2-for-5, R, 2B; 3B Zach Evans, 3-for-5, 2 R, RBI, 2B; CF Kasen Wells, 2-for-3, R; RHP Abraham Parra (W, 1-5) 5 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 5 K; RHP Will Varmette (S, 1) 1.1 IP, 2 BB, 2 K
Alex McCoy has found his way to second base often as the Midwest League doubles leader. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Prospect Watch: The TinCaps scored seven runs in the fourth inning to defeat Dayton and end an eight-game losing streak. During the eight-game skid, Fort Wayne was outscored 79-32. … Justin DeCriscio had a nice day at the plate, as he notched a single and blasted his third homer of the season. He also drove in four runs. The 23-year-old has been a solid offensive contributor for the TinCaps after being promoted from Lake Elsinore. Overall, he has a .749 OPS in Fort Wayne. … Alex McCoy broke out of a slump with a pair of doubles and a walk. The 24-year-old came into Friday’s contest just two for his last 26, including seven strikeouts. Overall, McCoy has been one of the most productive hitters in the Midwest League. Despite the slump, he’s carrying an excellent .874 OPS. … Rosman Verdugo had three hits, including his 10th homer of the season. The TinCaps infielder has dropped his K-rate by 10 points from last year while keeping his walk rate north of 13%. However, his BABIP is 50 points lower than last year, resulting in offensive production below the league average. However, Verdugo’s improved contact rates, coupled with his power, give him an intriguing offensive profile. … Abraham Parra earned his first win of the year despite some issues throwing strikes. Parra walked four and allowed five earned runs on three hits, while striking out five. Parra has flashed some premium stuff with the TinCaps this season, but has been hit hard overall, yielding a 6.40 ERA. … Parra took Kash Mayfield’s spot in the rotation Friday, as the organization gave Mayfield a planned one-week pause during the long season. Mayfield is already two thirds of the way to his workload last year.
Ontario Tower Buzzers 9, Storm 8
Truitt Madonna has gotten longer to the ball as the summer progresses. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Key Statistics: 1B Kerrington Cross 2-for-5, R, 2B; DH Luke Cantwell 1-for-2, 2 R, 2B, 3 BB; C Truitt Madonna 2-for-4, R, 2 2B, BB, 4 RBI; LHP Kruz Schoolcraft 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, BB, 7 K; RHP Brandon Langley (L, 3-2) 2 IP, H, 2 R, ER. BB, 2 K
Prospect Watch: For the second straight night, the Storm took a lead to the ninth inning with an opportunity to extend their first-half division lead. For the second night in a row, they could not hold it. They carry a one-game lead into the weekend and have allowed Ontario to climb within two. Elsinore got out to an early lead when Truitt Madonna pulled a bases-clearing double down the third baseline. Madonna collected another double past first in the fourth and drew a walk to reach base three times in a game for the first time since May 24. He finished the night with an RBI groundout in the ninth. The big-bodied catcher came into the night just 3-for-33 over his previous nine games, showing signs that the daily grind of the professional game is catching up to the 19-year-old who the Padres drafted and signed for an overslot deal last year. … Kruz Schoolcraft turned in his strongest professional outing. While his final line includes two earned runs, the tall lefty blanked Ontario through the first five innings, allowing just three hits while striking out seven. The Oregon native came back out for the sixth inning for the first time in a Storm uniform and issued a leadoff walk and RBI double before giving way at 76 pitches, 44 of which went for strikes. After a nightmare start to the year, the Padres’ 2025 first round pick has made steady improvement through the season. While his ERA on the year still sits at 6.49, he has punched out 24 over his last 17 innings while issuing only five walks.
AZL Guardians 6, ACL Padres 5
Key Statistics: CF Moises Valdez, 2-for-3, 2 R, 2B; RF Santiago Contreras, 2-for-4, RBI; 2B-SS Santiago Vargas, 2-for-4; 1B Isaac Ponce, 1-for-3, R, BB, HR (2), RBI; C Colton Vincent, 2-for-3, R, BB; LF Wyatt Hoffman, 2-for-3, RBI; LHP Adler Cecil (L, 0-2) 3 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, BB, 4 K; RHP Daison Acosta IP, 2 H, ER, K
Wyatt Hoffman in healthier days. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Prospect Watch: The ACL Padres fell behind early and lost to the Guardians Friday night. … First baseman Isaac Ponce connected on his second homer of the season in the loss on Friday. The 19-year-old spent each of the last two seasons in the DSL and enjoyed a solid 2025 campaign in which he produced an .819 OPS with six homers. In 23 games in the desert this season, Ponce has a .710 OPS. … Wyatt Hoffman continued his rehab stint following a back injury, notching a pair of singles while driving in a run. In 13 plate appearances, the 27-year-old has struck out six times while collecting three hits. … Centerfielder Moises Valdez had a pair of hits, including a double. The 20-year-old has swung the bat exceptionally well for the ACL club this year. In 15 games, he’s hitting .377/.443/.491. … Adler Cecil pitched three innings but struggled and took the loss. He allowed five runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out four. The lefty from Temecula has struck out 29 batters in 16.2 innings, but he’s also walked 11 – which is a vast improvement from his pro debut in which he walked more than a batter per inning. Overall, Adler has a 7.02 ERA.
