Reno Aces 7, Chihuahuas 1
Key Statistics: CF Carlos Rodriguez 1-for-4, 2B, RBI; LHP Jackson Wolf (L, 4-5) 5 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, BB, 3 K, HR;
Carlos Rodríguez keeps hitting for El Paso. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Prospect Watch: After taking the first two games of the series, El Paso has dropped two out of the past three games. El Paso was held to four hits on Saturday, with Carlos Rodriguez‘s double the only extra-base hit. … Rodriguez, who just came off a 22-game hitting streak, can play all three positions in the outfield and has an on-base percentage of .368. However, the 25-year-old who is now approaching 1,000 career Triple-A plate appearances for three different organizations, is slugging only .395 in the PCL. … Bryce Johnson went 0-for-4, but reached base on a fielding error and stole his second base of the season for El Paso and scored the team’s only run of the evening. Johnson is off to a slow start in his first 13 plate appearances with one hit and four walks.
Victor Lizarraga had his best start of the year. (Photo: San Antonio Missions)
Missions 2, Corpus Christi Hooks 1
Key Statistics: SS Ryan Jackson 2-for-3, BB; 1B Romeo Sanabria 3-for-4, 2B, BB, SB (5); RF Tirso Ornelas 3-for-5: 3B Luis Verdugo 2-for-4, 2B: LF Albert Fabian 2-for-4; CF Kai Roberts 2-for-4 2 SB (20); RHP Victor Lizarraga (W, 3-6) 6.2 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 3 K; RHP Josh Mallitz 1.1 IP, 2 BB, 2 K; LHP Harry Gustin (S,1) IP, K
Despite the great uniforms, Romeo Sanabria has hit much better on the road than at home. (Photo: San Antonio Missions)
Prospect Watch: Victor Lizarraga pitched his best game in nearly a month, holding the Hooks to one run while delivering his longest outing of the year. Lizarraga needed fewer than 10 pitches per inning through the first four, but ultimately threw 91 before his night was over. When he can both land his breaking balls and command his fastball, the 22-year-old can be a tough match-up for Texas League hitters. Lefty Harry Gustin worked a perfect ninth to record his first save of the year. The Padres’ 18th-round pick in 2023 got stellar results last year, holding Texas League opponents to a .186 average after a late-season promotion, but that number has jumped to .256 this year. … The Missions came away with their fourth win in five games despite only being able to convert 13 hits into two runs. They tallied their first one when Romeo Sanabria, who had a huge night, doubled and then came around on a Tirso Ornelas single. Sanabria finished the night 3-for-4 with a walk and also stole a base. After a brutal start to the year, he has been on a strong upward trajectory and sports an .884 OPS for June. As we have pointed out here before, Sanabria has delivered a stellar .325/.412/.538 on the road, but is hitting just .185/.293/.277 at Nelson Wolff Stadium. … Kai Roberts pushed across the game-winning run with an RBI single to center as part of a two-hit night. The University of Utah product also stole his 20th base without being caught this year. His athleticism has translated into playing outstanding defensive center field, but he has managed just a .539 OPS.
Abraham Parra. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
TinCaps 3, South Bend Cubs 2
Key Statistics: 2B Justin DeCriscio 2-for-4, 2B; C Lamar King, Jr. 2-for-4, RBI, SB (14); CF Kasen Wells 1-for-4, 2 RBI; RHP Abraham Parra 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K; LHP Javier Chacon (W, 1-1) 2 IP, 2 BB, 2 K; RHP Clay Edmondson (S, 11) IP
Prospect Watch: Chicago Cubs Opening Day starter Matthew Boyd dominated on a rehab assignment, pitching four shutout innings and striking out seven, but the TinCaps got the last laugh, scoring three runs in the eighth inning for their third win against South Bend in the series. After a pair of singles to start the inning, it appeared the TinCaps might not convert as they had a quick pair of weak outs. Then, on a 1-2 count, Kasen Wells laced a single to right to bring home two to tie the game and advanced to second on a throwing error. When Lamar King Jr. singled on the first pitch he saw, Wells came around easily to score. Wells is having a productive June, hitting .333/.455/.400 and is now tied with Alex McCoy for the team lead with 62 hits. … The late rally cashed in a strong start from Abraham Parra, who allowed two runs over six innings. In his longest start of the year, Parra landed 56 of his 88 pitches for strikes. The 20-year-old from Caracas, Venezuela, has shown flashes this year, but also has a 6.40 ERA over 45 innings. … With his team spotted a lead, Clay Edmondson came in for the ninth inning and got the Cubs for his league-best 11th save of the season. Edmondson, who was taken in the 14th round of last year, is having a very strong season with the TinCaps, flashing a solid five-pitch mix as the team’s closer. He has a 1.67 ERA on the year in 27 innings. Edmondson was a starter in his junior year at UNC-Ashville, with a 2.76 ERA over 81.2 innings, but has been used exclusively as a reliever by San Diego.
San Jose Giants 11, Storm 8
Key Statistics: CF Ryan Wideman 1-for-4, 2B, BB, CS (13); 3B Kerrington Cross 1-for-3, HR (11) RBI, BB; 1B Luke Cantwell 2-for-4, HR (2) 3 RBI; 2B Jose Verdugo 3-for-4, 3 RBI; SS Jose Quintana 1-for-3, HR (2) RBI, BB; RHP Tyler Schmitt 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, BB, 2 K; RHP Nick Falter 1.2 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 K; RHP Vic Domingo (L, 1-2) 0.2 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, BB; LHP Will Koger 0.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER
Luke Cantwell has been one of the Storm’s stars in the first half. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Prospect Watch: The Storm were up 8-5 going into the bottom of the eighth when the Giants put seven runs on the board to take their second straight game and earn a shot at a series split Sunday. … Kerrington Cross, 24, and Luke Cantwell, 23, each homered in the contest as they each continue to put up big numbers for the Storm. Cross, a $20,000 senior sign in the seventh round out of the University of Cincinnati, has a 1.062 OPS, while Cantwell, a 20th-rounder from the University of Pittsburgh, has pushed his line up to .999. Cross, who was the Big Ten batting champion in his draft year, has split time between first and third with a few starts in the outfield, while the left-handed hitting Cantwell – despite one emergency inning at second base earlier this year – plays exclusively first base. Both 2025 draftees are likely to move up to Fort Wayne shortly. … The storyline for the Storm offense through the first half has been Ryan Wideman, who had a double and drew a walk, but was thrown out once again on the basepaths. The 22-year-old continues to show an intriguing blend of speed and power. The center fielder has put together a .319/.392/.512 slash line while leading all of affiliated baseball with 43 stolen bases and 13 times caught. He will hope for an opportunity soon to show that his improved swing mechanics and approach can hold up against the jump in competition at High-A. Many observers contend the gap between Low-A and High-A is as high as it’s ever been. The 6-foot-4 Wideman is the son of a former Clemson basketball player who played a few years overseas, and he is one of the better athletes in the system. His progress will be fun to watch.
ACL Padres 2, ACL Rangers 1 (7 innings)
Key Statistics: 2B Luis De Leon 2-for-4; RF Jesmaylin Arias 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, SB (4); 1B Jack Mathey 0-for-1, 2 BB, SB (1); C Jhojan Downer 0-for-1, 2 BB; LHP Adler Cecil 4 IP, 3 H, R, 2 BB, 4 K; RHP Florangel Vasquez 2 IP, 3 H, BB; RHP Jordan Valenzuela (W, 1-1) IP, 3 BB, 3 K
Adler Cecil delivers (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Prospect Watch: The ACL Padres rallied with back-to-back two-out hits in the seventh to claim their 20th game of the season. Jesmaylin Arias doubled in the winning run, capping his two-hit game to lead the offense. Arias, 19, went 6-for-18 on the week with a pair of homers and is now slugging .500 in his second year in the desert. … Luis De Leon, 20, notched two more singles, giving him a .284/.395/.373 line in his third season in the ACL. The 5-foot-8, left-handed-hitting Dominican Republic native posted a .419 on-base percentage last season. He could be part of a wave of mid-season promotions to add infield depth for the Storm. … Adler Cecil, 21, the Padres’ 19th-round pick out of Temecula Valley High School way back in 2023, had his best and longest outing of the season. The 6-foot-4 lefty tossed four innings, allowing only one run while striking out four and walking two. In eight outings, Cecil has 33 strikeouts in 20.2 innings, but 13 walks and a .367 average against on balls in play have inflated his ERA to 6.10. Cecil underwent Tommy John surgery at the end of spring training in 2024, but could finally get a chance to pitch close to home in Lake Elsinore later in the season. … Hard-throwing Jordan Valenzuela continues to put up wild numbers in the desert. The 21-year-old, who signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2023, walked the bases loaded in the seventh inning, but then bounced back to strike out the side to leave them loaded. That provided a perfect encapsulation of the season for Valenzuela, who has punched out 39.5% of the batters he has faced, but also carries a 22.1% walk rate. In his first shot at full-season ball last year, he walked 21 batters in 13.2 innings for the Storm.
