Chihuahuas 8, Sacramento River Cats 6
Key Statistics: SS Mason McCoy 1-for-3, BB; LF Carlos Rodriguez 1-for-3, RBI, BB; C Anthony Vilar 0-for-1, RBI, BB; RHP Eric Yost 3.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K; RHP Misael Tamarez (W, 3-1) 2.2 IP, 2 H, K; RHP Michael Flynn IP, H, K; RHP Justin Yeager IP, H, K
Mason McCoy reached base twice on Saturday. (Photo: Sugar Land Space Cowboys)
Top Prospects: The Chihuahuas clinched the series their fourth win over the River Cats. El Paso only had three hits, but took advantage of four Sacramento errors, seven walks, and a few strong small-ball plays to overcome going 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. … Eric Yost made his Pacific Coast League debut and found out the ball flies a little more than it does at Nelson Wolff Stadium. Yost, who delivered a 3.48 ERA in 51.2 innings for the Missions, talked with us earlier this year about how his use of spin has improved every year he has been in the organization. … Misael Tamarez tossed 2.2 innings of scoreless relief, stranding both the runners he inherited from Yost. He set the tone for the Chihuahuas bullpen, which gave up only one run over 5.2 frames. The 26-year-old shined in the Padres organization after he was released by the Astros and immediately signed as a minor league free agent last year, but has a career-high 16.2% walk rate so far this year.
Missions 8, Amarillo Sod Poodles 1
Key Statistics: C Ethan Salas 1-for-4, RBI; CF Kai Roberts 1-for-5, HR (2), 3 RBI; RF Braedon Karpathios 2-for-4, HR (7), RBI; 1B Albert Fabian 2-for-4;, 3B SS Francisco Acuna 1-for-2, BB; 2B Wyatt Hoffman 1-for-2, RBI; RHP Francis Peña 3 IP, H, 3 K; RHP Landry Jurecka (W, 1-0) 3 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 3 K; RHP Tucker Musgrove IP, H, 2 BB, 2 K; RHP Clay Edmondson IP, BB; RHP Garrett Hawkins IP, 2 K
Tucker Musgrove has plus stuff. (Photo: San Antonio Missions)
Top Prospects: The Missions took their fourth out of five games against the former Padres affiliate as they turned to a bullpen game to backfill after Yost’s promotion. Francis Peña made his first start of his career as the opener, throwing three scoreless innings. The 25-year-old righty has had an up-and-down year, but has been on a roll again recently. Over his last 10 innings, he has allowed only three hits while striking out 12. Texas League opponents have hit just .189 against him, but his 18.1% walk rate has been his undoing. … Tucker Musgrove, 24, made his fourth Double-A appearance, bouncing back after allowing two runs in a third of an inning on Wednesday. He had to work around a leadoff single and two more walks, but got out of the inning unscathed with a pair of strikeouts and a pop fly. While he continues to show some of the best raw stuff in the entire organization, he has to improve his strike-throwing ability. In Fort Wayne, he had 40 strikeouts in 19 innings, but also allowed 13 walks. In four innings since his promotion, he has already walked six and unleashed three wild pitches. … Garrett Hawkins had a nice outing in his second appearance back in Double-A, striking out two of the three batters he faced to close out the win. The big man from Western Canada struggled with his command in El Paso, walking 26 in 23.1 innings. He remained on the active roster but did not throw in a game for nearly a month while working to dial in his feel for a riding fastball that has been his signature since the Padres drafted him in 2021. … While the pitching staff covered well, the Missions offense put up eight runs early to help the club cruise to victory. Kai Roberts poked a two-run opposite-field home run to cap a six-run second inning. The blase was just his eighth extra-base hit in 64 games this year. Braedon Karpathios hit his seventh home run of the year as part of a two-hit day. Saturday was his first game in nine without a strikeout and first multi-hit contest since June 21.
Ryan Wideman earlier in the week against Great Lakes. (Photo: Adam Gaddy)
TinCaps 13, Great Lakes Loons 12 (14 innings)
Key Statistics: CF Ryan Wideman 3-for-6, BB; SS Justin DeCriscio 2-for-6; 1B Jack Costello 1-for-6, HR (9) RBI, BB; LF Alex McCoy 2-for-6, SB (14); RF Kavares Tears 2-for-5, HR (12), 4 RBI, 2 BB; DH Luke Cantwell 2-for-5, HR (2), 3 RBI; PR-DH Kasen Wells1-for-2, RBI; PH-3B Kerrington Cross 1-for-1, HR (2), 2 RBI; PH-2B Rosman Verdugo1-for-2, RBI, BB; RHP Bryan Balzer 3.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R (1 ER), BB, 6 K; LHP Javier Chacon 2 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K; LHP C.J. Widger (W, 1-1) IP, 1 R (0 ER)
Top Prospects: After looking like they didn’t belong on the same field with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ High-A affiliate for the first three games, the TinCaps have now won two in a row after an epic 14-inning, 4-hour, 48-minute win – by far the longest game of the year in the Padres system. The Loons scored in each of the five extra innings. Each time the TinCaps answered back, eventually winning when Kasen Wells lashed a bases-loaded line drive to right field to plate the winning run. Before that, the biggest hit in a game that featured 32 of them was a pinch-hit leadoff two-run home run by Kerrington Cross to start the 13th inning. The blast to left field on the second pitch he saw, was an absolute moon-shot to tie the game. After posting a 1.075 against younger competition in the Cal League, Cross has a pair of homers and nine walks in his first 10 games at High-A. … Bryan Balzer again only made it through 3.2 innings, though he was better than in his Midwest League debut against Lake County, allowing just one earned run and getting six strikeouts against only one walk. Still, he needed 81 pitches, 46 for strikes and was charged with a pair of unearned runs . The organization will expect him to be vastly more efficient going forward. … Ryan Wideman had three hits and a walk out of the leadoff spot and has reached 18 times in his first 50 plate appearances for the TinCaps. He was caught stealing for the second time in 10 games, but has converted six attempts. He continues to lead the minors with 49 stolen bases and 15 caught stealing on the year.
Storm 11, Stockton Ports 1
Key Statistics: DH Yoiber Ocopio 2-for-4, 2B, BB; 1B Dawson Willis 2-for-5, RBI, 2 SB (5); 2B Bradley Frye 1-for-4, BB; RF George Bilecki 2-for-3, 2 2B, RBI, BB; SS Jose Verdugo 1-for-2, BB, SB (22); Conner Westenburg 2-for-3, 2 2B, 5 RBI, SB (33); RHP Tyler Schmitt (W, 5-4) 5 IP, 2 H, ER, 3 BB, 6 K; RHP Jeferson Villabona 3 IP, 3 K: RHP Brandon Langley IP, H, 2 BB, K
Conner Westenburg has been a frequent sparkplug for the Storm. (Photo: Robert Escalante)
Top Prospects: The Storm broke their three-game losing streak and will have a chance to split the series on Sunday. Down 1-0 in the fourth, Lake Elsinore put five runs on the board, then added five more in the fifth. Conner Westenburg’s second double of the night put the eleventh and final run on the board. After many of the players who helped them win the division in the first half were promoted, Lake Elsinore is off to a slow start with a 4-10 record in the second half. … Westenburg, has continued to be a solid contributor, hitting .285 with four walks in the second half. In addition to his two doubles on the evening, the undrafted free agent also stole his 33rd base of the year in 38 attempts. Westenburg, hitting .273/.362/.383 on the year, should see more time in center field with Wideman’s promotion. … After a tough outing last Saturday, Tyler Schmitt bounced back to pick up his fifth win of the season, allowing just one run on a pair of hits across five innings to pick up his fifth win of the season. He is now tied for the team lead with 60.1 innings pitched, and has a healthy 65:32 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The 21-year-old Wisconsin native could be a candidate to return to the Midwest later this year.
Cameron Nohos generates big velocity from his XXL frame. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
ACL Padres 5, ACL Dodgers 4
Key Statistics: LF Eddson Martinez 2-for-4: RF Jesmaylin Arias 0-for-1, 2 BB; 1B Colton Vincent 2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI: C Jhojan Downer 2-for-3, 2 RBI; RHP Cameron Nohos 4 IP, 4 H, ER, 4 K; RHP Dariel Polanco (W, 4-0) IP, H; RHP Luis Germán (S, 1) IP, 3 K
Top Prospects: Cameron Nohos, 23, a 6-foot-8 undrafted right-hander from the University of Illinois-Chicago, had one of his best outings since late May, throwing four shutout innings with four punchouts. The two-sport Indiana high school star in baseball and bowling now has 54 strikeouts against 18 walks in 33.2 ACL innings. His 6.68 ERA in the ACL in unsightly, but balls in play that go for hits in the desert turn into outs more often at higher levels. Nohos should be in line to join the Storm when the ACL season closes later this month. … Hard-throwing righty Luis Germán closed out the win by striking out three batters. The 25-year-old walked 21 in 19 innings for Fort Wayne before being sent back to regroup in the desert. He has yet to allow a hit in five ACL innings, though he has walked three. … The ACL Padres are now 26-20 on the season.