Oklahoma City Comets 5, Chihuahuas 4 (10 innings)
Mason McCoy has had plenty to celebrate at the plate and on the basepaths this year. (Photo: El Paso Chihuahuas).
Key Statistics: RF Carlos Rodriguez 3-for-5, RBI; 3B Marcos Castañon 2-for-5; 3B Mason McCoy 2-for-5, R, HR (10), 2 RBI, SB (32); DH Rodolfo Durán 1-for-3, R, HR (5), RBI; CF Bryce Johnson 2-for-3, BB; RHP Ian Koenig 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, BB, 4 K; RHP Daison Acosta 2 IP, BB, 4 K; RHP Hunter Stratton (L, 0-1) 1,1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, ER, BB, 2 K
Prospect Watch: Despite the relatively low score for a PCL game, this one was still plenty wild. El Paso trailed 2-1 going into the ninth but got back-to-back homers from Mason McCoy and Rodolfo Durán to take a 3-2 lead. Oklahoma City tied the game in the bottom of the frame to send it to extras. After scoring the automatic runner to take another lead in the tenth, El Paso allowed two in the bottom of the inning for a walk-off loss. … Carlos Rodriguez singled three times Friday and drove in a run. The 25-year-old ranks fifth on the circuit with 128 hits and is three hits away from tying the career-high he set in 2025 while with the Braves organization. His .311 average ranks tenth in the PCL, but his offensive production has been below-average; he has just six homers this year and has never hit more than eight in any professional season. … McCoy had two hits, including the game-tying homer in the ninth inning. The homer was his tenth of the year, giving him double-digits in consecutive years. The El Paso shortstop is hitting .278/.364/.380 in August. … Ian Koenig pitched well in his Triple-A debut but did not factor in the decision. The 25-year-old righty tossed five innings, allowing two runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out four. Koenig has tossed a career-high 126.1 innings this year, pitching to a 4.56 ERA. Koenig doesn’t miss many bats, but since coming back from Tommy John surgery in 2024, he’s been a reliable source of innings. He primarily works with a sinker/slider mix that he tunnels well to keep hitters off balance. The pair accounted for seven whiffs and 11 called strikes in 65 offerings to the Dodgers affiliate Friday night.
Springfield Cardinals 10, Missions 6
Jack Costello has started hot in San Antonio. (Photo: San Antonio Missions)
Key Statistics: 1B Jack Costello 2-for-4, 2 R, HR (2), RBI; C Oswaldo Linares 2-for-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI; CF Kai Roberts 2-for-4, 2 RBI; RHP Abraham Parra (L, 0-1) 0.2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB; LHP Harry Gustin 2 IP, H, BB, 4 K
Prospect Watch: The Cardinals scored five in the first inning to take a commanding early lead. The Missions showed some fight but ultimately lost in Springfield. … After his most impressive outing of the year, righty Abraham Parra was promoted from Fort Wayne for the start, but he failed to get out of the first inning. Parra loaded the bases on a single and two walks before recording a pair of ground outs, but then allowed four straight singles before departing after 34 pitches. The 20-year-old has had an issue with walks this season. In 89 innings with the TinCaps, he walked 56, leading to a 5.76 ERA. … Jack Costello had a pair of hits, including his second Double-A homer of the season. In 12 games since joining the Missions, the former USD infielder is hitting .292/.306/.458. His homer Friday was his 15th overall this season, shattering the career-high ten he hit last year. Costello continues to make a lot of contact, striking out just eight times in 50 Texas League plate appearances. … Center fielder Kai Roberts had a pair of singles and drove in two in the loss. Roberts, 25, has been excellent on the basepaths this year, converting 37 stolen bases in 40 attempts. Despite the excellent base-stealing numbers, the former Utah outfielder has struggled offensively. He’s punched out 101 times in just 288 plate appearances. Outside of a small sample in Lake Elsinore in 2024, Roberts has yet to put anything together offensively since the Padres selected him in the seventh round in 2024 as part of their effort to squirrel away enough signing bonus money to land Kale Fountain. Overall, he has .197/.297/.270 in 213 professional games.
TinCaps 9, Dayton Dragons 6
Robbie Lavey has shown some pop early, but been too willing to chase with Fort Wayne. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Key Statistics: C Robbie Lavey 2-for-5, 2 RBI; 1B Yoiber Ocopio 2-for-4, R, 2B; LF Ryan Gerety 3-for-3, 2B, BB, RBI; RHP Bryan Balzer 3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K; RHP Will Varmette 2 IP, H, BB, 3 K; RHP Brandon Langley (W, 1-0) 2 IP, 3 K; RHP Jeferson Villabona (S, 1) IP, 2 K
Propsect Watch: The TinCaps offense clubbed three doubles, winning at home in front of a crowd of over 7,000 at Parkview Field. … Outfielder Ryan Gerety delivered a professional debut to remember, collecting three hits, including a double, and drew a walk in his first game since joining Fort Wayne. The 22-year-old signed with the Padres last month as an undrafted free agent out of Northeastern. He played in all 61 games for Northeastern, hitting .326/.456/.492 with five homers and 37 RBI, making the All-CAA First Team. He was promoted to Fort Wayne after Ryan Wideman was placed on the injured list. … Robbie Lavey had a pair of hits and drove in two runs. The fourth-rounder has shown some pop at the plate, with four extra-base hits in 45 plate appearances. He’s paired a rough 36.7% whiff rate with a somewhat passive approach at the plate to strike out in more than a third of his plate appearances so far. Overall, he is hitting .225/.311/.425 in 11 games. … Righty Bryan Balzer drew the starting assignment and allowed a pair of homers. The 21-year-old righty completed only three innings with two walks, and a hit batter against four strikeouts. Balzer has arguably the best raw stuff among potential starters in the system, but he’s struggled to command his pitches consistently this year. That has been a particular problem in August as he approaches doubling his previous career high of 50 innings last year. He’s walked 14 in 14.2 innings, which has resulted in a 6.75 ERA. Despite the walks, Balzer has struck out 20 batters this month. Balzer has the stuff to pitch in the big leagues but he will need to command the zone better to have a chance.
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 6, Storm 1
Jose Verdugo covers the plate effectively. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Key Statistics: 2B Jose Verdugo 2-for-3, R, SB (34); LF Alex Conover 1-for-4, RBI, SB (8); LHP Kruz Schoolcraft (L, 2-7) 3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, BB, 4 K; LHP Adler Cecil 3.2 IP, H, 3 BB, 8 K
Prospect Watch: The Storm managed just four hits, losing their 11th straight game. Rancho, which came into the series in last place before moving ahead of Lake Elsinore, has outscored them 28-7 in the first four games. … Jose Verdugo had two more hits and he swiped his 34th bag of the season. The 18-year-old moved up from the DSL this season and has shown the ability to make frequent contact, albeit without much authority yet. He’s only struck out nine times in 62 plate appearances in August but he’s hitting just .255/.290/.309. While he has a stellar 91.3% in-zone contact rate, he has too often chased pitches out of the zone. His task as he continues to develop will be to distinguish between pitches he can make contact with and those he should hit. … Kruz Schoolcraft‘s struggles continued as last year’s first-rounder pitched three innings, allowing four runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out four. The 19-year-old lefty has been hit hard in August. Including Friday’s start, Cal League hitters are batting .406 off of him this month, resulting in an unsightly 11.37 ERA that has brought his season mark to 6.07 overall. Schoolcraft, who pitched all year at 19 years old, has struggled to generate any consistent mechanics, leading to just a 44% in-zone rate. Low-A hitters have learned they can simply wait him out, chasing less than a quarter of the time. The swing and chase rates he has induced are in the bottom 10% of all Low-A pitchers. … Adler Cecil tossed the final 3.2 innings and allowed just one hit. He walked three and struck out eight. The 21-year-old has posted prolific strikeout stuff this season, punching out 32 Cal League hitters in just 17.2 innings. He’s walked 14 but has limited the damage, thanks to opposing hitters batting just .131 against him.
