Urias & Bousfield Combine for Six Hits as Chihuahuas Rout Baby Cakes
El Paso, Texas
The El Paso Chihuahuas squared off against the New Orleans Baby Cakes and gave the fans, and the Padres front office, a bit of everything on Thursday.
The Chihuahuas were leading 10-0 by the end of the 3rd inning, with a pair of three-run home runs from Franmil Reyes and Shane Peterson. Francisco Mejia recorded his first base hit in front of the El Paso crowd and accounted for two of the runs scored.
Jerry Keel looked sharp, but a long, two-run home run by Austin Dean in the 5th inning prevented Keel from continuing his three-game streak of allowing only one run while going five innings or more. Keel continued into the 6th and wound up with six innings pitched and two earned runs. Keel scattered six hits, but didn’t walk anyone.
El Paso bats were pretty silent after the 3rd inning, allowing New Orleans to narrow the gap. Erik Johnson took the hill in the 7th and recorded two quick outs before allowing a single to pinch-hitter JB Shuck and walking Austin Dean. Johnson was able to get out of the inning by striking out Isan Diaz.
Things got interesting in the bottom of the 8th when Diego stepped in for his first at-bat.
With the walk-up music still fading out and Goris stepping in, he was issued an automatic strike for taking too long. Goris was hitting in the nine-hole after taking the pitcher’s slot during a double-switch and this was his first at-bat, so there’s no reason to think he had been warned prior to this. Goris took a called strike, stepped out and watched as home plate umpire Edwin Moscoso ejected Brett Nicholas, who was chirping from the dugout. It’s unlikely that details will emerge regarding the ejection, but it looked like Moscoso had a hair-trigger on both the automatic strike and the ejection. Goris would go on to hit a double, which Auston Bousfield followed up with a double of his own, driving in Goris.
Rowan Wick had the 9th, and his scoreless inning sealed the 11-4 win and dropped his ERA to 2.92. This was Wick’s third appearance in a row without allowing a run. With this win, the Chihuahuas are at 60-49, good for first place in the Pacific Southern Division by 2.5 games. If they hold on to win the division, this will be their 4th division win in a row.
Notes from the game:
Auston Bousfield hit three doubles and recorded three RBI. Prior to this game, Bousfield had only four hits in his last 27 at-bats. He struck out in his other two at-bats.
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Luis Urias was 3-for-5 with a triple and one RBI.
Jerry Keel’s outing drops his ERA to 3.34 after allowing eight earned runs in his first 11 Triple-A innings.
Francisco Mejia only went 1-for-5, but he hit the ball hard in his first four plate appearances.
Allen Craig‘s 2-for-4 night brought his batting average back up to .300. He is sure-handed around the bag, while having good footwork to boot. His defense allows Luis Urias and Javy Guerra to complete a lot of outstanding plays that other first basemen might not be able to handle.
Double A:
The Missions got roughed up by the Midland RockHounds with Lake Bachar getting scorched for eight earned runs. Buddy Reed had a 1-for-5 night and his Double-A batting average is at .164. Final score was 8-2.
Class A-Advanced:
Like their Double-A counterparts, Lake Elsinore lost 8-2. Michel Baez was a late scratch and Bryan Mitchell took the hill instead. No word on Baez’s exit, but it looks to be injury-related. Mitchell went 2.2 innings and gave up two runs on a two-run home run by Cody Thomas in the 1st.
I’m Eric. I’m a lifetime baseball fan, recreational fantasy baseball player and serious baseball collector. Unlike most of the team, it’s my love of collecting that got me into prospecting. I just moved to El Paso, home of the San Diego Padres Triple-A club, the El Paso Chihuahuas. I was able to watch a few Padres prospects in the Arizona Fall League this November. Beyond that I hadn’t seen Padres minor league baseball since 2007. The San Antonio Missions had just become affiliated with the Padres and the team was named the Baseball America Minor League Team of the Year. They had guys like Will Venable, Chase Headley, Wade LeBlanc, Dirk Hayhurst, Nick Hundley, and the everlasting Chad Huffman. I say “everlasting” because Huffman is still in the minors battling for a job and will attend spring training with the Cardinals this year.
I’m in the Army which is what brought me to El Paso. I’m originally from Texas and at heart I’m a Reds fan, but my situation makes it much more sensible for me to cover the Padres. I have a girlfriend, two cats and about a million baseball cards and books. Moving to a city with a AAA baseball team is very exciting and I plan on attending several games throughout the season. I’m on Twitter at @USKillian.