Padres Minor League Report: May 7
Bill Center, longtime sportswriter for U-T San Diego, is an employee of the Padres.
Justin Hancock allowed one run on eight hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in seven innings Wednesday night for San Antonio to join two other right-handed Missions starting pitchers among the elite in the Double-A Texas League.
Colin Rea, 24, the Texas League Pitcher of the Week last week, ranks third in the league with a 1.00 ERA after five starts. He is also tied for the league lead with 34 strikeouts. Elliot Morris, 23, who like Rea has a 1-1 record, ranks fourth in the league with a 2.05 ERA and fifth with 30 strikeouts.
Hancock, 24, ranks 10th in the Texas League with a 3.00 ERA and is tied for third in wins with a 3-1 record.
Hancock wasn't the only pitcher in the Padres' system with a strong outing Wednesday night.
Right-hander Ryan Butler, 23, allowed two runs on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts over seven innings in Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore's 5-4, 10-inning win at San Jose. Butler, the Padres' seventh-round pick last June out of North Carolina-Charlotte, ranks second in the California League with a 1.24 ERA.
Hancock picked up his third win Wednesday as 11-15 San Antonio defeated Frisco, 9-1, after losing Tuesday night's suspended game 8-7. Right-handed Luis De La Cruz followed Hancock and had a strikeout in two perfect innings.
Center fielder Travis Jankowski, who ranks seventh in the Texas League with a .347 batting average, was 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a run. He also is tied for the league lead in steals with 13, tied for third in runs scored (20) and fourth in on-base percentage (.446). Right fielder Yeison Asencio (.289) was 3-for-5 with a double, a RBI and two runs. Designated hitter Hunter Renfroe (.208) had two doubles in five at-bats with two RBIs.
In the suspended game, right-hander Tayron Guerrero (0-1, 5.23 ERA) allowed an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth in Frisco's win.
Around the farm
Triple-A El Paso (17-10): Fresno 7, Chihuahuas 3. DH Cody Decker (.210) hit a three-run homer. C Rocky Gale (.366) was 2-for-2 with a walk. CF Abraham Almonte was 2-for-4 with a stolen base. Right-hander Chris Smith, who was promoted from extended spring camp earlier in the day, allowed seven runs on seven hits and a walk with four strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings in his El Paso debut. RHP Shawn Kelley threw a perfect inning as his rehab assignment continued.
Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore (14-13): Storm 5, San Jose 4 (10 innings). Lake Elsinore won its fourth straight game on 3B Gabriel Quintana's two-run homer in the top of the 10th. RF Nick Schulz hit a two-run single. CF Auston Bousfield (.302) was 2-for-5. 2B Fernando Perez (.255) was 2-for-5 and is 12-for-29 with nine RBIs in a seven-game hitting streak. SS Jose Rondon (.274) scored two runs. RHP Genison Reyes (1-1, 3.60 ERA) allowed a hit in a scoreless inning to get the win. RHP Eric Yardley (0.82 ERA) allowed a run on three hits in the bottom of the 10th to pick up his seventh save.
Class A Fort Wayne (8-16): Dayton 6, TinCaps 5 (11 innings). SS Franchy Cordero (.218) was 4-for-5 with three runs, but he also committed two more errors, giving him 19 in 23 games. 3B-1B Duanel Jones, at .321 the 11th-leading hitter in the Midwest League, hit a three-run homer, giving him 19 RBIs on the season (tied for third in the league). 1B Trae Santos had two doubles in four at-bats. Starting RHP Ernesto Montas (3.24 ERA) allowed two runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. RHP Aaron Cressley (0-1, 6.75 ERA) allowed an unearned run on a hit and two walks with two strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings to take the loss.