The Albuquerque Isotopes faced the Round Rock Express, winning 2 games and losing 4. Notable performers include Willie MacIver, Jimmy Herron, and Carson Palmquist. Looking ahead, they will take on the Sugar Land Skeeters. The Hartford Yard Goats had a series record of 1-5 and notable performers such as Adael Amador, Kyle Datres, and Braxton Fulford. Next, they will take on the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The Spokane Indians had a series record of 2-4 and standout performers include Cole Carrigg and Mason Green. Up next, they face the Hillsboro Hops. The Fresno Grizzlies ended with a series record of 3-3 and notable performers including Aidan Longwell and Andy Perez. They will take on the Stockton Ports next.

Albuquerque Isotopes

Series Record: 2-4 | 46-74

Notable Performers

Willie MacIver: 19 PAs, .412/.474/.824 (1.298 OPS), 7 H, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 SB

Jimmy Herron: 23 PAs, .389/.522/.722 (1.244 OPS), 7 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 5 BB, 5 K

Nolan Jones: 19 PAs, .294/.368/.588 (.956 OPS), 5 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K

Carson Palmquist: 6.0 IP, 1.50 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 2 BB, 8 K

Josh Rogers: 5.0 IP, 1.80 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 1 BB, 3 K

Juan Hillman: 2.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 1 BB, 2 K

Recap

The series against the Round Rock Express got off to a bad start, as the Isotopes lost 2-7. The lineup struggled to get it going against the opposing pitching staff, collecting only two hits. Hunter Stovall and Drew Romo each added a home run. Starter Peyton Battenfield struggled, allowing 4 runs while striking out 4 in 5.2 innings.

After a quiet offensive outing on Tuesday, the bats struck out on Wednesday, winning 15-2. Jimmy Herron led the way collecting 4 hits, while Nolan Jones, Willie MacIver, and Hunter Stovall each had 3 hits. Willie Mac added two home runs himself. Ty Blach threw a perfect 3 innings, while Chance Adams got the win.

Thanks to a 9th-inning home run by Grant Lavigne, the ‘Topes were able to win 4-3. Lavigne and Nolan Jones each had two hits in the contest. Carson Palmquist put together his best start yet in an Isotopes uniform, Striking out 8 and only allowing one run in 6 innings. Seth Halvorsen got the win, while Matt Koch closed the game out with a save. 

The Isotopes lost a heartbreaker on Friday, losing 1-2 via walkoff. The bats largely struggled, but Jimmy Herron put together a great performance going 2 for 2 with 2 walks as well. Lefty Josh Rogers put together a great outing, tossing 5 innings with 3 strikeouts and 1 run. Lefty Juan Hillman put together a great outing in relief, not allowing a run in 2.1 innings.

After a low-scoring game on Friday, the bats exploded scoring a combined 16 runs on Saturday. Unfortunately, 13 of the runs came from the bats of the Round Rock Express. The Isotopes ended up losing the contest 3-13. Christopher Navarro and Yanquiel Fernandez each collected two hits. Outfielder Greg Jones added his 11th homer of the season in the contest. Starting pitcher Karl Kauffmann badly struggled, giving up 10 runs in 3.1 innings. Reliever Jaden Hill was one of the lone bright spots from the pitching staff, tossing a scoreless inning while striking out 3.

The pitching staff would continue to struggle on Sunday, as the squad lost 5-16. Willie MacIver led the way for the offense, collecting 3 hits and 2 rbi’s. Greg Jones added 2 stolen bases in the game, giving him an amazing 34 total stolen bags for the year. Starter Peyton Battenfield largely struggled, giving up 7 runs in 2.1 innings. Seth Halvorsen tossed a scoreless inning while striking out 3 batters, touching 100 mph multiple times in his outing.

Call-Up Power Rankings

1. Willie MacIver: .306 AVG | .960 OPS | 15 HR | 31 BB | 7 SB
2.  Dugan Darnell: 4.82 ERA | 1.61 WHIP | 37.1 IP | 45 K
3. Greg Jones: .261 AVG | .814 OPS | 11 HR | 28 BB | 34 SB

Looking Ahead

This week the Isotopes will take on the Sugar Land Skeeters. The Skeeters are the affiliate of the Houston Astros and have a 74-45 record this season, good for 1st in the PCL East.

Hartford Yard Goats

Series Record: 1-5 | Season Record: 62-49

Notable Performers

Adael Amador: 22 PAs, .176/.364/.529 (.893 OPS), 3 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 5 BB, 3 K, 1 SB

Kyle Datres: 21 PAs, .316/.381/.526 (.907 OPS), 6 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K, 4 SB

Braxton Fulford: 20 PAs, .316/.350/.474 (.824 OPS), 6 H, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K, 

Nic Kent: 19 PAs, .316/.316/.421 (.737 OPS), 6 H, 7 K

Chase Dollander: 7.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 3 BB, 9 K

Brayan Castillo: 4.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 1 BB, 7 K

Anderson Bido: 3.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.33 WHIP, 0 BB, 6 K

Sean Sullivan: 5.0 IP, 3.60 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 0 BB, 5 K

Mason Albright: 7.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.43 WHIP, 0 BB, 3 K

Recap

The series against the Somerset Patriots got off to a rough start, as the Goats lost 2-6. Kyle Datres added 2 hits, while Adael Amador hit his 11th home run of the year. Starting pitcher Mason Albright put together a great performance, tossing 7 scoreless innings while striking out 3. Unfortunately, a late bullpen collapse led to the loss.

Wednesday’s game didn’t go well for the Goats either, as the squad lost 5-9. Kyle Datres and Braxton Fulford combined for 6 hits and 5 rbi’s, while Datres added his 5th homer of the season. Righty Blake Adams struggled in his first start in a Yard Goats uniform, giving up 6 runs in 4 innings, striking out 8 batters.

Thursday’s game would similarly end in a loss, as the squad lost 3-9. While the bats were largely cold, Adael Amador had a good game, collecting two hits and three rbi’s. Anderson Bido got the start, tossing 3 scoreless while striking out 6. The bullpen struggled throughout the rest of the game, with righty Alec Barger getting the loss.

The Yard Goats were able to get back in the winning column the next game, 7-0. Juan Guerrero and Ronaiker Palma collected two hits apiece. Left fielder Sterlin Thompson added a critical three-run blast in the 5th inning. Chase Dollander put together another incredible start, tossing 7 scoreless innings while striking out 9. Brendan Hardy and Zach Agnos combined to toss two scoreless in relief.

Saturday’s game ended in an extra-inning loss, as the Yard Goats lost 2-3. Bladimir Restituyo and Ronaiker Palma each added an rbi, while Sterlin Thompson collected two walks. Lefty Sean Sullivan put together a great start, giving up 2 runs in 5 innings, while striking out 5. The bullpen put together a great outing, tossing 5 innings while giving up only 1 hit. Unfortunately, an unearned run led to the loss. 

Call-Up Power Rankings

1. Brendan Hardy: 3.89 ERA | 1.19 WHIP | 37.0 IP | 41 K
2. Zach Agnos: 1.65 ERA | 0.86 WHIP | 16.1 IP | 21 K
3. Sterlin Thompson: .245 AVG | .704 OPS | 11 HR | 36 BB | 12 SB

Looking Ahead

Next week the Goats will take on the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The Fisher Cats are the affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays and have a 44-66 record this season.

Spokane Indians 

Series Record: 2-4  | Season Record: 68-44

Notable Performers (Series Stats)

Cole Carrigg – 25 PA, .286/.360/.286 (0.646), 6 H, 1 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 5 SO, 5 SB

Dyan Jorge – 25 PA, .273/.320/.318 (0.638), 6 H,  3 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 3 SO, 3 SB

GJ Hill – 15 PA, .462/.467/1.231 (1.697), 6 H, 5 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 5 SO, 1 SB

Jean Perez – 14 PA, .615/.643/1.077 (1.720), 8 H, 3 R, 4 RBI, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2 SB

Mason Green – W (9-5), 5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 5 K

Michael Prosecky – W (2-1), 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K

Braxton Hyde – 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Yujanyer Herrera – 7.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K

Series Recap

The Spokane Indians returned home after salvaging a hard-fought series on the road against the Tri-City Dust Devils that ended in a 3-3 split. Making their debuts in front of the crowd at Avista Stadium for their series against the Vancouver Canadians were 2024 draft picks Charlie Condon and Cole Messina, joined also by Alberto Pacheco and Bryson Hammer who were both promoted from Single-A Fresno. Spokane also said goodbye to Blake Adams, who rightfully earned his promotion to Double-A Hartford after posting a 2.76 ERA across 17 starts with the Indians, where the righty from Kansas State finished with a 7-3 record. 

The Indians dropped the first game of the series on Tuesday 5-0 before responding with a shutout of their own in a 3-0 win on Wednesday and followed their performance with a staggering 13-0 victory on Thursday night. Unfortunately, the Canadians fired back with a 10-1 win on Friday and stole another from Spokane on Saturday, 5-4, before closing out the series finale on Sunday by beating the Indians once again, this time 9-4. 

Spokane seemed stifled to start the series, as they were shut out by Vancouver on Tuesday night by a final of 5-0. Although starting pitcher Victor Juarez would be credited with his second consecutive loss, he managed to once again strike out eight Vancouver batters, but allowed eight hits and two runs through six innings where he amassed a pitch total of 86. The offense couldn’t get much going, but Dyan Jorge and Jean Perez each had a pair of hits, finishing 2-4 and 2-3, respectively, on the evening. Felix Ramires kept the score low through his two-inning appearance in relief of Juarez and finished with a line of 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, with 3 K. In his first game at Avista Stadium, Charlie Condon collected just one hit through four at-bats, a single in the fourth inning. 

The Indians weren’t down for long and returned to the diamond Wednesday night searching for a win. Mason Green took the mound for Spokane and nearly worked through six scoreless innings, finishing with a line of 5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, but gave up 5 BB while earning 5 K en route to his team-leading ninth win of the season. The game remained tied at zero until the fifth inning when Dyan Jorge brought home GJ Hill on a sac-fly, followed two innings later by GJ Hill’s seventh home run of the season to raise the score to 2-0. Cole Messina was making his home debut at Avista Stadium and came in clutch with a two-out RBI in the bottom of the eighth inning. Baserunning seemed to be the deciding factor for the Indians as they stole a team total of seven bases, led by none other than Cole Carrigg with three and Dyan Jorge with two of his own. Welinton Herrera, Carlos Torres, and Sam Weatherly all made appearances in relief of Green, with Weatherly picking up his second save of the season. 

If three runs were enough to win the game on Tuesday, then the 13 runs the Indians scored on Thursday were plenty. Spokane started early and didn’t look back, stretching their lead out to 7-0 by the fifth inning. GJ Hill stayed hot and drove in the first run of the game off of a double, and later added a home run in his second consecutive game. Hill was one of four Indians batters who drove in multiple runs in the game as Cole Carrigg and Jesus Bugarin each added a pair, while Jean Perez drove in four runs, ending his night by going 4-5 with 2 R and just a home run shy of the cycle. Michael Prosecky found his groove again after and picked up his second win with the Indians, navigating through five innings where he gave up just 3 H and no runs, with 3 BB and another 5 K. Over the course of five starts with Spokane, Thursday night was the first instance where Prosecky didn’t allow a single run in a start, a testament to the resilience of the 23-year-old. In relief of Prosecky, Braxton Hyde and Luis Amoroso both added a pair of strikeouts during their time on the mound as Spokane cruised to another win. 

The Candians took Thursday night to heart and responded with some firepower of their own on Friday. Jack Mahoney allowed just one hit going into the third inning before Vancouver’s offense woke up, scoring four runs before the inning’s end. Mahoney would allow just one more run in the game before his exit after the fifth inning, but the damage was already done and Mahoney was credited with his first loss at the High-A level. Spokane was never able to get a runner into scoring position after the fifth inning, but GJ Hill continued to do more of the same when he sent yet another fly ball out towards the Coors Light Caboose in right field, cutting the lead down to 10-1. His solo home run was his fifth in seven games and he has at least one hit in every game he’s appeared in throughout the Vancouver series. Another strong performance worth mentioning was Sergio Sanchez’s three innings of relief on Friday. The righty allowed one hit and two walks while striking out five of the ten batters he faced. 

Yujanyer Herrera got the start for the Indians in front of a Saturday night crowd at Avista Stadium, who were looking for the team to earn another win. Herrera got himself into trouble early, allowing three runs to score through the first three innings before finally settling down, allowing just three of the eight total hits he gave up after the third inning, while still earning seven punch outs. The Indians managed to rally back from a 4-0 deficit in the sixth after Jean Perez was able to score on a passed ball and Kyle Karros brought in a run with a sac-fly before Jose Cordova evened the game with a 2 RBI-double. Bryson Hammer was tasked with shutting down the Canadians in the ninth inning but failed to do so when he sailed a pickoff attempt over first baseman Jose Cordova’s head, allowing Vancouver’s Jay Harry to go from first to third. Canadians shortstop Nick Goodwin singled immediately after and brought home the winning run. The Indians narrowly tied the game in the bottom of the ninth thanks to some aggressive baserunning by EJ Andrews Jr., but Spokane came up just short. For Hammer, the loss was his first at the High-A level.

Rockies and Indians fans were treated to the first start of Antonio Senzatela’s rehab assignment during the series finale on Sunday. Similar to Germán Márquez, Senzatela is still on the road to recovery from Tommy John surgery, and Sunday’s matchup marked the first time Senzatela has been on the mound since May 10th of the 2023 season. Senzatela’s appearance was brief, but it came on the heels of a four-run first inning for Spokane’s offense thanks to RBIs from Betancourt, Bugarin, Condon, and Karros. Senzatela made his exit with one out into the third inning, ending the game with 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, and one strikeout. His exit was followed by the debut of another pitcher, Alberto Pacheco, who was making his debut at High-A after spending the majority of the season with Fresno. However, Pacheco’s night wasn’t any better, although he worked through the majority of the game and finished with 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, and only 2 K through 4.2 IP. Spokane’s four-run lead had vanished by the third inning, and they weren’t ever able to recover as Vancouver poured in three more runs late in the game to take the series victory from the Indians, their first series loss since their series against Hillsboro from May 7th through the 12th.. 

What’s Up Next Preview

Spokane will climb aboard the bus once again and trek down to Hillsboro for another series against the Hops. The Indians are 7-11 through three separate series against the Hops this year, and as noted above, were the last team to hand Spokane a series loss this season. 

Fresno Grizzlies 

Series Record : 3-3| Season Record: 59-54

Notable Performers (Series Stats)

Aidan Longwell – 25 PA, .211/.400/.474 (0.874), 4 H, 5 R, 4 RBI, 5 BB, 1 SO, 0 SB 

Andy Perez – 25 PA, .333/.360/.333 (0.693), 8 H, 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0 SB

Braylen Wimmer – 26 PA, .292/.346/.458 (0.804), 7 H, 4 R, 4 RBI, 0 BB, 8 SO, 3 SB

Jared Thomas – 14 PA, .286/.286/.571 (0.857), 4 H, 1 R, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0 SB

Stu Flesland III – 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

Jake Madden – 4.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

Justin Loer – 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Series Recap

The Fresno Grizzlies and the Modesto Nuts were both at the top of the standings for the California League during the first half of the season. Entering their series on Tuesday, Fresno found themselves a game behind Modesto for second-to-last place in the California League, but that quickly changed when the Grizzlies won the first three games of the series, 4-3 on Tuesday, 5-3 on Wednesday, and 6-1 on Friday. Fresno lost 5-2 on Friday night and 5-1 on Saturday and inevitably split the series with a 4-3 loss on Sunday.

The Grizzlies treated fans at Chukchansi Park to some free baseball on Tuesday after they needed extra innings to pull out the 4- victory. Fresno starting pitcher Bryan Perez managed the game well through five innings where he allowed just two hits and one run but walked four while also fanning four Modesto batters. Braylen Wimmer’s thirteenth home run of the year was a three-run blast in the third inning and propelled the Grizzlies to a 3-1 lead that lasted until the eighth inning where Hunter Mann surrendered two runs off of four hits, allowing Modesto to tie the game. Things remained knotted past the ninth inning and into extras where Jared Thomas made a great first impression on Grizzlies fans as he drove in the game-winning run in the tenth. Thomas finished 2-5 with an RBI and repeated the performance on Wednesday, giving the second-round draft pick a hit in every game he’s appeared in but one. 

Fresno and Modesto traded run after run through the first three innings on Wednesday. Ismael Luciano made his second start in a Grizzlies uniform and finished with a line of 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, while getting just 2 K, but still managed to pick up his second win. After the third inning, Fresno locked down their game defensively and received some impressive outings from the bullpen as Justin Loer, Jake Madden, Konner Eaton, and Brady Hill all pitched shutout innings to finish the game. On the other side of the ball, Jared Thomas opened up the scoring with his first professional home run, a single shot in the first inning, followed by a Caleb Hobson RBI in the second inning, and an RBI from Aidan Longwell in the third inning. Longwell added another RBI in the fifth when he was hit by a pitch, while Robert Calaz sealed the deal for the Grizzlies in the seventh inning with his second home run of the year.  

The Grizzlies managed to reach a four-game winning streak after yet another win on Thursday. For Fresno, the four-game winning streak is their longest since they won four games between June 19th and the 22nd. Stu Flesland III made his second consecutive start and once again, the lefty did not disappoint. Flesland worked through four innings instead of three this time around and allowed just 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, and added 4 K, one less strikeout than his previous outing. Fresno’s offense started out slow and had a 1-0 lead thanks to Aidan Longwell’s solo home run in the second inning. The game remained tied heading into the sixth, but Braylen Wimmer came through in the clutch with a RBI-single, followed by a RBI-triple from Ben McCabe in the next inning that brought in two runs. Longwell and Felix Tena added a pair of runs in the eighth, while the Grizzlies bullpen allowed just two total hits using four different arms after Flesland’s exit, to help Fresno earn the 6-1 win. 

However, Fresno’s winning streak came to an end on Friday night. Kannon Handy was handed his fourth loss of the season during his first start in a Grizzlies uniform. His appearance was cut short, whether or not that was the plan from Fresno pitching coach Jerry Sullivan, or because of  Handy’s 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, and 4 K line through the 14 batters he faced in only 2.1 IP. Modesto was up early, but the Grizzlies managed to get on the board thanks to catcher Juan Castillo who singled in his first plate appearance with Fresno. The 21-year-old out of Barquisimeto, Venezuela, spent all of the 2024 season with the Rockies in the ACL before his promotion at the end of July. Even with Castillo’s response, Fresno’s offense remained in hibernation until the eighth inning when Aidan Longwell drove in a run off of an RBI-double, cutting Modesto’s lead down to two runs. The Grizzlies couldn’t find anything else, as the Nuts picked up their first win of the series.  

Saturday night proved to be more of the same for Fresno as they lost 5-1. The offense was lackluster once again: the team had just four total hits, the first of which didn’t occur until the fifth inning, and their only run of the game came from Andy Perez’s team-leading 64th RBI of the season in the sixth inning. Bryan Mena made his fourth consecutive start and picked up his second consecutive loss after working through 5.2 innings, finishing with 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, and just 4 K. The Grizzlies used plenty of arms out of the bullpen once again, and while Austin Becker did allow a run to score through his two innings on the mound, where he faced eight batters, he also had three punchouts and no walks. Fresno didn’t have much of a rally, only managing to get one man on base through the final three frames on the way to their second straight loss. 

One run was the deciding factor in Sunday’s series finale against the Nuts. Bryan Perez got the start for Fresno and allowed a season-high 11 hits in a single start, accompanied by 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, and only 5 K. All of the offense happened early on as the Nuts climbed out to an early lead, before extending their lead to four runs by the third inning. But, the Grizzlies weren’t going to go out quietly, and responded immediately with three runs of their own in the same inning as Luis Mendez drove in a run, Andy Perez scored on a passed ball, and Juan Castillo drove in his third RBI since his promotion. And yet, the 4-3 score would stay that way for the remainder of the game as Fresno squandered opportunities to tie things up in the sixth inning with the bases loaded and multiple men on in the ninth inning as well. Losing three straight games, Fresno ended their series against Modesto with an even split. 

What’s Up Next Preview

Fresno’s homestand continues on into next week, this time against the Stockton Ports. The Grizzlies started off the Modesto series great, but couldn’t sustain their winning ways. It’s their second straight series split against the Nuts, the previous one occurred during the first week of July.