The San Antonio Missions, San Diego's AA affiliate, scored six runs Thursday evening on 11 hits, four of which were doubles and one that went out of the park. Unfortunately, the Midland RockHounds tallied exactly one more of each of those things, and the Missions fell 7-6 on a walkoff homer by Midland third baseman Jefry Marte. The game wouldn't have even been down-to-the-wire if not for big offensive performances from San Antonio outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Yeison Asencio; the pair of Padres prospects combined to go 6-8 with all five of the Missions' extra-base hits.
Renfroe, who got off to a slow start after his promotion to San Antonio, was back in the lineup Thursday after homering in a pinch appearance on Wednesday. He went 2-4 with a double and another home run, his third in just 42 at-bats with the Missions. That small-sample-size rate of one homer every 14 at-bats is ahead of the pace he set at Lake Elsinore of one every 17.38 at-bats (16/278). Only time and a whole lot of plate appearances will tell anything of value, but one can only hope these past two games are an indication that the Padres' representative on the All-Star Futures Game's USA roster is getting settled in to his new league, and that his .190 batting average in AA will rise along with the temperature in south-central Texas.
Asencio was unstoppable, bashing three doubles and a single in his four trips to the plate. The doubles were his thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth of the season to go along with three triples and six homers in 331 at-bats. His batting average is up to a respectable .278, but his OBP is lingering at .310 thanks to his mere 15 walks. If that number wasn't ridiculously low enough, consider this: six of those walks were intentional. The artist formerly known as Yoan Alcantara has also been striking out more than ever; his 50 strikeouts are just eight behind his career-high which he set last year in 203 more at-bats.
First baseman Jason Hagerty, shortstop Brian Bixler, third baseman Casey McElroy, and mega-prospect catcher Austin Hedges all helped out with singles, with Hagerty collecting two and coming around to score twice. McElroy and Rymer Liriano also scored one run each, and Hedges contributed an RBI.
The Missions have been outscored 17-12 in the first two games of this four-game set. They'll work toward the split starting with tonight's game at 7pm (5 Pacific).