51s drop third straight to El Paso, 4-3
Rowan Wick’s 1-2 pitch to Peter Alonso bounced in the dirt, far beyond the strike zone.
But Alonso took a swing at the breaking ball anyway, striking out with the bases loaded to end the game Saturday.
The strikeout ensured that the 51s finished their third straight game — this one a 4-3 loss to El Paso at Southwest University Park — without a hit with runners in scoring position.
“They’ve got pretty good pitching here. We just couldn’t put anything together. All three games, we just haven’t drove in a run with runners in scoring position,” manager Tony DeFrancesco said. “Three games in a row — 0-for-8 twice, today 0-for-5, we had bases loaded with Peter up, Alonso, strikeout to end the game so pretty tough loss today.”
The 51s finished the night 0-for-5 in those situations, leaving nine on base.
“We just kind of expand the zone. They’re doing a good job spinning the baseball on us and elevating and we’re just not making any adjustments to that,” DeFrancesco said. “Another 11 strikeouts today. The big part of the order, they’re just striking out too much right now. They’re not putting the ball in play enough.”
Their only offense, for the third straight night, came from the longball.
Outfielder Bryce Brentz hit a two-run blast in the first inning, giving the 51s (61-64) a brief lead in the game.
It was short-lived, though, as starter P.J. Conlon served up a home run to catcher Francisco Mejia in the bottom of the frame.
After the Chihuahuas (72-52) struck on a Ty France RBI double in the bottom of the third, the 51s responded two innings later with another home run, this one Jose Lobaton’s sixth of the year.
The Chihuahuas didn’t pull away until the seventh inning when France’s RBI single drove in Luis Urias for the second time.
Urias, one of the Padres’ top prospects, finished his night 3-for-3 with a double, triple and three runs scored.
The infielder has been nearly impossible for the 51s to retire in the series, going 9-for-12 in the first three games.
“A young, 21-year-old kid, he’s got some tools,” DeFrancesco said. “Playing a good infield, (second), short and third. He has a knack of putting the ball in play and every mistake, he’ll put it in play.”
Two of those hits came against Conlon, who threw relatively well in his start, working six innings and giving up three runs on seven hits while taking a no-decision in the loss.
“I think he did OK. I thought he made some pitches when he had to. Three walks got him in trouble a couple times but he worked out of some jams,” DeFrancesco said. “He looks like he’s healthy. Six innings, three runs is a quality outing. We just couldn’t put any on the board.”
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