51s fall in series opener to El Paso
When it mattered most, the 51s couldn’t come up with a hit on Thursday. The team went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, leaving seven on base.
And though Scott Copeland pitched well enough to keep the team in the game, the 51s couldn’t capitalize on any kind of rally, scoring twice in the game but both on solo home runs.
And with that, the 51s fell 3-2 to El Paso at Southwest University Park in the series opener.
“That’s the thing, the guys have got to try to come through in those situations with guys in scoring position,” manager Tony DeFrancesco said. “We just didn’t get it done today. (Patrick) Kivlehan hit a solo home run with nobody on, (Jose) Lobaton hit a solo home run with nobody on. The middle of the order didn’t do much so that kind of hurt us.”
Two of the Padres’ top prospects — Francisco Mejia and Luis Urias — were the difference in Thursday’s game.
Mejia, ranked the No. 21 prospect by MLBPipeline, drove in Urias, the No. 22 prospect, twice in the game.
The first time came in the first inning with a single to center and the second came in the sixth with a double to right. Both had three hits in the game for the Chihuahuas.
“They’ve got a nice young team,” DeFrancesco said. “They’re young kids. Urias and Mejia, the kid they got in the trade, they put the ball in play. They swing aggressively. Now you’ve got to pitch them a little bit better.”
After Mejia’s second RBI hit, Shane Peterson drove him in to give the Chihuahuas (70-52) a three-run lead at the time.
That run wound up being the difference in the game.
Tempers had flared earlier in the top of the sixth after Peter Alonso was hit by a pitch, resulting in both benches clearing and warnings.
No punches were thrown but both Las Vegas (61-62) infielder Christian Colon — who was not in the lineup — and El Paso pitching coach Bronswell Patrick were ejected.
“After Alonso got hit, their bench was chirping at him. I’m not sure what Colon said back,” DeFrancesco said. “Their pitching coach came on the field and everybody kind of left their position.”
The 51s had some of their best opportunities in that frame, with two on and no outs and then runners on the corners with just one out, but Bryce Brentz grounded into a double play to end the inning.
“I thought that was going to be a big momentum swing for us,” DeFrancesco said. “We had first and third and we hit into a double play. We just didn’t execute.”
El Paso starter Walker Lockett threw seven innings and gave up just a run on six hits while Copeland tossed a quality start of his own, giving up three runs on six hits in six innings while striking out eight on the night.
“He’s aggressive in the zone, he pitches quick. He’s got three or four pitches to keep them off balance,” DeFrancesco said. “He made a couple mistakes early in the sixth inning. He hung a breaking ball for a double but I thought he pitched well. Three runs in this ballpark, that’s a pretty good job.”
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Contact Betsy Helfand at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BetsyHelfand on Twitter.
