Sunday’s game was the best Lake Elsinore Storm’s starter Carson Montgomery has looked this season.
The six-foot-three right-hander worked four flawless innings, allowing zero runs, just two hits, and punching out six. The FSU alum would generate 11 whiffs on just 50 pitches, with his most electric pitch being the slider.
Montgomery got constant swings and misses on it, as it generated a ton of horizontal and vertical movement. It plays very well off his power fastball. Opponents are now just hitting .167 vs. Montgomery. Today’s outing also lowered his FIP from 7.64 to 4.36 on the season while raising his K% to 33%.
At the dish, the Storm would strike for 10 runs, with the heavy lifting coming from Dillon Head & Oswaldo Linares.
Head would build off his first homer of 2024 last night by going 2-for-5 with a walk, scoring a run, and knocking it two. Head has started to see more success as of late, as since April 8, he’s posted a 129 wRC+, 11.1% BB%, wOBA of .414, and a .847 OPS.
For Oswaldo Linares, Sunday’s performance would be his best of the season, as he went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a walk. Linares has struggled to find contact in the early part of the season, his patent approach has been evident. Despite just a .143 average, the 20-year-old backstop had a .406 OBP, thanks to a 31.2% BB%.
Ft. Wayne Tin Caps (Won 5-3 vs. Dayton Dragons ) (8-6 record, 1st in Mid East)
In the Tin Caps’ win, the most notable out from the pitching staff would come from LHP & reliever Ryan Och.
In 2.1 inning, Och allowed zero runs and just one hit while putting down four via strikeout. Och, just 6+ innings into his 2024 season now owns a K% north of 54%, while also claiming ownership of a 0.86 xFIP and 0.13 FIP.
In truth, the Tins Caps weres fantastic. As Braden Nett was chased after an inning and a third, the Tin Caps pen allowed just one run over the final 8.1 innings and struck out a total of 10 batters.
Och does not possess blow-it-by-you stuff, as he throws only in the low 90s, but his weird arm angle makes him deceptive and difficult for opposing hitters to pick up or barrel.
For the offense, the most notable plate appearance would come from Devin Ortiz. His 10th-inning double scored Homer Bush Jr., giving Fort Wayne a 4-3 lead in extras. Ortiz also swiped a bad, as his OPS rose to .954 on the season.
Catcher Colton Bender would knock in three on the afternoon, lacing two doubles in a 2-for-4 day at the dish that saw the 2021 10th-round pick out of Quinnipiac knock it three total runs for Ft. Wayne in the win.
San Antonio Missions ( Loss2-1 vs. Corpus Christi Hooks) (8-7 record, 3rd Texas South)
The San Antonio Mission’s bats fell silent in their 2-1 loss to the Corpus Christi Hooks. The Missions managed just three hits over nine innings, going 0-for-5 with RISP and leaving seven men on base.
Two of the biggest bats, Nathan Martorella and Jakob Marsee, would be held in check, going a combined 0-for-7 at the dish.
The start of 2024 has contained to be a struggle for Marsee, as he has posted just a 75 wRC+ and .296 wOBA while also seeing a 7.3% rise in his K% this year as he is striking out 29% of the time to start 2024.
He still continues to walk, as his BB% sits at 17.4%, but overall, the Central Michigan Chippewa has had a slow start.
On the pitching end, Woo-Suk Go’s outing was disappointing. He entered the 8th with the lead and the chance for a hold, but instead, he allowed two runs on three hits and one walk. The walk was the first free pass he has issued this season.
While Woo Suk Go’s ERA, 6.75, has been ugly this season, it does not show the full story. To his credit, Go has posted a 1.72 xFIP, .78 FIP, 33.3% K%.
Go’s been hit with a bit of poor BABIP luck to this point, which could be the reason for the high ERA, as hitters have a .450 BABIP vs. him this season.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Win 5-3 vs. Dayton Dragons ) (9-12 record, 3rd in PCL)
When games are played in El Paso, the expectation is that they will be slugfests. But El Paso’s 5-3 win broke that norm.
Tim Locastro would have the best day at the dish as he went 3-for-4, with all three hits being singles. Locastro would continue to show that 99th percentile sprint speed as, along with his three hits, he would swipe two bags for the Chihuahuas.
Also, Nate Mondou would provide a spark as the catcher would launch a pinch-hit two-run homer to left that would give El Paso a 3-1 lead.
Mondou entered the game in the 4th for Donovan Solano, who was removed for no medical reason and could be joining the Padres roster for their next series vs. COL.
On the mound, six different pitchers would tow the rubber, with Sean Reynolds earning the win after working 1.1 innings and allowing zero runs on just one hit.
Earning the save would be Jeremiah Estrada as he worked a scoreless 9th, punching out two, and earned his second save of the season. He would record four whiffs, and his fastball would also top out at 98 mph.
Estrada has been almost unhittable in El Paso, posting a 0.91 WHIP, with a 1.49 xFIP and 0.71 FIP. Estrada has also posted a K% > then 57% and 18.7 SwSrt% this season in El Paso. An almost unthinkable feat, given the ballparks he pitches in down the PCL
Proud San Diego Native. Attended Sonoma State University, where I received my bachelor’s degree in communications; following my graduation, I returned home to San Diego, where I have worked in the local San Diego media sports scene since 2020.
