Graham Pauley, Cole Cummings homer in Missions’ win over Cardinals

Missions starter Robby Snelling pitched five innings and got the win. The San Antonio Missions beat the Springfield Cardinals 4-3 on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions starter Robby Snelling pitched five innings and got the win.
Graham Pauley hit his second home run since joining the San Antonio Missions and Cole Cummings hit his 11th.

The two long balls on a rare night when the wind was blowing out of Wolff Stadium helped carry the Missions to a 4-3 victory over the Springfield Cardinals on Tuesday.

Pauley’s solo shot in the first inning put the Missions in front 1-0. San Antonio scored twice in the fourth inning to go up 3-1. Cummings’ solo homer in the sixth extended the lead to 4-1.

Missions starting pitcher Robby Snelling (2-0) got the win. The 19-year-old left-hander went five innings and allowed one run on five hits with no walks and three strikeouts.

Daniel Camarena earned his second save of the season by retiring all three batters he faced in the ninth inning.

Homer Bush Jr., playing in his first game at Wolff Stadium since joining the Missions, had two hits and an RBI.

Graham Pauley hit a first-inning home run. The San Antonio Missions beat the Springfield Cardinals 4-3 on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Graham Pauley hit a first-inning home run

Cole Cummings hit his 11th home run of the season. The San Antonio Missions beat the Springfield Cardinals 4-3 on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Cole Cummings hit his 11th home run of the season.

Sod Poodles hold off Missions

The Missions' Graham Pauley had two hits and scored a run. The Amarillo Sod Poodles beat the San Antonio Missions 4-2 on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
The Missions’ Graham Pauley had two hits and scored a run.
Amarillo pitchers stifled the San Antonio Missions over the first seven innings in the Sod Poodles’ 4-2 victory on Thursday at Wolff Stadium.

Sod Poodles starter Luke Albright (8-5) went five shutout innings to earn the win.

The Missions scored both their runs in the bottom of the eighth after the Sod Poodles built a 4-0 lead. Marcos Castanon scored from third on a ground out and Cole Cummings singled to right to drive in Graham Pauley.

Pauley and Cummings led the Missions with two hits each.

Missions starting pitcher Adam Mazur (0-2) went six innings, allowed three runs and took the loss.

Cole Cummings had the Missions' only RBI of the night. The Amarillo Sod Poodles beat the San Antonio Missions 4-2 on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Cole Cummings had the Missions’ only RBI of the night.
Missions starter Adam Mazur pitched six innings and allowed three runs. The Amarillo Sod Poodles beat the San Antonio Missions 4-2 on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions starter Adam Mazur pitched six innings and allowed three runs.

Cole Cummings homer powers Missions’ win; Robby Snelling makes Double-A debut

Cole Cummings hit his sixth home run of the season. The San Antonio Missions beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 4-2 on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Cole Cummings hit his sixth home run of the season.
The San Antonio Missions scored half their runs on a home run by Cole Cummings as they beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 4-2 on Wednesday at Wolff Stadium.

Cummings’ sixth homer of the season produced the Missions’ first two runs of the game and put them in front 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth.

Amarillo tied it 2-2 in the top of the sixth. San Antonio’s Marcos Castanon scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning to make it 3-2 and put the Missions in front for good.

Nathan Martorella doubled in the eighth inning to drive in Castanon and extend the Missions’ lead to 4-2. For Martorella, who made his Missions debut on Tuesday, it was his fourth hit in two days in Double-A.

Robby Snelling, who also joined the Missions a day earlier, started Wednesday’s game on the mound and went 3 2/3 innings in his Double-A debut. He allowed one run, two hits and five walks with two strikeouts.

Bobby Milacki (4-3) pitched the next 3 1/3 innings in relief and earned the win. He allowed one run, one hit, no walks and had four strikeouts.

Daniel Camarena went 1 1/3 innings with no runs, two hits, no walks and one strikeout.

Efrain Contreras, who has started 17 games this season, pitched the final two outs and struck out both batters he faced for his third save.

Marcos Castanon scored on a wild pitch in the sixth inning to put the Missions in front for good. The San Antonio Missions beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 4-2 on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Marcos Castanon scored on a wild pitch in the sixth inning to put the Missions in front for good.
Nathan Martorella's RBI double was in fourth hit in two games since joining the Missions. The San Antonio Missions beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 4-2 on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Nathan Martorella’s RBI double was in fourth hit in two games since joining the Missions.
Missions starting pitcher Robbie Snelling made his Double-A debut. The San Antonio Missions beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 4-2 on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions starting pitcher Robbie Snelling made his Double-A debut.

Missions pitchers Jackson Wolf, Edwuin Bencomo, Kevin Kopps fend off Frisco

Jackson Wolf pitched six innings struck out five Frisco batters. The San Antonio Missions beat the Frisco RoughRiders 2-1 on Saturday, July 1, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Jackson Wolf pitched six innings struck out five Frisco batters. The San Antonio Missions beat the Frisco RoughRiders 2-1 on Saturday, July 1, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe Alexander
Jackson Wolf showed off the form that makes him one of the San Diego Padres’ top pitching prospects on Saturday night at Wolff Stadium.

Wolf pitched six innings and allowed one run as the San Antonio Missions beat the Frisco RoughRiders 2-1. Wolff gave up three hits and two walks and struck out five to earn the win and even his record to 7-7.

Wolf is currently the No. 16 prospect in the Padres’ minor league system (according to MLB.com) and is No. 3 left-handed pitcher on the team’s top 30 list.

Edwuin Bencomo made a successful return to the Missions by pitching two scoreless innings in relief. He allowed two hits, no walks and struck out two batters. Bencomo started the season in San Antonio, went down to Class A Fort Wayne on May 23 and pitched in seven games. He was promoted back to the Missions on Saturday.

Kevin Kopps pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his third save of the season. He did not allow a hit or a walk and struck out two of the three batters he faced.

The Missions’ first run of the game came on a Ray-Patrick Didder solo home run in the fourth inning.

Kervin Pichardo accounted for the team’s other run in the fifth. He got on base vi hit-by-pitch and advanced to third on a Cole Cummings single. Pichardo scored on a bad pickoff throw.

Edwuin Bencomo pitched two scoreless innings in relief. The San Antonio Missions beat the Frisco RoughRiders 2-1 on Saturday, July 1, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Edwuin Bencomo pitched two scoreless innings in relief.

RockHounds’ home runs sink Missions

Pedro Castellanos had an RBI double in the fourth inning, went to third base on an error and scored on a passed ball. The Midland RockHounds beat the San Antonio Missions 10-8 on Thursday, June 22, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Pedro Castellanos had an RBI double in the fourth inning, went to third base on an error and scored on a passed ball.
The Midland RockHounds hit three home runs to beat the San Antonio Missions 10-8 on Thursday at Wolff Stadium.

Shane McGuire, Greg Deichmann and Lawrence Butler hit home runs for Midland. The RockHounds took the lead for good with four runs in the top of the seventh inning.

The Missions had 11 hits including two each from Ripken Reyes, Cole Cummings, Pedro Castellanos and Chandler Seagle. Castellanos and Seagle each had a double.

Missions use lots of little hits – including 4 by Ripken Reyes – to edge Wind Surge

Ripken Reyes bunts for a run-scoring hit in the fifth-inning. The San Antonio Missions beat the Wichita Wind Surge 5-4 on Friday, June 9, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Ripken Reyes bunts for a run-scoring hit in the fifth-inning.
None of the San Antonio Missions’ run-scoring at-bats were extra-base hits on Friday night.

Instead they piled up 12 hits – including five in the pivotal four-run fifth inning – to beat the Wichita Wind Surge 5-4 at Wolff Stadium.

The Missions’ runs in the inning scored on an RBI single by Chandler Seagle, an RBI bunt single by Ripken Reyes, an RBI single by Tirso Ornelas and a sacrifice fly by Yorman Rodriguez. Ray-Patrick doubled in the frame and later scored, but didn’t drive in a run with his hit.

Wichita, on the other hand, did all its scoring on home runs. Seth Gray had a three-run homer in the second inning and Yunior Severino had a solo shot in the eighth.

Missions starting pitcher Efrain Contreras had a strong night other than Gray’s home run. Contreras pitched six innings to get the win. He allowed three runs on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Missions reliever Lake Bachar pitched 1 2/3 innings and gave up one run on Severino’s homer. That was the only hit given up by Bachar, who struck out one batters. Missions closer Nick Hernandez went to the mound with two outs in the eighth inning and got the last four outs. Hernandez struck out three batters and earned his sixth save of the season.

The Missions’ first run of the game came when Reyes led off the bottom of the first inning with a single, went to third on a Rodriguez single and scored on a ground out by Daniel Johnson.

Reyes finished with four hits including a double and scored twice. Cole Cummings had two hits and scored once. Didder had two hits including his double and scored once.

Winning pitcher Efrain Contreras walks off the mound after getting a strikeout to finish the top of the sixth inning. The San Antonio Missions beat the Wichita Wind Surge 5-4 on Friday, June 9, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Winning pitcher Efrain Contreras walks off the mound after getting a strikeout to finish the top of the sixth inning.

Wind Surge roll past Missions

Cole Cummings had two hits including a two-run single in the second inning. The Wichita Wind Surge beat the San Antonio Missions 10-3 on Thursday, June 8, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Cole Cummings had two hits including a two-run single in the second inning.
The Wichita Wind Surge piled up 14 hits on Thursday in a 10-3 victory over the San Antonio Missions at Wolff Stadium.

Wichita scored five runs in the top of the second inning and led the rest of the way. The Wind Surge got home runs from DaShawn Keirsey Jr. in the fourth inning and Aaron Sabato in the seventh inning.

The Missions’ scoring came on a two-run single from Cole Cummings in the second inning and an RBI single from Michael De La Cruz in the sixth.

Missions starting pitcher Duncan Snider gave up five runs in 1 2/3 innings. Reliever Alek Jacob was the one Missions pitcher to get through the game unscathed with two scoreless innings on two hits, one walk and three strikeouts.

Michael De La Cruz played catcher and drove in the Missions' final run of the game. The Wichita Wind Surge beat the San Antonio Missions 10-3 on Thursday, June 8, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Michael De La Cruz played catcher and drove in the Missions’ final run of the game.
Missions reliever Alek Jacob pitched the eighth and ninth innings and did not allow a run. The Wichita Wind Surge beat the San Antonio Missions 10-3 on Thursday, June 8, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions reliever Alek Jacob pitched the eighth and ninth innings and did not allow a run. The Wichita Wind Surge beat the San Antonio Missions 10-3 on Thursday, June 8, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe Alexander

Lefty Jackson Wolf dominates Sod Poodles as Missions win fourth straight

Jackson Wolf pitched six innings and allowed one run to get the win. The San Antonio Missions beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 8-2 on Friday, May 26, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Jackson Wolf pitched six innings and allowed one run to get the win.
Jackson Wolf turned in one of his best pitching performances of the season as the San Antonio Missions beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 8-2 on Friday at Wolff Stadium.

The Missions have won the first four games of the series, with remaining games against Amarillo on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

Wolf pitched six innings – his second longest start of the season – and got the win to raise his record to 3-5. He allowed one run on two hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Wolf had gone seven innings on May 7 in Tulsa in his longest outing.

The performance helped Wolf get back on track and lowered his ERA from 4.91 to 4.38. The 6-foot-7 left-hander had a 0-3 record in his previous four starts. Wolf is the No. 16 prospect in the San Diego Padres minor league organization, and the second-highest rated left-handed pitcher.

Missions batters took advantage of shaky pitching from the Sod Poodles. San Antonio’s eight runs came on only five hits. Amarillo pitchers gave up 11 walks and four hit-by-pitches (Ripken Reyes and Korry Howell were both hit twice).

Reyes extended hit hitting streak to five games with an RBI double that drove in Jorge Ona and Ray-Patrick Didder with the Missions’ first runs of the game in the second inning. Reyes also stole two bases and scored a run.

Cole Cummings, playing in just his third game with the Missions, had a two-run double in the fifth inning that gave San Antonio a 4-1 lead.

Three Missions relievers – Justin Lopez, Jason Blanchard and Nick Hernandez – pitched one inning each to finish game.

Ripken Reyes had a two-run double, was hit by a pitch twice, stole two bases and scored a run. The San Antonio Missions beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 8-2 on Friday, May 26, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Ripken Reyes had a two-run double, was hit by a pitch twice, stole two bases and scored a run.

Ripken Reyes’ walk-off hit finishes Missions’ 9th-inning rally against Sod Poodles

Ripken Reyes' walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Missions the victory. The San Antonio Missions beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 4-3 on Wednesday, April 24, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Ripken Reyes’ walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Missions the victory.

The San Antonio Missions trailed for most of the game but rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 4-3 on Wednesday at Wolff Stadium.

Ripken Reyes, one of the Missions’ leading hitters on the season, stroked a hit to right field to drive in the winning run.

The Missions put together three hits, a walk and a sacrifice fly in the ninth. The sac fly was the Missions’ only out in the frame, as five straight batters produced strong at-bats.

Korry Howell, who just rejoined the team on Tuesday after being on the injured list, led off the inning with a hit and scored the run that tied the game. Juan Fernandez had the second hit of the inning, and was replaced by pinch-runner Ray-Patrick Didder, who scored the winning run.

NINTH INNING

– Korry Howell led off with a single to right field.

– Juan Fernandez hit a ground ball single to center and Howell advanced to second base.

– Howell went to third base and Fernandez to second on a passed ball.

– Ray-Patrick Didder entered the game to pinch run for Fernandez at second.

– Cole Cummings worked a three-ball count and then was intentionally walked.

– Michael De La Cruz pinch-hit and lofted a sacrifice fly to right to drive in Howell and tie the game 3-3. Didder advanced to third.

– Reyes singled to right right to score Didder from third, giving the Missions the winning run.

INTRODUCING COLE CUMMINGS

Cole Cummings made his Double-A debut on Wednesday as the Missions’ designated hitter. His first at-bat was an RBI single to drive in the Missions’ first run of the game. He followed that with a double in the fith inning.

Cummings had a walk in the ninth inning during the Missions’ winning rally.

The 24-year-old from UC Santa Barbara batted .233 in 18 games at Class A Fort Wayne before being promoted to San Antonio.

Cole Cummings produced an RBI single in his first Double-A at-bat in his Missions debut. The San Antonio Missions beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 4-3 on Wednesday, April 24, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Cole Cummings produced an RBI single in his first Double-A at-bat in his Missions debut.