Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 5, El Paso (SDP) 4
Round Rock: 8 hits, 4 walks, 2 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 6 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 29-40, eliminated
SP Josh Stephan: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 89 P / 60 S, 5.59 ERA
RP Luis Curvelo: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 5.19 ERA
CF Jarred Kelenic: 1-3, BB, .378/.465/.595
DH Josh Smith: 1-3, 2B, 2 BB
C Jose Herrera: 2-4, 2 2B, .202/.331/.279
With the game tied, two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th, rehabbing Josh Smith stared at five straight balls for a walk-off walk. The first and fourth pitches were called strikes; Smith accepted a close call on the first but successfully challenged the fourth, which was well inside. El Paso pity-challenged of the final pitch, which was also inside. Catcher Jose Herrera’s one-out double tied the game earlier in the inning.
Smith had three hard-hit balls. Luis Curvelo had to replace Alexis Diaz in the 9th after Diaz twisted his pivot foot delivering a pitch. Gavin Collyer (one out, two walks, 40% strike rate) and Wilian Bormie (four outs, three runners, one run, 3 K) had some issues.
This week, Round Rock will try to ruin Las Vegas’s first half. The Aviators hold a half-game lead over Sacramento with six to play. Assuming the rotation isn’t altered, Nolan Kingham drew the short straw and will start twice at one of baseball’s least-hospitable pitching environments. 
AA: Frisco 5, at San Antonio (SDP) 6 (12)
Frisco: 9 hits, 6 walks, 14 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 5 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 34-27, 3.5 G up
SP Dylan MacLean: 6.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 89 P / 62 S, 4.02 ERA
3B Rafe Perich: 1-4, 2 BB, .263/.364/.561
RF Orlando Martinez: 3-6, 2B, .303/.382/.469
C Ian Moller: 1-4, HR (7), BB, .226/.357/.452
Frisco scored twice in the 12th but allowed three, capped by Romeo Sanabria’s walk-off two-run shot. Upon contact, my first thought was “it’s San Antonio, the ball doesn’t carry,” but at the six-second mark in the lower-left corner of the screen you can see pitcher Eric Loomis slam his glove to the ground. In the 9th, RF Orlando Martinez made an outstanding diving catch to send the game to extras.
Ian Moller surpassed his previous season-best six homers before the end of the first half. That hoped-for power, hinted at way back in 2021 when he slugged .480 at the complex, is showing up.
Frisco leads both Midland and Amarillo by 3.5 games. Frisco has a rainout makeup this week, and all three will play the same number of games this half barring further storms. Frisco will host Arkansas, 2.5 games out of first at 39-23 but with a league-best +103 run differential. The Riders are aided by having Midland face Amarillo; ideally, those two split the series, which would then require just one Frisco victory to secure the title.
I believe Frisco owns the tiebreak against Amarillo but not Midland. I’ll check if necessary. 
Hi-A: Hub City 9, Asheville (HOU) 0
Hub City: 6 hits, 8 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 33-29, eliminated
SP D.J. McCarty: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 HBP, 8 SO, 83 P / 51 S, 5.36 ERA
RP Jesus Gamez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 5.79 ERA
RP Adrian Rodriguez: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 4.70 ERA
RP Cole Stasio: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1.33 ERA
DH Yeison Morrobel: 1-3, 2 BB, .293/.370/.457
C Malcolm Moore: 2-5, 2B, .300/.387/.542
RF Hector Osorio: 1-3, 2 BB, .207/.324/.448
1B Maxton Martin: 1-4, HR (5), .210/.281/.371
Bowling Green claimed the division long ago, but Hub City did clinch a winning record in the first half.. The Burgers are 10-2 with a +44 run differential against Asheville (16-46) this season and 23-27 with a -36 differential against other opposition.
The Astros released Eurys Martich, the Asheville pitcher who surrendered Malcolm Moore’s walk-off homer Saturday. Martich had a 17.23 ERA and had walked or hit 37 batters in 15.2 innings. 
Lo-A: Hickory 10, at Charleston (TAM) 6
Hickory: 8 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 33-28, 2 GB
SP Evan Siary: 4 IP, 6 H (2 HR), 5 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 59 P / 40 S, 3.76 ERA
RP Luimy Munoz: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.42 ERA
3B Yolfran Castillo: 1-2, 2 BB, HBP, SB (29), .307/.413/.425
SS Angel Arredondo: 2-4, 3B, BB, .228/.374/.408
Hickory squandered an early 5-0 lead but immediately responded with three more runs after Charleston tied the affair in the 4th. Evan Siary had his roughest start in a month. Catcher Josh Springer was hit on a back of his left hand by a pitch. He took 1st after a delay but was pulled for Cal Stark in the 3rd.
Hickory had to win both Saturday and Sunday to avoid elimination. Now, with three games remaining in the first half, the Crawdads still don’t control their destiny but could lose one game and still take the division. Two wins plus three Charleston losses would suffice, as would three Hickory wins and two Charleston losses. Unlikely but possible. Hickory hosts Columbia (32-31) this week while Charleston visits Wilson (34-29).
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Round Rock’s Curtis Terry hit his tenth homer. I suggested he would probably handle MLB pitching acceptably if needed, which wasn’t quite the same as suggesting he was kicking down the door and would perform well. I’d said the same about Ronald Guzman in June 2017. Guzman would have to wait until the following season to make his MLB debut, while Terry was just five weeks away from his. Now 31, Guzman played sparingly for Mexico’s Veracruz last year but hasn’t appeared in 2026.
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