Piggyback Helps Flying Chanclas Best Midland 

SAN ANTONIO (June 5, 2025) – Anthony Vilar's two-run double in the fifth ended up being decisive as the Flying Chanclas de San Antonio (29-25) defeated the Midland RockHounds (32-22) 4-2 on Thursday night.

The Luis Patiño and Enmanuel Pinales combination again led to a San Antonio victory like it did last week in Arkansas. It was Eduarniel Nùñez, however, who snuck out with the win thanks to a fiery fifth frame. Chen Zhuang lost the game while Pinales earned a rare four-inning save.

Starters Patiño and Zhuang held Midland and San Antonio down respectively in the first, but Midland got on the board in the second. Junior Perez started the inning with a single and advanced to second on a Devin Ortiz throwing error. Perez then scored on a Caeden Trenkle single, giving the RockHounds a 1-0 lead.

Zhuang held that lead until the fourth, when Moisès Gòmez cracked a two-out RBI single to tie the game. The Chanclas then took the lead in the fifth as Francisco Acuña singled home Joshua Mears, who led off the frame with a triple. Zhuang exited with the bases loaded, and reliever Diego Barrera nearly escaped trouble. However, Vilar golfed a two-out, two-strike and two-run double that made it 4-1 Chanclas.

Patiño finished four innings with only that single unearned tally allowed. He gave up four hits but walked none and struck out three. He passed the baton to Nùñez, who continued his dominant run with two strikeouts in a scoreless fifth inning. Nùñez, who claimed the win, has five straight clean outings, and he has struck out 14 batters in his last six innings.

Nùñez handed the game to Pinales in the sixth. Midland greeted Pinales with a pair of two-out walks ahead of Shane McGuire’s run-scoring base knock. Pinales limited the damage to just that, as he made a nice play on a Trenkle comebacker to end the threat.

The RockHounds placed runners on base in the seventh and eighth innings, but Pinales managed to dance around traffic to keep the Chanclas ahead 4-2. The righty stayed on for the ninth and worked around a single to seal the save and the win for the Chanclas.

UP NEXT:

The Missions and RockHounds continue their six-game series on Friday at 7:05 p.m. The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive a Hawaiian Shirt presented by SAWS. Righty Braden Nett (2-3, 4.42) goes for San Antonio while lefty Gage Jump (4-0, 0.72) starts for Midland. Catch all the action on Country Legends KKYX, 680 AM, 104.9 FM and kkyx.com. Tickets are available at samissions.com or by calling 210-675-7275. Fans can also visit the box office at Wolff Stadium on gamedays.

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The San Antonio Missions are the Double-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres. The Missions were established in 1888 and have brought affordable family fun to the Alamo City for 123 seasons. The 13-time Texas League champions play their home games at Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium. For more information and tickets, call 210-675-7275 or visit samissions.com.