El Paso Chihuahuas vs Round Rock Express

Left-hander Anthony Veneziano set the tone from the outset, tossing five scoreless innings in just his second start for Round Rock. He allowed only three hits and two walks while striking out two, and crucially escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth inning to preserve the shutout.

The Express broke through in the top of the second. Shortstop Keyber Rodriguez doubled and came around to score on an RBI single from second baseman Diego Castillo, giving Round Rock a 1-0 lead.

That slender advantage held until the seventh, when the E-Train blew the game open. With two runners aboard, left fielder Cam Cauley crushed a three-run homer — his fourth home run of the series and 12th of the season — to stretch the lead to 4-0.

Round Rock poured on four more runs in the eighth. Castillo delivered his second RBI single of the afternoon, catcher Cooper Johnson added an RBI single, and first baseman Jonah Bride capped the rally with a two-run single.

Relievers Winston Santos, Luis Curvelo and Ryan Lobus combined for four scoreless innings to close out the victory, with Lobus recording the final three outs.

Veneziano's bases-loaded escape in the fifth inning was the game's decisive moment. With Round Rock nursing a 1-0 lead, the Chihuahuas loaded the bases with two outs. Veneziano induced a groundout to end the threat, preserving the shutout and keeping momentum firmly with the visitors. Cauley's three-run homer two innings later turned a tense one-run game into a comfortable 4-0 lead.

• Anthony Veneziano (Round Rock): W, 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 K, 2 BB — 75 pitches, 49 strikes. His second scoreless outing against El Paso this week after tossing three scoreless innings on 18 August. Season-high pitch count.
• Cam Cauley (Round Rock): 3-run HR (12th of season). Slashed .407/.469/.963 with 4 HR, 10 RBI, 11 R and 4 SB across the six-game series. Six of his 12 homers this year have come against El Paso.
• Diego Castillo (Round Rock): 2 hits, 2 RBI, reached 50 RBIs for the season — just the fifth Round Rock player to do so in 2026. Hit .421 (8-for-19) with 3 RBI in the series.
• Jonah Bride (Round Rock): 2-run single in the eighth capped a multi-hit afternoon.

Round Rock's pitching staff combined to hold El Paso scoreless for the full nine innings — a feat made more notable by the hitter-friendly environment of Southwest University Park. The shutout was built on Veneziano's efficient start (75 pitches through five innings) and clean relief work from Santos, Curvelo and Lobus, who allowed just one hit across four innings. The E-Train offence produced eight runs on eight hits, with all four of their extra-base hits coming with runners in scoring position.

Round Rock improved to 30-21 in the second half and sit second in the Pacific Coast League standings, 4.5 games behind first-place Sugar Land with 25 games remaining. The Express have won 15 of 24 meetings against El Paso this season — their most wins over a single opponent since going 20-4 against Sugar Land in 2023. The E-Train are 9-10-3 in series play this season and 4-1-1 since the All-Star break.

For El Paso (50-74 overall), the loss caps a difficult series that saw Round Rock take five of six games. The Chihuahuas were held scoreless for the first time in the series.

Next up: Round Rock return home to Dell Diamond on Tuesday, 25 August to open a series against the Albuquerque Isotopes (first pitch 6:45 p.m. CT). El Paso's next fixture has not been confirmed at the time of writing.

Round Rock authored a complete performance — dominant starting pitching, timely hitting and a shutdown bullpen — to close out El Paso in emphatic fashion. Veneziano's emergence as a reliable starter over 5.0 innings is a significant development for a team chasing a playoff spot, while Cauley's series-long power surge makes the Express a dangerous opponent down the stretch.