Staying with the game plan

Infielder Travis Shaw knows the plan for the next step in his career.
He'll likely play in a few more games in Triple-A with the Missions and then catch a flight out of San Antonio early next week to re-join the Milwaukee Brewers.
The road ahead for Missions pitcher Aaron Wilkerson is less certain.
Nevertheless, it's become abundantly clear that he has established himself again as worthy of a call-up whenever the parent club needs his services.
Shaw, on a minor league rehabilitation assignment, blasted a 426-foot solo homer to back Wilkerson's gem on the mound Friday night as the Missions downed the Omaha Storm Chasers, 3-0, before 6,308 at Wolff Stadium.
"I thought we played a good ball game," Missions manager Rick Sweet said. "I have to compliment Wilkerson, because he's a control pitcher, and you see him dotting it up. And he wasn't dotting it up to start the game. He was battling."
Perhaps that's what Sweet liked most about his team's 20^th victory in May.
It was that Wilkerson struggled through the second inning but stayed with his plan of mixing fastballs with breaking stuff and changeups.
In the end, he willed his way to seven scoreless innings, allowing only one hit.
Sweet said Wilkerson's mental toughness allowed him to stay in the game when it appeared that he might be pulled early.
"It's not like a light switch," Sweet said, clicking a switch on and off in his office for emphasis. "Either   you are (mentally tough) or you aren't. He's always (that way). He doesn't throw 95 or 98 (mph). He knows how to pitch. He goes out. He competes. He stays with his game plan."
With the victory, the Missions improved to 1-1 against Omaha in the series, to 14-4 over their last 18 games and to 20-12 in the month of May.
It's the first time since 2017 that the team has won 20 games in a month.
"We got off to a little bit of a rocky start (in May)," Sweet said. "But, again, I told you about the team and that we're young -- very, very young -- and I expected us to keep getting better. I see that (now). I definitely see that."
Shaw, a major league veteran with the Brewers, enjoyed the best game of his rehabilitation assignment since the Brewers sent him down on May 22 with a wrist injury.
He went 3-for-3, including a line-drive single off the wall and a homer in the eighth inning that accounted for the final run of the game.
Later, Sweet said Shaw would play against Omaha again Saturday and Sunday and then "would return to the big leagues."
Shaw, who hit more than 30 home runs and drove in more than 80 runs in each of his last two years with the Brewers, said he's ready to return to the Brewers.
"This (assignment) was nice for me," he said. "I think it was kind of needed. But, now it's getting a little antsy. I know I can help that team up there in more ways than one. I'm ready to get back and kind of prove that my slow start was just that - just a slow start."
Wilkerson started the season in San Antonio, got called up to Milwaukee for a couple of weeks in April and has since been rotated back to the Triple-A team.
He has made good use of his time, producing a 3-0 record and an 0.32 earned run average in five starts in May.
Wilkerson said he doesn't really look at statistics.
"I know if I go out and do my job, the numbers will take care of themselves," Wilkerson said. "That's really what I try to do. My focus is getting the guy out."
Wilkerson seems a little uncomfortable even discussing his statistics, even when someone else brings up the subject.
"I mean, it's nice," he said. "But I feel like once you start looking at numbers and you know your numbers, then they start going up quicker than they should."
PCL standings
American Southern Division - San Antonio 35-21, Round Rock 33-22, New Orleans 30-26, Oklahoma City 20-34.
American Northern Division - Iowa 33-23, Omaha 26-30, Memphis 23-33, Nashville 22-33.
Another shutout
The Missions have pitched a PCL-best nine shutouts this season, including four of them since May 20.
Hitting machines
When David Freitas hit a run-scoring single in the first inning, he produced his 19^th RBI in 29 games since joining the Missions on April 17 via a trade with the Seattle Mariners.  
His 3-for-4 performance at the plate hiked his batting average with the Missions to .377.
Nate Orf and Mauricio Dubón increased their hitting streaks to six games. Orf slapped an RBI single to left in the sixth inning.
Defense, defense
Through the first 55 games of a 140-game season, the Missions were ranked near the bottom of the 16-team Pacific Coast League in fielding percentage. They were tied for 14^th with a .972 percentage.
It's a surprising ranking in some respects because the Missions sit atop the American Southern Division standings and lead the league with fewest runs allowed (218).
Sweet said players sometimes make mistakes when they are trying to do too much. Nevertheless, he said it's not OK to be ranked that low in the league in a key defensive category.
"There's a reason for it," Sweet said. "I understand the reason. In the second half, we should improve. Overall, defensively, we've really made some good plays and done a lot of good things. So, I'm not overly concerned with it. But, without a doubt, it is a stat that's there."
The Missions played error-free baseball on Friday after making two errors in the series opener, a 3-2 loss to Omaha on Thursday.