Padres Down on the Farm: August 11 (Durfee hits first homer/Cruz dominant for EP)

San Diego Padres farm affiliates went 2-2 on Sunday.

Here is a recap of the day’s events.

Photo byEVT Sports

El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 1-0 vs Sugar Land in 11 innings) (46-68 on the season)
Tirso Ornelas - 1 for 5
Nate Mondou - 1 for 4
Omar Cruz - 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K (74 pitches, 51 strikes)

Pitching was the story of the game for the Chihuahuas, as left-hander Omar Cruz pitched the second shutout outing for a Chihuahuas starter in the week. Cruz was dominant, scattering two measly hits in the outing, striking out six batters. The bullpen for the Chihuahuas was equally as strong, highlighted by two shutout innings from Logan Gillaspie.
The Chihuahuas’ bats were held off the scoreboard in the game, amassing only four hits. Tirso Ornelas registered one hit in five at-bats. Matthew Batten and Clay Dungan both walked twice, and Dungan hit the team’s lone extra-base hit.

Francis Pena registered the loss, having surrendered an 11th-inning single that scored the automatic runner from second base. The Chihuahuas had opportunities to score but went 0 for 12 with runners in scoring position, a mark that came back to bite the team when all was said and done.

San Antonio Missions (Won 5-4 vs Springfield) (49-57 on the season)
Anthony Vilar - 0 for 2, Two Walks, Run Scored
Robert Perez Jr - 1 for 4, Game-Tying RBI Single
Victor Lizarraga - 4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K (76 pitches, 50 strikes)

The Missions’ offense took a cue from their major league counterparts in their game against the Springfield Cardinals, rallying from a deficit late to secure a one-run win. Victor Lizarraga got the start and pitched four innings, striking out five in the process. Lizarraga continues to show strong poise on the mound, not letting a game escape him. Three consecutive hits in the fourth inning allowed Springfield to soar to a 3-0 lead early, the Missions immediately threatened. Connor Hollis drove in Anthony Vilar to put the team within two, but the real counterpunch would come late. The Cardinals pushed in another run off David Morgan in the seventh and entered the eighth inning with a comfortable 4-1 lead.

The Missions, however, had other plans. Hollis, Ripken Reyes, and Marcos Castanon drew walks, loading the bases with one out. There was no single player playing “hero-ball,” as the next three batters would single, moving station to station. In this offensive fracas, Robert Perez Jr drove in the tying run, and with the bases still loaded, Anthony Vilar would hit a ball to left field. Left fielder Noah Messinger misplayed the ball, allowing Michael De La Cruz to score the go-ahead run. Ryan Och allowed a leadoff single in the ninth but struck out the next two before manager Luke Montz called on right-hander Bradgley Rodriguez to retire the right-handed hitting Jacob Buchberger to secure a comeback 5-4 win for the Missions.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 7-2 vs South Bend) (44-64 on the season)
Ethan Salas - 1 for 4, Double
Rosman Verdugo - 2 for 5, Two RBI
Jagger Haynes - 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K (85 pitches, 54 strikes)

The upside was on full display from left-hander Jagger Haynes this afternoon in South Bend. The left-hander posted an absurd 42.8% whiff rate on swings against him, striking out eight batters in four innings of work. Over his last four starts, Haynes has a strikeout rate of 32.1%, showing flashes of his potential in his first full minor league season.

Ethan Salas continued his recent hot hitting with yet another double, one of four extra-base hits for the TinCaps in the ballgame. The team capitalized on two walks to open the third inning, as Rosman Verdugo drove in Wyatt Hoffman and Kai Murphy for his first two RBI at the High-A level. That would be all the offense delivered in the game, as the team went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position after the third inning. The team’s pitching fell apart in the later innings: Yerry Landinez didn’t record an out, allowing three baserunners and a run on a wild pitch. Dwayne Matos came in and allowed the tying run to score, and the next inning didn’t go well for the right-hander. Matos allowed five hits and two walks while recording only one out, which tagged him with the loss.

Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 7-4 vs Stockton) (56-50 on the season)
Leodalis De Vries - 1 for 3, Double, Three Walks
Brendan Durfee - 3 for 5, Home Run, Three RBI
Johan Moreno - 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 0 K (35 pitches, 16 strikes)

The first inning continues to have high chances of lightning for the Lake Elsinore Storm, but it’s not coming from the skies. The Storm’s offense has been tearing the cover off the ball in recent weeks, and this game showcased that in spades. Leodalis De Vries led off with his 20th double of the season, and scored on a base hit from Jack Costello. 2024 14th rounder Brendan Durfee introduced himself to the Single-A level with a two-run home run in the first inning. Another recent draftee, infielder Brandon Butterworth, drove in the fourth run of the frame with an RBI double.

Starter Johan Moreno struggled to find the zone in his start, walking three and uncorking a wild pitch. Two runs were scored off Moreno, who did not escape the first inning. Reliever Alejandro Lugo tossed 3.1 innings of two-run baseball, and Bernard Jose tossed a dominant three innings of relief between the fifth and seventh innings, striking out three. Braian Salazar, in his second appearance with the Storm, struck out four in two innings to secure a 7-4 win.

ACL Padres - No Game

DSL Padres Gold - No Game

DSL Padres Brown - No Game

Monday’s Probable Pitchers:
El Paso - No Game
San Antonio - No Game
Fort Wayne - No Game
Lake Elsinore - No Game
ACL - No Game
DSL Gold - TBD
DSL Brown - TBD