Padres Down on the Farm: August 16 (Hollis plays hero for SA/Tirso homers in LE)

San Diego Padres farm affiliates went 1-4 on Friday.

Here is a recap of the day’s events.

Photo byMiLB

El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 4-2 vs Reno) (46-72 on the season)
Tirso Ornelas - 2 for 4, Home Run
Jose Azocar - 2 for 4, Triple
Gabe Mosser - 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 K (110 pitches, 72 strikes)

After a game where the Chihuahuas deployed five relievers, starter Gabe Mosser delivered six innings of four-run baseball. While Mosser labored in the first two innings, the right-hander bounced back over the final four frames to give the bullpen a breather. Mosser retired the final ten batters he faced from the third to sixth innings, and while he did not get many strikeouts, he recorded nine of 18 outs on the ground, keeping the game within slam range. Ethan Routzahn and Lake Bachar combined for three shutout innings, with Routzahn generating whiffs on 25% of swings and Bachar getting a 40% whiff rate in his inning of work.

The offense gathered seven hits in nine innings, and no swing was bigger than Tirso Ornelas’ sixth-inning home run off Reno right-hander Slade Cecconi. Mason McCoy also homered off Cecconi in the seventh inning, but that would be all the scoring the Chihuahuas would do. Jose Azocar was 2 for 4 with a triple in the game, and Clay Dungan hit a triple of his own against Aces starter Humberto Castellanos, but the Chihuahuas’ 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position and six stranded runners dug the team into a surmountable hole that was unable to be escaped.

San Antonio Missions (Won 3-2 vs Amarillo in 10 innings) (51-59 on the season)
Connor Hollis - 2 for 6, Walk-Off Single
Ripken Reyes - 2 for 3, Double
Sam Whiting - 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K (66 pitches, 44 strikes)

The night after their thrilling combined no-hitter, the San Antonio Missions delivered yet another photo finish. Sam Whiting took the mound for the Missions and twirled five strong innings of one-run baseball. The right-hander continues his breakout 2024 campaign at his third stop in the minors this season, and while he allowed more fly balls than usual, Whiting continues to succeed on the back of his ability to throw strikes and generate a mix of soft contact and ground balls. Reliever Raul Brito registered the win, tossing 1.2 innings of relief through the ninth and tenth to set up the eventual heroics.

The Missions’ batters combined for 12 hits on the evening, including four doubles against Sod Poodles starter Yu-Min Lin. Michael De La Cruz posted a three-hit day, and his sharp second-inning double gave San Antonio a 1-0 lead. Shortstop Ray-Patrick Didder drove in De La Cruz on an RBI single, extending the lead to 2-0. Fast-forwarding to the ninth inning, Amarillo catcher Lyle Lin drove in the tying run on a base hit to left off Raul Brito, but Lucas Dunn threw out the go-ahead run at home to send the game to keep the game tied. With two outs in the bottom of the tenth, Connor Hollis stepped up to the plate and sent an inside fastball the other way to score Michael De La Cruz from third and win the game for the Missions.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 6-5 vs Dayton) (45-67 on the season)
Joshua Mears - 2 for 4, Three Run Home Run
Ethan Long - 3 for 4, Home Run
Enmanuel Pinales - 5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K (94 pitches, 60 strikes)

In a game that was tied at one through six, both the TinCaps and Dayton Dragons certainly saved some fireworks for the late innings. Enmannuel Pinales toed the rubber for the TinCaps and made his best start in a month’s time. Pinales entered the game with an 8.40 ERA in his last three starts, but he delivered five shutout innings for Fort Wayne. Pinales struck out six batters along the way, limiting base traffic throughout. Tyler Morgan struggled in relief of Pinales, allowing a home run in the sixth and failing to retire a hitter in the seventh. Morgan wound up being charged with four runs in one inning of work, and Manuel Castro allowed two runs in two innings of relief.

The TinCaps, however, made a statement in the bottom of the eighth, when Joshua Mears walloped a three-run home run into the left-center field lawn, bringing the game to 6-4. Ethan Long led off the ninth inning with a mammoth home run to the Home Run Porch at Parkview Field, but Dragons reliever Bryan Simmons retired the next three batters, getting Nik McClaughry to ground out to end the game.

Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost 4-3 vs Inland Empire) (58-52 on the season)
Leodalis De Vries - 1 for 4, Double, Sac Fly
Brandon Butterworth - 1 for 3, RBI Double, Walk
Ian Koenig - 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K (82 pitches, 54 strikes)

A three-run fifth inning by the Storm gave the team a 3-2 lead going into the late innings, but a home run from 66ers infielder Mitchell Daly flipped the game on its head. Left-hander Ian Koenig had one of his strongest starts of the season, tossing five innings of two-run baseball and striking out six batters. It marked just the second time Koenig pitched into the fifth inning this season, and Koenig’s outing was a positive sign for the 23-year-old southpaw’s growth on the mound.

The fifth inning for Lake Elsinore saw the team load the bases with one down. Leodalis De Vries stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and brought the Storm to within a run with a sacrifice fly. Brandon Butterworth drove in the tying run on a ground-rule double down the left-field line, setting up runners at second and third with one down. Jack Costello was the first batter to face reliever Victor Garcia, and on ball four, Garcia uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Chase Valentine to score from third to give Lake Elsinore a one-run lead. Storm reliever Zack Qin tossed a scoreless sixth but allowed a leadoff single in the seventh, which was followed by a game-tying RBI double by 66ers catcher Dario Laverde. Laverde was thrown out at third, attempting to stretch the double into a triple, which seemed to have averted more trouble. That would not be the case, as infielder Mitchell Daly (who had homered off Koenig in the third inning) launched a ball into the night for not only his second homer of the day but a 4-3 lead for the visiting 66ers. It was the first time in a month that Qin had allowed an earned run, and his first outing allowed runs in Lake Elsinore. The Storm had opportunities to score but wasted a bases-loaded opportunity in the seventh, stranding six runners in the final three innings to lose a closely contested 4-3 game.

ACL Padres - No Game

DSL Padres Gold - No Game

DSL Padres Brown (Lost 5-2 vs DSL Royals Ventura) (15-39 on the season)
Jose Bericoto - 1 for 3, RBI Triple
Alexander Garcia - 1 for 2, Double, Run Scored
Jordan Valenzuela - 4 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 6 K
Padres Brown starter Jordan Valenzuela allowed four runs in four innings, striking out six along the way. Valenzuela was making just his second career start and showed the strikeout potential he has flashed in his two seasons, this time without the walks. Relievers Leandro Solano and Raymel Belliard each tossed a scoreless inning, with Belliard striking out two. On the offensive side of the ball, Alexander Garcia led off the fifth inning with a double, and outfielder Jose Bericoto drove him in with an RBI triple. Yorvin Morla then grounded out, with Bericoto coming in the back door to score the second run for the Padres Brown. The team was only able to get one runner on base in the sixth and seventh innings combined, going down 1-2-3 in the ninth against Royals reliever Jordin Jhonni.

Saturday’s Probable Pitchers:
El Paso - Jhony Brito (0-2, 9.00 ERA)
San Antonio - Victor Lizarraga (4-6, 4.30 ERA)
Fort Wayne - Jagger Haynes (2-5, 3.90 ERA)
Lake Elsinore - TBD
ACL - No Game
DSL Gold - TBD
DSL Brown - No Game