Padres Down on the Farm: August 17 (Lizarraga dominant in SA/DSL Gold Walk-off)

San Diego Padres farm affiliates went 2-3 on Saturday.

Here is a recap of the day’s events.

Photo byMissions

El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 6-4 vs Reno) (46-73 on the season)
Jose Azocar - 2 for 4, Home Run, Three RBI
Mason McCoy - 2 for 4, Run Scored
Jhony Brito - 3 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 0 K (43 pitches, 38 strikes)

Starter Jhony Brito allowed three runs in three innings, failing to record a strikeout. However, he only tossed five balls in the entire outing, his best ball-to-strike ratio of the season. It is not yet known whether Brito will continue to have pitch counts this low or whether he will be stretched out more. Left-hander Omar Cruz struck out seven in 3.2 innings of long relief, allowing two runs on four hits. Cruz has been on a roll as of late, especially now that he has been stretched out to pitch as a starter.

Jose Azocar crushed a three-run home run in the fifth inning to put El Paso ahead. Azocar and shortstop Mason McCoy each recorded two hits in the game. Brandon Lockridge recorded an RBI on a groundout, his eighth RBI with the Chihuahuas. Jose Sanabria made his Triple-A debut in the game, reaching base via walk in one of two plate appearances. Despite generating eleven baserunners all game, the team went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, stranding seven in the loss

San Antonio Missions (Won 4-0 vs Amarillo) (52-59 on the season)
Ray-Patrick Didder - 1 for 3, Double
Romeo Sanabria - 1 for 4, RBI Single
Victor Lizarraga - 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K (90 pitches, 63 strikes)

For the second time in three nights, the Missions took a win via the shutout. Victor Lizarraga spun his fifth quality start, tossing six innings and striking out eight. The right-hander showed the strong command fior which he has been praised, walking only one batter and scattering three paltry singles. Reliever Jose Geraldo struck out three in two innings, and Jason Blanchard tossed a scoreless ninth to complete the shutout.

Romeo Sanabria delivered early for San Antonio, driving in Ripken Reyes with an RBI single. Sanabria has not missed a beat since arriving at Double-A. The Missions’ offense delivered a strong performance in the fifth inning, pushing across three runs highlighted by RBI singles from Ripken Reyes and Michael De La Cruz. De La Cruz recorded two hits in the game, and the team finished 3 for 7, with runners in scoring position in the win.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 8-7 vs Dayton) (45-68 on the season)
Ethan Salas - 2 for 4, Three RBI
Devin Ortiz - 2 for 5, Three-Run Home Run
Jagger Haynes - 5.1 IP, 2 H, 5 R, 5 BB, 7 K (92 pitches, 53 strikes)

In a game fitting of a patented Sarah Langs “wheeee!”, Fort Wayne took a five-run read after two innings before a seven-run sixth inning from the visiting Dayton Dragons turned the game on its head. Devin Ortiz socked his first homer at Parkview Field in the first inning, putting the Caps up 3-0. Ethan Salas continued his recent tear with a two-RBI single in the second inning.

Jagger Haynes cruised through the first three innings before loading the bases with no outs in the fourth on three walks. A double play ball scored a run but allowed Haynes to escape the jam, having allowed only one run. The sixth inning wasn't as lucky a frame for the southpaw, as Haynes allowed two singles and two walks to open the frame, pulled after 5.1 innings, having struck out seven and walked five. Haynes left the game with the bases loaded, and reliever Dwayne Matos surrendered a game-changing grand slam on his third pitch, flipping the score. Matos allowed two more runs in the frame, and an inning that began at 5-1 in favor of the TinCaps ended with an 8-5 Dragons lead. Wyatt Hoffman drove in Jacob Campbell to make it a two-run game two batters into the bottom of the sixth, and Ethan Salas brought the game to within one on his second hit of the night. However, the TinCaps were shut down the rest of the way by the Dragons’ bullpen, going down 1-2-3 in the ninth to lose a tightly contested game by a score of 8-7.

Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost 3-2 vs Inland Empire) (58-53 on the season)
Brendan Durfee - 1 for 4, Two RBI
Spence Coffman - 1 for 3
Miguel Mendez - 4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K (87 pitches, 50 strikes)

Brendan Durfee slugged a two-run double in the opening inning to give the Storm a 2-0 lead. This lead proved to be sufficient for starter Miguel Mendez, who tossed 4.2 innings of shutout baseball. It was the second consecutive start in which Mendez struck out moer than seven batters, as he punched out nine batters in his last start. Reliever Yovannki Pascual delivered two shutout frames with four punchouts in what was just his second outing with Lake Elsinore.

Reliever Luis German, tasked with securing the save, allowed the first two batters to reach via walk and double before punching out the next two batters. German was two strikes away from ending the game, but a single from 66ers infielder Randy Flores tied the game at two. The next batter, Imanol Vargas, singled in Flores from second to put the game at 3-2 in the favor of the visiting Inland Empire squad. Braedon Karpathios and Ryan Wilson walked to put the tying run in scoring position, but infielder B.Y. Choi struck out, and Oswaldo Linares lined out to end the game. Infielder Leodalis De Vries was removed from the game in the second inning, having appeared to have jammed his shoulder on a diving attempt at a ground ball.

ACL Padres - No Game

DSL Padres Gold (Won 9-8 vs DSL Arizona Black)
Darian Castillo - 3 for 6, Double, RBI
Estiven Giron - 2 for 4, RBI
Elvis Reyes - 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K

Starter Elvis Reyes delivered his most dominant outing of the season, allowing one hit over five innings and striking out eight batters. The right-hander has come on strong in August and has pitched back-to-back scoreless starts. Darian Castillo notched three hits out of the leadoff spot, and the team walked an astonishing 11 times. Estiven Giron got two hits of his own in the ballgame as well. The Padres Gold’s relief corps allowed five runs in the sixth and seventh innings combined, and the offense fought back with three runs through the seventh and eighth innings.

Reliever Leandry Diaz blew the save in the ninth, allowing three runs and recording one out. Trailing 8-7 in the bottom of the ninth, the Padres Gold mounted their second comeback of the game. Gustavo Marquez walked and stole second and third base, and Moises Valdez walked to put runners on the corners with one out. Darian Castillo laid down a bunt, looking to tie the game, but a fielding error from Arizona third baseman Eddy Perez scored Marquez from third and allowed Valdez to score from first, winning the game for the Padres Gold.

DSL Padres Brown - No Game

Sunday’s Probable Pitchers:
El Paso - Nabil Crismatt (2-3, 5.74 ERA)
San Antonio - Austin Krob (3-10, 5.34 ERA)
Fort Wayne - Braden Nett (3-1, 5.10 ERA)
Lake Elsinore - TBD
ACL - No Game
DSL Gold - No Game
DSL Brown - No Game