Padres Down on the Farm: August 20 (Choi & King homer for LE)

San Diego Padres farm affiliates went 2-4 on Wednesday.

Here is a recap of the day’s events.

Photo byEVT Sports

El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 10-3 vs Oklahoma City) (46-75 on the season)
Eguy Rosario - 2 for 4, Run Scored
Tirso Ornelas - 1 for 4, RBI Double
Jared Kollar - 1.1 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 3 BB, 1 K (61 pitches, 31 strikes)

The Chihuahuas saw a tough game all around, as the team fell behind 7-0 after two innings. Starter Jared Kollar had his first rough start at Triple-A, as the right-hander’s command wasn’t its usual self. Kollar walked three and tossed a wild pitch, allowing four of the first five batters to reach. A laborious 35-pitch first inning was not conducive for a long outing, as Kollar would not escape the second inning. Jackson Wolf allowed two of three inherited runners to score in the second but tossed shutout relief in the third and fourth innings. Right-hander and Padres’ No. 13 prospect Francis Pena tossed a scoreless inning of relief in the game, as did left-hander Tom Cosgrove. Cosgrove has yet to allow a run in seven innings this month, striking out 11 batters.

Tirso Ornelas recorded the team’s lone extra-base hit with an RBI double, and Brett Sullivan drove in a run on an RBI single, with a second run scoring on an error. Eguy Rosario recorded two hits and a walk, and Brandon Valenzuela notched a hit for the fourth consecutive game. The team went 2 for 10 with runners in scoreless position in the loss, stranding 11 runners on base.

San Antonio Missions (Won 6-2 vs Frisco) (53-60 on the season)
Romeo Sanabria - 3 for 4, Double, Two RBI
Marcos Castanon - 2 for 4, Two-Run Home Run
Henry Baez - 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K (84 pitches, 50 strikes)

A four-run opening inning set the Missions en route to a steady 6-2 victory. Romeo Sanabria led off the scoring with an RBI single, and Cole Cummings drove in Sanabria on a single of his own. Marcos Castanon launched his 11th home run of the season to make the score 4-0 in the first. That would be a substantial lead for right-hander Henry Baez, who posted five more strong innings to open his Double-A career. Baez has now made five starts with San Antonio, posting a 2.22 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in 28.1 innings at the level.

In the late innings, Romeo Sanabria drove in another run on an RBI double, and reliever Ryan Och entered a two-on, one-out situation in the eighth and struck out the next two batters to exit the jam, going on to retire three in the ninth and lock down a five-out save as San Antonio won 6-2.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 2-1 vs Peoria) (45-70 on the season)
Ethan Salas - 1 for 4, Single
Kai Murphy - 1 for 4, RBI Single
Eric Yost - 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K (61 pitches, 44 strikes)

In a tight pitching duel between Eric Yost and Chiefs starter Brycen Mautz, the TinCaps came out on the losing end. Yost was solid on his end, going five innings and allowing one run on four hits. Yost doesn’t rack up K’s in bunches, as he struck out just three on the night, but he got seven of 15 outs on the ground, including a first-inning double play ball. Jose Luis Reyes came on in relief of Yost for the third consecutive start, tossing three innings of one-run baseball. Reyes was a strike away from escaping the sixth inning unscathed but allowed a go-ahead home run on a 3-2 fastball with two outs. Reyes struck out three across his three innings of relief and now has a 3.60 ERA in three outings in long relief.

The offense for the TinCaps faced a tough challenger in left-hander Brycen Mautz, who struck out 12 TinCaps in seven innings. The TinCaps were able to rally and score in the sixth inning when Wyatt Hoffman stroked a leadoff double, and Kai Murphy scored him with a single. The team went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position, with three of those opportunities coming in the top of the sixth. The team wouldn’t get the tying run to the plate in any of the ensuing three innings, as Chiefs starter Mautz and reliever Tanner Jacobson retired the final nine batters.

Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 7-6 vs Rancho Cucamonga in 11 innings) (60-53 on the season)
B.Y. Choi - 2 for 4, Home Run
Lamar King Jr - 2 for 4, Home Run
Luis Gutierrez - 3.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 5 K (80 pitches, 52 strikes)

In a back-and-forth affair on the road, the Storm pulled ahead with a two-run 11th inning to stave off the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes by a final score of 7-6. The lightning off the Lake Elsinore bats was certainly there, as Lamar King Jr homered for the second time at Single-A, and third baseman B.Y. Choi hit his first professional home run. Choi is among a selection of players who look to be in line for more playing time following Leo De Vries’ injury. Sean Barnett made his Single-A debut following his assignment to the Storm today (as reported by the EVT team) and doubled, scoring twice.

Starter Luis Gutierrez allowed three unearned runs in 3.2 innings, striking out five. The 21-year-old left-hander has pitched strongly in the month of August, posting a 1.68 ERA in three starts, covering 16 innings. Reliever Zack Qin tossed a scoreless 1.1 innings in relief, and Miguel Valdez made his first appearance since exiting a game with an injury on August 13, allowing a run in one inning of relief. Yerry Landinez loaded the bases in the seventh, and while Kleiber Olmedo walked in the tying run, he escaped the jam and tossed a scoreless eighth and ninth inning. Xavier Ruiz pitched a scoreless tenth, setting the stage for Kai Roberts to hit a go-ahead two-run triple in the top of the 11th inning, making the score 7-5. Ruiz returned to the mound in the bottom of the 11th, and while the ghost runner scored, Ruiz shut the door, nailing down the 7-6 extra-inning win.

ACL Padres - No Game

DSL Padres Gold (Lost 4-2 vs DSL Cubs Red) (26-29 on the season)
Jason Hernandez - 2 for 4, RBI
Yimy Tovar - 1 for 4, Triple
Winyer Chourio - 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K

The Padres Gold fell behind by three runs early, bringing the game to within one run, but the comeback fell short in the end. Starter Winyer Chourio recorded only four outs, allowing one run in the first inning. Manuel Davila continued his sterling season, striking out seven in 4.1 innings of relief. Davila allowed an earned run on six hits in relief and now has a 1.37 ERA in five games (26.1 innings) with the Padres Gold.

Jason Hernandez posted another two-hit game, going 2 for 4 with an RBI double. Shortstop Yimy Tovar drove in a run on a groundout, also hitting a triple in the game. Darian Castillo reached base twice out of the leadoff spot on a walk and single, and catcher Yoiber Ocopio walked twice in the loss.

DSL Padres Brown (Lost 9-8 vs DSL Royals Ventura) (15-41 on the season)
Dayquer Alfonzo - 1 for 3, Three RBI
Johendry Javier - 2 for 3, 2 RBI
Joseph Herrera - 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 1 K

The offense came early for the DSL Padres Brown, as the team pushed in eight runs over the first two innings. Dayquer Alfonzo drove in three runs on a hit and a sacrifice fly, and Johendry Javier hit his first double of the season, driving in two runs. Center fielder Eddson Martinez notched two hits in the game, his second straight two-hit game after starting August in a 1 for 18 slump.

Joseph Herrera allowed three runs in four innings, with a mix of groundouts and fly ball outs. Herrera ran into trouble in the fourth after cruising through three innings, allowing all three runs in the fourth inning. Herrera has been on a roll over his last four starts, posting a 2.50 ERA in 18 innings. Raymel Belliard allowed three runs in 0.1 innings to bring the hosting Royals within two, and the bottom of the seventh saw the Royals rally against the Padres Brown bullpen. Rordy Mejia allowed two runs while recording two outs, and the Royals tied the game at eight runs apiece. The Padres wouldn’t score in the eight, and the Royals walked the game off on a wild pitch from reliever Edinson Hernandez, sealing a 9-8 loss for the Padres Brown.

Wednesday’s Probable Pitchers:
El Paso - Randy Vasquez (0-4, 8.70 ERA)
San Antonio - Ryan Bergert (2-7, 5.12 ERA)
Fort Wayne - Isaiah Lowe (1-2, 4.73 ERA)
Lake Elsinore - TBD
ACL - No Game
DSL Gold - No Game
DSL Brown - No Game