Padres Down on the Farm: August 23 (Storm pitch shutout)

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

Here is a recap of the day’s events.

Photo byEVT Sports

El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 6-4 vs Oklahoma City) (47-77 on the season)
Clay Dungan - 3 for 5, RBI
Chandler Seagle - 3 for 4, Two Doubles, RBI
Carl Edwards Jr.- 3.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 4 K (61 pitches, 40 strikes)

Under the Friday night lights, the Chihuahuas snapped their 10-game losing streak behind a four-run second inning. Tirso Ornelas and Eguy Rosario led off the second inning with base hits, and Cal Mitchell drove in both runners on a bloop single to right field. Catcher Chandler Seagle, in his first game action since August 4, drove in the third run of the inning on an RBI single, and Clay Dungan capped off the inning’s scoring with yet another single. Seagle would later score a run in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jose Azocar, bringing the score to 5-0.

Chihuahuas starter Carl Edwards Jr., in his first game since re-signing with the Padres, tossed 3.2 innings, the first three of which were scoreless. In the bottom of the fourth, Edwards allowed a two-run homer before departing with a runner on and two out. Clearly, Edwards was not as stretched out as he had been in prior starts, and he looks to keep his strong form in his next outing. Reliever Ethan Routzahn allowed the inherited runner to score on a fielding error but limited the damage in the fourth. Routzahn would earn the win with his relief outing, his first win at the Triple-A level. Omar Cruz, Francis Pena, and Lake Bachar would combine for three shutout innings of relief, all coincidentally posting the same stat line (1 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K).

Kevin Plawecki homered in the eighth to extend the Chihuahuas’ lead to 6-3, and Austin Davis entered in the ninth to shut down the opposition. With one out and a runner on, Davis surrendered a single to Andy Pages, but Tirso Ornelas gunned down Pages at second base for the second out. While OKC left fielder Dalton Rushing drove in the run from third, Davis retired Andre Lipcius on a fly ball to Azocar to secure the save, and the 6-4 Chihuahuas win.

San Antonio Missions (Lost 10-4 vs Frisco) (53-63 on the season)
Joshua Mears - 1 for 4, Home Run
Romeo Sanabria - 1 for 3, Two RBI
Sam Whiting - 2.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K (63 pitches, 42 strikes)

Missions starter Sam Whiting endured his second rough start this month, as the right-hander was chased in the third inning. Whiting was ambushed by RoughRiders batters early, as Frisco batters were a home run short of the cycle combined in the first inning. Whiting allowed a leadoff triple, and with two outs, a two-run double put the Missions down 3-0. While Whiting was able to bounce back in the second inning, the 30-pitch first inning had clearly drained the right-hander, as back-to-back two-out walks in the third inning spelled the end of the night for the right-hander. Left-hander Jackson Wolf, who was sent down to San Antonio on August 22, stranded the runners with a timely strikeout. Wolf allowed two runs (one earned) in 2.1 innings of long relief, striking out five. Carter Loewen took the mound in the sixth and fared worse, allowing five runs in 0.2 innings. Three wild pitches, a passed ball, and a catcher’s interference call, did not aid the Missions’ cause at all.

The Missions’ offense was behind the proverbial eight-ball early, and the team was able to get back into slam range. Romeo Sanabria scored Anthony Vilar on a sacrifice fly in the sixth. It was one of two RBI for Sanabria in the game, as the Missions’ first baseman drove in another run on an eighth-inning RBI single. Joshua Mears recorded his first Double-A hit in the eighth inning with a towering home run, a fitting welcome for the slugger. Robert Perez Jr posted another multi-hit game, scoring a run, and infielder Ripken Reyes went 1 for 4 with a double out of the leadoff spot.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 6-4 vs Peoria) (45-73 on the season)
Tyler Robertson - 3 for 5, Run Scored
Wyatt Hoffman - 2 for 4, Home Run, Three RBI
Jagger Haynes - 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K (91 pitches, 63 strikes)

Starter Jagger Haynes delivered his second quality start of the month, going six innings and allowing only two runs. The left-hander struck out seven batters and walked only one, which has been key for him this season. When Haynes struggles, it’s been due to a lack of command, and the southpaw has done a better job of harnessing his stuff when pitching deep into games. Haynes’ strong performances as of late raise an interesting quandary for the Padres organization, as the left-hander will be Rule 5 eligible in the offseason.

Wyatt Hoffman was the big story in the lineup, as the TinCaps third baseman drove in three runs. Hoffman gave the team a lead in the second inning with an RBI double to score Nerwilian Cedeño, and after the team was down 2-1, Hoffman again delivered with a go-ahead two-run home run in the sixth inning. Fort Wayne tacked on another run in the top of the seventh with an RBI single from Ethan Salas. While Salas did not hit another double (as he has done so often as of late), he still reached base and showed an ability to put himself in favorable counts.

Will Varmette took the mound for the TinCaps in the seventh inning, but his struggles compounded in this outing. After striking out his first batter faced, Varmette allowed two singles and a walk to load the bases. A missed catch from Nerwilian Cedeño allowed a run to score, which brought Leonardo Bernal to the plate. One game after walking off the TinCaps, Bernal turned on a 1-0 from Varmette and lined a single to center field, giving the Chiefs a 5-4 lead and chasing Varmette from the game. Tyler Morgan surrendered a sac fly in relief but held the Chiefs scoreless through the eighth. While the TinCaps brought the tying run to the plate in the eighth, the comeback would not come to be, as Tyler Robertson struck out to end the game.

Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 1-0 vs Rancho Cucamonga) (62-54 on the season)
Ryan Jackson - 2 for 3
Brendan Durfee - 2 for 4, RBI Single, Double
Ian Koenig - 3.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (37 pitches, 26 strikes)

Five pitchers combined to toss a shutout for the Storm. Left-hander Wandy Peralta, on a rehab assignment from a left adductor strain, tossed a scoreless inning with a strikeout. Ian Koenig tossed 3.1 no-hit innings in relief of Peralta, arguably his best performance this season. Miguel Valdez followed with 1.2 innings of two-hit baseball, striking out one batter. Zac Addikson tossed a scoreless seventh, and right-hander Xavier Ruiz secured a six-out save, striking out four of eight batters faced.

Lake Elsinore’s bats pushed across seven hits in a winning effort. 2024 17th-rounder Ryan Jackson secured his first two professional hits, and catcher Brendan Durfee had two hits of his own, including the lone RBI for either team with a first-inning RBI double. Kai Roberts and Chase Valentine each reached base twice, and Ryan Jackson stole his first base at the professional level.

Saturday’s Probable Pitchers:
El Paso - Nabil Crismatt (2-3, 6.99 ERA)
San Antonio - Austin Krob (3-10, 5.11 ERA)
Fort Wayne - Braden Nett (3-2, 4.96 ERA)
Lake Elsinore - TBD