Padres Down on the Farm: August 31 (Waldron pitched in EP/Reyes, Yost sharp for FW)

San Diego Padres minor league affiliates went 2-3 on Saturday.

Here is a recap of the day’s events.

Photo bySalgado

El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 7-5 vs Tacoma in Game 1) (51-79 on the season)
Brandon Lockridge - 2 for 3, Double, Two Runs
Jose Azocar - 2 for 5, RBI, Four Stolen Bases
Jared Kollar - 4 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 0 K (64 pitches, 39 strikes)

El Paso jumped on Rainiers starter Jhonathan Diaz right away, scoring five runs in the first inning. Brandon Lockridge led off with a double and scored on an RBI single from Jose Azocar. Azocar had himself quite a performance, as he posted two hits and four stolen bases. Four. Eguy Rosario drove in two runs on an RBI double, and Kevin Plawekci singled in Rosario to chase Diaz from the game. Reliever Jason Ruffcorn allowed a sacrifice fly to Brandon Valenzuela to push El Paso’s lead to 5-0 after one inning. Starter Nabil Crismatt tossed two scoreless innings on 23 pitches, appearing en route to a quality start. The skies had other plans, as a downpour overtook El Paso, suspending the game.

When the game resumed on August 31, right-hander Jared Kollar tossed four innings of relief. While the right-hander allowed three runs on seven hits, the damage was limited to one frame, as the Rainiers struck for three runs in the fifth inning. Despite the base traffic, Kollar kept the Chihuahuas ahead. El Paso scored twice more in the ballgame, with Tirso Ornelas driving in Jose Sanabria on a lineout in the fourth and scoring Brandon Lockridge on a single in the eighth. Jose Sanabria reached base twice in the game, his second two-hit game at Triple-A. Lake Bachar struck out three in two scoreless frames of relief, and Austin Davis struck out Logan Warmoth on a sinker over the outside corner to end the game.

(Lost 6-3 vs Tacoma in 7 Innings in Game 2) (51-80 on the season)
Eguy Rosario - 2 for 3, Home Run
Cal Mitchell - 2 for 3, Home Run
Matt Waldron - 4.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 4 K (72 pitches, 49 strikes)

Matt Waldron returned to game action for the first time in 10 days, tossing 4.2 innings against the Tacoma Rainiers. Waldron struck out four batters, getting whiffs on 25% of swings against him. With Waldron having started on the same day as Randy Vasquez at the major league level, Waldron looks to be a possible call-up for the Padres’ stretch run.

Eguy Rosario hit his 18th home run of the season to put the Chihuahuas on the board, blasting a baseball to the playground in left-center field. Kevin Plawecki doubled to bring the team within one, and Jose Azocar tied the game on an RBI single off Rainiers pitcher Emerson Hancock. With the game knotted at three, Logan Gillaspie entered the game but immediately ran into trouble, walking Seby Zavala and committing a throwing error to get runners on the corners with no outs. While Gillaspie has worked out of jams like this before, all it took was one pitch to change that outcome. Gillespie hung a changeup that Rainier's second baseman Samad Taylor crushed for a go-ahead three-run home run, giving Tacoma a 6-3 lead. Rainiers starter Emerson Hancock returned to the mound for the final half-inning but was greeted by a towering drive off the bat of Cal Mitchell, cutting the Tacoma lead to 6-4. Reliever Chris Devenski was summoned to close out the game, but El Paso got the tying run to first base on a failed fielder’s choice. With two on and two out, Jose Azocar swung a low and away sweeper, cueing the ball to Devenski to end the game. The loss ended El Paso’s four-game winning streak.

San Antonio Missions (Lost 7-4 vs Midland) (55-68 on the season)
Juan Zabala - 1 for 3, Three-Run Home Run
Ray-Patrick Didder - 1 for 4, RBI Single
Henry Baez - 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 2 K (80 pitches, 54 strikes)

Henry Baez struggled through a 26-pitch third inning in which he allowed four runs on five hits to stake Midland to a 4-0 lead. Baez was sharper with his command than his last outing but still has yet to generate the high whiff levels he posted at High-A. The transition from High-A to Double-A is looked at as one of the tougher ones in the minor leagues, however, and Baez has shown signs of adapting after struggles, so he will have longer and stronger outings in future starts as he gets acclimated to Double-A.

The Missions’ offense came alive in the fourth inning, with Connor Hollis and Marcos Castanon reaching base with one out. Ray-Patrick Didder drove in Hollis on an RBI single to right field. With runners still on the corners, catcher Juan Sabala launched his third home run of the season deep to left field, tying the game at four. The game remained tied through the middle innings, thanks in part to the efforts of Missions reliever Raul Brito, who tossed three scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Jackson Wolf was summoned for the eighth inning but tossed 31 pitches while allowing three runs on four hits and two walks. Down by three in the ninth, San Antonio brought the heart of their order to the plate, but Marcos Castanon struck out, and both Joshua Mears and Ray-Patrick Didder popped out as the Missions lost 7-4.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Won 3-2 vs Lansing) (48-73 on the season)
Ethan Salas - 1 for 5, RBI Single
Devin Ortiz - 3 for 4, Double, Run Scored
Jose Luis Reyes - 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 1 K (64 pitches, 36 strikes)

While Jose Luis Reyes has made appearances in long relief of Eric Yost, the TinCaps flipped the script and won against the Lansing Lugnuts. Reyes started for Fort Wayne, tossing four scoreless innings on 64 pitches. The right-hander did walk four in those four innings but induced three double plays in the first three innings to escape moments of tension. Reyes now has a 2.50 ERA in 18 innings with the TinCaps and looks to build on his strong performance as of late down the stretch. Eric Yost came on in the fifth inning and didn’t skip a beat either, striking out four in four innings. Yost allowed one run on five hits, with the damage coming in the seventh inning, but was still able to provide a quality performance. The tandem of Reyes and Yost combined for eight innings of one-run baseball. Quite a good day in the minor leagues for the right-handers!

Ethan Salas once again gave Fort Wayne the lead, this time with a first-inning RBI single, taking advantage of a hanging slider. While Salas was gunned down at home for the second out of the inning on a fielder’s choice, Nerwilian Cedeño drove in the TinCaps’ second run on an RBI single but was thrown out at second for the third out of the opening frame. Tyler Robertson continued to show improvement at the plate, singling in Colton Bender in the second after stealing his 14th base of the season in the first. The former Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajun has reached base at a .360 clip this season and, in August, has impressed with a .500 OBP in 42 at-bats. Devin Ortiz posted another three-hit game, and Nick Vogt earned another outfield assist in the 3-2 win.

Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost 6-4 vs Modesto) (67-56 on the season)
Chase Valentine - 3 for 3, Home Run
Braedon Karpathios - 2 for 4, RBI Double
Miguel Mendez - 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 1 K (86 pitches, 49 strikes)

While Lake Elsinore starter Miguel Mendez had been dominant at The Diamond in his last three starts at home, his Saturday evening start was not one of those outings. Mendez went six innings for the first time since July 5 vs Inland Empire. Unfortunately for him and the Storm, he allowed four runs on six hits, walking two and only striking out one. It was a difficult outing for the right-hander, as he was coming off a stretch of three starts in which he posted a 1.90 ERA. Josh Mallitz allowed two runs on two hits in the seventh inning, and Tyson Neighbors struck out three in a scoreless eighth inning.

Chase Valentine had a 3 for 3 showing out of the number nine spot in the lineup, which included his fifth home run of the season. Braedon Karpathios finished his phenomenal month of August with a 2 for 4 showing. Karpathios posted a .352/.445/.582 slash line across 91 at-bats in August, hitting four runs and driving in 20. Ryan Jackson continued the blistering start to his pro career with a 2 for 3 game, bringing his OPS to .920 through his first 26 at-bats. The team had 15 opportunities with runners in scoring position but only cashed in twice in those 15 at-bats. While they brought the tying run to the plate with two down in the ninth, B.Y. Choi was called out on strikes to end the game.

Sunday’s Probable Pitchers:
El Paso - Omar Cruz (1-1, 2.23 ERA)
San Antonio - Ryan Bergert (2-8, 5.11 ERA)
Fort Wayne - Isaiah Lowe (1-2, 3.26 ERA)
Lake Elsinore - TBD