Padres Down on the Farm: July 28 (Lowe strong in LE)

San Diego Padres affiliates went 1-3 on Sunday.

Here is a recap of the day’s events.

El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 5-2 vs Salt Lake) (40-62 on the season)
Graham Pauley – 2 for 4, Double
Tirso Ornelas – 1 for 4
Carl Edwards Jr.– 4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 4 K (81 pitches, 47 strikes)

El Paso fell behind early against the Salt Lake Bees and was unable to mount a comeback. Starter Carl Edwards Jr.lasted four innings, allowing three runs and striking out four batters. It was Edwards’ third start as a Chihuahua in his return to the Padres organization as the right-hander looks to work his way back to the majors. Reliever Lake Bachar allowed an earned run for the first time in five appearances but continued to rack up strikeouts, now sitting at 69 strikeouts in 57.2 innings this season. On the offensive side of the ball, Graham Pauley posted a multi-hit game, as did outfielder Cal Mitchell. Mitchell drove in a run in the fourth with a solo home run, and Nate Mondou brought the Chihuahuas within two runs on an eighth-inning bases-loaded walk, but the team stranded nine runners in a losing effort.

San Antonio Missions (Lost 7-4 vs Midland) (45-49 on the season)
Cole Cummings – 1 for 4, Two-Run Home Run
Ripken Reyes – 2 for 4, Run Scored
Ryan Bergert – 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K (46 pitches, 33 strikes)

In an abbreviated outing, right-hander Ryan Bergert pitched one of his best games of the season. Bergert allowed one run on two hits in three innings, striking out four batters. Reliever Raul Brito was hit hard in 1.1 innings of relief, allowing four runs on two hits and two walks. Francis Pena tossed two more scoreless innings and now has 28 strikeouts against three walks in 17 appearances at Double-A. Cole Cummings hit his ninth home run of the season, and Brandon Valenzuela drove in a run on an RBI double, his 43rd RBI of the season. While the Missions did not have a lot of opportunities with runners in scoring position, they were successful in those limited chances, going three for four with runners in scoring position.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 8-6 vs Dayton) (39-57 on the season)
Kai Murphy – 1 for 4, Three RBI
Griffin Doersching – 2 for 4, Double, Two RBI
Tyler Morgan – 1.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 3 K (38 pitches, 17 strikes)

With Dylan Lesko being traded to Tampa Bay, the TinCaps were forced into an impromptu bullpen game. Starter Tyler Morgan allowed three runs in 1.2 innings, walking three and striking out three. While the team fell behind 5-0 after three innings, the offense fought back. Devin Ortiz drove in two on an RBI double, Anthony Vilar drove in a run with an RBI double of his own, and Kai Murphy drove in the go-ahead run on an eighth-inning bases-clearing double. However, the TinCaps bullpen was unable to hold the lead, as left-hander Jackson Smeltz allowed three runs in the bottom of the eighth to make the score 8-6 in Dayton’s favor. The TinCaps were unable to make another comeback, going down 1-2-3 in the ninth to seal the loss.

Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 8-6 vs Visalia) (50-44 on the season)
Ethan Long – 0 for 2, Three Walks
Jacob Campbell – 1 for 3, Two RBI
Isaiah Lowe – 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 K

Isaiah Lowe delivered five strong innings in his start against the Visalia Rawhide, striking out four batters. While Lowe did not record as many whiffs (six total), he kept batters off balance throughout his outing. The offense came alive early with a three-run first, highlighted by an RBI single from Ryan Wilson. Lamar King Jr earned his first Single-A hit with a third-inning RBI single. After falling behind 6-4 in the eighth, Lake Elsinore’s offense came through in the bottom of the eighth. Jose Sanabria drew a bases-loaded walk, and Jacob Campbell singled in the tying run. Then came a wild pitch that scored Ethan Long from third, but unlike most wild pitches, a second run came in to score, with Sanabria scoring on an errant throw to the plate. Reliever Harry Gustin returned to the mound for the ninth and retired the final three batters he faced, holding the lead for a thrilling 8-6 Storm win.

ACL Padres: No Game

DSL Padres Gold: No Game

DSL Padres Brown: No Game

Monday’s Probable Pitchers:
El Paso – No Game
San Antonio – No Game
Fort Wayne – No Game
Lake Elsinore – No Game
ACL – No Game
DSL Gold – TBD
DSL Brown – TBD

Diego Garcia

A born and raised San Diegan, Diego Garcia is a lifetime Padres fan and self-proclaimed baseball nerd. Diego wrote about baseball on his own site between 2021-22 before joining the East Village Times team in 2024. He also posts baseball content on his YouTube channel “Stat Nerd Baseball”, creating content around trades, hypotheticals, player analyses, the San Diego Padres, and MLB as a whole.

A 2024 graduate of San Diego State, Diego aims to grow as a writer and content creator in the baseball community.