Padres affiliates went 2-1 on Sunday.

Let’s dive right into the recap of the day’s games. 

El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 1-0 vs Tacoma) (58-86 on the season)

Bryce Johnson – 2-for-4, Two Singles, Walk

Rosman Verdugo – 1-for-4, Single

JP Sears – 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K (50 pitches – 27 strikes)

El Paso’s final road game of the season ended in a 1-0 loss to Tacoma. JP Sears started for El Paso, throwing 2.2 innings of scoreless baseball. Sears fanned two while walking two, allowing just two singles. The left-hander has fared somewhat well in his shorter starting role and could be an emergency reinforcement to the Padres’ MLB staff in the final stretch of the season. Logan Gillaspie took the loss, throwing 2.1 innings of one-run ball. Former Padre Connor Joe hit a solo home run against Gillaspie in the fourth inning, giving Tacoma the game’s only run. Jason Adam made a rehab appearance in the sixth inning, not allowing a run. Adam’s stuff was in line with how it looked earlier in the season, and his return could fortify a Padres bullpen that has seen heavy use of their high-leverage arms in recent weeks. Brent Honeywell threw a scoreless seventh inning, and Garrett Hawkins threw a scoreless eighth inning with two strikeouts. Hawkins touched 94-95 mph on his fastball with 20.6 inches of induced vertical break on average. The Chihuahuas’ offense was held to five singles, and even though they drew seven walks, they stranded 11 baserunners in the loss. Rosman Verdugo hit a single, going 1-for-4. Dating back to his last week-plus in High-A, Verdugo has hit safely in eight of his last nine games. Bryce Johnson had two singles, also drawing a walk. Nick Pratto drew two walks in the game, and Miguel Andujar went 1-for-5 with a single as the designated hitter. 

San Antonio Missions (Won 11-10 vs Amarillo) (59-79 on the season)

Luis Verdugo – 3-for-5, Home Run, Three RBI

Romeo Sanabria – 3-for-4, Home Run, Two RBI

Victor Lizarraga – 4 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 0 BB, 1 K (81 pitches – 53 strikes)

Four home runs led San Antonio to a victory in their season finale. Kerrington Cross launched the first of the four homers, a 437-foot blast out to left-center field that left Hodgetown. Luis Verdugo tied the contest at five runs all with a three-run home run in the sixth inning. Verdugo’s home run opened the floodgates for a five-run inning. Romeo Sanabria followed up with a solo home run two batters later, and Kerrington Cross hit an RBI single to score Alex McCoy. The Missions did not stop there, as they added two more in the ensuing two frames. Romeo Sanabria’s sac fly and an RBI single from Alex McCoy extended the lead to 9-5, and a two-run home run from Justin DeCriscio made it an 11-5 game. DeCriscio also hit his first home run at the Double-A level in this game. 

Victor Lizarraga made what could be his final start of the season, pitching four-plus innings of five-run baseball. Lizarraga struck out only one batter, issuing no walks. Amarillo scored all five runs against him on a pair of home runs, with a three-run home run by Danny Serretti chasing the right-hander from the game. Sadrac Franco threw a scoreless fifth from there, earning the win. Johan Moreno bounced back from a loss on Wednesday to pitch a scoreless sixth inning. Josh Mallitz threw a scoreless seventh but allowed three runs in the eighth inning. While Mallitz did not get an out in the eighth, Igor Gil struck out two of four batters faced in the inning, allowing only one inherited runner to score. Carlos Medina was called on in the ninth inning, and he allowed two runs on three hits. Despite the two runs allowed, Medina buckled up and recorded three outs, earning his first save at the Double-A level. 

With the Missions’ season now over, I’d like to extend a warm thank you to the broadcast crew, players, coaching staff, groundscrew, and all members of the San Antonio Missions organization for yet another season of Missions baseball. None of what we do happens without any of you, so from our EVT Padres staff, thank you so much for your hard work, and we look forward to continuing our coverage of the team through the offseason and into 2027 and beyond. 

Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 12-1 vs San Jose) (1-0 in Championship Series, 3-0 in postseason)

Alex Conover – 2-for-4, Home Run, Four RBI

Elliot Lascelles – 3-for-6, Double, Three RBI

Tyler Schmitt – 4.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K (82 pitches – 53 strikes)

Adler Cecil – 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K (56 pitches – 35 strikes)

Lake Elsinore’s offense continued Storming, leading 6-0 after three innings in a dominant win at Diamond Stadium. The offense wasted no time getting started, as Alex Conover launched a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, giving the Storm a 2-0 lead. Jose Verdugo picked up his first RBI of the postseason with an RBI single, scoring Nu’u Contrades. Lake Elsinore kept going in the second inning, as a Joe Tiroly single scored Ty Harvey, Qrey Lott scored on a wild pitch from Giants starter Keyner Martinez, who lasted just two innings. Lott hit an RBI triple in his next at-bat, scoring Verdugo. Though the offense went quiet for two innings, Alex Conover followed up a Joe Tiroly double with an RBI single of his own. The Storm loaded the bases in the seventh with three walks, and Qrey Lott was hit by a pitch on the elbow to score one run. Elliot Lascelles hit an infield single to score Dawson Willis, and Ty Harvey scored on a groundout from Conover. Elliot Lascelles finished off the scoring in the eighth with a two-run single, giving the Storm a dozen. 

Tyler Schmitt made his first postseason start, not allowing a run in 4.1 innings. Schmitt allowed four hits, only one of which went for extra bases. The right-hander struck out three and walked three, with Giants batters struggling to discern his curveball from the fastball when Schmitt got ahead in the count. It was easily his best start against the Giants this season, as he pitched five innings of three-run ball in each of his two starts against them this season. Jack Pineau, who was added to the final roster before the game, got two outs in the fifth inning before making way for left-hander Adler Cecil. The left-hander struck out five of 12 batters faced, pitching three innings of scoreless relief. Cecil, who could be a member of the 2027 Storm’s rotation, finishes off his season in dominant fashion. Benjamin Stubbs closed out the game with one-inning of one-run baseball, generating a game-ending double play. 

Lake Elsinore now needs just one win on the road to win the California League title. Jesus A. Castro, who last threw six innings of one-run baseball vs Ontario, will make the start.

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.