San Diego Padres farm affiliates went 3-1 on Saturday.

Here is a recap of the day’s events.

El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 1-0 vs Oklahoma City) (47-78 on the season)
Brandon Lockridge – 1 for 3, Single
Nabil Crismatt – 5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K (95 pitches, 65 strikes)

Shutout baseball? In the PCL? Right-hander Nabil Crismatt certainly brought it along, tossing 5.2 innings of scoreless baseball. After a rough pair of starts against Reno, Crismatt struck out eight batters against his former club, scattering three hits and two walks. Crismatt is one of several players who could be making a case for a September call-up, building back his stock.
Alek Jacob was saddled with the loss, allowing a solo home run to Andy Pages in the eighth inning for the game’s lone run.

El Paso’s offense had no juice in the game, as the team as a whole only registered one hit, a sixth-inning single off the bat of Brandon Lockridge. Lockridge reached base twice in the ball game, and each of Tirso Ornelas, Eguy Rosario, and Brandon Valenzuela walked in the game. However, the Chihuahuas only saw one plate appearance with a runner in scoring position all game. That’s not to say that the team didn’t have opportunities, but a first-inning double play off the bat of Jose Azocar (one of the faster runners in the El Paso lineup) unceremoniously set the tone for the offensive shutdown in the shutout loss.

San Antonio Missions (Won 9-3 vs Frisco) (54-63 on the season)
Cole Cummings – 2 for 6, Home Run, Double, Five RBI
Joshua Mears – 2 for 5, Home Run
Austin Krob – 6.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 4 K (92 pitches, 61 strikes)

It was a game of strong performances at the plate and on the mound, a true team effort at Riders Field in Frisco, as the visiting San Antonio Missions defeated the RoughRiders by a score of 9-3. Austin Krob was a man on a mission on the mound, as the left-hander posted his fourth start of more than five innings in five turns this month. Krob went 6.2 innings, allowing three hits and two unearned runs, striking out four batters along the way. Krob was undoubtedly in command, tossing 67% of his pitches for strikes and at one point retiring eleven of twelve, with the lone batter who reached promptly erased on a double play.

Cole Cummings had one of, if not his strongest, performance of the season. The Missions’ designated hitter went 2 for 6, driving in a season-high five runs. Cummings gave San Antonio the lead in the third inning with a three-run home run and doubled in two more runs in the fourth inning. Romeo Sanabria reached base in each of his plate appearances, reaching on a single, fielder’s choice, and four walks. Sanabria has put up a gaudy .515 OBP since his promotion to Double-A, which helps his .996 OPS quantify itself. It was also a day ending in ‘day,’ which means Joshua Mears slugged yet another home run, this time a towering drive to left field, which secured a ninth run for San Antonio. With these bountiful offensive performances, plus Austin Krob’s dominance, all the ingredients came together for a 9-3 Missions win.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Won 3-2 vs Peoria) (46-73 on the season)
Devin Ortiz – 3 for 5, RBI Single
Ethan Salas – 1 for 3, Single, Walk
Braden Nett – 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 10 K (90 pitches, 62 strikes)

In a game that was close from start to finish, an absolute gem of a start from TinCaps right-hander Braden Nett helped the team secure a 3-2 win. Nett was absolutely dominant, striking out ten batters for the first time in his career. The right-hander also didn’t allow a walk in his six innings, a sign of positive momentum in his development this season.

Providing run support for Nett were Kai Murphy and Wyatt Hoffman, each of whom drove in a run in the fifth inning. Hoffman doubled down the left field line to score Rosman Verdugo, knotting the game at one run apiece. Murphy singled in Hoffman with two outs to put Fort Wayne up by one. Right fielder Nick Vogt had quite the defensive showing, throwing out two runners from right field. Devin Ortiz provided the team with an insurance run on a seventh inning RBI single, and Ethan Salas reached base twice in the game.

Reliever Fernando Sanchez tossed 2.1 innings of one-run baseball, placing the tying run on the on-deck circle in the bottom of the ninth, departing with a runner on base. Manuel Castro came on to close out the game, and while the inherited runner scored, Castro struck out Leonardo Bernal on three straight called strikes to end the game, netting the TinCaps a win.

Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 8-5 vs Rancho Cucamonga) (63-54 on the season)
Ryan Jackson – 3 for 4, Two RBI
Sean Barnett – 3 for 5, Run Scored
Miguel Mendez – 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K (76 pitches, 42 strikes)

A 14-hit onslaught from Lake Elsinore’s lineup paved the way for a victory against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. The newest members of the Storm lineup each earned three hits in the game, as Sean Barnett and Ryan Jackson both hit three singles. Jackson drove in two runs on two separate RBI singles. Jack Costello homered for the fifth time this season, driving in two runs. Five of Costello’s 20 hits this season have been home runs, and he has shown a strong eye at the plate as well. Catcher Oswaldo Linares had his best offensive performance of the season, hitting a home run as part of a three-hit effort.

Starter Miguel Mendez tossed five shutout innings with five strikeouts. While the offense was making fireworks, Mendez pitched around three hits and three walks against the Quakes lineup inducing timely soft contact to escape jams, Mendez has been impressive since July, posting a 1.94 ERA and 46 strikeouts against 19 walks. That’s been over the span of eight starts and 37 innings, so Mendez seems to have found a groove. Reliever Yerry Landinez tossed the final 2.1 innings of the game, securing a seven-out save for an 8-5 Storm win.

Sunday’s Probable Pitchers:
El Paso – Jared Kollar (2-2, 5.87 ERA)
San Antonio – Henry Baez (3-0, 2.22 ERA)
Fort Wayne – Eric Yost (0-1, 3.60 ERA)
Lake Elsinore – 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.