San Diego Padres affiliates went 2-4 on Saturday.

Here is a recap of the day’s events.

El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 6-5 vs Albuquerque) (36-50 on the season)
Tirso Ornelas – (4-for-5) Home Run, Walk-off Single
Cal Mitchell – (2-for-4) Two-RBI Double
Jhony Brito – 2.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 2 K (61 pitches, 41 strikes)

The altitude of El Paso was not kind to Jhony Brito, as the right-hander allowed five runs in 2.1 innings. Brito, making his second start since being optioned, showed improved command, walking two and striking out two, but batters continued to avoid whiffs against him, getting only five swings-and-misses. Sean Reynolds posted his best relief outing of the season, striking out six in 3.2 scoreless innings. Alek Jacob and Logan Gillaspie hurled three scoreless frames to give the offense time to come back.

Tirso Ornelas was the story of the game for the Chihuahuas. The left fielder had a four-hit game, including a two-run home run to tie the game. Xander Bogaerts walked twice in the game, including in the ninth inning, to set up the game-winning rally. Cal Mitchell and Kevin Plawecki also notched multi-hit games, and Jose Azocar reached base twice, scoring a run.

San Antonio Missions: Postponed vs Corpus Christi
The Missions’ regularly scheduled game against the Corpus Christi Hooks has been postponed as a result of inclement weather. As of the time of publication, no make-up date/time was announced.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 7-5 vs Lansing) (33-48 on the season)
Anthony Vilar – (1-for-5) Three-Run Home Run
Homer Bush Jr – (3-for-5) RBI Single
Dylan Lesko – 5 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 4 BB, 5 K (89 pitches, 52 strikes)

Through five innings, TinCaps starter Dylan Lesko had a quality game going, but the right-hander couldn’t escape the sixth. Be it fatigue or quality at-bats, Lesko allowed a home run and three baserunners to reach before being pulled. All three bequeathed baserunners would come around to score against reliever Keegan Collett, bringing Lesko’s final line to six earned runs in five innings. The right-hander showed better command early on in the game, walking two through the first five frames, but he also uncorked three wild pitches in the game. Braden Nett tossed three innings of one-run ball in relief, punching out four.

Anthony Vilar had the biggest hit for the TinCaps, a three-run home run to make the score 6-4. Homer Bush Jr drove in the team’s first run on an RBI single, and kai Murphy drove in a fifth run in the eighth, but the team couldn’t complete the comeback, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate in Jay Beshears in the ninth; Beshears would ground out to end the game.

Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost 8-7 vs Inland Empire) (39-40 on the season)
Leodalis De Vries – (3-for-5) Home Run, Two RBI
Wyatt Hoffman – (1-for-3) RBI Double, Walk
Isaiah Lowe – 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K (79 pitches, 52 strikes)

The scorching heat of summer now has a rival; Leodalis De Vries continues his scorching month of July, homering for the third time in the last two games. De Vries recorded two RBIs in the game, and the other came on an RBI single. J.D. Gonzalez drove in a run on a sacrifice fly while also scoring once in the game. Kaden Hollow and Wyatt Hoffman laced back-to-back RBI doubles in the eighth to bring in the Storm’s sixth and seventh runs.

Isaiah Lowe delivered yet another strong start. The Padres’ No. 19 prospect entered the season as a relative unknown and has performed strongly, now sporting 78 strikeouts against 24 walks in 14 games. While walks have at times been an issue, Lowe has shown improvements in that field this season, pitching five or more innings in each of his last six games. Closer Xavier Ruiz allowed two runs in the ninth, only the second time in 11 outings since May 30 on which he had allowed an earned run.

ACL Padres (Lost 8-7 vs ACL Dodgers in 8 innings) (20-26 on the season)
Spence Coffman – (2-for-5) RBI Double
B.Y. Choi – (1-for-2) RBI, Two Walks
Mitch Miller – 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K

The ACL Padres’ offense delivered a valiant performance, scoring seven runs on the might of eight hits and walks apiece. Spence Coffman delivered two hits from the leadoff spot, driving in one run on a double. B.Y. Choi walked twice and drove in a run of his own with an RBI single. First baseman Hugo Sanchez also walked twice in the game, scoring twice. The team went 5-for-9 with runners in scoring position, a successful day at the plate.

Mitch Miller, on rehab assignment from Fort Wayne, started the game and tossed two hitless innings. The left-hander struck out three and walked two. Zach Qin made his third scoreless appearance of the season, and Braian Salazar made his first relief appearance since May with a scoreless inning. The 7-0 lead dissipated in the blink of an eye, as Zac Addikson allowed five runs in the seventh, and Bernard Jose surrendered a game-tying grand slam before the ACL Dodgers brought across the automatic runner to hand the Padres an 8-7 loss.

DSL Padres Gold (Lost 12-2 vs DSL Orioles Orange) (11-13 on the season)
Alcides Hernandez – (1-for-3) RBI
Yoiber Ocopio – (1-for-3) RBI Single
Elvis Reyes – 2 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 5 BB, 5 K

Padres Gold starter Elvis Reyes labored through two innings, walking five and striking out five. Four other Padres relievers allowed runs in the game, with only Leandry Diaz having a scoreless outing. There wasn’t much to speak of on the offensive side, as the team only notched two hits, both singles. Alcides Hernandez drove in a run on an RBI hit-by-pitch in the seventh, and Yoiber Ocopio recorded the team’s lone hit with runners in scoring position, a seventh inning single to make the score 12-2. The team’s 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position was partly responsible for the loss, despite the team walking six times.

DSL Padres Brown (Won 3-1 vs DSL Mariners) (5-16 on the season)
Yorvin Morla – (2-for-4) Triple, Two Runs
Jason Hernandez – (1-for-3) Two RBI
Javier Salomon – 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 5 K

Making his fifth start of the season, Javier Salomon pitched into the first inning for the first time in his young career. The 5’11” left-hander allowed only three baserunners, striking out five in the game. Winyer Chourio tossed three innings of scoreless relief, earning the win while striking out six. The Padres walked six times in the game and went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. Despite the low success rate with runners on, the Padres managed to move runners over successfully. Jason Alexander drove in two runs, and Jesmaylin Arias continued his strong season with another RBI base hit.

Sunday’s Probable Pitchers:
El Paso: Jackson Wolf (2-9, 7.71 ERA)
San Antonio: No Game
Fort Wayne: No Game
Lake Elsinore: No Game
ACL: No Game
DSL Gold: No Game
DSL Brown: No Game

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.