Down on the Farm: April 10 – MacKenzie Gore Day
Credit: EVT News
El Paso Chihuahuas (4-2) Lost 14-1
It didn’t start ugly, but it sure did end ugly. With Eric Lauer on the hill, it looked like the Chihuahuas had a pretty good chance of getting a win. However, the Salt Lake Bees kicked off the scoring in the top of the second with a two-run home run by Jabari Blash and never looked back. Javy Guerra plated the Chihuahuas’ only run of the game on an RBI single in the fifth inning, but the Bees erupted for 12 runs from the sixth inning onward, including two against Lauer in the sixth, six against Trey Wingenter, and four against Eric Yardley. Despite having one of the best bullpens in the minor leagues, the Chihuahuas’ bullpen completely imploded while the offense couldn’t muster anything more than six hits.
San Antonio Missions (4-2) Lost 4-0
It was a poor day for the Missions’ bats, but a solid day for right-hander Cal Quantrill on the hill. After a bit of a disastrous first start, Quantrill rebounded and held the Naturals to just one earned run over six strong innings. Sadly, the Missions only mustered five hits and were not able to score any runs. Dillon Overton and Jose Castillo both threw an inning in relief and both gave up earned runs. The Missions will be off Wednesday as they hope to rebound on Thursday.
Lake Elsinore Storm (2-4) Won 8-4
After starting the year off 1-4, the Storm needed some offense on Tuesday night. And they found just that. First baseman Brad Zunica kicked off the scoring in the top of the first with a two-run home run. Jorge Ona also drove in a run on an RBI single, giving the Storm a 3-0 lead after the first half inning. The Rawhide responded with two of their own in the bottom half of the inning, but right-hander Emmanuel Ramirez was strong the rest of the game, going seven innings and giving up just the two earned runs, plus one more earned in the seventh. The Storm took full advantage of the long ball, as both Eguy Rosario and Edward Oliveras hit solo home runs in the sixth, while Rosario went deep again in the eighth. A late run by the Rawhide pushed the score to 8-4, but Gerardo Reyes was able to close the game by striking out four of five hitters in an inning and two-thirds of work to seal the victory for the Storm.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (0-6) Lost 6-5
With MacKenzie Gore on the hill, it seemed like the TinCaps had their best chance yet to get their first victory of the season. But alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Gore had a pretty uneventful first two innings, with four strikeouts and only two base hits. However, Gore ran into some trouble in the top of the third. Gore gave up back-to-back singles to start off the inning followed by a two-run double that tied the game at two. Gore got the last two batters out in what was his last inning of work. Fort Wayne came back with two runs, but Lansing quickly answered back with two of their own in the top of the fourth. A wild pitch gave the TinCaps the lead in the bottom of the fifth, but a two-RBI single by the Lugnuts in the seventh gave them the lead for good. Gabriel Arias and Luis Campusano both collected two hits in the loss.
Wednesday’s Probable Starters
El Paso Chihuahuas – Walker Lockett
Lake Elsinore Storm – TBD
Fort Wayne TinCaps – Nick Margevicius
Prospects of Note
Javy Guerra – SS, Triple-A, El Paso Chihuahuas
2-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 K
Trey Wingenter – RHP, Triple-A, El Paso Chihuahuas
0.1 IP, 4 H, 6 R (5 ER), 1 BB, 1 K
There was lots of talk about Trey Wingenter making it to the big leagues in 2018. That will probably still happen, but it’s been a rough start to the year for the big right-hander. He’s now given up five hits and seven runs in his first inning and a third, including three long balls (he gave up six in 47 and two-thirds innings last year). It’s too early in the year to be concerned, but this is a poor start for a guy with big-league aspirations this year.
Cal Quantrill – RHP, Double-A, San Antonio Missions
6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
This start was so much better than Quantrill’s first go around this year. After walking five and failing to get out of the fourth inning in his first start, Quantrill was able to make it through six innings on Tuesday night. He still walked three hitters, but he also gave up only three hits and one earned run while striking out seven. All in all it was a resounding success.
Edward Oliveras – OF, High-A, Lake Elsinore Storm
2-5, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Eguy Rosario – IF, High-A, Lake Elsinore Storm
2-5, 2 HR, 2 RBI
Any time a player hits two home runs in one night, it’s worth mentioning. Rosario lacks the name recognition of some other younger, international prospects throughout the Padres’ system, but he is an intriguing one given his age and level. Rosario is currently 18 years old and playing in High-A, making him one of the youngest players in the entire league, and one of the youngest players in all of minor league baseball relative to the average age of current level. He’s gotten off to a bit off a slow start, but a two-home run night certainly helped his slugging percentage.
Gabriel Arias – SS, Low-A, Fort Wayne TinCaps
2-3, 2 2B, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 K
MacKenzie Gore – LHP, Low-A, Fort Wayne TinCaps
3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
The day we were waiting all winter for was finally here. Gore didn’t quite dazzle the way he did in rookie ball last year, but it’s hard to expect him to be perfect facing much-improved competition. With that being said, Gore looked pretty solid with four strikeouts in his first two innings of work. He ran into some trouble in the third, but he was able to get himself out of it with only two runs on the board.
Editorial and Prospect Writer for East Village Times. Twenty-five years young, Patrick has lived in San Diego for his entire life and has been a Padres fan nearly as long. Patrick lives for baseball and is always looking to learn new things about the game he loves through advanced stats.