Down on the Farm: April 16 (Morejon Bounces Back, France Homers Twice)
[Photo by John Moore/Amarillo Sod Poodles]
San Diego Padres affiliates were 2-2 on Tuesday.
Here is a recap of the day’s events.
El Paso Chihuahuas (6-6) Won 13-5
El Paso broke out the big sticks Tuesday against the Tacoma Rainiers. El Paso jumped on Tacoma early with three runs in the first with an RBI double by Josh Naylor which was followed by a two-run home run by Ty France. France would hit a second home run in the seventh. Cal Quantrill allowed two runs to score in the second inning but was otherwise solid with seven strikeouts.
El Paso responded with four more runs in the third capped by a Michael Gettys RBI double. El Paso grew the lead to 11-2 before cruising to a 13-5. The win got them to .500 after a slow start.
Cal Quantrill– 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
Ty France-(3-for-5) 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 R
Michael Gettys– (1-for-5) 2B, RBI, BB
Jose Pirela– (2-for-4) 2B, BB, 2 R
Alex Dickerson– (2-for-4) 3 RBI, 2 R, BB
Amarillo Sod Poodles (5-8) Lost 6-2
Adrian Morejon had a start to forget his last time out, allowing five earned runs on five walks in four innings for Amarillo. In Tuesday’s start against the Midland RockHounds, things went much more smoothly for MLB Pipeline’s 47th overall prospect. Even though he did not get much run support, Morejon pitched 5.2 innings of shutout baseball with seven strikeouts and just two hits allowed, looking like the stingy, nasty lefty Padres farm fans have become accustomed to seeing from the 20-year-old Cuban.
The Sod Poodles managed to score two runs in the top of the sixth thanks to a Hudson Potts solo home run, his first, and then Brad Zunica scored on an error after a Jorge Ona line drive single. Unfortunately, it unraveled for Amarillo from there. Nick Kuzia came in relief of Morejon and allowed a grand slam in the seventh inning. The Rockhounds added a fifth run to the inning, extending their lead to 5-2. Midland extended their lead to 6-2 in the eighth and Amarillo was unable to respond late in the game.
Adrian Morejon– 5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
Hudson Potts– (1-for-4) HR, RBI
Brad Zunica– (2-for-4) R
Jorge Ona– (2-for-3) SB
Owen Miller– (1-for-3) 2B
Lake Elsinore Storm (8-5) Lost 8-3
Tom Cosgrove had a shaky start for the Storm against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. He only lasted 3.2 innings, allowing seven runs, four of them earned, with five walks. Lake Elsinore fell behind 8-0 as the defense failed the Storm as well, with two costly errors. Cosgrove never really settled down and was shown the door early.
The Storm did manage two runs in the sixth after a double by Jack Suwinski and a run-scoring single by Esteury Ruiz. Eguy Rosario was able to single home a run in the ninth inning in garbage time as the Storm fell flat Tuesday night.
Tom Cosgrove– 3.2 IP, 6 H, 7 R (4 ER), 5 BB, 3 K
Eguy Rosario- (1-for-4) RBI, BB
Jack Suwinski– (1-for-3) 2B, RBI, BB
Esteury Ruiz- (1-for-3) RBI, BB
Robbie Podorsky– (2-for-4) R, BB
Fort Wayne TinCaps (8-5) Won 8-4
MLB Pipeline’s 89th-ranked overall prospect Ryan Weathers had yet another strong showing for the TinCaps. Despite some control issues, Weathers battled through 5.2 innings and struck out five Dayton Dragons and allowed two runs, which put his ERA to 2.16. He got plenty of run support thanks to multi-RBI games by Blake Hunt and Grant Little.
Fort Wayne scored in three straight innings, starting with four runs in the third thanks to a Grant Little single and a Blake Hunt home run. Luis Almanzar added a home run of his own. Fort Wayne entered the ninth inning with an 8-2 lead and cruised to the victory.
Ryan Weathers: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Blake Hunt- (1-for-5) HR, 3 RBI
Grant Little- (3-for-5) 2B, 2 RBI, R
Luis Almanzar -(1-for-3) HR, RBI, BB
Lee Solomon– (1-for-3) 2B, BB, R
Wednesday’s Probables
Fort Wayne- Efrain Contreras (0-0. 3.00 ERA) vs. James Marinan (0-1. 5.00 ERA)
Lake Elsinore- MacKenzie Gore (2-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Gerardo Carrillo (0-1, 7.94 ERA)
Amarillo- TBD vs. Logan Verrett (0-0, 4.82 ERA)
El Paso- TBD vs. Justus Sheffield (0-1, 5.19 ERA)
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.