Down on the Farm: April 8 (Zunica & Reed Homer in Sod Poodles First Home Game)
Credit: Sod Poodles
Monday night was filled with some high scoring affairs as Padres affiliates went 2-2 in the day’s action.
Here’s a recap of all four of Monday’s games.
El Paso Chihuahuas: Lost 10-9 (1-4 on the season)
Despite another offensive explosion, the Chihuahuas were unable to get their second straight win as the pitching struggled in what’s been a recurring them so far this season. Tonight’s starter Dillon Overton only lasted an inning and a third, giving up five runs in his short outing on three hits, including a pair of homers. El Paso’s offense tried to pick up the pitching as the Chihuahuas managed to take a seven to five lead after the third inning. The Aviators tied things back up in the fifth on Dustin Fowler‘s second homer of the night, a two-run shot to right center.
The Chihuahuas responded by retaking the lead in the bottom half of the inning on a two-run double by Josh Naylor to bring in Jason Vosler and Jacob Scavuzzo. Those were the last runs El Paso would score though as Las Vegas tied the game again as runs came home on a bases-loaded walk allowed by Chris Rowley and a run-scoring groundout after Carlos Torres came in to try and get out of the jam. The Aviators were able to put together a two-out rally in the ninth with a walk and a single off Carlos Torres before Sammy Solis came in and allowed the run-scoring single that would give Las Vegas the final lead of the game.
Dillon Overton- 1.1 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K (34 pitches/18 strikes)
Esteban Quiroz– (1-4) 2 Runs, RBI, BB, K
Josh Naylor- (3-6) Run, 2 2B, 2 RBI
Austin Allen– (3-5) 2B, RBI, K
Jacob Scavuzzo- (2-5) 2 Runs, HR, 2 RBI
.@JoshNaylor44 with one of the stranger Ground Rule Doubles you’ll see , but hey, it still counts for 2! pic.twitter.com/MIwXxsifOt
— El Paso Chihuahuas (@epchihuahuas) April 9, 2019
Amarillo Sod Poodles: Lost 9-4 in 10 innings (1-4 on the season)
Unfortunately, the Sod Poodles weren’t able to turn the fanfare from the first home game of their inaugural season into a W as they gave up five runs in the top of the tenth to fall to the Midland RockHounds in extra innings. Amarillo jumped out to an early lead on a solo shot by Buddy Reed in the bottom of the third for his first home run for the season as he looks to bounce back from a rough stint in AA with San Antonio last season. That lead was quickly squandered as Midland scored three runs off of Reggie Lawson in the top of the fourth, two of them coming on a hard line drive home run by Jonah Heim.
The Rockhounds scored another run in the top of the fifth before the Sod Poodles responded with two of their own off Brad Zunica‘s third homer of the year and a sac-fly by Reed to bring in Edward Olivares. Amarillo would score once more in the sixth to tie the game at four on a solo blast by Jorge Ona to left. Midland managed to put together a substantial tenth inning thanks in part to the recently implemented rule that puts a runner on second to lead off extra innings in minor league games. Luis Barrera singled in the first at-bat of the inning to score Kevin Merrell from second. Four more runs would come home in the inning on a double, groundout, and finally a two-run homer by Greg Deichmann to increase the lead to five. Amarillo was unable to bring anyone around in the bottom half of the inning and fell in the first game of the series.
First Homer in Hodgetown History belongs to Buddy Reed! @EVT_News @EVT_News pic.twitter.com/bReqGVpuMb
— Austin Hartsfield (@HartsfieldMLB) April 9, 2019
Reggie Lawson- 5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 8 K (90 pitches/60 strikes)
Buddy Reed- (1-3) HR, 2 RBI, BB
Ona- (2-4) HR, RBI, SB, K
Zunica- (2-3) HR, RBI, BB, K
Bednar- 1 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, HR (27 pitches/19 strikes)
Lake Elsinore Storm: Won 11-2 (4-1 on the season)
Lake Elsinore collected another win to keep their hot start to the season rolling right along, this time with a victory on the road over the Lancaster JetHawks. The Storm shined in all facets of the game as everyone in the starting lineup collected a hit and the pitching staff had the Lancaster batters in a stranglehold, allowing only two runs in the game.
The Storm onslaught was aided by three home runs; the first being Olivier Basabe‘s first on the season in the third inning which was shortly followed by a two-run dinger from Jack Suwinski. Suwinski wasn’t done yet as he’d hit another home run in the seventh and drive in a run on a single in the eighth. On the mound, Ronald Bolanos got the start for Lake Elsinore and allowed two runs on a pair of home runs in his five innings of action. Travis Radke pitched three innings in relief allowing four runners to reach base, one of them on a walk, but none would come around to score. Steven Wilson also came into the game to pitch a scoreless ninth, only allowing a single, to slam the door on the JetHawks for the night and keep them searching for the first win after five losses to start the season.
Ronald Bolanos- 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
Esteury Ruiz– (3-5) Run, 2 SB, CS, 2 K
Tirso Ornelas– (2-4) 2 Runs, 3 RBI
Gabriel Arias– (2-5) Run, RBI, CS
Jack Suwinski- (3-4) 2 Runs, 4 RBI, 2 HR, BB
Fort Wayne TinCaps: Won 9-5 (3-2 on the season)
For the second straight day, Fort Wayne experienced a late offensive surge, this time they were able to hold on for the victory in their first game of a four-game set against the Dayton Dragons. The TinCaps first run came in on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the first. The bats went silent through the middle innings as Dayton would take a 2-1 lead in the third on an error and sac-fly. Dayton added another in the top of the sixth before Fort Wayne put up three in the bottom half of the inning thanks to an error, a passed ball, and an RBI on a fielder’s choice by centerfielder Jawuan Harris. After taking the 4-3 lead in the sixth, the TinCaps added on insurance runs in both of the next two innings including on a big two-run double by Nick Gatewood in the seventh.
After getting two runners into scoring position with no outs in the ninth, Dayton managed to bring them both around to score on back-to-back groundouts, but only one more batter would come up to the plate for them as Tom Colletti managed to induce a third straight groundout to end the game. Ramon Perez made his first start of the season on the mound for Fort Wayne after spending last year with Tri-City. Perez managed to go five strong innings without allowing an earned run and racking up eight strikeouts along the way. Out of the pen, Henry Henry picked up his second win in as many appearances on the young season, throwing three innings of one-run ball.
Nick Gatewood with a 2-RBI double down the left field line. #Padres #TinCaps @TinCaps pic.twitter.com/i4gmEr7Ssi
— James E. Clark (@EVT_JClark) April 9, 2019
Ramon Perez- 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K (77 pitches/47 strikes)
Xavier Edwards– (2-5), 2 Runs, BB, K, SB
Tucupita Marcano– (2-5), Run, RBI, 2 K
Nick Gatewood- (2-5), 2 RBI, 2B, K
Henry Henry- 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 K (36 pitches/26 strikes)
Tuesday’s Matchups
El Paso– Jerry Keel vs. TBD (Tacoma)
Amarillo– Emmanuel Ramirez vs. James Naile (Midland)
Lake Elsinore– TBD vs. Will Gaddis (Lancaster)
Fort Wayne– TBD vs. Jared Solomon (Dayton)
Growing up in Dodgers country, Bradley would proudly display his Padres fandom through the roughest years of non competitiveness and rebuilding. With the Padres on the verge of contending, he’s excited to get the opportunity to cover them on a regular basis along with their minor league system.