Down on the Farm: August 26- Fort Wayne & Tri-City are Victorious in 11 Innings

The San Diego Padres affiliates went 3-5 on Saturday. El Paso had a doubleheader and the Missions were rained out.

In El Paso, the Chihuahuas split a doubleheader with the Sacramento River Cats. Dillon Overton was knocked around in game one, as he allowed five earned runs on eight hits in his three innings pitched. The left-handed pitcher has not been able to get on track since being claimed by the Padres from the Seattle Mariners. Recently demoted Hunter Renfroe hit a two-run homer in the seventh and went 1-3 on the night for El Paso. Diego Goris homered in the seventh as well, and Christian Villanueva went 2-3 with a run scored in the 7-4 loss. Christian Bethancourt threw one inning and allowed a two-run homer to outfielder Orlando Calixte. The Chihuahuas were able to earn the split behind the arm of right-handed pitcher Chris Huffman. He went 5.1 innings, striking out seven batters and walking one without allowing a run to score. Backup catcher Rocky Gale recorded two hits and Christian Villanueva once again went 2-3 for El Paso. Padres fans should see him in September.

The Storm lost 2-1, despite a quality start from Logan Allen. The ace of the rotation went six innings, allowing only one run on six hits while striking out seven Lancaster batters. Trevor Frank was hung with the loss in his one inning of relief. Ruddy Giron hit his seventh home run of the season and Rod Boykin recorded two hits, stole a base, and walked in his three plate appearances on the night.

Fort Wayne is keeping their playoff hopes alive. The TinCaps won 7-6 in 11 innings at Lansing, as they improve to 10-3 against the team in the 2017 season. Jack Suwinski homered and recorded three hits in total. Newly promoted defensive wizard Gabriel Arias went 3-5 on the day and scored three runs. DH Tyler Selesky hit a two-run double in the top of the 11th that proved to be the difference. Hansel Rodriguez threw the last 2.2 innings, striking out five and allowing one run on three hits. Nate Easley went 0-6 with five strikeouts.

The Hillsboro Hops hosted Tri-City on Saturday night. The Dust Devils won 8-3, as the team scored five runs in the top of the 11th inning. Robbie Podorsky slugged a three-run home run in that inning, which was his third hit of the night. The outfielder has quickly made a name for himself in the short-season league. Justin Lopez and Tre Carter both recorded two hits for Tri-City. Ben Sheckler threw well for the team, going seven strong and only allowing one earned run to score. Evan Miller, Andres Munoz, and Wilmer Torres went four scoreless innings in relief.

The AZL Padres team lost 5-3 in the desert. Sam Keating, the teams 4th round pick out of a high school in Florida, went four strong innings, allowing two earned runs to score. Jonny Homza continues to get a look behind the plate as he caught for the team Saturday night. He went 1-3 with the bat. The Alaskan teen has a high baseball IQ, so the transition has been relatively smooth.

The other AZL team lost 4-0, as they could not get anything going offensively. The team struck out 10 times collectively as Mason House, Blake Hunt, and Tirso Ornelas each K’d twice. These young hitters have occasional issues with plate discipline and will have games like this. House did walk once and also did record a hit for the Padres team.

In the DSL, the Dominican team lost 5-3 and fell 23 games below .500. This squad has been playing sub-par all season long. The team cannot get anything going offensively, and one of its most consistent hitters and starting catcher, Blinger Perez, is now in Arizona and playing with the AZL team. Yordi Francisco has also played well this season for the team and the 20-year-old, left-handed hitter could earn a promotion soon.

El Paso Chihuahuas DH (Lost 7-4) (Won 1-0) 66-67 Overall

Game 1

Dillon Overton 3 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 3 K

Hunter Renfroe (1-3) HR, 2 RBI, Run

Diego Goris (2-3) HR, 2 RBI, Run

Game 2

Chris Huffman 5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 7 K

Christian Villanueva (2-3)

Rocky Gale (2-2)

San Antonio Missions

Rained Out

Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost 2-1) 60-72 Overall

Logan Allen 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 7 K

Ruddy Giron (1-3) HR, RBI, Run

Rod Boykin (2-2) BB

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Won 7-6) 65-67 Overall

Pedro Avila 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

Jack Suwinski (3-5) HR, 2 RBI, 2 Runs

Gabriel Arias (3-5) 3 Runs

Tri-City Dust Devils (Won 8-3) 38-31 Overall

Ben Sheckler 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 K

Robbie Podorsky (3-6) HR 3 RBI, Run, SB

Tre Carter (2-5) 2 3b, 2 RBI, 2 Run

AZL Padres (Lost 5-3) 23-27 Overall

Sam Keating 4 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Esteury Ruiz (1-3) RBI

Jeisson Rosario (1-4) BB, Run

AZL Padres 2 (Lost 4-0) 28-20 Overall

Emmanuel Clase 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K

Oliver Basabe (1-3) 2b, BB

Mason House (1-3) BB

DSL Padres (Lost 5-3) 22-45 Overall

Luis Eusebio 4.2 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 K

Yide Araujo (2-4) HR, 2b, 2 RBI, Run

Yordi Francisco (1-5) RBI

James Clark

James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.