Down on the Farm: August 31- Lauer Nearly Perfect, Baez Pitches Well Too
Credit: MiLB
Padres affiliates were on 2-3 Thursday. Tri-City was off and so was the AZL Padres team.
The El Paso Chihuahuas won 5-1 on Thursday as Franchy Cordero had a monster night, going 4-4. The outfielder is poised to have a huge September with the Padres if the team can find him at bats. His plate discipline is improving, as is his general value. The young Dominican could be a huge piece to the future and is seldom talked about as a possible future piece. Nick Buss homered in the victory, which was his 11th of the year. Chris Huffman pitched well, going six solid innings for the win.
The Missions are just flat-out dominant. Nobody in the Texas League wants to play them. On Thursday, Eric Lauer was essentially one pitch away from being perfect in his seven innings of work. Lauer only allowed a mere single, and out-dueled fellow lefty A.J. Puk to earn the victory. Lauer’s ERA is down to 3.93 on the year in San Antonio after a rough start. He has made some quality adjustments to his mechanics and seems destined to progress within the system. T.J. Weir threw the final two innings, as the Missions held Midland to four hits on the night in the 5-0 victory. Ty France, Franmil Reyes, and Stephen McGee all had two hits for the Missions in the win.
On the road, the Storm were shutout 3-0 by Modesto. This was the 10th time the team was held scoreless this season. Lake Elsinore sent Will Headean to the mound to start the game on Thursday. The left-handed pitcher, taken in the 13th round of the 2015 draft, went 2.1 innings and was followed by Trevor Frank, Jose Ruiz, David Bednar, and Colby Blueberg in a game that featured little Storm offense. The team only managed three hits on the night, while striking out nine times.
In Fort Wayne, the TinCaps could not capitalize on a quality start from Michael Baez. He went seven strong, striking out five and only allowing one run. Flame throwing, Mexican right-handed pitcher Andres Munoz relieved Baez and allowed one run on one hit. The teenager constantly throws in the upper 90’s, but has much work to do with his mechanics. Jose Galindo gave up two runs in the 10th as the TinCaps lost a vital game for their playoff hopes. Jack Suwinski went 4-5 on the night and A.J. Kennedy hit a home run in the 4-2 loss.
The AZL Padres lost 9-3 as Luis Patino was roughed up a bit in his 4.2 innings of work. The right-handed pitcher has a big-time arm, but is still 17, and speed bumps in the road were bound to happen. He did strike out seven on the night, but his lack of command has been an issue so far. Erick Aybar got his second start at short for the Padres and went 1-3 on the night before being replaced by Jordy Barley late in the game. Left-handed-hitting first baseman Jaquez Williams slugged a home run for the Padres in the loss.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 5-1) 71-67 Overall
Chris Huffman 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Franchy Cordero (4-4) 2 2b, RBI, Run
Nick Buss (2-3) HR, RBI, Run, SB
San Antonio Missions (Won 5-0) 77-58 Overall
Eric Lauer 7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 9 K
Ty France (2-4) 2 2b, RBI, Run
Franmil Reyes (2-5) 2b, Run
Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost 3-0) 62-74 Overall
Will Headean 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
David Bednar 2 IP, 1 H, 3 K
Michael Gettys (1-4) SB
Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 4-2) 66-70 Overal
Michael Baez 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 5 K
Jack Suwinski (4-5) 2 2b
Hudson Potts (1-4) 2b, RBI, BB
Tri-City Dust Devils
Off
AZL Padres (Lost 9-3) 24-30 Overall
Luis Patino 4.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
Jaquez Williams (1-3) HR, 2 RBI, Run, BB
Greg Lambert (2-4) RBI
AZL Padres 2
Off
DSL Padres
Season Over
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.