Down on the Farm: August 7- Michel Baez Continues Dominance
Credit: Ryan Cox
The San Diego Padres affiliates were 4-2 on Monday. Mackenzie Gore shut down the AZL Padres 2 team. The Missions and the Storm both had off days and will resume play on Tuesday.
In Fresno, the Chihuahuas broke out the lumber, as four different players (Franchy Cordero, Jabari Blash, Rafael Ortega, Rocky Gale) hit home runs in a 14-9 win. Michael Kelly failed to record an out in the first, allowing five runs (four earned) on five base on balls. That is right, he walked the first five batters of the game. Kelly is a dark horse candidate for a September call-up, but not with starts like that.
The San Antonio Missions enjoyed a day off on Monday. Cal Quantrill will get the start Tuesday against the Springfield Cardinals. He will look to improve on his 4.18 ERA at the Double-A level. Game time is at 5:05 PM PST.
The Storm were also off and will begin a three-game set against the Inland Empire 66ers on Tuesday. At 10 games under the .500 mark, the Storm look to build momentum on the rest of the 2017 season.
Michel Baez is becoming a household name for Padre fans, The big right-hander was dominant once again, going seven strong innings for the TinCaps. He induced plenty of weak contact as he features an above average curve and change. His mid to high 90’s fastball is hard enough to hit, but with those secondary pitches, he could be a very special player. Fernando Tatis and Reinaldo Ilarraza recorded two hits apiece.
Tri-City continues to win as the team was victorious 7-3 on Monday. Nick Margevicius, who was selected this June out of Rider University, went five shutout innings. He has a decent fastball/change combination that could play well as he develops. The left-handed pitcher is maintaining a 1.80 ERA early in his professional career. Three different Dust Devils recorded three hits apiece (Robbie Podorsky, Matthew Batten, Tre Carter) and Felipe Blanco went 2-4 on the night.
The two AZL Padres teams played against each other on Monday night, as Mackenzie Gore faced his teammates. The #1 pick went 3.1 solid innings and showed extreme poise out on the mound. He allowed one earned run on the night, while striking out five. Esteury Ruiz continues to impress, as he went 2-3 and stole two bases. Jordy Barley, Denzell Gowdy, and Gabriel Arias all had two hits in the rare inter-squad game.
In the Dominican Republic, the DSL team lost 3-0. Luis Eusebio failed to get out of the first inning, allowing three earned runs on one hit and four walks. His bad first inning was essentially the whole game, as once again the DSL team is either red hot or ice cold offensively. The majority of the team is hovering around the .200-.230 mark and nobody in the starting lineup is hitting .300 on the season. Blinger Perez did have two hits on Monday, as did Elvis Sabala.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 14-9) 55-60 Overall
Franchy Cordero (2-6) HR, 2 RBI, Run
Jabari Blash (2-3) HR, 2b, 4 RBI, BB, 2 Runs
Rafael Ortega (2-4) HR, 4 RBI, Run
San Antonio Missions
Off
Lake Elsinore Storm
Off
Fort Wayne TinCaps (Won 3-1) 55-59 Overall
Michel Baez 7 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 9 K
Fernando Tatis Jr. (2-5)
Reinaldo Ilarraza (2-4) 1 Run, BB, 2 SB
Tri-City Dust Devils (Won 7-3) 27-23 Overall
Nick Margevicius 5 IP, 2 H, 3 K
Robbie Podorsky (3-5) 2b, 2 RBI
Tre Carter (3-5) 3b, 2 RBI, Run
AZL Padres (Won 7-4) 18-17 Overall
Mackenzie Gore 3.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Esteury Ruiz (2-3) 3b, BB, Run, 2 SB’s
Denzell Gowdy (2-4) 2b, 2 Runs, 2 RBI
AZL Padres 2 (Lost 7-4) 19-15 Overall
Omar Fernandez 3 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Gabriel Arias (2-5) 2b, 2 RBI
Nick Feight (1-4) 2 Runs, 3b, RBI
DSL Padres (Lost 3-0) 17-32 Overall
Jorge Guerra 3.1 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 3 K
Blinger Perez (2-4)
Elvis Sabala (2-4) SB
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