Down on the Farm: July 22 (Potts & Torrens Continue to Hit Well, El Paso Wins Big)
The minor league affiliates for the San Diego Padres were 3-5 on Sunday.
Here is a quick recap of the day’s action.
El Paso Chihuahuas (54-47) Won 10-3
On a day that saw each six of eight positional players get at least one base hit, the Chihuahuas put on a hitting clinic to take the series against the Sacramento River Cats. Jerry Keel had one of his finest starts in Triple-A, pitching seven innings of two-run ball while striking out three batters. Brett Nicholas couldn’t be stopped at the plate, having a four-hit day that included two double and five RBI, while Javier Guerra and Diego Goris each picked up two RBI of their own. Luis Urias continued to show great plate discipline after his appearance in the MLB Futures Game, picking up a base hit while walking twice.
Brett Nicholas: 4-5, 2 2B, 5 RBI, 2 R
Diego Goris: 2-4, 2 RBI, R, K
Luis Urias: 1-3, 2 R, 2 BB
Javier Guerra: 1-4, 3B, 2 RBI, 3 K
Jerry Keel: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, ER, BB, 3 K (78 pitches-55 strikes) Win
San Antonio Missions (58-41) Lost 7-3
The Missions struggled to wake their bats up in the game, resulting in a split series against the Frisco Roughriders. San Antonio struggled against Frisco starter Pedro Payano, picking up only two hits in six and two-thirds innings. One hit being a solo home run by Taylor Kohlwey. Frisco hitter had no problem hitting off of San Antonio starter Jesse Scholtens, as Scholtens was hit hard to the tune of seven runs on thirteen hits with three allowed in his final inning. Buddy Reed had a two-RBI double in the seventh inning as he continues to try and figure out Double-A pitching.
Buddy Reed: 2-3, 2 RBI, 2B, BB
Josh Naylor: 1-4
Taylor Kohlwey: 1-3, HR, RBI, 2 R, BB, K
Jesse Scholtens: 6 2/3 IP, 13 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (101 pitches-68 strikes) Loss
T.J Weir: 1 1/3 IP, H, K (17 pitches-13 strikes)
Lake Elsinore Storm (50-51) Won 8-5
The Storm have been on a roll as of late, winning their sixth game and bringing them one win closer to a .500 record. Leading the charge was Hudson Potts, who gave Lake Elsinore the lead with his two-run single in the fifth inning, while Luis Torrens smacked his 25th double on the season to score Eguy Rosario and cap off a five-run rally. Potts and Torrens continue to hit well at the High-A level as the two have compiled batting lines of .279/.347/.518 and .287/.326/.415 respectively and could be earning themselves a ticket to San Antonio if they can keep up the pace. Ronald Bolanos pitched well in six innings, giving up three runs on five hits while striking out seven.
Hudson Potts: 2-5, 2 RBI, K
Luis Torrens: 3-4, 2B, RBI, BB, K
Marcus Greene Jr: 2-3, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2B, BB, K
Jorge Ona: 1-5, 2 RBI, K
Ronald Bolanos: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 R, BB, 7 K (93 pitches-60 strikes) Win
Fort Wayne TinCaps (45-52) Lost Game 1- 7-5
Making up yesterday’s game after rain forced a suspension of play, the TinCaps allowed a four-run fifth inning before falling in Game 1. The falling was no joke, as multiple players slipped on both the field and plate, including starter MacKenzie Gore. Gore slipped three or four times in his outing and the harsh conditions may have rattled him, as he allowed three runs in a shortened start. One instance saw Gore strike a batter out and said batter nearly performed the splits in the batter’s box, thanks to the mud. When play resumed, Aaron Leasher took over on the mound, but allowed four runs in his two and two-thirds innings pitched. Fort Wayne had RBI hits from Luis Campusano and Esteury Ruiz, who continue to have solid campaigns in Fort Wayne with the two compiling batting lines of .284/.341/.356 and .261/.332/.425 respectively.
Luis Campusano: 3-5, 2B, RBI, R
Esteury Ruiz: 1-4, RBI, R, BB, 3 K
Nick Feight: 2-4, RBI, R
MacKenzie Gore: 2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (46 pitches-27 strikes) Loss
Aaron Leasher: 2.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 K (73 pitches-41 strikes) No Decision
Fort Wayne TinCaps (45-53) Lost Game 2- 4-2
Fort Wayne’s offense stalled out again in a seven inning Game 2, and their loss not only represented a Clinton sweep of the doubleheader, but their fifth straight loss and their ninth in the last ten games. Osvaldo Hernandez was snake bitten by two errors, one in the second inning and one in the third. Kelvin Melean‘s error in the second allowed the inning to continue and led to a three-run home run, while Gabriel Arias‘ throwing error the next inning led to a fourth unearned run on a sacrifice fly. Hernandez pitched six innings while allowing the four runs, striking out seven in the process. Luis Campusano scored the first run for the TinCaps with a RBI single in the first, while Arias had a RBI hit in the sixth inning to score Jeisson Rosario.
Luis Campusano: 2-3, RBI
Gabriel Arias: 1-3, RBI, E
Esteury Ruiz: 1-3, 2B, R
Jeisson Rosario: 1-3, R, K
Osvaldo Hernandez: 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 0 ER, BB, 7 K (84 pitches-57 strikes) Loss
Tri-City Dust Devils (18-19) Won 5-4
Thanks to a wild pitch uncorked by Eugene reliever Stephen Ridings, the Dust Devils took the lead in the eighth inning and never looked back, and the team is now one win away from a .500 record. Two Eugene errors led to three unearned runs for Tri-City, while a RBI single from Grant Little and a solo home run from Luis Asuncion certainly helped the cause. Starter Henry Henry only got through four innings, allowing three runs to cross the plate. Shortstop Owen Miller, the Padres third-round pick in the most recent MLB Draft, continues to do nothing but hit in Tri-City, as he is now hitting .315 after a two-hit game.
Owen Miller: 2-4
Grant Little: 1-3, RBI, R, K, SB
Luis Asuncion: 1-3, HR, RBI, R, K
Aldemar Burgos: 2-3, R, 3B, BB
Henry Henry: 4 IP, 5 H, 3R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K (76 pitches-48 strikes) No Decision
AZL Padres 1 (10-16) Lost 6-3
The young Padres squad struggled to string together quality at-bats today as a desperate last gasp in the ninth inning was quickly snuffed out. The Padres pitching was also hit hard as starter Efrain Contreras and reliever Reiss Knehr allowed a combined five runs on ten hits while in six innings of combined pitching. A Nick Gatewood single in the first inning brought a run home, while Luis Guzman‘s RBI single in the ninth inning got the Padres just a little bit closer, but a strikeout followed by double play erased any hope of a rally. Xavier Edwards swiped his ninth bag while walking for the seventh time, showing off both great plate discipline while being a menace on the basebaths.
Reinaldo Ilarraza: 1-3, RBI, R, BB
Nick Gatewood: 1-4, RBI, 2 K
Luis Guzman: 1-2, RBI, K
Jaquez Williams: 2-4, 2B, 2 K
Efrain Contreras: 4 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 R, BB, 5 K Loss
AZL Padres 2 (15-12) Lost 11-6
The Padres pitching got hammered often, as pitcher Joey Cantillo, Tyler Mortensen and Dominic Taccolini were torched for four, four and three runs respectively. Mortensen and Taccolini in particular saw their ERA jump to 12.27 and 11.25 on the young season. The Padres offense did their best to keep themselves in the game and a five-run rally in the fourth inning gave the team a two-run lead, but the Padres bullpen couldn’t keep the lead and surrendered two runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
Sean Gulibe: 2-3, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 2B, 2 BB, K, SB
Alison Quintero: 1-5, RBI, 2B, K
Hunter Jarmon: 1-3, RBI, R, 2B, K
Joey Cantillo: 4 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 4 R, BB, 5 K No Decision
Tyler Mortenson: 2 1/3 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 4 R, 3 BB, K Loss
Probable Pitchers for Monday’s games
San Antonio: Jake Nix
Lake Elsinore: TBD
Fort Wayne: TBD
Tri-City: Adrian Martinez
AZL Padres 1 & 2: TBD
DSL Padres: TBD
I am currently attending San Diego State University while working on achieving a major in journalism. At SDSU, I write for The Daily Aztec while also hosting the sports radio show “Picked Off”, for KCR Radio. A loyal fan of San Diego sports, I hope to bring content that you will enjoy reading.