Down on the Farm: May 22 (Tatis Has Big Night in Rea’s Return, Nicholas Gets Four Hits)
The Padres’ farm system played a full schedule (and then some) on Tuesday night, going two and three in those contests.
The report for the evening’s games:
El Paso Chihuahuas (23-23) Won 11-6
The Chihuahuas broke out the big guns in Game 2 and pounded Rainiers pitching for an 11-6 win.
Austin Hedges launched a three-run homer in his second rehab game for El Paso. Brett Nicholas added a home run and Luis Urias reached base three times. Chris Huffman struggled early, but T.J. Weir picked up the slack in long relief and got the win.
Brett Nicholas (4-5), HR, 3 RBI, 2B, 3 R
Austin Hedges (1-5), HR, 3 RBI, R
Luis Urias (2-4), BB, RBI, 2 R
T.J. Weir 3.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Final score from Tacoma: El Paso 11, Tacoma 6. TJ Weir gets the win. Luis Urias reached base 3 times, Brett Nicholas had a HR and 3 RBI and Hedges had a 3-run shot. Lots of offense. Goodnight from Tacoma! @EVT_News #Padres pic.twitter.com/VCQozsSUsG
— Nick Lee (@NickLee51) May 23, 2018
San Antonio Missions (28-16) Lost 9-6
The Missions fell behind early to the Tulsa Drillers 2-0. Ty France made sure that didn’t last with a three-run homer in the bottom of the first, giving the Missions a 3-2 lead. Fernando Tatis Jr. followed that with a home run in the second, his ninth of the year, pushing the lead to 4-2. Colin Rea made his 2018 debut after a long battle back from Tommy John surgery. He only lasted 3 1/3 innings and allowed four runs. It was just good to see him back out there.
Tulsa tied the game up in the fourth, but France once again took matters into his own hands and drove in the go-ahead run in the fifth. Unfortunately, the bullpen could not hold and Tulsa led an onslaught in the later innings to win 9-6. Tatis finished a triple shy of the cycle and France had four RBI.
Fernando Tatis Jr. (3-4), HR, 2B, RBI, 4 R
Ty France (2-5), HR, 4 RBI, R
Josh Naylor (2-4), RBI, BB, R
Colin Rea 3.1 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Lake Elsinore Storm (19-25) Won 2-1Â
The story of the game was Adrian Morejon being scratched from his start for an undisclosed reason.
Adrian Morejon scratched from tonight’s start in Lake Elsinore #Padres More info to come
— James E. Clark 3 (@EVT_JClark) May 23, 2018
Ronald Bolanos was bumped up to start Tuesday’s game and did not disappoint. In a pinch, he threw four innings and allowed just one run with four walks and four strikeouts. Buddy Reed got the game started off with a bang with an inside-the-park home run, his eighth homer of the season. Hudson Potts then broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth with a fielder’s choice, which scored the go-ahead run to defeat the Lancaster JetHawks 2-1.
Buddy Reed (2-4), HR, RBI, R, SB
Edward Olivares (2-3), 2B, RBI, R
Ronald Bolanos 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K
Fort Wayne TinCaps (20-24) DH Lost 1-0, Lost 8-1
The TinCaps had to play a double-header in West Michigan against the Whitecaps. It started bright and early at 8am PDT (10am local time) and Osvaldo Hernandez had the start for Fort Wayne. He pitched six innings of shutout ball, allowing just five hits without walking a single batter, and struck out eight. Unfortunately, he got nothing in the form of run support as the Whitecaps pitched seven innings (minor league games are seven innings during a double-header) of shutout, four-hit ball and Fort Wayne lost 1-0.
The TinCaps did not fare much better in Game 2. Luis Patino had a strong debut, but his second start was not nearly as stellar. He lasted just 3 1/3 innings while getting tagged for seven earned runs and nine hits. The only run they could muster in the loss was a Juan Fernandez RBI double in the fifth inning, making it 8-1 which is where the score would hold.
Game 1:
Juan Fernandez (2-3)
Robbie Podorsky (2-2)
Osvaldo Hernandez 6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
Game 2:
Juan Fernandez (1-2), 2B, RBI
Luis Almanzar (0-2), BB, R
Gabriel Arias (1-3), 2B
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.