Padres Down on the Farm: July 12 (El Paso splits doubleheader/Acosta debuts in DSL with homer)
San Diego Padres affiliates went 1-2 on Monday as El Paso made up Sunday’s game with a doubleheader. The DSL Padres began their season as well.
San Antonio, Fort Wayne, and Lake Elsinore all had off days.
Here is a recap of the day’s events.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 8-7 vs. Oklahoma City) (Lost 2-0 vs. Oklahoma City) (25-32 on the season)
Game One:
Jerry Keel: 6 IP, 9 H, 7 R, (2 ER), 3 K, 1 BB, RBI (103 pitches, 63 strikes)
Ivan Castillo: (3-for-4), 1 RBI, CS
Taylor Kohlwey: (1-for-4), HR, R, 4 RBI
Matt Batten: (2-for-4), R, RBI, 2B
The Chihuahuas finished off an improbable seven-run comeback in the first game of the doubleheader. Three errors from the Chihuahuas defense allowed Oklahoma City to jump out to a seven-run lead after the top of the fifth inning, but El Paso battled back. El Paso instantly responded, with Jerry Keel helping himself out by driving in the first run. Matt Batten singled home Nick Tanielu while also loading the bases for Taylor Kohlwey. Kohlwey instantly brought the game to within one, but not in the normal way. A misplayed line drive got past Oklahoma City center fielder DJ Peters, and Kohlwey hit an inside-the-park grand slam.
Ivan Castillo tied the game with a single in the bottom of the sixth, but there was more heroics to come for the Chihuahuas. In the seventh inning, Jordan Guerrero loaded the bases with one out but struck out back-to-back Dodgers players to keep the game tied. Mason Thompson came into the game in the eighth, after Guerrero allowed the first two batters to reach base. Thompson worked his way out of that jam and sent the game to the bottom of the eighth, still tied at seven. Gosuke Katoh, who came into the game after it restarted, hit a clutch tie-breaking home run. Thompson finished the game off, and the Chihuahuas completed the improbable comeback.
Game Two:
Evan Miller: 3 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 3 K (45 pitches, 29 strikes)
Luis Campusano: (3-for-3)
Taylor Kohlwey: (2-for-3)
Matt Batten: (2-for-3), K
The Chihuahuas offense took the second game off, not picking up a single extra-base hit. With the exception of Luis Campusano, Taylor Kohlwey, and Matt Batten, the Chihuahuas didn’t pick up a hit from any of the other five position players. In the seven-inning game, the Chihuahuas pitchers were solid, but Evan Miller wasn’t able to get out of trouble in the third and let the two Dodgers runs score.
The Chihuahuas weren’t able to take advantage of two Oklahoma City errors and just couldn’t string together base hits or get a big one at the right time. Luis Campusano continued to show his top talent, picking up three singles, but there wasn’t anyone on base for him to drive in.
San Antonio Missions: (29-30 on the season)
Scheduled day off.
Fort Wayne TinCaps: (26-33 on the season)
Scheduled day off.
Lake Elsinore Storm: (26-34 on the season)
Scheduled day off.
DSL Padres (Lost 6-1 to DSL BlueJays) (0-1 on the season)
Victor Acosta- (2-for-3) HR, Run, RBI, 2 SB, BB, K
Daniel Montesino- (1-for-4) K
Hugo Sanchez- (1-for-3) 2 K
Miguel Mendez- 2 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, BB
17-year-old Victor Acosta put on a show in the DSL on Monday. The switch-hitter went 2-for-3 with a homer and two stolen bases. The shortstop will probably spend the entire season in the Dominican but will debut in the States very soon. Acosta brings a lot of tools with him to the field. He will be a prospect to monitor in the coming years. The DSL Padres started the season with a loss as they could not get much going offensively, except for Acosta.
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Tuesday’s Probables
El Paso: Jesse Scholtens (3-6) (5.77 ERA)
San Antonio: TBD
Fort Wayne: Erik Sabrowski (1-0) (1.29 ERA)
Lake Elsinore: TBD
DSL Padres- TBD
Sam is a Senior in High School. He has been writing for three years, and started at EVT in June of 2021. He’s headed to Syracuse’s Newhouse School of Communications in the fall of 2023.