San Diego Padres minor league affiliates went 2-2 on Tuesday.

Here is a recap of the day’s events.

El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 7-2 vs Reno) (52-81 on the season)
Brandon Lockridge – 2-for-4, RBI Single
Eguy Rosario – 0-for-3, Sac Fly, RBI
Gabe Mosser – 4.2 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 4 BB, 3 K (92 pitches, 48 strikes)

El Paso’s offense failed to kick into gear against Reno starter Humberto Castellanos, as the right-hander scattered five hits in six innings. The Reno offense did not hold back against Chihuahuas starter Gabe Mosser, striking for three runs in the third inning and another three in the fifth. Mosser’s command wasn’t in its usual form from the get-go, as the right-hander continually missed location to the glove side. Mosser found himself in trouble in the second inning, as a double, walk, and balk put runners on second and third with one out. On a 3-0 pitch, former Padre Sergio Alcantara lined a single to right field, scoring Michael Perez from third. Bryson Brigman lined a hanging curveball to left field to score another run. With the bases loaded, Blaze Alexander hit a towering drive to center field that was caught by Brandon Lockridge, but Sergio Alcantara came in to score for a 3-0 Reno lead. Brigman got to Mosser again in the fourth, launching a home run to left center field, padding the Aces’ lead. The fifth inning saw Brigman and Alcantara once again drive in runs, and an RBI forceout off the bat of Brigman ended the outing for Mosser, who allowed seven runs on eight hits.

Brandon Lockridge led off the seventh with a double, reaching third on a single off the bat of Brett Sullivan. On a 1-1 pitch from Castellanos, Eguy Rosario drove a routine fly ball to right field, but a throwing error from right fielder Tim Tawa allowed Lockridge to score, bringing the score to 7-1. In the seventh inning, facing reliever Kyle Amendt, Kevin Plawecki and Brandon Valenzuela worked walks. Brandon Lockridge then cued an opposite-field single to score Plawecki. El Paso did not threaten further in the game, and while Valenzuela singled with two outs in the ninth, Clay Dungan battled for ten pitches before chasing a splitter low and away from Reno’s Scott McGough to end the game.

San Antonio Missions (Lost 6-0 vs Tulsa) (55-70 on the season)
Robert Perez Jr – 1-for-4, Double
Marcos Castanon – 1-for-4, Double
Miguel Cienfuegos – 4.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R (5 ER), 2 BB, 3 K (83 pitches, 52 strikes)

San Antonio mustered a meager three hits in a game that saw the team shut out 6-0. The Missions’ defensive game was not particularly strong either, as three fielding errors loomed large in the outcome of the game. Marcos Castanon and Robert Perez Jr each hit doubles in the game, but these were ultimately negated by a pair of costly baserunners caught stealing. Ripken Reyes was caught stealing on a strike-three double play in the first inning, and Connor Hollis found himself out after attempting a steal following a leadoff walk in the fifth.

Miguel Cienfuegos endured seemingly endless base traffic after a quiet first and second inning. While the left-hander escaped a runners on the corners, two-out jam in the third inning, the subsequent innings saw the Missions’ starter out of luck. After back-to-back singles to open the fourth, Yeiner Fernandez teed off a Cienfuegos pitch that was in the heart of the plate. Tulsa now led 3-0 and was pressing for more. With one out and a runner on second, catcher Michael De La Cruz made a throwing error on a steal attempt, allowing Chris Newell to score. Cienfuegos was back out for the fifth but immediately faced trouble. A one-out single brought Jose Ramos to the plate, and Ramos crushed the 1-2 pitch deep to left field, clearing the outfield seating lawn for a mammoth two-run homer. Cienfuegos’ day ended after that swing, as the left-hander allowed five earned runs in 4.1 innings. Relievers Jason Blanchard and Daniel Camarena pitched 3.2 scoreless innings of relief, but the Missions’ offense simply didn’t ignite, going hitless in the final four innings, ultimately being shut out 6-0.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Won 6-5 vs South Bend in 11 innings) (52-75 on the season)
Ethan Salas – 1-for-4, RBI Double
Tyler Robertson – 1-for-5, Walk-off RBI Double
Isaiah Lowe – 5 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K (83 pitches, 53 strikes)

The TinCaps’ lineup erased a late-inning 4-1 deficit to take their battle with the South Bend Cubs into extra innings, where Tyler Robertson played the role of hero. Isaiah Lowe toed the rubber for Fort Wayne and allowed two runs in five innings. Lowe ended a potential first-inning Cubs rally on a pickoff, but the Cubs made him work in the third. Pedro Ramirez tripled off Lowe to score Ariel Armas to tie the game, and a wild pitch from the right-hander scored Ramirez from third. Lowe walked two batters with two outs but limited the damage to two runs. The Cubs rallied in the fourth and fifth innings, but Lowe locked in and was able to get the opposing batters to hit the ball right at one of his fielders, stymying threats and frustrating the Cubs. Will Geerdes walked two batters in the sixth before Pedro Ramirez struck again. The Cubs’ DH lined a double to score two runs, bringing the score to 4-1.

Fort Wayne saw their TinCaps turn to rally caps in the seventh, as back-to-back two-out walks brought up Ethan Salas. Salas lined an opposite-field double to score Kai Murphy, cutting the deficit to 4-2. Devin Ortiz then struck a liner to right, scoring Rosman Verdugo and Salas, advancing himself to third on a throwing error from Ariel Armas. While the inning ended in a tie score, the TinCaps had some momentum. While the Cubs scored the automatic runner in the tenth inning, the TinCaps did the same. Joan Gonzalez tossed a scoreless eleventh for Fort Wayne, featuring a heads-up baseball play from Gonzalez to cut down the automatic runner at third. With Rosman Verdugo at second in the eleventh, Ethan Salas was plunked, bringing Tyler Robertson to the plate. Robertson was 0-for-4 to that point, but that mattered not in that moment. Robertson swung at the 1-1 from Jose Romero, and the ball landed over the head of left fielder Jordan Nwogu, scoring Verdugo from second and winning the game in walk-off fashion.

Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 14-8 vs Inland Empire) (69-56 on the season)
Brendan Durfee – 3-for-6, Three-Run Home Run
Lamar King Jr – 3-for-5, Double
Luis Gutierrez – 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K (70 pitches, 43 strikes)

In a game with a final score more reminiscent of one from the gridiron, the Lake Elsinore Storm tallied 18 hits in a victory over the Inland Empire 66ers. Starter Luis Gutierrez allowed one run over five innings. Gutierrez was efficient, tossing 70 pitches and striking out five. The southpaw did not walk a batter either, getting six of ten outs in play via the ground ball.

Lake Elsinore started their scoring slow, with a Chase Valentine double tying the game at one in the third , and Valentine came around to score on an RBI single off the bat of Jack Costello. In the fourth inning, the Storm loaded the bases before a passing ball scored Sean Barnett from third. On a two-out 2-2 pitch, Costello again singled, this time scoring Brandon Butterworth and Chase Valentine. The thunder came in the fifth inning, as Ryan Jackson drew a bases-loaded walk to open the scoring. Another passed ball scored Lamar King Jr, and Brandon Butterworth grounded out to score Braedon Karpathios. Chase Valentine singled to score Ryan Jackson, and Valentine came around to score on a single from Kai Roberts. With two on and two out, Brendan Durfee launched his second career home run, capping the scoring at 13-1 in favor of the Storm. Another wild pitch scored Lake Elsinore’s 14th run, and while Miguel Valdez allowed six runs (four earned) in two-plus innings, the lead was sizable enough, as Xavier Ruiz recorded the final four outs of the Storm’s 14-8 win.

Tuesday’s Probable Pitchers:
El Paso – Carl Edwards Jr.(1-2, 4.91 ERA)
San Antonio – Sam Whiting (0-2, 6.75 ERA)
Fort Wayne – Enmanuel Pinales (3-9, 3.60 ERA)
Lake Elsinore – TBD

Diego Garcia

A born and raised San Diegan, Diego Garcia is a lifetime Padres fan and self-proclaimed baseball nerd. Diego wrote about baseball on his own site between 2021-22 before joining the East Village Times team in 2024. He also posts baseball content on his YouTube channel “Stat Nerd Baseball”, creating content around trades, hypotheticals, player analyses, the San Diego Padres, and MLB as a whole.

A 2024 graduate of San Diego State, Diego aims to grow as a writer and content creator in the baseball community.