Padres Down on the Farm: July 30 (Strahm pitches well in EP/Allen Cordoba 3 hits/Merrill 2 more hits in ACL)
Credit: Chihuahuas
The San Diego Padres affiliates went 3-2 on Friday night.
Here is a quick recap of the action.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 6-3 against Sugar Land Skeeters) (30-42 on the season)
Brian O’Grady– 1-for-3, HR, RBI, R, 2 BB, 2 K
Pedro Florimon– 2-for-4, HR, 2B, RBI, R, BB, K
Gosuke Katoh– 2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, R, K
Luke Westphal– 3 IP, H, 3 ER, 6 BB, 2 K (No Decision)
Matt Strahm– 1.2 IP, 2 K
A bullpen day started by Luke Westphal seemed like it was going downhill in a hurry. Four walks, a wild pitch, and a groundball resulted in three runs for Sugar Land after Pedro Florimon gave the Chihuahuas an early lead.
El Paso slowly chipped away at their deficit as runs scored in the fourth and fifth inning to tie the game. The final outburst came in the eighth inning, with a single and double putting runners on second and third. Facing a new pitcher in Enoli Paredes, Gosuke Katoh greeted him by blasting his first pitch into right field for a three-run home run.
Matt Strahm made another scoreless appearance, striking out two and throwing 17 of 22 pitches for strikes.
San Antonio Missions (Won 7-5 against Amarillo Sod Poodles) (37-38 on the season)
Allen Cordoba– 3-for-5, HR, 3B, 2 RBI, R, K
Jose Azocar– 2-for-4, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, R, BB
Juan Fernandez– 1-for-4, HR, RBI, 2 R, 2 K
Adrian Martinez– 5.1 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, BB, 6 K (No Decision)
James Reeves– 2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER (3 R), 3 K (Win)
Instead of a shootout, Amarillo and San Antonio engaged in a war of attrition as both starting pitchers kept the hitters guessing with their stuff. Adrian Martinez continued his stellar season, striking out six batters and pitched into the sixth inning.
After swapping zeroes for five innings, Juan Fernandez put up the first run after putting a 2-2 Ryne Nelson pitch over the left-center field fence.
After getting an insurance run in the top of the ninth, the Sod Poodles rallied in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game. Both sides swapped three-run innings in the tenth before Allen Cordoba put the nail in Amarillo’s coffin with an eleventh inning three-run homer. James Reeves then pitched a 1-2-3 bottom half of the inning to secure a San Antonio win.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 9-6 against Lancaster Lugnuts) (35-41 on the season)
Jonny Homza– 2-for-5, 2 RBI, R, BB, K
Luis Almanzar– 2-for-4, 2 RBI, BB
Justin Lopez– 1-for-2, RBI, 2 BB, K
Reinaldo Ilarraza– 2-for-5, R, K
Connor Lehman- 2.2 IP, 8 H, 6 ER (7 R), 2 BB, K (Loss)
Connor Lehman’s first High-A start didn’t go the way Fort Wayne planned. The former seventh-round pick got pummeled for seven runs on eight hits and failed to get out of the third inning.
The Tincaps offense didn’t go down without a fight. Scoring two runs in the third, fourth and sixth innings, Fort Wayne was down by just a run after the bullpen returned to form to freeze Lancaster.
The Lugnuts, however, buckled down to hold off the Tincaps’ attack to survive the game and take the win.
Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost 3-0 to the Fresno Grizzlies ) (33-43 on the season)
Brandon Valenzuela– 2-for-4, 2B, 2 K
Robert Hassell III- 0-for-1, 3 BB, CS
Noel Vela– 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER (2 R), 2 BB, 5 K (Loss)
Noel Vela’s eighth loss of the season may not have been entirely his fault. Costly errors by the Lake Elsinore infield allowed two Fresno runs to cross the plate in the sixth inning.
Meanwhile, the Storm offense was silenced by four different pitchers. Lake Elsinore had their chances but always ran into trouble. In the third inning, Fresno turned a double play… by catching Bryan Torres trying to steal home and then throwing out Robert Hassell II at second base.
Angel Solarte tripled in the bottom of the sixth inning, but a strikeout and a groundout neutralized the threat for Fresno.
DSL Padres (9-4 on the season)
The DSL Padres match against the DSL Blue Jays was postponed.
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ACL Padres (Won 9-1 against ACL Royals) (8-13 on the season)
Jackson Merrill– 2-for-4, RBI, 2 R
Lucas Dunn– 3-for-4, 2 RBI, 3 R, 3B
James Wood– 2-for-4, RBI, R, K
Max Ferguson– 2-for-4, RBI, R, 2B
Wilton Castillo– 3 IP, 0 ER, BB, 4 K (No decision)
The 2021 San Diego draft class was well represented today. Jackson Merrill, Lucas Dunn, James Wood, and Max Ferguson went a combined 9-for-16 with 5 RBIs and seven runs scored.
While the lineup was buoyed by the top four hitters, the Padres pitching staff was solid in seven innings, only allowing a single run in the final inning.
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.