The San Diego Padres’ minor league affiliates continued their regular seasons on Thursday, with the teams going 2-2 in regular season play. 

Here is a recap of the night’s events. 

El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 7-6 vs Las Vegas) (5-7 on the season)

Trenton Brooks – 2-for-4. Walk-off Home Run

Brett Sullivan – 1-for-4, Two RBI

Jared Kollar – 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 K (73 pitches – 44 strikes)

El Paso’s early four-run inning was not enough to lead to a win on Thursday, but Trenton Brooks’s ninth-inning walk-off home run sealed the deal for El Paso. The team got offensive contributions up and down the lineup, with every member of the starting lineup recording at least one hit. Tyler Wade reached base twice out of the leadoff spot in the order and drove in a run, while Luis Campusano had two base hits of his own, one to left and right field. Campusano continues to hit the ball hard, just right at opposing fielders, as his base hits have not eclipsed the 95 mph threshold of being a “hard-hit ball”.

Brett Sullivan and Nate Mondou, who have seen more time at different positions in 2025, each had one hit but drove in two runs on said hit. Notably, Tirso Ornelas had another hard-hit extra-base hit, with a 95.7 mph double to right field in the second inning. Ornelas was pinch run for in the fifth inning, but he was also hit by a pitch in the upper midsection two batters before leaving the game. While running the bases, Ornelas showed no signs of discomfort, so his status remains up for question for the next game. 

Right-hander Jared Kollar had his best start of the season thus far, tossing four innings and allowing three earned runs. The Chihuahuas’ starter allowed four hits in those four frames, with eight whiffs recorded on 35 swings. While these numbers aren’t the flashiest, the right-hander is showing improvement after a dreadful first pair of starts. Thursday was also Kollar’s second consecutive start without allowing a home run, a sign of promise for a pitcher who has seen a spike in his fly ball rates from Double-A to Triple-A.

Left-hander Omar Cruz allowed no runs in two innings of relief, with his fastball topping out at 94.6 mph. Cruz leaned more on his curveball than his changeup in his outing, but both continued to show above-average whiff and chase rates. Right-hander Ethan Routzahn allowed two runs in the seventh inning, and Austin Davis surrendered the game’s tying run, with Aviators outfielder C.J. Alexander crushing a 90.9 mph sinker to dead center for a home run. 

With the game tied going into the ninth inning, right-hander Reiss Knehr entered, and in relief, his arsenal flashed impressive velocity and movement. Knehr’s velocity was up significantly all across the board, averaging 95.6 mph on his fastball and 89.9 mph on his changeup. An 89.9 mph changeup with 15 inches of horizontal break? Yes please. Knehr retired the side in the ninth, and in the bottom of the inning, Trenton Brooks led off by turning on a 2-0 fastball down-and-in and sending it deep down the right field line. The towering fly ball landed just inside the foul pole for a walk-off home run, the Chihuahuas’ first of the season. 

Trenton Brooks belts a home run over the right field fence for the walk-off win! Chihuahuas win 7-6! pic.twitter.com/ODbOabgDIt

— El Paso Chihuahuas (@epchihuahuas) April 11, 2025

El Paso returns to play Friday evening, with right-hander Stephen Kolek scheduled to start. 

San Antonio Missions (Won 4-3 in 10 innings vs Corpus Christi) (5-1 on the season)

Marcos Castanon – 4-for-4, Double, RBI

Tyler Robertson – 0-for-1, Sac Fly, RBI

Jagger Haynes – 3 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 4 K (63 pitches – 34 strikes)

San Antonio’s Marcos Castanon had his first four-hit night of the season, just one day after his teammate Romeo Sanabria posted his own four-hitter. While Sanabria would go hitless in the game, he was able to drive in the go-ahead and, ultimately, game-winning run. 

Jagger Haynes started for the Missions, and his results were certainly mixed. While Haynes did punch out four batters, his command was erratic at other times, as the southpaw balked twice and threw two wild pitches. Two of the three runs Haynes allowed came on wild pitches, with the third coming on a home run given up to Pascanel Ferreras. Despite the short start, Haynes has shown signs of progression in his two starts thus far and is certainly an arm to watch going forward. Reliever Miguel Cienfuegos was lights out in the middle innings, tossing three hitless innings. 

San Antonio did not have many baserunners in the ballgame, registering four hits and four walks, but the team was able to move runners to score runs. Marcos Castanon hit an RBI double, Ethan Salas scored on a wild pitch, and a Tyler Robertson sac fly scored Castanon. Romeo Sanabria drove in the winning run on a ground ball to the left side in the tenth, and reliever Manuel Castro shut out the Hooks for the final three outs to close out the Missions’ victory. 

San Antonio returns to play Friday in Corpus Christi, with Henry Baez scheduled to start. 

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 5-1 vs Dayton) (3-3 on the season)

Rosman Verdugo – 2-for-4, Two Doubles

Brandon Butterworth – RBI Single

Jose Luis Reyes – 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 3 K (76 pitches – 46 strikes)

The TinCaps’ offense was unable to fire on all cylinders, as the team fell 5-1 against the Dayton Dragons. Right-hander Jose Luis Reyes, who rose to the occasion in Fort Wayne after posting a 6.94 ERA in 70 innings in Lake Elsinore, made his season debut for the TinCaps. The Mexicali native tossed five innings in Dayton, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits. Reyes posted a 2.89 ERA in 23 innings with Fort Wayne last season, and he looks to be an inning-eating presence in this rotation. 

Rosman Verdugo had his best offensive output of the young season, going 2-for-4 with two doubles. The 20-year-old infielder looks to rebound from a tough 25-game stint with the ‘Caps last season, and getting multiple extra-base hits can be the start of that road for Verdugo. Braedon Karpathios reached base twice, once via the walk, raising his season OPS to .917, and Brandon Butterworth drove in the team’s lone run with an RBI single. Butterworth, who has seen time at both middle infield positions in his brief pro career, has shown a penchant for solid contact in his time at Single-A and now High-A and could be a player who gains traction as a prospect this season. 

Fort Wayne looks to stop a two-game skid on Friday, with Enmanuel Pinales confirmed as the team’s starter. 

Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost 18-4 vs Modesto) (0-6 on the season)

Kaden Hollow – 2-for-4, RBI SIngle

Zach Evans – 1-for-3, Sac Fly

Boston Bateman – 3.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 4 K (65 pitches – 36 strikes)

A game that began as must-watch TV unfortunately became everything but, as Lake Elsinore’s pitching staff allowed a season-high 18 runs in their sixth consecutive loss. Left-hander and 2024 second-round pick Boston Bateman started for Lake Elsinore, and the man they call “Sasquatch” flashed the tools that make him a projectable prospect. Bateman’s fastball and sinker were sitting mid-to-upper 90s throughout his outing, topping out at 97 mph. Despite the impressive velocity and the unconventionality of his release point (given his astonishing 6-foot-8 height, Bateman allowed four runs in 3.1 innings, with one run coming across after he left the game. The Lake Elsinore bullpen showed an alarming lack of command, as four relievers combined to allow 14 runs. Miguel Valdez again did not have his command, walking three in one-third of an inning, while Jesus Lopez allowed five runs in one inning of work. The only reliever to pitch scoreless ball was Colton Vincent, and if you’re saying, “He’s a catcher, not a reliever,” you would be correct. It was just that kind of day for the Storm, unfortunately.

At the plate, Kaden Hollow drove in one of the Storm’s four runs, singling in the first to score Sean Barnett. Barnett also had an RBI single, and Zach Evans hit an RBI sacrifice fly in the loss as well. The team’s lineup earned seven hits and six walks, but it was simply too steep a hole to climb out of. Ryan Jackson and Kasen Wells each stole two bases in the ballgame, and left fielder Spence Coffman logged an outfield assist in the ballgame. 

The Storm return to action on Friday night, with Maikel Miralles in line to start. 

Friday’s Probable Pitchers:

El Paso – RHP Stephen Kolek

San Antonio – RHP Henry Baez

Fort Wayne – RHP Enmanuel Pinales

Lake Elsinore – RHP Maikel Miralles

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.