Padres Down on the Farm: April 14 (Clevinger 2 IP, 5 K’s for LE/Merrill 4 H for LE/Rodriguez 2 HR, 6 RBIs for EP)
Credit: MiLB
The San Diego Padres affiliates went 3-2 as the Fort Wayne TinCaps played a double-header to make up a rained-out game from Wednesday.
Here is a recap of the action.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 7-5 vs. Oklahoma City) (6-3 on the season)
SP Jesse Scholtens – 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, BB, 6 K’s
C Luis Campusano – (3-for-5), 2 R, 0 K’s
3B Eguy Rosario – (2-for-5), HR, 2B, RBI, R
1B Aderlin Rodriguez – (2-for-5), 2 HR, 6 RBI
The Chihuahuas won their third in a row at home against Oklahoma City, beating the Dodgers in dramatic fashion 7-5. A solo home run by third baseman Eguy Rosario and a three-run homer by first baseman Aderlin Rodriguez led an early charge for El Paso that saw them jump ahead 4-0 after the first inning.
That four-run lead was held intact by Chihuahuas’ starting pitcher Jesse Scholtens who threw five scoreless innings while only allowing three hits while striking out six. Things looked to be going El Paso’s way until Scholtens was pulled, and the bullpen was called to relieve the starter after a strong outing. The Oklahoma City offense came to life thanks to poor defense by El Paso, including untimely errors, bases-loaded walks, and hit batters. After a disastrous showing by the bullpen that was aided by three errors by the defense, the 4-0 lead was erased by the eighth inning, and the Chihuahuas trailed 5-4 heading into the ninth inning.
Just as he had in the first inning, Rodriguez came to the plate for El Paso in the bottom of the ninth with two runners on and delivered another 3-run home run. This time, to walk it off for El Paso and salvage a game that saw them blow a lead late in the game, thanks to some ugly defensive play.
San Antonio Missions (Lost 6-3 to Frisco) (2-4 on the season)
RP Moises Lugo – 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, 5 K’s
RP Nolan Watson – 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K’s
1B Brandon Dixon – (1-for-3), 3B, RBI, R
CF Esteury Ruiz – (1-for-2), BB, RBI, R, 2 SB
After falling behind 2-0 early to the Frisco RoughRiders on Thursday night, the Missions clawed their way back to take a 3-2 lead after six innings in a back-and-forth game. Unfortunately for San Antonio, they were not able to hold that lead for long, as Frisco took advantage of some shaky defense by the Missions in the eighth inning. A fielding error by Missions’ shortstop Korry Howell led to the tying run crossing the plate, which eventually started a collapse of sorts for San Antonio. Later in the inning, Frisco first baseman Jordan Procyshen put the RoughRiders up for good 6-3 with a three-run home run.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (Split Double-Header vs. South Bend: Lost 7-2, Won 6-2) (3-3 on the season)
stats for both games combined:
CF Robert Hassell III – (4-for-8), 2 R, SB, K
SS Jarryd Dale – (3-for-6), 2-run HR, 3B, 4 RBIs
DH Joshua Mears – (1-for-7), 2 RBIs, R, BB
SP Robert Gasser – 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 9 K’s
After being rained out on Wednesday night, the TinCaps and Cubs played two 7-inning games Thursday, splitting the two games 7-2 (TinCaps loss) and 6-2 (TinCaps win). The first game, which saw the TinCaps play a pretty uneventful game, was one of the worst games of the early season so far for Fort Wayne. The TinCaps fell behind early and failed to do much on offense, falling behind 7-0 and only managing two runs in the sixth inning, eventually losing 7-2.
The second game was a much better game for the TinCaps, jumping out to a 5-0 lead thanks to a 2-run triple and a 2-run triple by shortstop Jarryd Dale as well as an RBI double by Joshua Mears. Top-prospect Robert Hassell III had his mark all over game two, with two hits, two runs, and a stolen base out of the lead-off spot. Starting pitcher Robert Gasser led the way for the Fort Wayne pitching staff, throwing four innings of two-run ball while striking out nine in his short outing.
Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 14-3 vs. Visalia) (2-4 on the season)
SP Mike Clevinger – 2.0 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K’s
RP Jairo Iriarte – 4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, 7 K’s
SS Jackson Merrill – (4-for-5), 2 R, 2 RBI, BB
1B Matthew Acosta – (2-for-4), 2 R, RBI, BB, K
The Storm welcomed San Diego Padres’ starting pitcher Mike Clevinger on Thursday night, who was making his first rehab start on his way back to the big leagues. Clevinger was awesome in his two innings of work, striking out five and allowing only one hit, which was the first pitch of the game.
Clevinger looked good coming back from right knee soreness, which paused his comeback attempt with the big league club after missing all of 2021 due to Tommy John surgery. He had good movement on his off-speed pitches and mostly hit his spots while pitching in a regular-season professional game for the first time in over a year. Most importantly, he looked comfortable on the mound and had his usual swagger on the mound that has the San Diego fans itching for his return. Though this is just step one of his comeback attempt, it was a positive one.
2021 first-round pick Jackson Merrill also had a big day for the Storm, collecting four hits and driving in a pair. The offense overall took advantage of some inconsistent pitching by Visalia and dominated the game from the start, winning 14-3 in a laugher.
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Friday’s Probables
El Paso: Reiss Knehr (0-1, 6.23 ERA)
San Antonio: Matt Waldron (0-0, 1.80 ERA)
Fort Wayne: Ryan Bergert (0-0, 7.71 ERA)
Lake Elsinore: TBD
Kevin is a San Diego Native covering the San Diego Padres and their affiliates