Padres Down on the Farm: April 16 (Mazara reaches base 5 times for EP/Ona HR for SA/Wolf 6 K’s for FW)

The San Diego Padres affiliates went 2-3 on the night, with the Missions having a doubleheader.

Here is a recap of the action.

El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 8-4 to Oklahoma City) (6-5 on the season)

RF Nomar Mazara – (2-for-2), 3 R, 3 BB

DH Brent Rooker – (1-for-3), R, 2 BB, 2 K’s

RP Evan Miller – 2 IP, H, R, 3 K’s

RP Ray Kerr – 1 IP, 0 R, BB, 3 K’s

In a back-and-forth affair against Oklahoma City, the Chihuahuas fell again to the Dodgers.  Pitching was a tough area for El Paso on Saturday, with the first four pitchers for the Chihuahuas allowing runs.  The final pitcher, Ray Kerr of El Paso, was the only pitcher for El Paso to hold the Dodgers scoreless, pitching an inning in the ninth and striking out three of the four hitters he faced.

Nomar Mazara led the El Paso offense, getting on base five times and scoring three times.  The offense was held in check otherwise, with Brent Rooker providing the other offense with a hit and two walks while scoring once.

San Antonio Missions (Lost 4-3 in Game 1 to Frisco; Lost 4-1 in Game 2 to Frisco) (2-7 on the season)

Combined stats:

C Yorman Rodriguez – (2-for-5), 2B, 2 R, BB

RF Jorge Ona – (1-for-3), HR, K

RP Kevin Kopps – 1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H

RP Angel Felipe – 2.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, BB, K

San Antonio had a rough day on Saturday, dropping both games of a doubleheader to the Frisco RoughRiders. In game one, the Missions fell behind early on a 2-run double by Frisco and could never recover.  Though the Missions cut the Frisco lead to one at 4-3 in the sixth inning, they were never able to recover, partly due to the seven-inning rules for doubleheaders.  Missions’ starter Thomas Eshelman threw a complete game but allowed four runs on 12 hits, striking out only two.

In game two of the doubleheader, San Antonio fell behind right away by giving up three runs in the first inning to Frisco.  RoughRiders’ third baseman Trey Hair drove home a pair with a double, which was plenty for Frisco in their 4-1 victory.  San Antonio right fielder Jorge Ona gave the Missions the only run of the game, a solo home run in the third inning.

San Antonio righty Kevin Kopps continued his excellence early on in his career, throwing a scoreless inning that leaves him with only one earned run in nearly 18 career professional innings.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Won 6-0 vs. South Bend) (4-4 on the season)

SP Jackson Wolf – 4.0 IP, H, 0 BB, 0 R, 6 K’s

RP Ryan Och – 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 R, 5 K’s

CF Robert Hassell III – (2-for-5), R, RBI, K, 3 SB

DH Justin Lopez – (2-for-3), R, RBI, 2 BB, K

The TinCaps’ pitching dominated the South Bend Cubs in a 6-0 shutout victory to bounce back after losing Friday night.  Starting pitcher Jackson Wolf went four scoreless innings and allowed only one hit while striking out six.  The Fort Wayne bullpen was equally impressive, throwing five scoreless innings and striking out seven.  In all, TinCaps’ pitchers struck out 13 Cubs and allowed only three South Bend baserunners all game.  In short, the TinCaps were dominant on the mound and made the lives of the Cubs miserable.

Who is that masked bandit?

Robert Hassell III, MLB’s No. 36 prospect, logged two hits and three steals.

The @Padres‘ No. 2 prospect has 7⃣ SB and 1⃣4⃣ H in 8⃣ G for the @TinCaps. pic.twitter.com/8mIYvbYMem

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 16, 2022

Offensively, the TinCaps got an early start on Saturday afternoon, scoring twice in the first inning.  Robert Hassell III got the scoring started with an RBI single, his seventh run batted in of the season, followed by a bases-loaded walk to shortstop Jarryd Dale.  The bases-loaded walk was the first of two for the TinCaps. 24-year-old first baseman Jack Stronach added a two-run home run in the fifth inning, his first of the season, to put Fort Wayne up 5-0, and with the stellar pitching of the TinCaps, would be plenty to secure the shutout victory.

Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 4-3 vs. Visalia) (4-4 on the season)

1B Lucas Dunn – (2-for-3), 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB

2B Marcos Castanon – (1-for-2), HR, RBI, 2 BB

SP Victor Lizarraga – 4 IP, 5 H, R, 4 K’s, 0 BB

RP Matthew Swilley – 1.0 IP, 0 H, BB, 2 K’s

Lake Elsinore continued to dominate Visalia after scoring in double digits Thursday and Friday night.  Saturday’s win saw the Storm come back to earth a little bit, though they were able to hold on for a 4-3 victory.  Marcos Castanon helped the Storm take a 2-0 lead in the second inning, hitting a solo home run, his first of the season.

𝙑𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙇𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙖

4 IP
5 H
1 ER
4 SO pic.twitter.com/h96OZEUtCO

— Lake Elsinore Storm Baseball (@Storm_Baseball) April 17, 2022

With a 4-2 lead heading into the ninth, the Rawhide were able to push across a run on an RBI single to cut the lead to one run, but the Storm were able to close the game and hold on to the one-run win.

[wpedon id=”49075″ align=”right”]

Saturday’s Probables:

El Paso: TBD

San Antonio: Day Off

Fort Wayne: Noel Vela (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Lake Elsinore: TBD

Kevin Modafferi

Kevin is a San Diego Native covering the San Diego Padres and their affiliates