Padres minor league affiliates went 2-2 on Friday. 

Here is our daily recap of games played.

El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 9-7 vs Round Rock) (7-12 on the season)

Nick Schnell – 2-for-4, Two Home Runs, Four RBI

Jase Bowen  1-for-2, Double, Three Walks, Run Scored

JP Sears – 3.1 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 5 BB, 4 K (80 pitches – 47 strikes)

Despite clearing the walls four times, El Paso dropped a Wild West barnburner by a 9-7 final. JP Sears was knocked around in 3.1 innings, as he allowed 13 baserunners and seven runs. Sears allowed barrels on 46% of batted balls, which was not a recipe for success. Misael Tamarez wound up throwing two innings of relief due to Sears’ short start, and despite allowing the lead run, Tamarez was effective. The right-hander dropped his arm slot by 10-12 degrees, which has allowed his sinker-slider combo to sequence rather well. On the season, Tamarez has pitched to a 3.00 ERA in nine innings of work, striking out 11 against four walks. Eli Villalobos threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts, and Garrett Hawkins allowed one run on three walks despite a 36% in-zone rate and 48% strike rate. 

Have yourself a night, @JBride11 ?#RockEm | #RRExpress pic.twitter.com/7ceMcNmJJS

— Round Rock Express (@RRExpress) April 18, 2026

El Paso’s lineup delivered the long ball, torching Express reliever Josh Hejka for four home runs in 2.1 innings. Marcos Castanon opened the scoring with an RBI single against starting pitcher Patrick Murphy in the first inning. Nick Schnell gave the Chihuahuas a 4-2 lead in the third with a three-run home run against Hejka, an 104.1 mph drive to right field. After the Express countered with five runs in the third and fourth innings combined, the El Paso bats thundered back to life. Clay Dungan, Mason McCoy, and Nick Schnell went back-to-back-to-back with solo home runs to the pull side, tying the game at seven runs apiece. Jase Bowen reached base four times in the loss, scoring one run. Outside of Schnell, Marcos Castanon and Pablo Reyes each finished with two hits. Anthony Vilar went hitless at the plate, but cut down one of two stolen base attempts in the game. Vilar, pressed into action with Rodolfo Duran on the Padres’ taxi squad, will likely see more starting reps as the series progresses. 

San Antonio Missions (Lost 9-3 vs Midland) (4-9 on the season)

Romeo Sanabria – 2-for-4, Solo Home Run

Chris Sargent – 1-for-3, Solo Home Run

Ian Koenig – 5.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 2 K (82 pitches – 51 strikes)

San Antonio’s offense was held quiet by a trio of Midland pitchers, as the team dropped its Friday night game by a 9-3 final. Romeo Sanabria and Carson Tucker each finished with two hits in the game. Sanabria hit his second home run of the season against RockHounds starter JJ Goss, scoring San Antonio’s first run of the game. Carson Tucker had two singles and two stolen bases. The former 23rd overall pick has revived his career with a bang with the Missions, and is hitting .400 in the young season. Albert Fabian finished with a single and a run scored, while Luis Verdugo drove in a run on a sacrifice fly. Ethan Salas and Ryan Jackson were held hitless atop the lineup, while number nine hitter Chris Sargent hit his first home run in a Missions uniform. 

That’s now a hit in all 7 games with a plate appearance for Carson Tucker! He reached twice today and stole a pair of bags, making him the @FrostBank Player of the Game. pic.twitter.com/w7U9IqFNCl

— San Antonio Missions Baseball (@missionsmilb) April 18, 2026

Ian Koenig had the kind of start that falls under the “stats don’t tell the final story”. Koenig struck out only two batters, but picked up a season-high ten swings and misses. The right-hander had a fairly even out distribution, as six of his 17 outs recorded came via the fly ball. Koenig entered the game with a 46.2% ground ball rate, so the fly ball-dominant outing was out of the norm. The right-hander was also tagged for two home runs, including a second-inning three-run home run that put the Missions behind the 8-ball. Despite the home run troubles, Koenig induced three pop-up outs and two double plays, making the most out of inducing weak contact. Manuel Castro allowed one run on three hits in 0.2 innings, getting just one whiff. Andrew Dalquist threw 1.1 innings of two-run baseball, walking three but striking out two. 

Jared Dickey! HR no. 1⃣ is a 3-run shot ☄️

B2 | MID 3, SA 0 pic.twitter.com/9M237F3zbw

— Midland RockHounds (@RockHounds) April 18, 2026

Fort Wayne TinCaps – Split Doubleheader vs Lake County (5-8 on the season)

TinCaps won 1-0 in Game 1

Rosman Verdugo – 2-for-3, Two Singles, Walk

Jake Cunningham – 2-for-3, Two Singles

Kash Mayfield – 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K (56 pitches – 41 strikes)

Facing off against one of the toughest lineups in your division is always a daunting task, but Kash Mayfield made it look like light work on Friday. The left-hander threw five shutout innings, striking out eight batters. The five innings pitched matched his previous career high, while the eight strikeouts were one punchout shy of his career high of nine, set back on August 27, 2025, against Rancho Cucamonga. Mayfield picked up 18 swings and misses in his outing, which was the most for any left-hander who pitched at High-A or above on April 17. Mayfield now has 16 strikeouts to five walks in 12 innings this season, and looks every part of the ace he has the potential to be. Clay Edmondson finished off the shutout with two scoreless innings. The submarine-throwing right-hander got groundouts on five of six outs recorded, with the lone exception being a good-ol’ fashioned strikeout. While Fort Wayne had scoring chances all game, they finally got a run across in the top of the sixth inning. Kavares Tears walked for the second time in the game, and Jake Cunningham singled to put two on with no outs. Jack Costello, known for his power, bunted to move the runners over. The bunt call paid off, as with two outs, pitcher Izaac Martinez uncorked a wild pitch to score Tears, giving the TinCaps a 1-0 lead. Tears reached base twice in the game, and Rosman Verdugo finished 2-for-3 with two singles and a walk. 

Kash Mayfield was straight MONEY for @TinCaps today!

5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
18 whiffs on 56 pitches

An ace-like outing for the Padres No. 3 prospect. pic.twitter.com/NhyWbfEJxK

— Diego Garcia (@StatNerd_Base) April 17, 2026

TinCaps Lost 4-3 in Game 2

Kasen Wells – 2-for-3, Two Singles, Walk, Two Runs Scored

Alex McCoy – 1-for-2, Single, Sac Fly

Isaiah Lowe – 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 5 K (63 pitches – 38 strikes)

Game 2 saw Isaiah Lowe toss a strong start, as the right-hander threw three innings of one-run baseball. Lowe struck out five batters, allowing only three hits. Lowe did walk three in the game, but worked around base traffic with timely strikeouts or a double play (as was the case in the first inning). Right-hander Matthew Watson made his pro debut in relief, striking out two in the fourth inning. Watson allowed two one-out baserunners in the fifth, and with a left-handed batter coming up, Watson was pulled in favor of veteran CJ Widger. The move backfired for the TinCaps, as Nolan Schubert hit an excuse-me shallow fly ball to center field, which landed in no-man’s land. Kasen Wells threw home, but was too late to throw out either advancing baserunner. Lake County led 3-1, with both runs charged to Watson. Will Varmette threw one inning in relief, allowing one run on a sacrifice fly; the right-hander out of Wallace State Community College struck out one in the inning, and has fanned eight in 4.1 innings this season. 

THAT’S WHY YOU PUT THE BALL IN PLAY!!

Nolan Schubart flips one into center, and the Captains lead! pic.twitter.com/UlgJMh3CmC

— Lake County Captains (@LCCaptains) April 17, 2026

Kasen Wells thrived in his usual leadoff spot, finishing 2-for-3 with two singles and a walk. Wells scored two runs in the game, first scoring on Alex McCoy’s fourth-inning sacrifice fly. Lamar King Jr’s RBI single also scored Wells in the sixth inning. Each of McCoy and King Jr had one hit on the evening. Dylan Grego’s seventh-inning sacrifice fly scored Jack Costello, but the team failed to generate “the big swing” in the late innings, dropping to 5-8 on the season. 

Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 6-3 vs Stockton) (6-7 on the season)

Luke Cantwell – 3-for-4, Double, Two RBI

Justin DeCriscio – 2-for-4, Double, RBI

Kruz Schoolcraft – 3 IP, 4 H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 3 K (57 pitches – 35 strikes)

Left-hander Kruz Schoolcraft had himself a bounce-back outing in just his fourth career professional start. Schoolcraft threw three innings of one-earned-run baseball, striking out three batters. Schoolcraft recorded outs in the third inning for the first time in his career and picked up eight swings and misses on the whole. Despite averaging 19 pitches per frame, the left-hander refused to let any inning snowball, an issue that plagued his first two starts. Schoolcraft dug deep and managed to put on a gutsy performance. Right-hander Rordy Mejia continued his emergence, as he struck out four in 2.2 innings of one-unearned-run baseball. Mejia picked up 12 whiffs and threw 30 of 48 pitches for strikes. Mejia has thrown 10 innings with 10 strikeouts, and opponents have posted a paltry .171 average against him. His 6.30 ERA is misleading, as he has pitched to a 4.51 FIP, which is high but serviceable. Brandon Langley earned his first professional win, striking out three of five batters faced in 1.1 innings of relief. 

The Storm came to life in the sixth inning, as Kerrington Cross and Luke Cantwell led off the inning with singles against Ports starter Cole Miller. Ryan Wideman grounded a ball to third, but a throwing error by Bryan Andrade allowed Cross to score. Truitt Madonna then hit a ball to the first base side, but an error by first baseman Judah Morris allowed Cantwell to score. With Wideman and Madonna now on base, the Storm pulled off a double steal, but were unable to capitalize in the inning. After the Ports took a one-run lead, Ryan Wideman hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game yet again. 

There would be no scoring for the Ports in the seventh, and the Storm were able to build momentum. Justin DeCriscio and Jorge Quintana lined singles to reach base, and Kerrington Cross drew a two-out walk. Luke Cantwell had the 0-0 green light and went for it, hitting a two-run double to left field and giving the Storm a 5-3 lead. Right-hander Will Koger kept the game at 5-3 despite walking two, throwing yet another scoreless outing. Justin DeCriscio’s ninth-inning double scored Kale Fountain from first base, giving the Storm a valuable insurance run. The insurance was much welcomed, but ultimately additional, as right-hander Ethan Long picked up a game-ending double play to complete a scoreless ninth. Long picked up his third save in five outings to seal the Storm’s 6-3 win.

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.