The San Diego Padres’ minor league affiliates continued their regular seasons, with three of four regularly scheduled games taking place.

Padres’ affiliates went 1-2 on Saturday. 

Here is a recap of the day’s events. 

El Paso Chihuahuas – Postponed due to Inclement Weather

The Chihuahuas’ regularly scheduled game on Saturday was postponed due to rain. It will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Sunday, April 20. Austin Krob remains likely to start the first game, with Ryan Bergert likely to start the second game, operating on a full four days’ rest. 

San Antonio Missions (Lost 6-0 vs Northwest Arkansas in 12 innings) (9-5 on the season)

Romeo Sanabria – 3-for-5, Three Singles

Tyler Robertson – 2-for-5, Two Singles

Jackson Wolf – 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K (71 pitches – 52 strikes)

The Missions’ offense got runners on for twelve innings, but was unable to cash in, not even once. The team’s scoring was nonexistent in the ballgame, and a 12th-inning explosion from Northwest Arkansas led to a 6-0 Missions loss. 

Jackson Wolf started for the Missions, making his third start of the season. Wolf has been very dependable for the team so far this season, and that continued against the Naturals. Wolf tossed five innings of shutout baseball, striking out five batters. His performance has been much in line with his 2023 first-half performance that earned him his call to the majors, and while the 25-year old is not as high on the depth chart as in seasons past, there is a chance he sees MLB time this season if his strikeout rates and command trend in their current direction. 

The Missions’ offense collected ten hits, five coming from Romeo Sanabria and Tyler Robertson. Moises Gomez drew three walks in the game, reaching base a total of four times. The rest of the lineup scuffled throughout the game, as outside of the three batters mentioned, San Antonio’s lineup went 4-for-32, posting an abhorrent 3-for-19 with runners in scoring position, stranding 18 runners. 

David Morgan threw two innings of relief, striking out three batters. Opposing batters whiffed on 60% of swings against him, and he flashed a slider with sharp bite to the armside. Morgan, who was primarily fastball-splitter with his pitches last season, has shown a much more fleshed-out arsenal this season, and the former UDFA out of Hope International could be a late-season addition for the MLB team. 

Manuel Castro struck out five in two innings of relief as well, with he and Morgan keeping the game scoreless from the sixth to ninth innings. Jose Geraldo tossed a scoreless tenth, and Eduarniel Nunez threw a scoreless eleventh before returning to the mound for the twelfth. The right-hander struck out the first batter he faced, but the strikeout came on a wild pitch, allowing the runner to reach base. That seemingly innocuous happening opened the floodgates, as Kale Emshoff broke the scoreless tie with a single. Nunez got a strikeout before walking in another run, being relieved by Spencer Jones. Jones for an infield lineout for our number two, but with two outs and the bases loaded, faced top Royals prospect Jac Caglianone. After being held quiet for most of the series, Caglianone took a Jones slider and deposited it into deep right field, breaking the game open at 6-0. Despite loading the bases with one out, San Antonio was again unable to score in the bottom of the twelfth, with Devin Ortiz grounding out to end the game.

GRAND IN THE th!@jac_caglianone blasts a grand slam in the 12th inning to make it a 6-0 game! #GoNats pic.twitter.com/eHaQW02WA1

— Northwest Arkansas Naturals (@nwanaturals) April 20, 2025

San Antonio closes out the series on Sunday, with Victor Lizarraga taking the mound. 

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 11-3 vs Lake County) (8-6 on the season)

Jack Costello – 3-for-5, Two-Run Home Run

Brandon Butterworth – 3-for-4, Three Singles

Isaiah Lowe – 0.2 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 2 K (36 pitches – 19 strikes)

For the second consecutive start, Isaiah Lowe was unable to escape the first inning, surrendering five earned runs. Lowe’s outing was a rough one against a tough Captains lineup, as the first batter of the game took Lowe deep to right-center for a leadoff home run. Lowe struck out Jaison Chourio and Alfonsin Rosario to get to two outs with a man on first base, but couldn’t record the third strike against the next two batters, walking them to load the bases. Wulifredo Antunez flew a single to center field to score two runs, and Kyle Dernedde fisted a slider to the opposite field, scoring another run before Lowe was pulled. After a strong season debut, the North Carolina native now has a 54.00 ERA in his last two starts (8 ER in 1.1 IP).

ESTEBAN GONZÁLEZ WASTES NO TIME!

His takes the first pitch of the game DEEP as the Caps strike first! ? pic.twitter.com/M0NyfScf77

— Lake County Captains (@LCCaptains) April 19, 2025

Wuilfredo Antunez gives the Captains a 3-0 lead with a 2-out, 2-run single! pic.twitter.com/Al6ZeykiIF

— Lake County Captains (@LCCaptains) April 19, 2025

Kyle Dernedde keeps the rally going with a 2-out RBI single! pic.twitter.com/1OM8Rrn1lb

— Lake County Captains (@LCCaptains) April 19, 2025

Reliever Luis German allowed an inherited runner to score, while also allowing one run of his own in 1.1 innings of work. Fernando Sanchez tossed two scoreless innings as the third pitcher of the day for the TinCaps, and Nick Wissman allowed three runs in 2.2 innings of work. The submarine-throwing Wissman was coming off five scoreless appearances to start his pro career, and his season ERA stands at 2.89 after his outing on Saturday. The game was so out of hand that infielder Jose Sanabria tossed the final 1.1 innings for Fort Wayne. 

Jacob Cozart, @MLBPipeline’s No. 15 Guardians prospect, adds to Lake County’s lead with an RBI single! pic.twitter.com/PjKm1nPGFL

— Lake County Captains (@LCCaptains) April 19, 2025

The TinCaps’ offense did not do themselves many favors. Rosman Verdugo did not homer again, instead hitting a sacrifice fly to put the ‘Caps on the board in the first. The final two runs the team scored came on a two-run home run off the bat of Jack Costello, his second of the series. Costello and Brandon Butterworth each posted three hits, with Ethan Long not too far behind with two hits of his own. Braedon Karpathios reached base twice in the game, once via the walk, and Chase Valentine doubled and scored a run. Leo De Vries was one of three members of the starting lineup to not record a base hit in the game. 

Jack Costello gets his second homer of the series ? pic.twitter.com/s1ij66d9WG

— Fort Wayne TinCaps (@TinCaps) April 19, 2025

The TinCaps return to play on Sunday, with Eric Yost announced as the starting pitcher. 

Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 9-6 vs Fresno) (5-9 on the season)

Zach Evans – 4-for-4, Three-Run Home Run, Stolen Base

Ryan Jackson – 2-for-4, Two Doubles, Two RBI

Bryan Balzer – 0.1 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 0 K (35 pitches – 17 strikes)

Lake Elsinore’s lineup helped the team overcome Bryan Balzer’s shortest professional start to win by a final score of 9-6. Zach Evans, with whom EVT’s very own James Clark had the privilege of interviewing last season, had a perfect day at the plate, going 4-for-4 with the first home run of his professional career. Evans has been nothing but consistent for the Storm so far this season, and the former Lenoir-Rhyne infielder looks to keep making an impact as the season goes on. 

3-run home run for Zach Evans (1) to get @Storm_Baseball going early pic.twitter.com/gsoR8AzF9R

— Al Scott (@AlScott1998) April 20, 2025

Ryan Jackson also continued his surging start to the season, going 2-for-4 with two doubles, including a late two-run double to put Lake Elsinore up by two in the eighth. Kasen Wells, batting out of the leadoff spot, hit his first professional home run in the game for the lead. Wells came around to score three runs, reaching base on a walk, forceout, and the aforementioned home run. Yendry Rojas reached base on a single in the ninth inning, and stole second, which allowed Zach Evans to score the Storm’s ninth run on the double steal, just avoiding the tag. 

Kasen Wells with his first career professional home run, a solo shot into the parking lot. pic.twitter.com/hNniQEITvT

— Al Scott (@AlScott1998) April 20, 2025

Perfectly executed double steal by Zach Evans/Yendry Rojas, @Storm_Baseball leads 9-6 heading to the bottom of the ninth in Fresno pic.twitter.com/wZ6onGw8nx

— Al Scott (@AlScott1998) April 20, 2025

While Bryan Balzer started for the Storm, he had an outing to forget, lasting one-third of an inning and allowing three runs. Vicarte Domingo performed valiantly in relief, allowing two runs in 2.1 innings of work, punching out four batters. The Vancouver native flashed his potential for punchouts over his outing, tossing 60% of his offering for strikes. Mario Zabala, a former Angels farmhand, tossed two scoreless innings of relief, and Bodi Rascon fired off three innings of one-run baseball. Rascon, a 2019 draftee of the Padres organization, is making his return to the mound after missing 2024 due to injury. Thanks to the pitching of these three pitchers, Lake Elsinore was able to stay in the game, and Bernard Jose was able to toss a 1-2-3 ninth inning to secure a win and his first Single-A save. 

The Storm and Grizzlies wrap up their series Sunday, with Luis Gutierrez likely to start for Lake Elsinore.

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.