The San Diego Padres, minor league affiliates, went 2-3 on the day as Fort Wayne played a doubleheader.

Here is a recap of the day’s events.

El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 10-2 to Tacoma Rainiers) (7-12 on the season)

Julio Teheran: 3 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 4 BB, 5 K (86 pitches, 48 strikes)

Tim Lopes: (4-for-4), R

Brandon Dixon: (2-for-4), 3B, RBI

Jantzen Witte: (2-for-4), 2B, RBI, K

It was a nightmare start for El Paso because Julio Teheran couldn’t get into a groove at any point during the game. Teheran surrendered eight runs in his three frames of work, including five in the second. His struggles meant that his ERA ballooned to 7.85 after his fourth start of the season, a frustrating beginning for the veteran. There were some bright spots on offense, as El Paso produced ten hits. Four of those came from Tim Lopes, who had a great day at the plate. Brandon Dixon also had a multi-hit day in his return to El Paso, putting up a triple and a single. However, the offense never scored more than one run in an inning, which meant Tacoma’s early outburst was enough to secure them a win. 

San Antonio Missions (Won 6-5 vs. Corpus Christi Hooks) (6-7 on the season)

Brian Gonzalez: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 6 K (80 pitches, 47 strikes)

Ripken Reyes: (2-for-3), HR, 3 RBI, R, BB, K

Juan Fernandez: (3-for-4), RBI, 2 R, BB, K

Korry Howell: (1-for-3), 2 BB, SB, K

San Antonio won a wild game against Corpus Christi, winning a 10-inning affair. They jumped into an early lead, playing some small ball to score a pair of runs in the second inning. They didn’t do any of that in the fourth, though, when Ripken Reyes hit a two-run homer to put the Missions up four. However, Corpus Christi began to fight back as a pair of runs forced San Antonio starter Brian Gonzalez from the game. Connor Hollis provided some insurance in the seventh for the Missions with an RBI single, but Joey Loperfido cut into the lead with a single in the bottom of the inning. Nick Hernandez was on the mound to secure the win, but he surrendered a game-tying homer to Loperfido, sending the game to extra innings. Juan Fernandez singled to put San Antonio ahead before Lake Bachar got the save in dramatic fashion. He walked the bases loaded but struck out Shay Whitcomb to end the game. 

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 5-3 to Peoria Chiefs, Lost 3-2 to Peoria Chiefs) (3-9 on the season)

Game One:

Jairo Iriarte: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 K (66 pitches, 39 strikes)

Marcos Castanon: (1-for-3), HR, 2 RBI, R

Joshua Mears: (1-for-3), HR, RBI, R

Jakob Marsee: (0-for-2), BB, R

Fort Wayne’s offense was stymied in game one of the doubleheader, wasting a good performance from starter Jairo Iriarte, who worked four solid innings. The TinCaps had just two hits, though both were home runs. Marcos Castanon hit a two-run shot before Joshua Mears added one of his own an inning later. It appeared like that might be enough for Fort Wayne to get the win, but Nick Thwaits surrendered four runs (two earned runs) in 0.2 innings of work in the fifth. That put the TinCaps behind for good, as they dropped the first of the two games.

Game Two: 

Miguel Cienfuegos: 6 IP, 4 H, 3 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 8 K (93 pitches, 66 strikes)

Jakob Marsee: (1-for-1), 2 R, 3 BB, SB

Marcos Castanon: (2-for-4)

Cole Cummings: (1-for-3), 2B, BB, K

The TinCaps battled, but they couldn’t overcome a late deficit. Miguel Cienfuegos pitched all six innings that Fort Wayne handled, as they were the road team during a seven-inning doubleheader. He pitched well for most of the game, but a home run and an RBI single in the sixth put Peoria ahead by a pair of runs. Jakob Marsee scored to cut the gap to just one run in the ninth, but with the tying run 90 feet away, Cole Cummings struck out to end the game. It was a big game for Marsee, who reached base four times, while Castanon recorded three hits and a home run across the twin bill.

Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 7-1 vs. Modesto Nuts) (9-4 on the season)

Robby Snelling: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K (74 pitches, 48 strikes)

Drew Pomeranz: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K (10 pitches, 7 strikes)

Kai Murphy: (2-for-4), HR, RBI, R

Anthony Vilar: (1-for-2), HR, 2 RBI, R, 2 BB, K

Lake Elsinore rode a fantastic pitching performance to a comfortable victory. Starter Robby Snelling put together five innings of one-run ball before the bullpen threw four perfect innings to end the game. It was a big step for Drew Pomeranz, who threw a scoreless sixth inning, as he looks to continue his rehab process. There were also several Storm players who brought the thunder offensively. Anthony Vilar blasted a two-run homer in the first inning to get Lake Elsinore going before Kai Murphy added his second homer of the year in the seventh. Graham Pauley had a three-hit day, while Tyler Robinson also put together a multi-hit performance. All of that combined for a comfortable Storm win as Lake Elsinore continues to cruise at the start of 2023.

Saturday’s Probables

El Paso: Matt Waldron (0-2, 11.93 ERA)

San Antonio: Efrain Contreras (0-3, 11.12 ERA)

Fort Wayne: Adam Mazur (0-0, 4.50 ERA)

Lake Elsinore: TBD

Sam Evans

Sam is a Senior in High School. He has been writing for three years, and started at EVT in June of 2021. He’s headed to Syracuse’s Newhouse School of Communications in the fall of 2023.