Padres Down on the Farm: April 24 (Mears exits after HBP/Wood 4 hits for LE/Hassell III continues tear for FW)
Credit: MiLB
All of the San Diego Padres minor league affiliates walked away with victories on Saturday.
This included a doubleheader for Lake Elsinore. Bad news out of Fort Wayne, as Joshua Mears had to exit after getting hit by a pitch in the first inning.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 6-5) (9-9 on the season)
Trayce Thompson– 2-for-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB
Taylor Kohlwey– 3-for-5, 1 R
Aaron Leasher- 4.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 6 K, 1 BB
Ian Krol– 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 4 K, 0 BB
Solid offensive performances paired with a good outing on the mound led to a 6-5 Chihuahuas victory over the Las Vegas Aces. El Paso got its offense in bunches with two separate three-run innings. Brett Sullivan and C.J. Hinojosa each singled home runs in the third inning to take a 3-1 lead.
Trayce Thompson Tater Tracker: 8
396 Ft | 105.2 MPH Exit Velo | 33 degree Launch Angle
Put us ahead for good! pic.twitter.com/FEWkdU3tea
— El Paso Chihuahuas (@epchihuahuas) April 24, 2022
After the Aces took the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Chihuahuas responded with three runs. Aderlin Rodriguez tied the game with a sacrifice fly before Trayce Thompson hit his eighth home run of the season to lead 6-4. Ian Krol came in with the tying run on and one out in the eighth inning before striking out the next two batters to end the eighth. Krol also struck out two in the ninth to record the save.
Mike Clevinger will make a rehab start for the Chihuahuas on Tuesday in El Paso. A lot of eyes will be on this one.
San Antonio Missions (Won 7-4) (4-11 on season)
Estuery Ruiz- 2-4, 1 R, 2 K
Tirso Ornelas– 2-5, 2 RBI, 1 K
Gabe Mosser– 4 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Moises Lugo– 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Four runs in the eighth inning lifted the Missions to a 7-4 victory over the Amarillo Sod Poodles. Tirso Ornelas drove home two runs on a single in the third inning to get the scoring started for San Antonio. Jorge Oña added a solo home run in the sixth inning before that eighth-inning rally that was concluded by a two-run shot from Connor Hollis.
On Tuesday, Reggie Lawson will start for San Antonio, looking to bounce back after struggling in his 2022 debut after Tomm John surgery.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (Won 13-5) (10-5 on the season)
Robert Hassell III- 2-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K
Brandon Valenzuela– 2-for-6, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 K
Danny Denz– 3 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 K, 1 BB
Brandon Komar– 2 IP, 4 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 1 K
Seven runs in the second inning pushed the Fort Wayne TinCaps to a massive 13-5 victory. This young team full of future Padres is on a roll, but Joshua Mears left the game after being hit by a pitch. No announcement has been made.
Robert Hassell III keeps on hitting.
The No. 3 @Padres prospect roped this RBI double as part of a two-hit effort on Sunday to push his average to .397 for the @TinCaps. pic.twitter.com/fcvWIXyBXM
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 24, 2022
In the second inning, seven runs scored, most notably a few coming on a Robert Hassell III double and a Brandon Valenzuela single. Things got interesting when Brandon Komar allowed four runs in the fifth inning to make the game 8-5, but three TinCaps relievers combined for four scoreless after. Fort Wayne additionally scored in each of the last four innings.
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Lake Elsinore Storm (Won Both Games 6-1 and 6-2)
After Thursday’s game between the Lake Elsinore Storm and Fresno Grizzlies got postponed due to rain, the two teams made up the game in a doubleheader Sunday. Each game was seven innings, with the second one needing an extra eighth inning. Below are combined box scores, with a brief recap of each game.
James Wood- 4-for-8, 3 R, 3 RBI
Jackson Merrill– 1-for-2, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Matthew Acosta– 1-for-6, 3 R, 1 BB
Victor Lizarraga– 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 6 K, 0 BB
Jesus Gonzalez– 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 K, 1 BB
Hazahel Quijada- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K, 3 BB
Steady pitching led the way for the Storm. Both games were headlined by fantastic starts, with Lizarraga going deeper and striking out more, but Jesus Gonzalez allowed no runs across five innings. 2021 draftees James Wood and Jackson Merrill each singled in runs in the third inning of game one before three runs in the final seventh inning blew it open.
Max Ferguson walked with the bases loaded in the second inning of game two to get the Storm on the board. Two unearned runs scored for Fresno in the sixth inning, but Max Ferguson hit home the tying run in the top of the seventh inning to extend the game to extras. James Wood cracked the eighth inning with a double before Marcos Castanon, and Jared Alvarez-Lopez broke it open. Hazel Quijada stranded the “ghost runner” to secure the second Storm win of the day.
Dominic is a graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Journalism. He also is the producer and co-host of the “Padres EVT Podcast.”