It was series finale time down on the farm, as Padres minor league affiliates went 1-3 in regular season action on Sunday. 

Here is a recap of the day’s events. 

El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 6-4 vs Oklahoma City) (4-5 on the season)

Trenton Brooks – 2-for-4, Two-Run Home Run

Luis Campusano – 2-for-3, Double, Single, Three RBI

Wes Benjamin – 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 4 K (75 pitches – 37 strikes)

The Chihuahuas played strong fundamental baseball to wrap up their series in Oklahoma City, taking a 2-0 lead early and never looking back. Starter Wes Benjamin did his part, tossing four innings of one-run baseball. It is safe to say that the left-hander was “effectively wild”, as a 49.3% strike rate doesn’t paint the most enlightening image. Despite his command having an off-day, Benjamin was able to grind through four-plus innings, striking out four batters. While Benjamin was chased after allowing back-to-back extra base hits in the fifth inning, the OKC rally was stifled by fellow southpaw Jason Blanchard, who picked off Esteury Ruiz for out number one. Blanchard was out of the inning seven pitches later. 

The Chihuahuas’ offense was led by first baseman Trenton Brooks and designated hitter Luis Campusano. Brooks gave the team a lead in the third inning, homering for the third time on the young campaign. Brooks has been the team’s most consistent performer this season, and while his path to the Major Leagues may be long with the Padres, anything is possible. Luis Campusano had a strong day at the plate, walking twice and recording two base hits, with his ninth inning double registering 112.3 mph off the bat. Tirso Ornelas had two base hits of his own, including a hustle infield single, and Connor Joe doubled while playing the ballgame in center field. 

We’re getting things started early with a Trenton Brooks 2 run homerun.

??2 pic.twitter.com/vFHBKtSC01

— El Paso Chihuahuas (@epchihuahuas) April 6, 2025

Jason Blanchard won for El Paso, with two scoreless innings of relief, while El Paso’s patient offense drew six walks against Comets pitcher Bobby Miller. Ron Marinaccio posted a scoreless inning of relief and, with such a bounce-back outing, could be on his way back to the Majors sooner than later. 

El Paso has an off day on Monday. Their next series starts Tuesday at home against Las Vegas. The Chihuahuas have yet to announce a starter, though Austin Krob is in line to start. 

San Antonio Missions (Lost 4-3 vs Amarillo) (2-1 on the season)

Ethan Salas – 1-for-4, Two-RBI Single

Romeo Sanabria – 2-for-4, RBI Single

Braden Nett – 3 IP, 3 H, 2 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 4 K (58 pitches, 37 strikes)

San Antonio’s offense stalled out for most of the game, with their three runs only coming in the ninth inning, and while the comeback came close, it ultimately came up short. 

Right-hander Braden Nett (EVT’s No. 8 Padres farmhand entering the season) made his season debut for San Antonio after spending time with the big league club in spring training. Nett delivered three innings of solid work, scattering three hits and two walks while punching out four batters. Nett’s command showed significant improvements from early in last season, as the right-hander threw 63.7% of his pitches for strikes. Nett flashed his deep arsenal in his outing, and his changeup showed much improvement compared to its shape last season. Both runs allowed by Nett were of the unearned variety, with an inning-opening fielding error opening the door for two runs scored by the Sod Poodles.

Nasty from Nett. K’s Conticello after Troy reaches on an E pic.twitter.com/t9zddORzt4

— Austin Hartsfield (@HartsfieldPC) April 6, 2025

Right-hander Carter Loewen allowed two runs of his own in two innings of work, with a two-run home run off the bat of Gavin Conticello accounting for the damage. From the sixth to ninth innings, four Missions relievers allowed only one baserunner. The quartet of Manuel Castro, Ryan Och, David Morgan, and Jose Geraldo pitched four shutout innings to keep the game within slam range for San Antonio. 

The ninth inning saw the Missions’ bats finally emerge from a game-long slumber. Tyler Robertson and Anthony Vilar drew walks to lead off the inning, and Romeo Sanabria singled to score Robertson and bring the score to 4-1. Moises Gomez flew out for one out, and with Ethan Salas at the plate, Amarillo reliever Alfred Morillo (say that five times fast) balked to move the runners to second and third. On the third pitch of the at-bat, Salas lined a single to right field to score Sanabria and Vilar and bring the deficit to one. Marcos Castanon singled to push the tying run to second base, but the rally would not bear fruit, as Brandon Valenzuela hit a grounder to second, which Amarillo’s infield used to turn a game-ending double play. 

Ethan Salas picks up his first hit of the year and it’s a RBI single to cut the lead to 1

4-3 1 Out B9 pic.twitter.com/gIIkx7Lwz5

— Austin Hartsfield (@HartsfieldPC) April 6, 2025

San Antonio returns to play on Tuesday against Corpus Christi on the road. The starters have yet to be announced. 

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 5-3 vs Lansing) (2-1 on the season)

Jake Snider – 2-for-3, Two RBI

Addison Kopack – 1-for-2, Two Walks, Run Scored

Eric Yost – 2.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 1 K (55 pitches – 33 strikes)

Fort Wayne’s series finale saw the team fall down 4-0 in the third inning, unable to claw out of the deficit in their first loss of the season. Leo De Vries did not play in the game, but in his stead, leadoff man Jake Snider had himself quite a game. The former Pirates draftee went 2-for-3 out of the leadoff spot, driving in two runs. Catcher Addison Kopack reached base three times in the ballgame, scoring a run. Left fielder Braedon Karpathios reached base once via the walk, but his contributions came on the defensive side of the ball. With a runner on second and trailing 5-0, Clark Elliot singled to left field, and Lugnuts DH Nate Nankil made his way to the plate, but a strong throw from Karpathios to Kopack nailed the runner at home. 

Starter Eric Yost lasted 2.2 innings in a scheduled abbreviated outing, throwing 55 pitches, 66% of them for strikes. Yost threw two clean innings before the third inning snowballed, one in which a throwing error opened the floodgates for the visiting Lugnuts. Three walks did not help the right-hander’s efforts either. 

The TinCaps bullpen allowed one run in 6.1 innings of work, with Josh Mallitz posting two scoreless innings covering the bulk of the relief work. Luis German allowed a run in the seventh inning, and Tyler Morgan threw a scoreless eighth inning in relief. Right-hander Nick Wissman made his second professional appearance in the ballgame, and the 2024 8th-rounder tossed a scoreless top of the ninth inning in the loss. 

Fort Wayne returns to action Tuesday against Dayton on the road, with right-hander Ian Koenig making his TinCaps debut as the team’s starter. 

Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost 8-1 vs Rancho Cucamonga) (0-3 on the season)

Lamar King Jr – 3-for-4, RBI Single

Sean Barnett – 1-for-4, Single

Luis Gutierrez – 3 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 6 BB, 3 K (62 pitches – 28 strikes)

Lake Elsinore struggled to find rhythm both on the mound and at the plate, as the pitching staff walked 12 batters and the lineup struck out 16 times. Starter Luis Gutierrez, making his season debut, fought through a lack of command to pitch three innings of three-run baseball, walking six batters in the process. It was certainly out of character for the 21-year-old left-hander, as he walked 19 batters in 76 innings last season, with the bulk of that work coming for the Storm. 

The Lake Elsinore offense came out flat against Quakes pitching, as starter Jakob Wright racked up five strikeouts in 3.2 innings. Reliever Sean Linan, who pitched the remaining 5.1 innings of the game, tallied up 11 strikeouts of his own in his outing. 

Lamar King Jr was the bright spot for Lake Elsinore, as the right-handed hitting first baseman tallied three hits and the Storm’s lone RBI of the night. His sixth inning RBI single scored B.Y. Choi, plating the first run of the game for the visiting team. The team’s lone other hit came off the bat of Sean Barnett, who also singled in the game. Every batter in the lineup fanned at least once, with Daniel Montesino striking out four times in four plate appearances. 

Lake Elsinore will look to put the rough start behind them, opening a home series vs Modesto on Tuesday. A starter has yet to be announced, though it is likely that one of Kash Mayfield or Boston Bateman will get the nod for the home opener.

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.