Padres Down on the Farm: April 8 (Wood 2 HRs in LE, Kohlwey homers in EP, Hassell 2 Hits for FW)
Credit: MiLB
The San Diego Padres affiliates went 1-3 on Friday.
The San Antonio Missions, Fort Wayne TinCaps, and Lake Elsinore Storm all began their 2022 campaigns.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 3-11 @ Round Rock) (3-1 on the season)
Ramon Perez: 1 IP, 6 H, 6 R (5 ER), 2 BB, 0 K (54 pitches, 31 strikes)
Taylor Kohlwey: (3-for-5), HR, 2 RBI, R
Luis Liberato: (2-for-5), HR, 2B, RBI, 2 R
Evan Miller: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K (19 pitches, 12 strikes)
The Chihuahuas looked to start their season with a fourth consecutive win, but they were dug into a huge hole early. Taylor Kohlwey drove Luis Liberto in on a single in the first inning, giving El Paso the lead, but it didn’t last long. Round Rock took the lead in the bottom of the inning before scoring six in the second to blow the game open. Ramon Perez was chased from the game without recording an out in the second. The Express put themselves into double digits with a pair of runs in the third and added another in the fifth. Kohlwey and Liberato both homered, but they proved to be nothing more than consolation runs, as the Chihuahuas never got anywhere near getting back in the game.
San Antonio Missions (Lost 2-14 @ Corpus Christi) (0-1 on the season)
Osvaldo Hernandez: 0.1 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 1 BB, 0 K (31 pitches, 19 strikes)
Agustin Ruiz: (1-for-2), HR, RBI, 2 R, 2 BB
Chris Givin: (2-for-3), 2B, BB, K
Esteury Ruiz: (2-for-5), RBI, K
San Antonio started off their season about as poorly as possible, as they allowed Corpus Christi to score nine runs in the first inning. From there onwards, the game was basically a formality. Gabe Morales was the only Missions pitcher who didn’t allow a run, as he went two scoreless and struck out five out of the bullpen. Starter Osvaldo Hernandez was chased after recording just one out, putting his ERA at an astronomical 189.00. Agustin Ruiz did put the Missions on the board with a home run in the fifth inning, and Esteury Ruiz drove in Agustin Ruiz in the seventh, but that was all that came from the Missions’ offense. The Hooks added five more runs in the bottom of the seventh to make the deficit final score 14-2.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 6-5 @ Dayton) (0-1 on the season)
Robert Gasser: 2.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K (52 pitches, 28 strikes)
Robert Hassell III: (2-for-4), RBI, BB
Ripken Reyes: (1-for-2), HR, RBI, 2 R, BB
Brandon Valenzuela: (2-for-4), BB, K
The TinCaps opened their season in Dayton, and they fell behind early. Robert Gasser struggled throughout his appearance, as he never looked in command. The Dragons jumped out to a 3-0 lead after three innings, and Gasser got the hook after retiring just seven batters. Fort Wayne got scoreless season debuts from Felix Minjarez, who struck out all five batters he faced, and Nick Thwaits, who struck out five in two frames. However, fielding errors killed the TinCaps in the eighth inning. Two of the three errors for Fort Wayne came in the eighth, meaning that Dayton scored three unearned runs.
The TinCaps’ offense took a long time to get started, as they had just three singles in the first seven innings, but Ripken Reyes put them on the board with a home run in the eighth. With the TinCaps trailing by five going into the ninth, they needed a miracle, and they nearly found it. Angel Solarte walked, but Jarryd Dale and Jack Stronach both struck out to start the frame. With two outs, Olivier Basabe singled, Ripken Reyes and Corey Rosier walked. The Padres second-ranked prospect, Robert Hassell III, who singled twice on the night, walked another run in. Joshua Mears put the tying run in scoring position with a walk of his own. A wild pitch meant that Hassell, the tying run, was just 90 feet away. However, Dale, who started the inning with a strikeout, went down looking, ending the game.
Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 12-0 vs. Inland Empire) (1-0 on the season)
Garrett Hawkins: 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K (67 pitches, 47 strikes)
James Wood: (3-for-5), 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 R, BB, K
Jackson Merrill: (2-for-6), 2 2B, 3 R, SB
Matthew Acosta: (2-for-4), 2 RBI, R, 2 K
The Storm’s bats brought the thunder in their first game of the season, as James Wood hit two home runs to power the Storm to a blowout win. Wood, who is the fifth-ranked prospect in the Padres organization, got his season off to a dream start. Jackson Merrill, who was the Padres’ top draft pick last season, hit two doubles and scored three times, including the first run of the Storm’s season. Lake Elsinore blew the game open by scoring five runs in both the third and fourth innings before adding two more on Wood’s second home run.
The pitching was also excellent for the Storm. Garrett Hawkins allowed just three hits in his four innings of work, striking out six while not walking a single batter. The bullpen also pitched tremendously, combining for five scoreless innings of four-hit baseball. Matt Sparling, who picked up the win, didn’t allow a batter to reach base in his inning of work. Jairo Iriarte struck out three batters in two frames, while Matthew Swilley worked his way out of a two-on, one-out jam in the eighth. Hazahel Quijada did allow two hits in the ninth, but he also struck out the side to close out the game, securing a perfect start to the season for the Storm.
VIDEO: James Wood hits two home runs on Opening Day in the California League.
First HR: 3-run shot, 427 feet, 107 mph exit velo
Second HR: 2-run shot, data unavailable#Padres @Storm_Baseball pic.twitter.com/z4AAmszfNu— Kyle Glaser (@KyleAGlaser) April 9, 2022
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Saturday’s Probables
El Paso: MacKenzie Gore
San Antonio: TBD
Fort Wayne: Ryan Bergert
Lake Elsinore: TBD
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.