Padres Down on the Farm: April 9 (Acosta 3 hits, homer for LE/Gore K’s 7 for EP/Waldron with 5 IP for SA)
Credit: MiLB
San Diego Padres affiliates went 1-2 on Saturday. The TinCaps’ game was rained out.
Here is a recap of the day’s events.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 1-3 @ Round Rock) (3-2 on the season)
MacKenzie Gore– 5 IP, 2 H, 7 K, 0 B, 0 R (43 strikes-63 pitches)
Luis Campusano– 1-for-4, 2B, 1 R
Brent Rooker– 0-for-3, 2 K, 3 LOB, 1E
MacKenzie Gore turned in a fantastic season debut following his strong spring training. Gore finished his night with five scoreless innings, only surrendering two hits and striking out seven. He was efficient in his work, finishing the evening with 43 strikes on 63 pitches. He showed great glove-side command of his fastball and familiar plus off-speed offerings. If he can string together a few more performances like this, he will be tough to keep off the Major League roster.
MacKenzie Gore’s night is done after 5 strong innings:
His 5th and final inning:
87 MPH Slider for K
87 MPH Slider for K
95 MPH Fastball for KOverall: 5 IP/ 2 H/ 0 ER/ 0 BB/ 7 K#ItsGoreTime | @Mgore181 | @MiLB | @MLBPipeline pic.twitter.com/43k576BGSp
— El Paso Chihuahuas (@epchihuahuas) April 10, 2022
Pedro Avila did not fare in his relief appearance. He allowed all three of Round Rock’s runs; Leody Tavaras crushed a first-pitch hanging breaking ball for a two-run home run in the sixth inning. Later in the eighth, former Chiwawa, Nick Tanielu tagged an 0-1 fastball from Avila for a solo shot to give Round Rock their third and final run of the evening.
The bats for El Paso were quiet this evening, posting a single run, scratched across in the seventh to answer Round Rock’s two-run sixth inning. Luis Campusano went 1-for-4 with a double, scoring El Paso’s only run of the night. Thomas Milone went 0-for-2 with a walk but hit the ball very hard with two drives deep to the track, one of which was called an error. On defense, he took a pretty hard hit into the wall trying to run down a fly ball. Fortunately, he was able to stay in the game. Brent Rooker- The newly acquired outfielder made his debut for the Chikwawa’s. He went 0for–3. The former first-round left three runners on base, striking out twice in this evening’s affair. The loss drops El Paso to 3-2 on the young season, their consecutive second loss.
San Antonio Missions (Won 3-2 @ Corpus Christi) (1-1 on the season)
Matt Waldron– 5 IP, 2 K, 2 H, 1 R (39 strikes on 53 pitches)
Brandon Dixon 2-for-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Esteury Ruiz 1-for-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Korry Howell 1-for-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Matt Waldron got the start for the Mission, who were seeking their first win of the season. The knuckleballer was able to complete five strong innings, surrendering a single run on two hits and two strikeouts. The knuckleball was dancing well on a windy evening in Texas. Even if it did not result in a lot of swing and miss, he was nonetheless effective on the mound.
Nolan Watson was first out of the Mission bullpen after Waldron’s strong start. He entered the 1-1 tie in the sixth inning and was able to give the team two innings but surrendered the lead in his second inning of work. Angel Felipe turned in a scoreless eighth inning despite giving out two free passes. He was the beneficiary of some late offense by the Mission, picking up his first win of the season.
San Antonio’s bats were unable to string together much offense, relying on three solo home runs for their entire offensive output. Brandon Dixon, who was 2-for-4 and recorded the only multi-hit performer in Saturday night’s game, was able to deposit a fourth inning breaking ball to left-center for his first home run of the season. Esteury Ruiz 1-for-4 was able to tie the game in the eighth off a 1-1 breaking ball deep to left-center. Korry Howell 1-for-3 got a first-pitch heater in the ninth and deposited it a few feet over the center-field fence giving the Mission the 3-2 lead. Kevin Kopps flashed his potential closer chops as he was able to dance around two hits, including a double, to earn his first save of the season.
Fort Wayne (off for the evening)
Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost 7-9 @ Inland Empire) (1-1 on the season)
Victor Lizarraga– 3.2 IP, 1 R, 3 K, 3 H, 4 BB (40 strikes on 71 pitches)
Matthew Acosta– 3-for-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI
Jackson Merrill– 2-for-5, 2 R
James Wood– 1-for-3, 1 R, 2 BB
Lake Elsinore staked an early lead in this one. Matthew Acosta hit his first home run of the season, plating two in the third inning.
In the bottom half of the third, Inland Empire answered with a run of their own, the only run surrendered by Starting pitcher Victor Lizarraga, who gave the Storm three and a third strong innings. The Storm was able to add to their early lead with one in the fourth and two in the fifth inning, respectively.
Unfortunately, this lead would not last as the bullpen completely collapsed, giving up eight runs in the eighth inning. Relievers Brenden Heiss and Mason Feole were lit up for four runs apiece, the latter earning a blown save in the process.
The storm entered the ninth down 9-5. They were able to rally to put up two more runs but ultimately fell short with the go-ahead run at the plate. The Storm dropped their first game of the season to even their record at 1-1.
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Sunday’s Probables
El Paso: Reiss Knehr
San Antonio: Thomas Eshelman
Fort Wayne: Game 1 Ryan Bergert, Game 2 TBD
Lake Elsinore: TBD
San Diego born and raised. Padres and Everton supporter… yes I’m a masochist. I’m a sports junkie with a love of stories. Hopefully we can learn a few things together on this adventure.
I’m truly pleased to see Gore finding his delivery again. The announcers mentioned the new Padre pitching coach was instrumental in it. We may very well need him later in this season. He is showing he will be worthy of a call up. He might just pitch himself into a starting roll going forward.