Padres Down on the Farm: August 13 (Nett dominates for FW)
San Diego Padres farm affiliates went 3-3 on Tuesday.
Here is a recap of the day’s events.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 12-3 vs Reno) (46-69 on the season)
Brandon Lockridge – 2 for 4, RBI Single
Tirso Ornelas – RBI Double
Nabil Crismatt – 4 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 2 K (73 pitches, 49 strikes)
A pair of big innings for the Reno Aces sank the Chihuahuas’ hopes for a win, losing 12-3. Nabil Crismatt took the mound for the Chihuahuas, and three of his four innings were solid. The third inning was a different story. Three hits to open the inning gave Reno a 1-0 lead and a missed fielder’s choice scored another run. A groundout drove in the third run, and a two-out single from Aces DH Ronaldo Hernandez pushed across the fourth run of the inning. Jackson Wolf tossed two scoreless innings with two strikeouts, peaking at 91.7 mph with his fastball. Left-hander Paul Fry allowed seven hits and five runs in 0.2 innings, putting the ball game out of reach, and Ethan Routzahn allowed three runs in 2.1 innings of mop-up duty.
Tirso Ornelas drove in El Paso’s first run on an RBI double, his 19th double of the season. Brandon Lockridge continues to adjust well to the PCL, notching another multi-hit game and beating out an infield single to score a run. The team stole four bases, with Clay Dungan stealing two bases and Mason McCoy logging his 25th steal of the year.
San Antonio Missions (Lost 5-0 vs Amarillo) (49-58 on the season)
Romeo Sanabria – 1 for 3, Walk
Robert Perez Jr – 1 for 2, Double, Two Walks
Austin Krob – 3 IP, 6 H, 1 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 3 K (67 pitches, 40 strikes)
The Missions’ offense failed to launch on Tuesday against the Sod Poodles, putting forth only four hits in a shutout loss. Romeo Sanabria reached base twice, and Robert Perez Jr reached base on a double and two walks. The Missions’ struggles came down to execution with runners in scoring position, a situation where the team posted a ghastly 0 for 7 in the game.
Austin Krob was sharp in three innings despite battling constant base traffic. Eight batters reached base against Krob, with six coming on base hits. However, Krob was able to reel it in and keep most of those runners from scoring. The lone stain on his outing came on a second-inning RBI single that could have been avoided had right fielder Robert Perez Jr been able to have come up with the baseball on the previous play. Reliever Jose Geraldo again flashed his stuff, striking out five over two scoreless innings. Carter Loewen allowed three runs in two innings of relief, pushing the game out of slam range in the eighth and ninth innings as the Missions lost 5-0.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (Won 4-1 vs Dayton) (45-64 on the season)
Joshua Mears – 2 for 4, Two Doubles, RBI
Ethan Salas – 1 for 4, Double
Braden Nett – 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 9 K (78 pitches, 55 strikes)
Have yourself a game, Braden Nett! The young right-hander continues his breakout month-plus. On just 78 pitches, Nett was absolutely dominant for the TinCaps, striking out a career-high nine batters and retiring 14 of the last 15 batters faced. He allowed only three hits and an unearned run, while the most encouraging sign was the absence of walks. Over his last four starts (21.2 IP), Nett has pitched to a 1.66 ERA, allowing less hits and pitching deeper into games. Fernando Sanchez closed out the game with three shutout innings of relief with four tickets punched.
The TinCaps’ offense had themselves a day, with Joshua Mears recording two doubles, driving in a run. Nik McClaughry tied the game in the third on an RBI single, and Ethan Salas delivered yet another double, scoring the go-ahead run in the sixth. Rosman Verdugo and Nerwilian Cedeno each drove in a run in the seventh as the team finished 4 for 14 with runners in scoring position in the victory.
Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost 5-3 vs Inland Empire) (56-51 on the season)
Brandon Butterworth – 2 for 4, Two Singles, Run Scored
Lamar King Jr – 1 for 4, RBI Double
Luis Gutierrez – 7 IP, 8 H, 3 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 0 K (75 pitches, 49 strikes)
Strom starter Luis Gutierrez delivered a strong quality start, tossing seven innings with two earned runs allowed. The sinkerballer induced an astonishing 10 ground ball outs across his outing, which did not feature a strikeout. Gutierrez was also helped greatly by his defense, as Brendan Durfee caught a runner stealing in the fifth, and Braedon Karpathios registered an outfield assist in the fourth.
The offense was mostly stymied early by 66ers starter Derek Clark and relievers Cesar Avila and Victor Garcia. Lake Elsinore’s bats would only muster one run on four hits and two walks over the first seven innings. The team rallied in the ninth inning, with Lamar King Jr and Braedon Karpathios driving in a run each in the ninth to put the game at 5-3. Ryan Wilson walked to put the tying run on base, but Jose Sanabria punched out, and Leodalis De Vries hit a sharp grounder to second, which recorded a forceout and the end of the game.
Reliever Miguel Valdez was forced to leave the game after four pitches with an undisclosed injury. His status going forth is to be determined.
ACL Padres: No Game
DSL Padres Gold (Won 6-0 vs DSL Athletics) (25-25 on the season)
Yoiber Ocopio – 2 for 4, Double, Two Runs
Santiago Contreras – 1 for 2, Run Scored
Manuel Davila – 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Dominant is the best word to describe 17-year-old Manuel Davila’s performance in his start against the DSL Athletics. The right-hander tossed six shutout innings, scattering four hits in the process. Davila recorded half of his outs on the ground, with nine ground ball outs induced. Yimy Tovar hit a ball that was misplayed by the second baseman to score the Padres Gold’s first run, and Jesmaylin Arias drove in two on a two-RBI single later in the first inning. A bungled pickoff throw in the second scored Santiago Contreras from third to bring the score to 4-0. Yoiber Ocopio laced a single to left field in the fifth to score Tovar, and Ocopio himself would come around to score on a throwing error by A’s second baseman Samuel Gonzalez in a grounder off the bat of Jesmaylin Arias. Anderson Ortiz would toss a scoreless seventh for the Padres Gold, sealing the shutout win.
DSL Padres Brown (Won 4-3 vs DSL Brewers 1) (15-36 on the season)
Yorvin Morla – 1 for 1, Three Walks
Isaac Ponce – 0 for 2, Two RBI
Joseph Herrera – 4.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 2 K
Padres Brown starter Joseph Herrera pitched into the fifth inning for just the second time this season, allowing three runs on seven hits. The left-hander struck out two and generated eight ground ball outs along his outing.
Leadoff man Yorvin Morla had the ideal day for a leadoff batter, as he reached base in all four of his plate appearances, including three walks. While the Padres Brown only notched three hits, they were able to capitalize on five walks and a pair of fielding errors. Isaac Ponce drove in two runs, one on a first-inning RBI groundout. The team entered the fifth inning down 2-1 but staged a comeback, loading the bases with one out. Jose Bericoto drove in the tying run, and Yorvin Morla walked to score the go-ahead run. Isaac Ponce had yet another productive out to score an insurance run, pushing the lead to two. That insurance run would be important, as the Brewers pushed across a run on two hits, ending Herrera’s night. The Brewers got the leadoff man on in the sixth and seventh innings against reliever Rordy Mejia, but the runners would be erased on a double play and a caught stealing as Mejia recorded a two-inning save to seal a 4-3 win.
Wednesday’s Probable Pitchers:
El Paso – Jared Kollar (2-0, 2.81 ERA)
San Antonio – Henry Baez (2-0, 2.08 ERA)
Fort Wayne – Eric Yost (1-0, 1.80 ERA)
Lake Elsinore – TBD
ACL – No Game
DSL Gold – No Game
DSL Brown – TBD
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.