Padres Down on the Farm: August 18 (Acosta grand slam in DSL/Valenzuela homer, 3 RBI’s for LE/E.Ruiz 2 hits for SA)
Credit: Valley News
San Diego Padres affiliates went 2-2 on Wednesday.
Here is a recap of the day’s events.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Off Day) (36-52 on the season)
The Chihuahuas start a six-game series in Round Rock at 5:05 PM PST on Thursday.
San Antonio Missions (Lost 7-5 to Corpus Christi) (42-49 on the season)
Brandon Komar: 4 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 2 K (65 pitches, 34 strikes)
Olivier Basabe: (1-for-3), HR, RBI, R, BB, 2 K
Kyle Overstreet: (1-for-4), 2B, 2 RBI, BB, K
Esteury Ruiz: (2-for-4), R, BB, K
The San Antonio Missions bats woke up late, but it was not enough to overcome the Corpus Christi lead that they picked up off of starter Brandon Komar. Komar did not allow any runs in his first two innings, working his way around a double and a walk in the process. Unfortunately for Komar, four hits and three walks over his next and final two innings led to four runs for Corpus Christi. The Missions offense had no answers for Hooks’ starter Matt Ruppenthal, who allowed just two hits over the five innings he pitched, but they did manage to come alive against the bullpen. The Missions scored a pair in the eighth thanks to a Kyle Overstreet double and added three more in the ninth thanks to Olivier Basabe’s home run, an errant throw, and an RBI groundout. The Missions bullpen allowed late runs thanks to home runs, so it was not enough for San Antonio to pull off the comeback.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 18-6 to Western Michigan) (43-49 on the season)
Yorman Rodriguez: (2-for-5), HR, 4 RBI, R
Ethan Skender: (2-for-4), 2B, RBI, R
Grant Little: (2-for-4), BB
Wen-Hua Sung: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K (25 pitches, 14 strikes)
The TinCaps pitching staff struggled, big-time. Starting pitcher Carlos Guarate gave up eight runs in two innings of work, reliever Sam Keating gave up seven runs in just two-thirds of an inning, and Austin Smith allowed a pair in an inning and a third. All 18 Western Michigan runs were earned, and four of the seven pitchers the TinCaps put on the mound allowed at least a run. Fort Wayne briefly led, with an Ethan Skender single putting the TinCaps on the board first, but two innings later, they trailed by eight runs. Yorman Rodriguez provided the only bright spot of the game for Fort Wayne, hitting a grand slam in the seventh, but all that did was close the gap to twelve runs.
Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 8-6 vs. Inland Empire) (40-51 on the season)
Dwayne Matos: 6 IP, 7 H, 4 R (3 ER), BB, 5 K (68 pitches, 50 strikes)
Brandon Valenzuela: (3-for-4), HR, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB, SB
Angel Solarte: (3-for-5), RBI, SB, K
Robert Hassell III: (2-for-4), 3 R, BB, SB
The Lake Elsinore Storm scored four runs in a crucial come from behind eighth inning in order to pick up a win against Inland Empire. Brandon Valenzuela’s two-out three-run home run got the offense going for Lake Elsinore, but a team effort in the eighth is what won the Storm the game. Three walks, three singles, a steal of home, and a wild pitch led to four runs, putting the Storm ahead by three. Inland Empire picked up runs in both the eighth and ninth off of the Storm bullpen, but it didn’t matter, as the bullpen held on to pick up the win. Starting pitcher Dwayne Matos did enough to keep the Storm in the game, and when the bats exploded late, Lake Elsinore picked up the second game of the series against the 66ers.
DSL Padres (Won 8-5 vs. DSL Blue Jays) (18-7 on the season)
Miguel Mendez: 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K
Victor Acosta: (3-for-4), HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
Samuel Zavala: (2-for-3), RBI, R, BB
Carlos Rodriguez: (2-for-3), 2B, R, BB
After a scoreless first three and a half innings, Victor Acosta hit a huge grand slam, powering the Padres to a win. The Padres added a pair of runs in both the fifth and sixth innings, which meant that they were able to hold off the surging Blue Jays. The Padres pitchers managed to leave ten runners on base in just seven innings, which was huge in the three-run game. The Padres continue to still find ways to win as they lead the Dominican Summer League.
ACL Padres (Off Day)
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Thursday’s Probables
El Paso: Caleb Boushley (3-4, 5.44 ERA)
San Antonio: Pedro Avila (0-2, 3.64 ERA)
Fort Wayne: Danny Denz (0-1, 1.44 ERA)
Lake Elsinore: TBD
DSL Padres: TBD
ACL Padres: 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.