Padres Down on the Farm: August 20 (Doersching 2 HRs/Merrill homers for LE/Liberato 3 hits for EP/Melean 3 hits in SA)
Credit: Lake Elsinore Storm
The San Diego Padres minor league affiliates went 2-3 on Saturday, with the DSL Padres out of action.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 8-2 to Round Rock) (63-52 on the season)
Pedro Avila: 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 6 K (78 pitches, 49 strikes)
Luis Liberato: (3-for-4), 2 2B, RBI, R
Eguy Rosario: (1-for-3), RBI
Brett Sullivan: (1-for-4), R
The Chihuahuas bullpen fell apart as El Paso watched a close game turn into a rout. Pedro Avila did not allow an earned run in five strong innings of two-hit baseball, but a pair of errors did allow the Express to score twice. The Chihuahuas made three errors in the game, which proved to be costly. El Paso jumped into an early lead after Luis Liberato scored a run on Eguy Rosario’s sacrifice fly in the third. Liberato doubled home, Brett Sullivan, in the fourth, which put the Chihuahuas ahead by two. Liberato finished with three of El Paso’s seven hits on the night. Round Rock scored four runs off Luis Felipe, who did not retire a batter in the sixth. That proved to be the nail in the coffin, as El Paso’s offense could not mount a rally.
San Antonio Missions (Lost 5-3 to Northwest Arkansas in 10 innings) (59-52 on the season)
Henry Henry: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 6 K (92 pitches, 49 strikes)
Juan Fernandez: (2-for-3), 2B, RBI, 2 BB, SB, K
Kelvin Melean: (3-for-5), 2B, R
Webster Rivas: (1-for-3), RBI, 2 BB
For the second consecutive night, the Missions lost in walk-off fashion. Henry Henry battled his way through 4.2 difficult innings, and Mason Fox and Grant Gavin combined for 3.1 scoreless frames. The strong pitching, along with a pair of early runs from San Antonio, meant that the Missions were clinging to a one-run lead entering the ninth. Lake Bachar surrendered a game-tying home run to Tucker Bradley, sending the game to the tenth. Webster Rivas singled home Yorman Rodriguez in the top of the frame, but another Naturals home run ended the game. San Antonio went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position, which proved crucial in the tight affair.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 4-3 to Dayton) (45-68 on the season)
Jose Espeda: 5 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 9 K (79 pitches, 48 strikes)
Nick Thwaits: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (37 pitches, 27 strikes)
Carlos Luis: (2-for-4), 3B, 2B, RBI, R, K
Agustin Ruiz: (2-for-4), 2 2B, RBI
The TinCaps mounted a strong rally late, but a ninth-inning run from Dayton proved to be the difference in a close game. Jose Espeda surrendered three runs for Fort Wayne, walking four batters in five innings. Espeda showed flashes of brilliance, striking out nine batters, but his control issues were evident. Nick Thwaits then worked three shutout innings, which helped to bring the TinCaps back into play. Albert Fabian put Fort Wayne on the board with a single in the seventh. The TinCaps tied it up in the eighth with a triple from Carlos Luis, which scored Lucas Dunn, before Agustin Ruiz’s double brought Luis across. Fort Wayne turned to Ramon Perez in the ninth, and he walked three batters and hit the fourth, picking up the loss.
Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 16-8 vs. Stockton) (66-47 on the season)
Matt Boswell: 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 3 K (58 pitches, 27 strikes)
Griffin Doersching: (3-for-4), 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R, K
Jackson Merrill: (3-for-4), HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB, K
Colton Bender: (1-for-3), 3 R, 2 BB, K
The Storm’s offense rained down on the Ports, scoring 16 times in the first five innings. Griffin Doersching blasted two home runs in the win, driving in five. Doersching has just 32 at-bats since being promoted to Lake Elsinore, but he’s already gone deep five times. Top Padres prospect Jackson Merrill added a home run of his own in a three-hit night. All nine Storm starters reached base, with eight of the nine scoring a run. Matt Boswell allowed one run in three innings, but Lake Elsinore’s offensive explosion made any pitching struggles irrelevant.
DSL Padres (Off Day) (34-23 on the season)
The Padres will be off again on Sunday before taking on the DSL BAL Black squad on Monday. That’ll be the penultimate game in their season.
ACL Padres (Won 6-4 vs. ACL Mariners) (29-23 on the season)
Luis Gutierrez: 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 2 K
Nathan Martorella: (2-for-3), 2 RBI, BB
Rosman Verdugo: (1-for-3), RBI, R, BB, K
Graham Pauley: (0-for-1), 2 R, 3 BB
Despite having just five hits (all of which were singles) and making four errors, the Padres managed to win. The ACL Padres took ten walks in the game, including three from Graham Pauley. The Padres scored four times in the fifth inning, turning a two-run deficit into a two-run lead. Nathan Martorella was the only Padre with multiple hits in the win, driving in two runs in the process. The Padres pitchers also allowed just five hits, but the Mariners scrapped across four runs.
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Sunday’s Probables
El Paso: Tommy Eshelman (1-1, 7.68 ERA)
San Antonio: Ben Krauth (1-2, 5.90 ERA)
Fort Wayne: Garrett Hawkins (0-0, 15.00 ERA)
Lake Elsinore: TBD
DSL Padres: Off Day
ACL Padres: Off Day
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.