San Diego Padres farm affiliates went 4-2 on Thursday.

Here is a recap of the day’s events.

El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 4-0 vs Sugar Land) (45-66 on the season)
Mason McCoy – 2 for 3, RBI
Nate Mondou – 2 for 4, Two RBI
Jared Kollar – 5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K (79 pitches, 49 strikes)

For the second game in a row, El Paso’s starting pitcher gave the team a valid chance to win. Jared Kollar was dominant across 5.2 innings, striking out the side in the first inning to set the tone for the outing. Kollar struck out five in his outing while only walking one, again exhibiting solid command of his fastball and cutter while mixing in his curveball to freeze opposing batters. The right-hander has now posted a 2.40 ERA in his last six starts, the latest three in the PCL.

Mason McCoy would score early on a sacrifice fly by Nate Mondou in the third, putting El Paso up 1-0. Mondou was the main catalyst for runs tonight, as he drove in two runs on the night. Outfielder Cal Mitchell walked twice and drove in a run in the ninth inning, with McCoy doubling in another run in that frame. Logan Gillaspie pitched the final two innings of the game, securing not only his sixth save but also a Chihuahuas shutout victory.

San Antonio Missions (Won 4-1 vs Springfield) (47-56 on the season)
Romeo Sanabria – 1 for 4, RBI
Connor Hollis – 1 for 5, RBI, Run Scored
Henry Baez – 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K (89 pitches, 60 strikes)

The breakout season continues for young Henry Baez, as the right-hander posted yet another quality start. Baez pitched six strong innings against the first-place Cardinals, striking out four. Baez was able to limit baserunners as a result of a whopping 11 ground ball outs across his six innings, with the only blemish on his resume being a first-inning RBI single. At one point, Baez retired 12 of the last 13 batters he faced. What a day for the young pitcher!

Offensively, the Missions scratched and clawed for their runs, capitalizing on errors committed by the Cardinals. Anthony Vilar and Ray-Patrick Didder reached base, and after a sacrifice bunt, Connor Hollis reached on a fielding error, which scored Vilar. Hollis was caught pulling a double steal, but Didder would score after Hollis baited the throw. After the Missions loaded the bases in the fifth, Romeo Sanabria drove in his first RBI at Double-A on a single, and Connor Hollis would score on a wild pitch. Ryan Och pitched the final 1.2 innings of the game, locking down his first Double-A save in the process.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Won 5-2 vs South Bend) (43-62 on the season)
Ethan Salas – 1 for 4, Double
Joshua Mears – 3 for 5, RBI Single
Eric Yost – 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K (64 pitches, 41 strikes)

The TinCaps came back from a 2-1 deficit late, scoring four unanswered runs to defeat the South Bend Cubs. The offense registered 10 hits across the game, with Joshua Mears posting a three-hit game. Ethan Salas doubled in the game as well, working out of the DH spot.

Eric Yost made his High-A debut with five strong innings of one-run baseball, striking out four. The right-hander recorded seven groundouts on the night, including a double play ball. Jose Luis Reyes allowed one run in three innings of relief, striking out two batters. With the TinCaps down 2-1, the team rallied, with Ethan Long narrowly missing a go-ahead home run. However, Long did double to tie the game, and Colton Bender drove in the go-ahead run. Josh Mears’ third hit of the day drove in the TinCaps’ fourth run of the game, with a fifth run scoring on a balk. Tyler Morgan entered for the ninth inning and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to seal the win.

Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost 6-2 vs Stockton) (53-50 on the season)
Leodalis De Vries – 1 for 5, Home Run
Jack Costello – 2 for 4, Home Run
Maikel Miralles – 2.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 3 K (63 pitches, 29 strikes)

Despite an early 1-0 lead, a five-run Stockton third inning set too large a deficit for the Storm. Jack Costello hit his second home run in as many days as part of a multi-hit effort. Leodalis De Vries hit another home run in the game, his 11th of the season. The offense would strand nine runners on base throughout the game, unable to create many RBI opportunities against Stockton’s pitching.

Right-hander Maikel Miralles started for the club and tossed 2.2 innings in a losing effort. Miralles struggled with his command throughout, tossing 46% of his pitches for strikes. All of the runs allowed by Miralles came in the third inning, a frame during which the young right-hander allowed two home runs. Bernard Jose made his Single-A debut in the game, tossing two shutout innings with two strikeouts.

ACL Padres: No Game

DSL Padres Gold (Won 8-7 vs DSL Orioles Orange) (22-24 on the season)
Darian Castillo – 3 for 4, Two RBI
Moises Valdez – 1 for 2, Two-Run Home Run
Luis Maracara – 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K

Starter Luis Maracara pitched another strong start, tossing five innings of one-run baseball. The right-hander struck out seven batters in his start, finishing one strikeout short of his season-high. Reliever Abraham Agramonte allowed four runs while recording no outs, and left-hander Marco Eluscat allowed two runs in 0.1 innings to give the Orioles Orange a one-run lead. However, the Padres Gold, having scored six runs earlier in the game, managed to come back. Darian Castillo tied the game at seven with his third hit of the game, and on a wild pitch from Orioles reliever Ezequiel Bonilla, Yimy Tovar scored the go-ahead run.

Moises Valdez hit his first home run of the season in the third inning, and both Kevin Hacen and Jason Hernandez logged multi-hit games in the win.

DSL Padres Brown (Lost 4-1 vs DSL Reds) (13-34 on the season)
Alexander Garcia – 1 for 1, Double
Fabian Alcantara – 1 for 3, RBI Double
Pedro Martinez – 3.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 K

The Padres Brown were stymied by Reds arms in the ballgame, as the Reds took a no-hitter into the final inning of play. Left-hander Pedro Martinez did not make it out of the fourth inning, as he allowed three runs to score on a three-run homer by Reds infielder Anthuan Valencia. Reliever Raymel Belliard made his professional debut in the game, striking out one in a scoreless inning. Doubles from Alexander Garcia and Fabian Alcantara broke the shutout, but were unable to erase the deficit, with the game ending in a 4-1 defeat.

Thursday’s Probable Pitchers:
El Paso – TBD
San Antonio – Ryan Bergert (1-7, 6.00 ERA)
Fort Wayne – Isaiah Lowe (0-1, 4.50 ERA)
Lake Elsinore – TBD
ACL – No Game
DSL Gold – TBD
DSL Brown – TBD

Diego Garcia

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.