The San Diego Padres, minor league affiliates, went 4-3 on Saturday.

Here is a recap of the day’s events.

El Paso Chihuahuas (Defeated the Sugar Land Space Cowboys 7-2) (36-53 on the season)

Jay Groome: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 10 K (90 pitches, 51 strikes)

Luis Campusano: (1-for-2), 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB

Alfonso Rivas: (1-for-3), R, HR, 2 RBI, BB

Max Shrock: (1-for-4), R, HR, 2 RBI

For the first three months of the season, El Paso lefty Jay Groome struggled to the tune of a 9.29 ERA and a 2.12 WHIP. On July 5, Groome turned in one of his best outings of the season, allowing just one run in six innings. The Padres #9 prospect had it going again on Saturday, striking out 10, a season-high, while allowing just one run.

Willy Wonka has some new competition in the candy world, Jay Groome owns Sugar Land!

5.0 IP/4 H/ 1 ER/ 3 BB/ 10 K@jaygroome55 x #FearTheEars pic.twitter.com/1S5HCBHUio

— El Paso Chihuahuas (@epchihuahuas) July 16, 2023

The bulk of El Paso’s runs came from the long ball via three two-run home runs. The last of which came from Luis Campusano, who inches towards his return from a thumb injury. Robert Suarez also appeared on Saturday. The hard-throwing right-hander reached 97 mph on the radar gun but did allow one run before escaping without any more trouble.

Campy joins in on the 2-run HR fun!

Campusano's first HR in his MLB Rehab Assignment#FearTheEars x #BringTheGold pic.twitter.com/faioHFtTSu

— El Paso Chihuahuas (@epchihuahuas) July 16, 2023

San Antonio Missions (Lost to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 4-1) (43-40 on the season)

Jackson Wolf: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K (60 pitches, 44 strikes)

Jairo Iriarte: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

Jackson Merrill: (1-for-4), R, 2B

Daniel Johnson: (1-for-2), 2 BB

A pitcher’s duel took place on Saturday at the Wolf. The Naturals’ Chandler Champlain was nearly unhittable, allowing a mere two base nocks in six scoreless frames. For San Antonio, Jackson Wolf was solid yet again. After four scoreless frames, the left-hander opened the fifth by striking out Jeison Guzman. The next batter, Jimmy Govern, doubled to left and scored two batters later when Jake Means singled him in.

Jackson Wolf

5 IP, 1 ER, 6 Ks, 0 BB, 4 H

Much rather see him over Weathers going forward pic.twitter.com/giAUr0DINf

— Giannis Auntiegotapoodle (@TooMuchMortons_) July 16, 2023

Northwest Arkansas added on against the bullpen in the sixth with a pair of runs. San Antonio was held scoreless until the eighth inning. Jackson Merrill doubled into the gap; a pair of walks loaded the bases before Merrill scored on a passed ball. San Antonio was limited to just five hits. One bright spot was Jairo Iriarte making his Double-A debut. Iriarte faced six batters and got them all out, three via strikeout.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost to the Great Lakes Loons 6-3) (43-40 on the season)

Victor Lizarraga: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 6 K (69 pitches, 42 strikes)

Nathan Martorella: (2-for-2), 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB

Carlos Luis: (2-for-4), 2B, RBI

Jakob Marsee led off Saturday with a walk before stealing second, his first of two stolen bases during the game. He didn’t stay there long; Nathan Martorella belted his 14th home run of the season to give the TinCaps an early 2-0 lead. Victor Lizarraga was solid most of the day but was knocked around in the fifth inning for four runs as he was chased from the game. Carlos Luis doubled in a run in the sixth to cut the deficit to 4-3, but the magic ended there. Fort Wayne was limited to just four hits on the day.

Nathan Martorella nuke #14 pic.twitter.com/ElYMrXIF8T

— Giannis Auntiegotapoodle (@TooMuchMortons_) July 15, 2023

Lake Elsinore Storm (Defeated the Fresno Grizzlies 3-2) (39-41 on the season)

Miguel Mendez: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 HBP, 4 K (61 pitches, 32 strikes)

Tyler Robertson: (3-for-5), R, 2B, RBI, SB

Nick Vogt: (3-for-5), RBI, SB

Samuel Zavala: (1-for-3), 2B, RBI, 2 BB

Tyler Robertson and Samuel Zavala each doubled to leadoff the third inning on Saturday, taking a 1-0 lead. Miguel Mendez struck out four in four scoreless frames for Lake Elsinore. Andy Perez tied the game in the sixth with a single to left field. A throwing error from Kai Murphy allowed Skyler Messinger to score. Murphy doubled the next inning and scored on a singled from Robertson, who finished 3-for-5.

It's a birthday RBI 🥩 for Samuel Zavala! #StormTheLake pic.twitter.com/CGJvhWydpN

— Lake Elsinore Storm (@Storm_Baseball) July 16, 2023

The Grizzlies tied the game in the ninth inning thanks to a trio of base hits from Fresno, sending the game to extra innings. In the top of the tenth, Thomas Balboni Jr. worked a 1-2-3 inning to strand the ghost runner. Ethan Salas started the bottom half of the inning on second. After a walk and a sacrifice bunt, Nick Vogt walked it off with a single through the right side of the infield.

Nick GOAT-we mean-Vogt walks it off in extra innings!!!#StormWin pic.twitter.com/y4y486e3FO

— Lake Elsinore Storm (@Storm_Baseball) July 16, 2023

DSL Padres Brown (Lost to the DSL Orioles Black 10-2) (11-17 on the season)

Jeison Sanchez: 2.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 1 K

Alexander Garcia: (1-for-4), 2B, 2 RBI

Moises Valdez: (0-for-0), R, 3 BB

The Padres would like a mulligan from Saturday. The Orioles picked up nine hits in addition to drawing seven walks getting production from up and down the order. The runs came in piles with three separate innings of three-plus runs. The Padres were held to just three hits until the seventh inning. A pair of walks followed by a two-run double from Alexander Garcia prevented the shutout. Adrian Perez went 1-for-1 with a double to extend his OPS to 1.003 on the season.

DSL Padres Gold (Defeated the DSL White Sox 7-4) (17-11 on the season)

Yovannki Pascual: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 8 K

Ismael Javier: (1-for-3), 3 RBI, 2 BB, SB

Oliver Carillo: (1-for-2), R, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 BB

Luis De Leon: (2-for-3), 2 R, RBI, 2 BB

The Padres worked a two-out rally in the third inning with a pair of RBI doubles. Ismael Javier doubled the lead in the fourth with a two-run single. The White Sox would cut the lead in the fourth and fifth innings with a pair of RBI singles. Yovannki Pascual struck out eight White Sox batters in five innings of work.

The Padres would walk five times in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 6-2. The Padres walked 12 times altogether in the victory.

ACL Padres (Defeated the ACL D-backs Black 10-2) (17-13 on the season)

Dylan Lesko: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Juan Murillo: (2-for-4), R, RBI, BB

Jose Sanabria: (1-for-4), R, 3B, 2 RBI, BB

Carlos Rodriguez: (1-for-2), 3 RBI

Alain Camou: (2-for-5), 2 R, 2B, RBI

Dylan Lesko, the Padres’ top pitching prospect, made his fourth appearance on Saturday in his return from Tommy John surgery. Lesko opened up with a strikeout but a single, walk, and a wild pitch put runners in scoring position. A pair of singles gave Arizona a 2-0 lead. Lesko rebounded in the second inning with two quick outs before reaching his pitch count for the day.

San Diego Padres Dylan Lesko 1.2IP, 3H, 2ER, BB, 3K's. ERA at 10.80 in his first 4 outings. pic.twitter.com/25vWTl9RSm

— TheJerryEspinoza (@JEspinoza1634) July 15, 2023

The Padres offense got things going in the third inning. After a ground out, Jose Sanabria walked, followed by three straight hits from Spence Coffman, Alain Camou, and Juan Murillo to tie the game. Three more runs came across in the inning to make it 5-2. The Padres added on a run in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. The final blow came in the top of the ninth when Sanabria drove in two with a two-run triple. The Padres bullpen allowed just one hit in 7.1 scoreless innings. Braden Nett worked three of the frames, striking out five.

Sunday’s Probables:

El Paso: TBD

San Antonio: Daniel Camarena (1-3, 6.85 ERA)

Fort Wayne: TBD

Lake Elsinore: TBD

DSL Brown: OFF

DSL Gold: OFF

ACL Padres: OFF

Al Scott

Al was born in Fresno, California with a passion for talking and writing about sports. The lifelong Padres fan is currently attending Fresno State as he pursues a degree in broadcast journalism. In addition to being a student, he does public address announcing at both the high school and collegiate levels.