Padres Down on the Farm: July 17 (Garrett Richards Begins Rehab in AZ/Weathers pitches in Fort Wayne)
Credit: MiLB
San Diego Padres affiliates went 4-4 on Wednesday.
Here is a recap of the day’s events.
El Paso Chihuahuas (58-39) Won 9-7
The day did not start well for El Paso. After four innings, they were down 5-1 after starter Bryan Mitchell struggled, allowing five earned runs in just 3 1/3 innings with five walks. Ty France got the comeback going in the sixth with an RBI single, cutting the Reno lead to 5-2. However, Reno made it 7-2 before heading into the ninth inning for what seemingly was a comfortable lead. Webster Rivas then hit a two-run homer to close the gap to 7-4. France came up with the bases loaded and was hit by a pitch, scoring a run and cutting the deficit to two. Jose Pirela came through in the clutch with an RBI single, cutting it down to just one. Aderlin Rodriguez then sealed the comeback with a go-ahead, two-run single. El Paso was able to add another run to win 9-7.
Bryan Mitchell- 3.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 5 BB, 1 K
Jose Pirela- (3-for-5), RBI, R
Webster Rivas- (2-for-5), HR, 2 RBI, R
Ty France- (1-for-3), 2 RBI, R, BB
Travis Jankowski– (2-for-5), 2 R
Amarillo Sod Poodles (48-46) Lost 5-2
Amarillo was playing catch up from the start. The Springfield Cardinals scored in the first inning off of starter Nick Margevicius and could not recover. The Sod Poodles bats were silenced until the fifth inning when Edward Olivares hit a two-run double, cutting the score to 5-2. That is where the scoring stopped as both bullpens pitched well. Margevicius went seven innings before Michel Baez took over to pitch two scoreless innings to finish the game.
Nick Margevicius– 7 IP, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Edward Olivares– (1-for-3), 2B, 2 RBI, BB
Luis Torrens– (1-for-3), BB
Hudson Potts– (0-for-2), 2 BB
Owen Miller- (1-for-4)
Lake Elsinore Storm (48-47) Lost 4-1 (11)
This game was the ultimate pitcher’s duel for 10 innings. The score remained scoreless until the 11th. Osvaldo Hernandez opened the game with two scoreless innings before Reiss Knehr dazzled with eight shutout innings with 10 strikeouts. In the 11th, the Modesto Nuts finally broke through with four runs off of Franklin Van Gurp, only two of which were earned thanks to the shaky defense. The Storm was able to get a run back with a double by Gabriel Arias. However, the comeback sputtered, and the Storm fell 4-1.
Reiss Knehr– 8 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K
Gabriel Arias– (1-for-4), 2B, RBI
Allen Cordoba– (2-for-4), BB, SB
Luis Campusano– (2-for-5), 2B, R
Fort Wayne TinCaps (41-52) Won 6-2
Ryan Weathers looked to continue his strong season against the Peoria Chiefs, and he did just that, going six innings with just two earned runs and five strikeouts. He was backed by six early runs from the TinCaps bats led by Justin Lopez, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI. Blake Hunt singled home a run in the third when Fort Wayne scored four runs. After giving up a run in the first inning, Weathers settled in then the bullpen tossed three perfect frames to seal the victory.
Ryan Weathers– 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Justin Lopez– (2-for-4), 3 RBI
Blake Hunt– (1-for-1), 3 BB, RBI, R
Ethan Skender– (2-for-4), 2 R
Agustin Ruiz– (2-for-4), 2 R
Tri-City Dust Devils (14-19) Lost 7-1
Connor Lehmann got the start for the Dust Devils and gave up one run in two innings. Everett jumped out to a 7-0 lead before Tri-City finally got on the board in the bottom of the seventh when a run scored on an error. The Dust Devils bats were quiet for the majority of the night.
Connor Lehmann– 2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Nick Gatewood– (2-for-4)
Sean Guilbe (1-for-2), R, BB
AZL Padres 1 (15-9) Won 3-2
The headline in the Padres organization today was the return of veteran starter Garrett Richards. He began a long-awaited rehab assignment from Tommy John surgery on Wednesday in Arizona and threw two innings, allowing one run and three strikeouts. His was reportedly topping out at 96 mph with his fastball (Video Below). The 31-year-old has not pitched in the big leagues since July 10, 2018. Yordi Francisco scored a run after a triple, but the effort was not enough as the Padres fell to the Dodgers.
Garrett Richards– 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 K
Yordi Francisco– (1-for-5), 3B, R
Brandon Valenzuela– (1-for-4), RBI, BB
Hudson Head– (2-for-3), R, BB
AZL Padres 2 (16-8) Won 12-4
The Padres got off to a fast start, scoring ten runs in the first five innings. Junior Perez homered, tripled and collected five hits and four runs scored, falling just a double shy of the cycle. Vladimir Echavarria added two hits, a double and an RBI in the offensive onslaught. It was more than enough for starter Carlos Guarate and company to seal the win for the Padres over the Brewers.
Carlos Guarate– 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Junior Perez– (5-for-6), HR, 3B, 4 R, 2 RBI
Yeison Santana– (2-for-4), RBI, 2 R
Vladimir Echavarria– (2-for-2), 2B, RBI, R
Garrett Richards went two in an AZL rehab start at Peoria. Sat 93-95 T96. Mixed in plus SL, CB. pic.twitter.com/cCzLHbBUhq
— Jason Pennini (@JasonPennini) July 18, 2019
DSL Padres (16-23) Lost 12-2
The Dominican Padres got knocked around by the Orioles as it was 9-0 after the third inning. Mauricio Rodriguez had an outing to forget with seven earned runs on 10 hits in 2 1/3 innings. The bullpen provided little relief with five earned runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings. The Padres were able to muster two runs and avoid the shutout in the ninth inning, with some help from the Orioles bullpen as the runs were scored on a balk and a sacrifice fly after a wild pitch.
Mauricio Rodriguez– 2.1 IP, 10 H, 7 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Josttin Diaz– (0-for-4), RBI
Nerwilian Cedeno– (1-for-4), BB
 Wilmert Puala– (0-for-2), 2 BB
Eddyson Moreno– (1-for-4), R
Thursday’s Probables
El Paso- TBD vs. Taylor Widener (6-5, 8.00 ERA)
Amarillo- Ronald Bolanos (4-2, 4.26 ERA) vs. Tommy Parsons (3-2, 4.29 ERA)
Lake Elsinore- TBD
Fort Wayne- Sam Keating (3-6, 5.55 ERA) vs. TBD
Tri-City- Cullen Dana (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. TBD
AZL Padres 1- OFF
AZL Padres 2- OFF
DSL Padres- TBD
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.