Padres Down on the Farm: July 26 (EP wins pitching duel/Jackson Merrill makes debut in ACL)
Credit: Chihuahuas
San Diego Padres affiliates went 0-1* on Monday as the San Antonio Missions, Fort Wayne TinCaps, and Lake Elsinore Storm all had off days.
Here is a recap of the day’s events.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 1-0 vs. Albuquerque) (29-40 on the season)
Reiss Knehr: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K
Webster Rivas: (1-for-1), HR, RBI, R
Taylor Kohlwey: (1-for-3), BB
Luis Campusano: (0-for-3), K
The Chihuahuas pitching staff outdueled the Isotopes’, and Webster Rivas hit a pinch-hit home run to score the only run of the game in the bottom of the eighth inning. Reiss Knehr, Parker Markel, and Daniel Camarena gave up just three hits, all of them singles, and they only walked one batter in the game. El Paso had six hits but only one at-bat with a runner in scoring position, so Rivas’ home run was crucial.
Knehr faced just one batter with a runner in scoring position, inducing a flyout from Taylor Motter to end both the sixth inning and Knehr’s night. Parker Markel struck out four of the six batters that he faced before Camarena struck out Alan Trejo with the tying run on second base to secure the win for El Paso.
San Antonio Missions (35-36 on the season)
(Off Day)
Fort Wayne TinCaps (33-39 on the season)
(Off Day)
Lake Elsinore Storm (32-40 on the season)
(Off Day)
DSL Padres (Lost 3-2 to the DSL Reds) (8-3 on the season)
Miguel Mendez: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Samuel Zavala: (2-for-4), HR, RBI, R
Carlos Rodriguez: (1-for-3), 2B
Daniel Montesino: (1-for-4), RBI, 3 K
The DSL Padres bullpen faltered late, as Alejandro Lugo allowed a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, and the Padres lost for the second straight game after having won their previous eight. Samuel Zavala got the scoring started with a home run to right field, his second of the season. An inning later, Daniel Montesino singled home Jake Perez to double the advantage, but the Padres missed a major opportunity to add on. After Montesino’s single, the Padres had runners at the corners with one out, but Samuel Zavala grounded into an inning-ending double play. On the mound, Miguel Mendez excelled, not allowing a single hit in his four innings of work. Adrian De Los Santos worked the next three innings, but his only run was unearned, thanks to an error by Jake Perez. The Padres went 1-for-12 in scoring position, leaving six runners in the process.
ACL Padres (Won 6-4 vs. ACL Royals Gold) (6-12 on the season)
Brett Kennedy: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 7 K
Cristian Heredia: (3-for-4), HR, 2B, 2 R, RBI
Jackson Merrill: (1-for-3), 2B, RBI (Professional Debut)
Willmert Paula: (1-for-1), 2B, RBI, R
The ACL Padres picked up the victory with strong offense, and it was a big day as six players, including first-round pick Jackson Merrill made their professional debuts. Merrill struck out and grounded out in his first two at-bats, but he doubled home Olivber Moreno in his third at-bat, tying the game at three in the process.
Brett Kennedy started for the Padres, and he battled his way through five tough innings, allowing six hits in the process. He managed to limit the damage to three runs, which kept the Padres in the game. Bodi Rascon worked the next three innings for the Padres, surrendering just one unearned run on his way to his first professional win.
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Tuesday’s Probables
El Paso: TBD
San Antonio: TBD
Fort Wayne: TBD
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.