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

Here is a recap of the day’s events.

El Paso Chihuahuas (Defeated Round Rock Express 8-3) (43-57 on the season)

Matt Waldron: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 7 K (64 pitches, 51 strikes)

Oscar Mercado: (2-for-5), 2 R, 2B, RBI

Jantzen Witte: (2-for-4), R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, SB

Brett Sullivan: (2-for-2), 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB, SB

Ray-Patrick Didder: (1-for-4), R, HR, RBI

Kevin Plawecki walked it off on Thursday, and the Rangers decided they didn’t want to deal with him anymore, sending cash to the Padres for Plawecki. The veteran catcher was assigned to Round Rock immediately. While he didn’t play on Friday, the Express were able to get things going in the third inning. Dustin Harris led off the inning with a single. Diosbel Arias followed with a double down the left field line, scoring Harris. Two batters later, J.P. Martinez singled to left to score Arias.

Witte for the lead! 😄#FearTheEars pic.twitter.com/7HcEaPWdhp

— El Paso Chihuahuas (@epchihuahuas) July 29, 2023

El Paso responded in the fourth inning. After Matt Waldron struck out the side in the top half, the offense came alive with back-to-back singles from Brandon Dixon and Ben Game, setting up a three-run blast from Jantzen Witte, his 14th of the season. Ray-Patrick Didder homered later in the inning, hist first as a Chihuahua. Waldron shut down Round Rock again in the fifth with another 1-2-3 inning. The knuckleballer struck out seven in five, allowing just three hits.

Ray-Patrick Didder’s first HR in El Paso is a no-doubter!#FearTheEars pic.twitter.com/CBig2jhUUb

— El Paso Chihuahuas (@epchihuahuas) July 29, 2023

El Paso added on a pair of runs in the sixth and eighth innings, including an RBI double from Brett Sullivan, who reached base four times in addition to a sac fly. Nick Hernandez was a bright spot out of the pen, striking out two in a pair of clean frames. El Paso has now won four straight, two wins away from a six-game sweep.

San Antonio Missions (Lost to Corpus Christi Hooks 8-1) (46-48 on the season)

Daniel Camarena: 3.1 IP, 12 H, 8 R (7 ER), 0 BB, 4 K (82 pitches, 53 strikes)

Marcos Castanon: (1-for-3), 2B, RBI, BB

Daniel Johnson: (1-for-4), R

Former Mission got vengeance on his former team Friday with a second-inning, two-run blast. Later in the inning, Drew Gilbert hit a three-run home run making it 5-0. San Antonio starter Daniel Camarena struggled again in the fourth, allowing another home run. This time, it came from Kenedy Corona, his 15th of the year. Later in the inning, Zach Daniels doubled in Gilbert to make it an 8-0 game.

Marcos Castanon doubled in a run in the bottom of the fourth to avoid the shutout. The Missions bullpen of Lake Bachar, Jairo Iriarte, Justin Lopez, and Kevin Kopps struck out seven in 5.2 scoreless innings. Iriarte has still not allowed a run since being promoted to San Antonio.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Defeated West Michigan Whitecaps 8-0) (49-45 on the season)

Austin Krob: 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K (99 pitches, 59 strikes)

Nathan Martorella: (1-for-4), 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, SB

Graham Pauley: (3-for-5), 2 R, HR, RBI

Carlos Luis: (3-for-5), 2 R, HR, 3 RBI

After getting nothing going in the first inning, the TinCaps opened the top of the second inning with back-to-back home runs from Graham Pauley and Carlos Luis. The following inning, Kai Murphy reached by getting hit on a 3-2 count. Two batters later, Nathan Martorella absolutely destroyed his 16th home run of the season. Later in the inning, Luis singled in Pauley to make it 5-0.

Nathan Martorella just DESTROYED a baseball pic.twitter.com/P6haV51vtf

— Giannis Auntiegotapoodle (@TooMuchMortons_) July 28, 2023

Luis singled in Martorella in the fifth inning, his third hit of the game. After a strikeout, Albert Fabian doubled to right field. Anthony Vilar followed with a single to right, scoring both Luis and Fabian giving Fort Wayne an 8-0 lead. As good as the offense was, West Michigan had nothing going against TinCaps starter Austin Krob. The left-hander was in complete control, striking out eight in seven shutout innings. Krob’s ERA with Fort Wayne is now at 2.00.

VIDEO: Austin Krob (@austin_krob), a 1⃣2⃣th round pick out of @TCU_Baseball last summer, with 7 scoreless innings vs. WMich tonight. Gave up 4 hits w/ 2 BB and 8 strikeouts for @TinCaps. @PadresProspects @madfriars @EVT_News @billcenter #PadresTwitter pic.twitter.com/eRx8OgxYgw

— Glenn Marini (@GlennMariniWANE) July 29, 2023

Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost to Stockton Ports 6-3) (46-45 on the season)

Dylan Lesko: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, HBP, 2 K (45 pitches, 27 strikes)

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

Rosman Verdugo: (2-for-4), R, 2B

Dylan Lesko faced 12 batters and managed to get six out. After a superb Single-A debut, Lesko struggled to harness his control on Friday night in Stockton. Lesko allowed a three-run home run in the second inning to Pedro Pineda. With one out in the fourth inning, Rosman Verdugo pulled a ball down the left field line for his league-leading 26th double on the season. Later in the inning, Braedon Karpathios blooped a single into left field. Nik McClaughry, who had reached base via hit by pitch, followed Verdugo to score. Wilton Castillo pitched four scoreless innings for Lake Elsinore, striking out five.

Yeniel Laboy singled in a run in the seventh inning to double Stockton’s lead, 4-2. With one out in the eighth, Samuel Zavala worked a five-pitch walk. After a wild pitch, Ethan Salas lasered a single into center, putting runners on the corners. Devin Ortiz followed by grounding into a force-out. However, Zavala was able to score. Stockton scored two more in the bottom half of the eighth inning, including an RBI single from Pineda. The Ports left fielder went 3-for-3, with two runs scored and four runs batted in.

DSL Padres Brown (Lost to DSL Arizona Red 9-1) (13-25 on the season)

Johan Minaya: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, K

Gustavo Marquez: (1-for-3), 2B, RBI, BB

Yimy Tovar: (1-for-3), BB

Padres pitching was put to the test on Friday. After shutting Arizona down in the first two frames, Johan Minaya gave up a two-run double in the third inning. Omar hit a two-run home run as part of a four-run inning in the fourth as Arizona extended its lead to 6-0. Minaya was pulled after only one out in the inning.

The fifth inning brought a glimmer of hope to the Padres. After a leadoff walk to William Santana, Moises Valdez rolled over to third but was able to avoid a double play. Gustavo Marquez followed with a double to center, scoring Valdez. Arizona added three runs in the ninth inning to keep the Padres in check. The Padres were limited to just five hits as a team.

DSL Padres Gold (Defeated DSL Orioles Black 8-0) (24-15 on the season)

Danny Ojeda: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K

Emil Turbi: (3-for-5), 2 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI

Hugo Sanchez: (2-for-4), 2B, 3B, 2 RBI

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

The Padres scored early and often on Friday morning. A bases-clearing double from Jesus Castro gave team Gold a 3-0 lead in the first inning. The Padres rallied again in the second, setting up a two-run double for Hugo Sanchez. Emil Turbi continued the run production in the third inning with a double to right field. He would come around to score on a single from Ismael Javier.

Danny Ojeda and Dariel Polanco each threw three scoreless frames. Ojeda struck out four before handing the ball off to Polanco, who picked up his first win of the season. Turbi drove in another run with an RBI double in the seventh as the Padres routed the Orioles.

ACL Padres (Lost to ACL White Sox 4-1) (22-16 on the season)

Jonney Rosario: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 4 K

Homer Bush Jr: (1-for-3), SB

Jacob Campbell: (2-for-3), R, HR, RBI

A two-out RBI double gave the White Sox an early lead on Friday night in Peoria. A sacrifice fly in the second inning made it 2-0. Jacob Campbell homered to left in the bottom of the first inning to get the Padres on the board. With two outs in the third, Homer Bush Jr. blooped a single into left and stole second base, his fourth in five games. He was left stranded at second, however, ending the threat. The White Sox added on two runs in the fifth inning, extending their lead to 4-1. Bush Jr. is now hitting .412 with a 1.324 OPS.

Saturday’s Probables:

El Paso: Nolan Watson (3-5, 5.11 ERA, 56 K)

San Antonio: Jackson Wolf (8-8, 3.39 ERA, 104 K)

Fort Wayne: Victor Lizarraga (2-5, 4.26 ERA, 51 K)

Lake Elsinore: TBD

DSL Brown: OFF

DSL Gold: OFF

ACL Padres: TBD

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.