The San Diego Padres, minor league affiliates, went 3-1 on Sunday.

Here is a recap of the day’s events.

El Paso Chihuahuas (Defeated Round Rock Express 6-5) (45-57 on the season)

Jay Groome: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K (81 pitches, 51 strikes)

Jose Azocar: (2-for-4), R, 2 RBI

Ben Gamel: (1-for-4), R, HR, 3 RBI

Eguy Rosario: (3-for-4), R, HR, RBI

Jay Groome took the mound on Sunday night for El Paso. A walk and a steal for Jonathan Ornelas led to an RBI single for Elier Hernandez. The Express right fielder singled in another run in the sixth inning, making it 2-0. Groome was solid otherwise. Despite getting only three strikeouts, the left-hander limited Round Rock to just those two runs on six hits. Eguy Rosario homered in the bottom of the sixth, his third of the season.

Beautiful evening for a jog around the bases.#FearTheEars x #BringTheGold pic.twitter.com/E2pmB4f36K

— El Paso Chihuahuas (@epchihuahuas) July 31, 2023

Moises Lugo took over in the seventh and immediately gave up a double to Blaine Crim. J.P. Martinez singled to right, allowing Crim to score. The 3-1 lead for Round Rock didn’t last long. Tirso Ornelas and Austin Nola led off the bottom of the inning with singles. Tim Lopes followed with a walk to load the bases for Jose Azocar, who continued lined a single to left, scoring two and tying the game. Later in the inning, Ben Gamel homered to center field to make it 6-3. Crim and Martinez both homered in the ninth to cut the deficit to one. Kevin Plawecki doubled to left, forcing El Paso to make a switch. Jared Koenig came in and shut it down for his first save of the season.

"Give me that lead." – Ben Gamel#FearTheEars pic.twitter.com/aiocWgAPz1

— El Paso Chihuahuas (@epchihuahuas) July 31, 2023

Despite entering the week 18 games under .500, El Paso dominated Round Rock all week, outscoring the Express 38-26. They also made history Sunday with the first six-game series sweep in club history.

San Antonio Missions (Defeat the Corpus Christi Hooks 6-3) (47-49 on the season)

Ryan Bergert: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 5 K (74 pitches, 45 strikes)

Jackson Merrill: (3-for-4), 2 R, 2 RBI, SB

Daniel Johnson: (2-for-4), 2B, 2 RBI

Cole Cummings: (2-for-4), R, 2B

Ryan Bergert opened Sunday with a 1-2-3 inning. His offense responded. Ripken Reyes reached base via hit by pitch, and Jackson Merrill singled to right. Two batters later, Daniel Johnson doubled to center, scoring both. Corpus Christi got on the board in the third inning on an RBI double from Garrett Wolforth. The bottom half of the inning saw Marcos Castanon driving in Merrill. The Padres top prospect came up again in the fourth and drove in Chandler Seagle and Reyes for his third hit of the game, extending San Antonio’s lead to 5-1.

Jackson Merrill today

3 hits
2 RBIs
2 runs
1 SB pic.twitter.com/7737QgYoKc

— Giannis Auntiegotapoodle (@TooMuchMortons_) July 30, 2023

Bergert went 4.1 innings, allowing just the one run on three hits while striking out five. The 2021 sixth-rounder has a 2.84 ERA in 17 games pitched this season between Fort Wayne and San Antonio. Jose Espada and Adam Mazur combined for 2.2 scoreless innings, striking out four. Espada, in particular has been sharp, lowering his ERA to 2.55 on the year.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost to West Michigan Whitecaps 6-5) (49-47 on the season)

Bodi Rascon: 5 IP, 0 H, 2 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 4 K (86 pitches, 53 strikes)

Graham Pauley: (2-for-4), 2 R, HR, 2 RBI

Kervin Pichardo: (2-for-4), R, RBI, SB

Jakob Marsee: (2-for-5), R, SB

Graham Pauley opened the first inning Sunday with a two-run home run off of Spencer Turnbull (rehab stint), his third in five games. Bodi Rascon walked two in the second inning. Later in the inning, Rascon induced a ground ball to first baseman Nathan Martorella who couldn’t come up with it. Both runs came around to score, tying the game. Despite three walks, Rascon was solid, holding the Whitecaps hitless in five frames.

Graham Pauley hits another homer this time against rehabbing big league pitcher Spencer Turnbull pic.twitter.com/mnetCGzL4B

— Giannis Auntiegotapoodle (@TooMuchMortons_) July 30, 2023

Juan Zabala and Kervin Pichardo each singled in runs in the seventh inning to take a 4-2 lead. Adam Smith held West Michigan scoreless in the sixth and seventh innings, but after a strikeout to open the eighth, Smith walked consecutive batters before being pulled for Ethan Routzahn. A ground-out scored one run making it 4-3. The Whitecaps added four straight hits to take a 6-4 lead. The TinCaps scored a run in the ninth but ran out of innings.

Lake Elsinore Storm (Defeated the Stockton Ports 8-0) (47-46 on the season)

Miguel Mendez: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K (71 pitches, 45 strikes)

Griffin Doersching: (1-for-2), R, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB

Samuel Zavala: (2-for-4), R, 2 RBI

Nick Vogt: (2-for-5), 2 R, SB

After going down 1-2-3 in the first inning, Devin Ortiz singled to right, followed by a two-run home run from Griffin Doersching to give Lake Elsinore an early 2-0 lead. The Storm opened the third with consecutive singles from Tyler Robertson, Nick Vogt, and Samuel Zavala. Zavala’s single through the right side scored Robertson. Jay Beshears rolled over to first, but an errant throw made it bases load. Back-to-back walks to Devin Ortiz and Doersching. Stockton was able to strike out two in a row, seemingly going to escape the inning, when Charlis Aquino singled to left field, scoring a pair making it 7-0.

The real story on Sunday was Miguel Mendez. Prior to July 15, Mendez had a 7.98 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP. The 21-year-old right-hander was excellent Sunday afternoon, allowing just two hits. Mendez allowed a leadoff double in the sixth inning but was able to strike out Brayan Buelvas, his seventh punch out of the day. he got one more out in the inning before being pulled. Dwayne Matos came on and struck out Yeniel Laboy to end the threat. Mendez has allowed just two earned runs in the last three starts, lowering his ERA to under six. Zavala singled in another run in the seventh to make it 8-0.

DSL Padres Brown (Off today) (13-25 on the season)

Play DSL White Sox in doubleheader (7/13 makeup) on Monday at 8:00 am PST.

DSL Padres Gold (Off today) (24-15 on the season)

Play DSL Arizona Black on Monday at 8:00 am PST.

ACL Padres (Off today) (22-17 on the season)

Play ACL Guardians on Monday at 6:00 pm PST.

Monday’s Probables:

El Paso: OFF

San Antonio: OFF

Fort Wayne: OFF

Lake Elsinore: OFF

DSL Brown: TBD

DSL Gold: TBD

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.