Padres Down on the Farm: June 1 (Castanon homers for SA/Gutierrez goes 8 in LE)
Credit: Missions
Padres minor league affiliates opened June with a 3-1 record on June 1.
Here is a recap of the games’ events.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 6-5 vs Sacramento) (29-28 on the season)
Mason McCoy – 2-for-4, Home Run
Tirso Ornelas – 1-for-4, Two-RBI Double
Jackson Wolf – 4.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 6 K (89 pitches – 62 strikes)
El Paso’s lineup pounced on River Cats starter Carson Seymour, tagging him for six hits and four runs. Tirso Ornelas continued his impressive performance from May into the new month, hitting a two-run double in the first inning to give the Chihuahuas a 2-0 lead. Forrest Wall singled to drive in a run, as did Rodolfo Duran. Mason McCoy homered in the fifth inning to extend the lead to 5-0, and Mike Brosseau singled in the team’s sixth run, capping off the scoring.
Jackson Wolf had what could be characterized as an outing where the stat sheet doesn’t tell the whole story. The left-hander went 4.2 innings, striking out six batters, but allowed four unearned runs. Wolf was sharp as ever through the first four, but a fielding error sandwiched between two singles in the fifth inning allowed Sacramento to get on the board. Andrew Knizner and Brett Wisely hit back-to-back two-out doubles to chase Wolf from the game. Wolf’s arsenal usage was his most unique of the season so far, as he threw his changeup 55.1% of the time, which allowed the four-seamer and sinker to play up. His sinker and slider generated chases on 50% of swings against, and the slider had a 60% whiff rate against. Alek Jacob got the win with a scoreless inning, and Harold Chirino kept the game ahead, but allowed a run in the eighth inning, prompting Pete Zamora to turn to Ron Marinaccio. All Marinaccio did was strand the tying run on base twice, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
San Antonio Missions (Won 4-2 in 10 innings vs Arkansas) (28-23 on the season)
Romeo Sanabria – 3-for-5, RBI Single
Marcos Castanon – 1-for-5, Two-Run Home Run
Victor Lizarraga – 5.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K (90 pitches – 52 strikes)
Victor Lizarraga had his best start of the season, pitching into the sixth inning for the first time in 2025 and allowing no runs to score. Lizarraga struck out five batters in 5.1 innings, holding the Travelers to five hits and three walks. Lizarraga worked his way out of some tricky wickets thanks in large part to his defense. Brandon Valenzuela’s performance behind the dish was especially notable, as the Missions catcher threw out three of four attempted base runners. Carter Loewen tossed 1.2 scoreless innings for his fifth consecutive scoreless appearance, and has allowed one run in his last 11 innings of work. Jose Geraldo tossed a scoreless ninth inning, but surrendered two runs in the tenth inning. With the tying run on base, Manuel Castro retired Hunter Fitz-Gerald on a groundout to end the game.
At the plate,.the trio of Marcos Castanon, Romeo Sanabria, and Brandon Valenzuela delivered for the Missions. Sanabria opened the month with a three-hit game, singling in a run in the tenth. After his defensive heroics early in the game, Brandon Valenzuela drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th inning, scoring Moises Gomez. Sanabria then singled in Valenzuela on a ground ball single to right-center field. Marcos Castanon then turned on a 1-2 pitch to left field, finding the grass beyond the outfield wall for a two-run homer. Francisco Acuna, Kai Murphy, and Anthony Vilar all had singles in the game as well.
ICYMI: Marcos Castañon slugged a two-run homer for @missionsmilb.
Castañon has posted an .896 OPS since May 1, with 6 HR and 18 RBI in that span!#Padres @EVT_News pic.twitter.com/gROwiW3vZW
— Diego Garcia (@StatNerd_Base) June 2, 2025
Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 6-5 vs Great Lakes) (25-26 on the season)
Leo De Vries – 1-for-5, Game-Tying Double
Jake Snider – 2-for-3, Two-RBI Double
Eric Yost – 5 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 6 K (66 pitches – 41 strikes)
Right-hander Eric Yost allowed a season-high four runs in five innings of work, but the runs allowed do not tell the whole story. Yost completed five innings on 66 pitches, striking out six Loons batters and walking just one. The right-hander got four of nine outs in play on the ground, and opposing batters were hitting more line drives than usual against Yost. Still, the right-hander has posted a 2.35 ERA, 3.34 FIP, and 24% strikeout rate across 46 innings this season. Harry Gustin continues to have a breakout performance, as he struck out five in two innings of relief. Gustin has fanned 21 batters in his last 17 innings, walking only five in that span. Eiker Huizi was tagged with the loss, allowing the one run in the final 1.2 innings, although he was relieved with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth. Fernando Sanchez was tasked with getting the team out of the jam, but a Logan Wagner line drive off the glove of a leaping Brandon Butterworth allowed the winning run to score.
WAGNER WALK-OFF WINNER pic.twitter.com/feHzKu3a5e
— Great Lakes Loons (@greatlakesloons) June 1, 2025
The TinCaps lineup picked up the slack in the game. Jake Snider finished with two hits, including a two-RBI double early. Jack Costello doubled to score a run, his ninth double of the season. Braedon Karpathios reached base three times in the ballgame, walking twice and hitting a single. Brendan Durfee hit a double and scored a run as part of a two-hit day, and Leo De Vries had the game-tying double in the eighth inning to knot the game at five. Kai Roberts reached base twice and stole two bases in the loss.
Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 1-0 vs Stockton) (24-27 on the season)
Lamar King Jr – 1-for-3, Single, Walk, Run Scored
Kavares Tears – 1-for-4, Single
Luis Gutierrez – 8 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K (87 pitches – 63 strikes)
Luis Gutierrez, take a bow! The left-hander took the mound for the Storm coming off a dynamic month of May and continued to pitch in peak form. Gutierrez pitched eight innings of shutout baseball, striking out seven batters and walking only one. The southpaw got seven of 24 outs via the ground ball, but also induced three double plays on the day. Gutierrez, whom the team trusted in a do-or-die game in last season’s California League playoffs, is finding his groove at the right time, as he has posted a 1.23 ERA since May 1. Xavier Ruiz pitched a scoreless ninth in relief, striking out two en route to being the pitcher of record.
GUTI EIGHT ?️
Luis Gutierrez went eight innings, didn’t allow a run, and struck out 7 batters. He now has a 1.21 ERA in his last 29.2 IP pic.twitter.com/ylXw5L7r7W
— Lake Elsinore Storm (@Storm_Baseball) June 2, 2025
Lake Elsinore’s lineup was able to rally when they needed to, winning the game thanks to a balk called on Ports reliever Andinson Ferrer. Kavares Tears had a base hit as part of a 1-for-4 day. Lamar King Jr reached base twice in the game, walking and hitting a single. King’s single was crucial, as it set him up to score the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning. While Victor Figueroa did not have a base hit, he drew two walks in the game. Ryan Jackson had a single as the leadoff man, and Yendry Rojas went hitless in the game, but he was at the plate for the game-sealing balk-off.
BALK-OFF WIN!!!!#EmbraceTheStorm?️ pic.twitter.com/RhNh9DTaG8
— Lake Elsinore Storm (@Storm_Baseball) June 1, 2025
ACL Padres – Off Day
Writer’s Note
Tomorrow, June 2, marks the start of Dominican Summer League (DSL) Padres action, and we will be covering the teams as part of the Down on the Farm series.
Buckle up, it’s going to be a good one!
A born and raised San Diegan, Diego Garcia is a lifetime Padres fan and self-proclaimed baseball nerd. Diego wrote about baseball on his own site between 2021-22 before joining the East Village Times team in 2024. He also posts baseball content on his YouTube channel “Stat Nerd Baseball”, creating content around trades, hypotheticals, player analyses, the San Diego Padres, and MLB as a whole.
A 2024 graduate of San Diego State, Diego aims to grow as a writer and content creator in the baseball community.