Padres minor league affiliates went 2-2 on Sunday. 

Here is our daily recap of the games played. 

El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 9-3 vs Sugar Land) (43-38 on the season)

Clay Dungan – 1-for-5, Three-Run Home Run

Nate Mondou – 2-for-3, Double, Single, Three RBI

Omar Cruz – 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 6 K (81 pitches – 49 strikes)

Left-hander Omar Cruz had a revenge outing against the Space Cowboys, tossing five innings of three-run baseball. Cruz struck out six batters, with his changeup being particularly effective. The left-hander got four groundball outs, including a double play in the fourth inning. Francis Pena tossed a scoreless inning, finishing his month without allowing an earned run. Alek Jacob and Jose Espada each tossed a scoreless inning with two strikeouts. Eduarniel Nunez appears to have taken the closer’s role and run with it, as the hard-throwing right-hander struck out two while reaching 101.4 mph on the radar gun. 

The Chihuahuas pushed across nine runs with ease. Nate Mondou singled to score two runs in the first inning, giving the team a 2-0 lead. El Paso would never trail during the game. Yonathan Perlaza tripled to score a run in the third, and he would come in to score on a single by Mondou. With the Space Cowboys having scored three runs in the fourth and fifth innings, the game was close entering the sixth, but Clay Dungan had different plans. Dungan launched his tenth homer of the season, a three-run shot to extend the Chihuahuas’ lead to 7-3. Tim Locastro tripled to score the eighth run of the game, and Mason McCoy’s sacrifice fly capped off the scoring. Luis Campusano drew three walks in the game, scoring two runs. 

San Antonio Missions (Lost 2-1 vs Midland) (42-33 on the season)

Francisco Acuna – 1-for-1, Solo Home Run

Anthony Vilar – 1-for-3, Single, Walk, Stolen Base

Braden Nett – 5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 3 K (81 pitches – 51 strikes)

Right-hander Braden Nett made his second start of the series, tossing 5.1 innings of one-run baseball. Nett struck out three and walked four in the game, but got some help from his defense along the way. Anthony Vilar threw out Colby Halter attempting to steal second in the third inning, and Nett induced a double play off the bat of Cole Conn in the fourth. Nett walked two in the sixth to spell the end of his day, and Jose Geraldo escaped the inning with no damage. After this start, Nett officially surpassed his innings total from last season (66.2 IP this season, 65 IP in 2024), not including his work in the Puerto Rican Winter League. Jose Geraldo allowed a run in the seventh, giving Midland a 2-1 lead, which would hold the rest of the way.

Braden Nett’s phenomenal June ended with another great outing! He is today’s @FrostBank Player of the Game! pic.twitter.com/H44yilU7dT

— San Antonio Missions Baseball (@missionsmilb) June 29, 2025

Francisco Acuna put the Missions on the board first with his seventh home run of the season. Acuna would only have one at-bat in the game, as he would exit in the bottom of the first inning due to an injured back. Acuna’s replacement, Ripken Reyes, would have a single of his own, one of five Missions hits. Anthony Vilar reached base twice, once via a single, stealing his fifth base of the year. Nerwilian Cedeno and Kai Murphy each had a single and a stolen base as well. Despite amassing seven baserunners, the Missions went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position in the one-run loss. 

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Won 8-7 vs Great Lakes) (37-37 on the season)

Brandon Butterworth – 1-for-2, Two-RBI Single

Rosman Verdugo – 0-for-1, Three Walks, Two Runs Scored

Luis Gutierrez – 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 K (88 pitches – 54 strikes)

Fort Wayne drew eleven walks as an offense en route to an 8-7 win in tense fashion. Rosman Verdugo reached base three times in the ballgame and scored two runs. Brandon Butterworth hit a two-RBI single in the game and had one of three hits for the ‘Caps. Ryan Jackson went 1-for-3 out of the leadoff spot, scoring two runs. Leo De Vries drew two walks in the game, driving in a run on a bases-loaded walk. Kai Roberts drew two walks and scored once, and Jacob Campbell’s single to right field gave the team their lead. 

Luis Gutierrez bounced back from a short outing last week to toss five quality innings. Gutierrez punched out four batters in his outing, allowing just a run on four hits. The left-hander continues to deliver solid results out of the rotation and has a 2.13 ERA in his first three TinCaps starts. Nick Wissman delivered a shutout inning of relief, and Sam Whiting allowed one run in his lone inning of work. Sean Barnett was called on for the eighth, but he failed to retire any of the six hitters he faced, walking three and allowing two hits. One of those hits was a grand slam to Frank Rodriguez. Cole Paplham was called upon to exit the jam, and he went on to throw 1.2 innings. Paplham allowed one run in the ninth inning, and Luke Montz called on Ruben Galindo for the final out. Galindo delivered a grounder to third that resulted in a forceout, ending the game. 

Victory Screechhhhhhhhhh ?️

Box Score: https://t.co/Oj8w1j9wIR pic.twitter.com/ulJs5onRxJ

— Fort Wayne TinCaps (@TinCaps) June 29, 2025

Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost 5-4 vs Modesto) (33-42 on the season)

Victor Figueroa – 1-for-4, Sac Fly

Kavares Tears – 2-for-4, Two Singles, Run Scored

Bryan Balzer – 0.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K (26 pitches – 13 strikes)

Right-hander Bryan Balzer returned to the mound, throwing 13 of his 26 pitches for strikes and allowing one run on three hits. It was Balzer’s first appearance since May 24, when he threw four shutout innings. Will Varmette served as the piggyback starter, tossing 5.1 innings of two-run baseball. Varmette struck out two batters and allowed two walks. It was his best outing of the month since June 2, also against Modesto.  Also of note on the defensive end, Victor Figueroa made his first start in right field for the Storm and recorded an outfield assist to gun down Carlos Jimenez at home in the fifth. 

DON’T RUN ON FIGGY!!!! pic.twitter.com/R0Jh1FGAqw

— Lake Elsinore Storm (@Storm_Baseball) June 29, 2025

Kavares Tears had two hits in the ballgame, both singles. Tears scored a run in the first inning, thanks to a sacrifice fly by Victor Figueroa. Zach Evans scored a run in the game after singling in the fourth inning. Colton Vincent hit the team’s second sacrifice fly to score Evans. The team staged a rally in the eighth inning, as with runners on first and second with two outs, Vincent grounded a single to left that was booted by left fielder Ryan Picollo, allowing two runs to score. Ryan Wilson and Chase Valentine each scored a run in the ballgame. A one-run game could have been much different, but Lake Elsinore went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. 

Oh, we get by with a little help from our friends
Mmm, we score runs with a little help from our friends
Ooh, we’re one run shy with a little help from our friends pic.twitter.com/YN8yUZtzbK

— Lake Elsinore Storm (@Storm_Baseball) June 29, 2025

ACL Padres – Off Day

The ACL Padres return to action on Monday, with a pair of new arms on their roster. Rordy Mejia and Jose Ortega will be reporting to the ACL Padres on Monday, having earned a promotion from the DSL. 

DSL Padres – Both Clubs on Off Day

Diego Garcia

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.