Padres Down on the Farm: June 4 (Bush homers for FW)
The San Diego Padres’ affiliate clubs went 0-5 on Tuesday.
Here is a recap of the night’s action.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 2-1 vs Las Vegas) (24-34 on the season)
Graham Pauley – (1-for-4) Double
Oscar Mercado – (1-for-3) RBI, Walk
Gabe Mosser – 6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (87 pitches, 54 strikes)
The Chihuahuas faced the Las Vegas Aviators in a tense pitchers’ duel on Tuesday night. Yes, a pitchers’ duel in the Pacific Coast League. Gabe Mosser started for El Paso, coming off a month where posted a 6.12 ERA in six starts. A new month is a new opportunity, and Mosser certainly took advantage of the turn of the page. Mosser tossed 6.1 innings of two-run baseball, striking out seven season-high batters. It was a good sign for the right-hander, who had only struck out 13 in the entire month of May.
Offensively, the Chihuahuas were mostly held at bay by a tandem of Aviator pitchers, including former Chihuahua Adrian Martinez. El Paso would record only four hits, with their lone extra-base hit being a double by Graham Pauley. Oscar Mercado would record the lone RBI for the team, and the team would be 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. This, coupled with a lack of offense from the Chihuahuas, spelled another loss in the record.
San Antonio Missions (Lost 7-6 vs Midland) (22-29 on the season)
Marcos Castanon – (2-for-5) Home Run
Robbie Tenerowicz – (2-for-5) RBI
Carter Loewen – 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (28 pitches, 16 strikes)
The Missions’ bullpen game did not go as expected, as the Midland Rockhounds struck for five runs in the fifth before taking the lead in the next frame. Carter Loewen started for the Missions and delivered two scoreless frames, punching out three. The 25-year-old continues a strong run at AA, now owning a 2.76 ERA in 16.1 frames. Southpaw Omar Cruz took the brunt of the Rockhounds’ attack, allowing five runs across 2.1 frames. Today’s outing was the first major hiccup for Cruz, who before today had a 3.00 ERA across 24 innings.
The Missions offense struck early on homers by Marcos Castanon and Ray-Patrick Didder, taking a 2-0 lead. Every offensive starter for San Antonio reached base at least once, with the team walking seven times. Castanon would go 2-for-5 in the game, and Brandon Valenzuela would reach base twice. Despite solid individual performances, the team went a rough 3-for-17 with runners in scoring position, stranding a whopping 14 runners en route to a not-so-nice 9-6 loss.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 6-5 vs Peoria in 10 innings) (23-29 on the season)
Homer Bush Jr – (1-for-4) Home Run
Tyler Robertson – (1-for-4) 2-RBI Double
Enmanuel Pinales – 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (95 pitches, 63 strikes)
The TinCaps played a close game against the visiting Peoria Chiefs, but a three-run third would put them in a deficit early. Enmanuel Pinales started the game for Fort Wayne and delivered a quality start. Pinales would toss six innings of three-run ball against the Chiefs, striking out three. Pinales was able to keep the ball in the ballpark in this outing despite eight outs in play being recorded in the air. While he did not record as much swing and miss as his previous outings, he kept the TinCaps in reach for a win. Ryan Och struggled across his two innings, surrendering two runs. Och has now allowed six runs across his last 2.1 innings, a concerning sign for an emerging arm.
Offensively, Homer Bush was the notable, hitting his first home run of the season in the ballgame. The Padres’ No. 8 prospect is now hitting .265 on the year, getting on base 36% of the time in his first action at High-A ball. Tyler Robertson also recorded a big hit with a two-run double. Griffin Doersching would hit his eighth homer of the season to tie the game at five runs apiece in the ninth. The 2022 eighth-rounder has carried a “three-true-outcomes” profile throughout his professional career, and he would be a late-blooming asset to ascend through the system should he cut down on that part of his game.
Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost 13-6 vs Inland Empire) (26-24 on the season)
Romeo Sanabria – (1-for-2) Home Run, 2 RBI, 3 Walks
Alain Camou – (4-for-5) 2 RBI
Luis Gutierrez – 3.1 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 2 K (68 pitches, 43 strikes)
The Storm had an early one-run lead that would disappear after a five-run fifth inning. The offense had a strong showing in the game, with Romeo Sanabria torching a first-inning homer to put the Storm up 2-0. Alain Camou had a career day, going 4-for-5 in the ballgame and driving in two runs. Chase Valentine continued his recent tear with another hit in three at-bats, having gone 10-for-18 in his last five games.
The Storm’s pitching staff struggled in this game, their pitches being pelted across the field to the tune of 14 hits allowed. Left-hander Luis Gutierrez had a difficult outing, allowing six runs on eight hits and three walks. Even though he was living in the zone most of the time (63% strike rate), batters were teeing off on his offerings throughout his outing. The bullpen did not have an easy time, surrendering seven runs of their own across 4.2 innings. The worst of it was handed to Yerry Landinez, who allowed four runs in 1.2 innings.
ACL Padres (Lost 11-1 vs ACL Rockies) (15-8 on the season)
Kaden Hollow – (2-for-5) 2 Singles
B.Y. Choi – (2-for-4) RBI Double
Glenn Otto – 0.2 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
The ACL Padres’ pitching staff got blown out against the ACL Rockies, allowing 11 runs on 13 hits and eight walks. Right hander Glenn Otto, on rehab assignment recovering from a right teres major strain, started for the Padres, and the rust was evident. Otto walked two and allowed three runs, with one coming across after his exit from the game. The team would allow eleven unanswered runs after scoring once in the top of the first.
Two offensive performers worth highlighting are infielders Kaden Hollow and B.Y. Choi. Both were the only players to record multi-hit games, as the rest of the team went 3-for-24. Choi, the Padres’ 2023 20th-round pick, is now hitting .254 with an .826 OPS this season, and he could make a late-season push to A-ball. Hollow has hit a more impressive .291 with a .473 on-base percentage in his first entire full season in the Complex League, and he could also be late season reinforcements for Lake Elsinore.
DSL Padres Gold
POSTPONED
DSL Padres Brown
POSTPONED
Wednesday’s Starting Pitchers
El Paso – Miguel Cienfuegos (AAA Debut)
San Antonio – Victor Lizarraga (1-3, 3.86 ERA)
Fort Wayne – Jagger Haynes (1-3, 5.01 ERA)
Lake Elsinore – TBD
ACL – TBD
DSL Brown – TBD
DSL Gold – TBD
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.