The San Diego Padres minor league affiliates went 1-2 on Wednesday, with Fort Wayne out of action due to rain.

Here is a recap of the day’s events.

El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 5-3 vs. Oklahoma City) (12-17 on the season)

Ryan Weathers: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 3 K (63 pitches, 33 strikes)

Preston Tucker: (2-for-3), 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, BB, K

Yorman Rodriguez: (2-for-4), HR, RBI, R

Luis Liberato: (1-for-3), RBI, SB, K

Preston Tucker hit a tie-breaking two run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, his second homer of the game, powering the Chihuahuas to a win. Ryan Weathers was a mixed bag in his first AAA start of the season. He didn’t allow a run and surrendered just one hit in four innings, but he also walked five batters. He’ll need to reign in his control if he wants to return to San Diego later this season. Tucker’s first home run of the game opened up the scoring. El Paso grew their lead to three after Yorman Rodriguez hit a homer in the fourth, before Luis Liberato singled later in the inning. The Dodgers did rally to tie the game against El Paso’s bullpen, but Tucker’s second homer proved decisive. Ray Kerr sealed the win with his first save of the season.

San Antonio Missions (Lost 3-2 to Tulsa) (10-12 on the season)

Duncan Snider: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K (71 pitches, 46 strikes)

Jose Espada: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K (20 pitches, 15 strikes)

Brantley Bell: (1-for-3), HR, RBI, R

Luis Aviles Jr: (1-for-3), R

The Missions wasted a great pitching performance from Duncan Snider when Tulsa rallied for a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth. Snider worked the first five innings of the game, surrendering just three hits and one run. Jose Espada got San Antonio through two more scoreless innings, sending the game to the eighth tied at one. Brantley Bell led off the eighth with his first home run of the season, sending San Antonio into the lead. Nick Hernandez entered to try and seal the save, successfully striking Jose Ramos to begin the inning. However, he gave up a single followed by three consecutive walks. He departed the game, leaving having just recorded one out, with the bases loaded, and the game tied. Lake Bachar tried to force extra innings, but he was unsuccessful, as San Antonio lost their fourth straight game. 

Fort Wayne TinCaps (PSPD-Weather) (5-16 on the season)

For the second straight day, Fort Wayne had their game postponed due to rain. They’ll play a doubleheader with Lake County on Thursday, before playing another on Saturday.

Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost 4-3 to Rancho Cucamonga) (16-7 on the season)

Thomas Balboni Jr: 4 IP, 1 H, 2 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 4 K (70 pitches, 42 strikes)

Will Geerdes: 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K (55 pitches, 29 strikes)

Samuel Zavala: (2-for-4), 2B, R, 2 K

Rosman Verdugo: (0-for-1), 3 BB

A pair of costly errors doomed the Storm to a tight loss, falling 4-3. The Storm couldn’t get much thunder out of their bats, as they produced just one extra-base hit. Chris Newell’s fielding error in the fourth proved costly, as Rancho Cucamonga scored two runs as a result. That wasn’t where the defensive struggles ended though, as Samuel Zavala misplayed a liner into center field, allowing Nick Biddison to race around the bases and score an inside-the-park home run. Lake Elsinore scored twice in the bottom of the eighth, but they went down in order in the ninth.

Thursday’s Probables:

El Paso: TBD

San Antonio: Efrain Contreras (0-3, 7.71 ERA)

Fort Wayne: Garrett Hawkins (0-2, 2.45 ERA) (Game One) and Victor Lizarraga (0-1, 6.75 ERA) (Game Two)

Lake Elsinore: TBD

Sam Evans

Sam is a Senior in High School. He has been writing for three years, and started at EVT in June of 2021. He’s headed to Syracuse’s Newhouse School of Communications in the fall of 2023.