Padres Down on the Farm: May 7th (Jeisson Rosario Records Four Extra-Base Hits, Patino Has Solid Outing)
The San Diego Padres minor league affiliates went 2-1 on Tuesday. For the second consecutive day, the Amarillo Sod Poodles did not play due to inclement weather.
Here is a recap of the day’s actions.
El Paso Chihuahuas win 6-3 (23-9 on the season)
The El Paso Chihuahuas, quite possibly the hottest team in professional baseball, opened their series with the Albuquerque Isotopes on Tuesday afternoon. Dietrich Enns started for the Chihuahuas, and Chi Chi Gonzalez started for Albuquerque.
El Paso started right where they left off on Monday afternoon, as the Chihuahuas scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning. Michael Gettys launched the very first pitch he saw to center field for his 10th home run of the season. Austin Allen kept the scoring going with an RBI double to plate Josh Naylor and later scored on Matthew Batten’s single to center field. Jason Vosler capped off the bottom half of the inning with a two-run blast to center field to give the Chihuahuas an early 5-0 lead.
Pat Valaika got the Isotopes on the board in the top of the fourth inning when he singled in Rockies’ top prospect Brendan Rodgers. Boog Powell‘s second home run in as many days gave the Chihuahuas a 6-1 lead, but the Isotopes would answer in the top of the seventh when center fielder Yanothan Daza’s single scored Peter Mooney.
Enns was solid for the Chihuahuas, tossing seven innings of two-run ball on only five hits. Chi Chi Gonzalez lasted six innings for the Isotopes and surrendered six runs on nine hits while striking out six and walking two. Robert Stock took over in the eighth inning and delivered a clean inning despite allowing two hits. El Paso put the ball in the hands of Tyler Higgins in the ninth inning to close the door on the Isotopes.
After a lead-off walk, Higgins sat the next two batters down before Yonathan Daza doubled in Peter Mooney to make it a 6-3 game. Higgins battled back to strike out Sam Hilliard to end the game. El Paso won their lead-leaguing 23rd game of the season as Dietrich Enns won his team-leading fourth game as well.
Michael Gettys: 1-4, Run Scored, RBI, HR
Josh Naylor: 2-3, Run Scored, BB, 2 1B
Matthew Batten: 3-4, Run Scored, RBI, 3 1B
Jason Vosler: 1-3, Run Scored, 2 RBI, HR, K
Dietrich Enns: 7 IP, 5 H, ER, 2 BB, 7 K (105 pitches – 73 strikes)
Lake Elsinore Storm win 5-1 (14-18 on the season)
Baseball’s 44th overall prospect in MLB.com’s Top 100 Prospects List took the mound for the Lake Elsinore Storm on Tuesday afternoon. 19-year-old Luis Patino was masterful in his first full season with the Padres organization, and despite some early struggles in 2019, the young right-hander has gathered himself as of late.
The Visalia Rawhide drew first blood in this affair on a sacrifice fly in the second inning off the bat of L.T. Tolbert. Lake Elsinore would waste no time, as the Storm scored two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Singles from Oliver Basabe and Esteury Ruiz would both result in runs being scored, as Lake Elsinore took a 2-1 lead into the third inning. Jeisson Rosario‘s inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the fourth put another run on the board for the Storm. A wild pitch by Visalia starter Cole Stapler allowed Jack Suwinski to cross the plate and gave Lake Elsinore a 4-1 lead.
It was all Patino from there. The Colombian native was dominant on the night, tossing six innings of one-run ball. Patino allowed only one hit and struck out seven while walking two. He lowered his ERA down to 3.75 on the season and despite struggling with his command for the majority of the year, is finally starting to turn it around.
Lake Elsinore struck again in the bottom of the seventh inning when Jeisson Rosario doubled in Allen Cordoba. The Storm bullpen was dominant after Patino departed, blanking the Rawhide and not allowing a hit for the remainder of the game. Caleb Boushley and Evan Miller combined for three scoreless innings in relief, with Miller closing out the game in the ninth. Patino earned his second win of the season, while Cole Stapler took the loss for the Rawhide.
Luis Patino: 6 IP, 2 H, R, 2 BB, 7 K (85 pitches – 55 strikes)
Jeisson Rosario: 4-4, 2 Runs Scored, 2 RBI, HR, 3 2B
Robbie Podorsky: 2-5, K, 2 1B
Esteury Ruiz: 2-3, RBI, 2 1B, CS
Olivier Basabe: 2-3, RBI, BB, 2 1B, SAC
Fort Wayne TinCaps lose 3-2 (13-18 on the season)
The Fort Wayne TinCaps continued Midwest League play with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Tuesday afternoon. Efrain Contreras took the mound for the TinCaps, while the Milwaukee Brewers 27th overall prospect Adam Hill started for the Timber Rattlers.
Both starters held their opponents scoreless until the bottom of the fifth inning, where the Timber Rattlers would scratch a run across on a Korry Howell double. The TinCaps did not take long to answer, as a two-run double in the top of the sixth off the bat of Agustin Ruiz gave Fort Wayne the lead for the time being. Efrain Contreras posted yet another quality start for the TinCaps, tossing five strong innings and only allowing one run on three hits. Reliever Nick Kuzia took over for Contreras, as the 19-year-old lowered his ERA down to 3.86 on the year.
The Timber Rattlers did not waste any time tagging the Kuzia, however, as they scratched two runs across in the bottom half of the sixth. Jesus Lujano‘s single to left scored Yeison Coca, and Chad McClanahan scored on a throwing error by second baseman Xavier Edwards.
Pitching would dominate for the rest of the game as neither team scored a run for the remaining three innings. Jose Quezada threw two scoreless innings for the TinCaps, while Michael Mediavilla and Chad Whitmer combined for three scoreless innings as well. Whitmer earned his first save on the season and Hill earned his third win of the season for the Timber Rattlers.
Xavier Edwards: 1-4
Tucupita Marcano: 1-4, Run Scored, K
Agustin Ruiz: 1-4, 2 RBI, 2 K, 2B
Efrain Contreras: 5 IP, 3 H, R, BB, 4 K (76 pitches – 45 strikes)
Jose Quezada: 2 IP, 3 K
Probable Starters for Wednesday, May 8th
El Paso: TBD vs. Peter Lambert (Albuquerque)
Amarillo: OFF (Possible game due to rain delays)
Lake Elsinore: TBD vs. TBD
Fort Wayne TinCaps: Gabe Mosser vs. Logan Gillaspie (Timber Rattlers)
Diego works at Prep Baseball Report as an Area Scout in Illinois and Missouri. He graduated this spring with a Bachelor Degree in Communications and played four years of college baseball, logging nearly 50 innings of work in a relief role. Diego hopes to work in an MLB front office one day and has been a Padres fan since he was six years old.