San Diego Padres minor league affiliates went 3-1 on Sunday.

Here is a recap of the day’s events.

El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 8-4 vs Tacoma) (52-80 on the season)
Brandon Lockridge – 3-for-5, Two Runs Scored
Eguy Rosario – 1-for-4, Three-Run Home Run
Omar Cruz – 2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 3 K (48 pitches, 31 strikes)

El Paso completed their series win over the PCL-leading Tacoma Rainiers on the back of a five-run seventh inning. Omar Cruz started in an abbreviated start, tossing two innings and striking out three. Cruz had batters whiffing on 33% of swings, with his changeup once again performing well. However, Cruz allowed four runs on five hits in his two innings of work, with a three-run double from Rainiers shortstop putting El Paso down 4-0 after two innings.

Cal Mitchell homered to bring El Paso’s deficit down to three, and relievers Nabil Crismatt and Ethan Routzahn delivered 4.2 scoreless innings of relief, holding the deficit to three. Routzahn’s effort was particularly notable, as the sidearming right-hander tossed 2.2 innings, the most he has thrown in any singular outing this season.

The Chihuahuas brought the game to a one-run deficit when Matthew Batten launched his sixth home run of the season in the fifth inning, a two-run homer off Rainiers starter Michael Mariot. El Paso threatened in the sixth inning against reliever Josh Fleming, but the threat was extinguished on a double play off the bat of Jose Sanabria. Jayvien Sandridge entered the game for El Paso with two down in the seventh and managed to escape a two-on, two-out jam by retiring Rainiers first baseman Jason Vosler.

The Chihuahuas bit back in the seventh inning against Fleming and the Tacoma bullpen, as Clay Dungan doubled to lead off the inning, with Brandon Lockridge reaching base on a bunt single. Lockridge stole second off former Marlin Jordan Holloway, and Matthew Batten worked a walk. With the bases loaded and no outs, Brett Sullivan corked a two-run double to left field to put El Paso in front, and with two runners still on, Eguy Rosario took advantage of a hanging slider, sending the pitch 396 feet out to left field for a three-run home run. Rosario now has 19 home runs on the season, and has shown strides in his abilities against right-handed pitchers this season, posting an .829 OPS vs same-handed pitchers this season.

Jayvien Sandridge returned to the mound in the eighth and did not allow a run, striking out one batter in the frame before turning the ball over to Austin Davis for the ninth inning. Davis tossed a 1-2-3 inning on 15 pitches, striking out Dominic Canzone and Ryan Bliss to end the game.

San Antonio Missions (Lost 4-1 vs Midland) (55-69 on the season)
Juan Zabala – 2-for-4, RBI
Marcos Castanon – 1-for-4, Double
Ryan Bergert – 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 6 K (84 pitches, 54 strikes)

If August brought a return to form for right-hander Ryan Bergert, his form looks to be here to stay. The right-hander posted a quality start, allowing three runs in six innings while striking out six batters. Bergert has a 3.22 ERA in his six starts since August 1, striking out 31 against 11 walks. The three runs allowed by Bergert all came in the second inning, as the run-scoring doubles came off fastballs that caught too much of the heart of the zone. Despite the 28-pitch second inning, Bergert was efficient the rest of the way, retiring nine of ten in a row, with the last coming on a lineout double play.

The Missions’ offense failed to launch against RockHounds starter Jack Perkins, who struck out six across seven innings. Leadoff walks in the first and second innings gave San Antonio opportunities early to score, but these chances were squandered, with the runner never advancing to second. Ray-Patrick Didder drew a walk in the sixth to give the Missions a one-out baserunner but was thrown out stealing second, in essence killing the rally. San Antonio’s lone run came in the seventh inning against a tiring Perkins, as Robert Perez Jr hit a two-out double, scoring on a single to left field from Juan Zabala.

David Morgan and Carter Loewen tossed scoreless seventh and eighth innings, respectively, and the Missions turned to Bradgley Rodriguez in the ninth inning. Rodriguez walked the first batter he faced before striking out Henry Bolte. Rodriguez was two outs away from escaping the inning, but instead, two singles followed, with the last of those scoring Brayan Buelvas from second base. While Rodriguez struck out Jeremy Eierman for the second out, he was pulled with 27 pitches thrown in 0.2 innings. Ryan Och came on and struck out Caeden Trenkle on a pitch over the outside corner to end the threat. Down by three, facing RockHounds closer Ryan Cusick, Juan Zabala reached base with a two-out single, putting the tying run on deck. The rally did not materialize, as Cusick struck out Joshua Mears to close out a 4-1 loss for San Antonio.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Won 8-4 vs Lansing) (51-75 on the season)
Jacob Campbell – 2-for-4, Go-Ahead Two-RBI Single
Rosman Verdugo – 1-for-5, Two-RBI Single
Tyler Morgan – 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (33 pitches, 19 strikes)

Six pitches combined to allow one earned run for Fort Wayne, as the team scored in each of the final four frames to defeat the hosting Lansing Lugnuts by a final score of 8-4. Tyler Morgan toed the rubber for the TinCaps and fired three scoreless innings on 33 pitches. Morgan did not throw more than five pitches to any batter he faced, allowing the right-hander to make it through three innings in his first start since July 28. Morgan was given a 1-0 lead after a Kai Murphy triple and an RBI groundout from Tyler Robertson. Harry Gustin allowed a game-tying home run in the fourth inning, which became the only earned run the TinCaps’ pitching staff allowed.

Both offenses finally locked and loaded in the sixth inning, with Fort Wayne getting runners to second and third with two outs. Facing right-hander Kade Morris, Jacob Campbell brought his hands in and turned on an inside pitch, roping it to left field for a two-run single, putting the TinCaps up by two. The second run was important, as Will Varmette was staring down a first-and-second, one-out jam in the bottom of the inning. Lugnuts shortstop Joshua Kuroda-Grauer hit a ground ball to first that was misplayed by Devin Ortiz, and while trying to get one out, Ortiz made a throwing error to score a run. Tyler Robertson got that run right back with an RBI single in the top of the seventh, but yet another fielding error from the TinCaps allowed Lugnuts outfielder Jared Dickey to score. Up 4-3, Jacob Campbell grounded into a double play, but Nerwilian Cedeño came in the backdoor to score. A fielding error and hit by pitch put two more runners on, and Rosman Verdugo cashed in with a two-RBI single. Addison Kopack drove in the TinCaps’ eighth run with a single in the ninth inning, extending the lead to 8-3.

Dwayne Matos entered in the ninth, but a fielding error and plunked batter promptly got him into hot water. Matos managed to induce a forceout for the first out, but Jared Dickey lifted a sac fly to bring the score to 8-4, and Danny Bautista Jr singled to load the bases with two out. Luke Mann came to the dish as the tying run, and on the fourth pitch he saw from Matos, Mann rolled a grounder back to the mound. Matos fielded the ball cleanly, throwing to Devin Ortiz to retire the final batter, sealing an 8-4 victory.

Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 10-5 vs Modesto) (68-56 on the season)
Ryan Jackson – 1-for-5, Two-RBI Double
Lamar King Jr – 2-for-4, Go-Ahead Two RBI Single
Johan Moreno – 4.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 6 K (87 pitches, 49 strikes)

While Storm starter Johan Moreno did not have his best stuff on the mound against the Modesto Nuts, the potent Lake Elsinore offense kept the game within grasp before bursting through. Jack Costello hammered a low-and-inside pitch out to left field for his sixth home run of the season, and Ryan Jackson doubled in two runs to give the Storm a 3-0 lead. Johan Moreno allowed a season-high three home runs in his 4.2 innings of work, walking three along the way but also striking out six.

Colton Vincent tied the game at four with an RBI single, and the score remained that way into the seventh inning. Nuts designated hitter Charlie Pagliarini grounded out to score the go-ahead run, putting Modesto up 5-4. The Nuts went scoreless the rest of the way, and the sleeping giant that is the Storm’s offense came to life. Lama King Jr singled to score the tying and go-ahead runs, amd a wild pitch scored Braedon Karpathios from third. Brandon Butterworth singled in two more runs, and Chase Valentine singled on a chopper back to the mound to score Butterworth. The score that was once 5-4 Nuts now sat at 10-5 in favor of the Storm. That way, it’d stay as Bernard Jose and Yerry Landinez tossed scoreless eighth and ninth innings to close out another win at The Diamond.

No Games are Scheduled Monday

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.