Padres Down on the Farm: September 13 (Mosser dominates in EP/Nett debuts in SA)
El Paso Chihuahuas
San Diego Padres affiliates went 2-0 on Friday.
Here is a recap of the evening’s events.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 13-4 vs Salt Lake) (57-85 on the season)
Kevin Plawecki – 3-for-5, Two Home Runs, Five RBI
Tirso Ornelas – 2-for-5, Home Run
Gabe Mosser – 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 6 K (89 pitches – 52 strikes)
Three home runs, 18 hits, and a quality start paved the way for a big Chihuahuas win. Gabe Mosser took the mound and tossed one of his best outings of the season, allowing only one unearned run. Mosser has been a fixture in the Chihuahuas rotation this season, making 25 starts in 27 games played, striking out 99 over 127.1 innings. Jayvien Sandridge and Ethan Routzahn each struck out two in an inning of relief, and Francis Pena struck out the final two batters of the game, displaying his high-90s fastball and low-90s curveball to perfection.
Kevin Plawecki homered twice in the ballgame, driving in five of El Paso’s 13 runs.on a pair of home runs. Bryce Johnson had four hits out of the leadoff spot, and Tirso Ornelas homered for the 21st time this season to drive in three. Connor Hollis drove in two runs, and Cal Mitchell drove in one on an RBI single. Luis Campusano was 1-for-5 in his first game back with El Paso, despite allowing a passed ball on defense.
San Antonio Missions (Won 5-2 vs Springfield) (61-73 on the season)
Ripken Reyes – 1-for-3, Go-Ahead Two-RBI Double
Marcos Castanon – 1-for-3, Two RBI
Braden Nett – 4.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 3 K (84 pitches – 50 strikes)
Making his Double-A debut, right-hander Braden Nett made a solid first impression. Nett went 4.2 innings against the second-place Cardinals, striking out three and keeping the baseball in the ballpark. Nett’s five walks were uncharacteristic but could likely be attributed to jitters as a result of the debut. Regardless, Nett put the Missions well on the path to a win.
San Antonio took a 1-0 lead on a run-scoring single from infielder Marcos Castanon, his 52nd of the season. While Springfield tied the game in the ensuing half-inning, the Missions’ bats returned with a fury. The biggest blow came off the bat of Ripken Reyes, who lined a double to right field to score two runs. Castanon hit a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 4-1, and after Springfield drew to within two, Joshua Mears did what Joshua Mears does. Mears launched a solo homer into the night, bringing the score to 5-1 in the Missions’ favor.
Jackson Wolf tossed 2.2 innings of one-run baseball in relief of Nett, striking out four in the process. Wolf has fared much better with Double-A when juxtaposed with his time in Triple-A this season, and further success could help the 25-year-old carve out a role next season. Carter Loewen struck out four to record his first save of the season. His four strikeouts were one off from his season-high of five in an outing, a feat he has accomplished twice this season.
Lake Elsinore Storm – No Game
Saturday’s Probable Pitchers:
El Paso – Randy Vasquez (0-6, 10.57 ERA)
San Antonio – Ryan Bergert (2-9, 4.89 ERA)
Lake Elsinore – No Scheduled Game
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.