San Diego Padres minor league affiliates went 1-1 on Saturday.

Here is a recap of the evening’s events.

El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 6-1 vs Salt Lake) (58-85 on the season)
Cal Mitchell – 2-for-3, Double, Three RBI
Kevin Plawecki – 2-for-4, RBI Single
Randy Vasquez – 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K (73 pitches – 51 strikes)

El Paso won yet again by a wide margin, defeating the playoff-bound Salt Lake Bees by a final score of 6-1. It was a special night for right-hander Randy Vasquez, as the right-hander pitched his best game at Triple-A this season. Vasquez tossed six shutout innings, punching eight tickets en route to his first win as a member of the Chihuahuas. Vasquez was efficient, not falling behind batters and inducing the timely ground ball double play in the rare instances runners reached base. Tom Cosgrove tossed a stunningly quick seven pitch seventh inning, and Paul Fry tossed a scoreless ninth to close out the win.

Cal Mitchell took center stage for the Chihuahuas’ lineup, as the left-handed hitter was 2-for-3 with three RBI. Mitchell recorded an RBI single, RBI double, and a sacrifice fly in the game, capitalizing on opportunities with runners on base. Tirso Ornelas drove in his 85th run of the season on a groundout that hit Bees starter Travis MacGregor, and Kevin Plawecki had a fly ball RBI single as well. Matthew Batten was hit by a pitch in the helmet in the fourth inning, and while he eventually came around to score, he was pulled from the game in the sixth inning. Even with six runs, the Chihuahuas only made good on three of their 14 opportunities with runners in scoring position in the win.

San Antonio Missions (Lost 3-2 vs Springfield) (61-74 on the season)
Joshua Mears – 2-for-4, Two-Run Home Run
Marcos Castanon – 2-for-3, Double, Walk
Ryan Bergert – 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 4 K (84 pitches – 55 strikes)

Deep in the heart of Texas, Missions starter Ryan Bergert and Cardinals starter Trent Baker were locked in a tense pitcher’s duel. Bergert continued his hot second half of the season with six more innings, allowing three runs (two earned). The right-hander was in trouble in the fifth, and a throwing error from Romeo Sanabria on an attempted safety squeeze did not aid the Missions’ plight. Springfield scratched two more runs off Bergert in that frame to take a 3-0 lead. Bergert recorded half his outs on fly balls in this game, but managed to keep the ball in the yard throughout.

Down 3-0 in the seventh, Cole Cummings led off with a single, and with one out Joshua Mears flashed his light tower power with a blast to deep left field, bringing San Antonio to within one run. The Missions brought the tying run to third base in the eighth off Cardinals closer Matt Svanson, but Juan Zabala roped a sharp grounder up the middle, one too close to the second base bag, as second baseman Dakota Harris recorded the forceout to end the threat. While Joshua Mears led off the ninth with an infield single, the hopes of a rally were dashed two pitches later, with Anthony Vilar hitting into a double play. Lucas Dunn was the Missions’ last hope, but struck out swinging against Svanson to end the game.

Lake Elsinore Storm – No Scheduled Game

Sunday’s Probable Pitchers:
El Paso – Matt Waldron (0-0, 5.59 ERA)
San Antonio – Daniel Camarena (0-2, 4.09 ERA)
Lake Elsinore – TBD

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.