Padres Down on the Farm: September 18 (Ilarraza 3 hits in FW/Dunn grand slam in LE/Wood 3 Hits, homer in ACL)
TinCaps
San Diego Padres affiliates went 2-4 on Saturday.
Here is a recap of the day’s events.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 7-3 to Tacoma) (44-73 on the season)
Jesse Scholtens: 6.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 6 K (107 pitches, 61 strikes)
José Azocar: (2-for-4), 3B, RBI, R, CS
Taylor Kohlwey: (2-for-4), RBI, CS, K
Matt Batten: (2-for-4), SB
The El Paso Chihuahuas went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position, and four ninth innings runs for Tacoma proved to be the dagger in a disappointing loss. After allowing runs in his first two innings of work, starting pitcher Jesse Scholtens settled into the game, allowing just one hit in his next four frames. After a leadoff double in the seventh, Scholtens struck out one batter but was pulled with the runner on base. Jose Quezada allowed a single that meant Scholtens was charged with three runs.
At the plate, El Paso started well, scoring thrice in their first three innings. The Chihuahuas took advantage of a Tacoma error to score without a hit in the second before adding a pair of runs in the third. José Azocar tripled home, Yorman Rodriguez before Taylor Kohlwey brought Azocar in with a single. Kohlwey’s hit was the only one the Chihuahuas got with a runner in scoring position all night, dooming them to the loss. The 44-year-old Joe Beimel, who had a 2.21 ERA in AA San Antonio, allowed three runs in the ninth, and the El Paso offense went down with a whimper in the ninth.
San Antonio Missions (Lost 6-1 to Corpus Christi) (57-62 on the season)
Pedro Avila: 3 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 4 K (62 pitches, 37 strikes)
Eguy Rosario: (2-for-3), 2B, R, BB
Chandler Seagle: (2-for-4), K
Kyle Overstreet: (0-for-1), 3 BB, K
Pedro Avila allowed four straight hits to lead off the fourth inning, and all four batters came around to score, putting the Missions offense into a hole they did not have the firepower to dig out of. San Antonio’s only run did come in the bottom of the fourth when Eguy Rosario doubled to lead off the inning, advanced on a wild pitch before scoring on a Dwayna Williams-Sutton sacrifice fly. The Missions picked up just six hits, of which the only extra-base hit was the Rosario double. San Antonio also went hitless in their five at-bats with runners in scoring position and left nine runners. The Hooks picked up two more runs off Tom Cosgrove in the eighth inning, who was one of seven San Antonio pitchers who took the mound.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 8-5 to Dayton) (54-65 on the season)
Wen-Hua Sung: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K (23 pitches, 19 strikes)
Reinaldo Ilarraza: (3-for-5), 3B, RBI, 2 R, SB, K
Zack Mathis: (1-for-4), 2B, RBI, BB, K
Justin Lopez: (1-for-3), R, 2 BB, K
The TinCaps fell behind early thanks to the struggles of starting pitcher Fred Schlichtholz and reliever Ramon Perez, each of whom allowed four runs. The offense scored in each of the final three innings, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the six-run deficit. Reinaldo Ilarraza tripled home a run in the fourth as part of a three-hit day, where he also recorded his 38th stolen base of the season. Wen-Hua Sung pitched the sixth and seventh for Fort Wayne, and he struck out the side on just ten pitches in the seventh. However, aside from Ilarraza, the offense was lackluster, and the strong performances from Sung and Cody Tyler, who pitched a scoreless frame, were not enough to complete a comeback.
Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 7-0 vs. Inland Empire) (54-65 on the season)
Bodi Rascon: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K (63 pitches, 40 strikes)
Cole Cummings: (1-for-3), HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB
Lucas Dunn: (1-for-4), HR, 4 RBI, R, K
Gilberto Vizcarra: (2-for-4), 2B, RBI
Lucas Dunn hit a fifth-inning inside-the-park grand slam, Cole Cummings hit a two-run shot in the fourth, and Bodi Rascon helped to lead the Storm to a three-hit shutout win. Rascon was efficient, throwing just 63 pitches, but balls were finding gloves for Rascon. The next three Storm pitchers, Luarbert Arias, Ethan Routzahn, and Hazahel Quijada, combined to allow just two hits and struck out nine batters over the final four frames. The Storm were quelled for most of the game, picking up just two hits across the seven innings they did not score in, but they took advantage of their opportunities with big hits when they needed it most.
DSL Padres (Lost 10-9 to DSL White Sox) (31-17 on the season)
Henry Baez: 3 IP, 2 H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 2 K
Daniel Montesino: (2-for-5), HR, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, K
Adrian Perez: (1-for-4), HR, RBI, R, 2 K
Victor Acosta: (1-for-3), 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, HBP
The DSL Padres started well, jumping out to a 5-1 lead after the first two innings, but six fielding errors by the Padres helped the White Sox to score seven times in the final four innings. The Padres bats weren’t able to make up for all the errors they committed in the field. The White Sox picked up just five hits but walked 15 times, as Padres pitchers were constantly unable to find the zone. Daniel Montesino and Adrian Perez both hit first-inning home runs. The Padres capitalized on a two-out error by the White Sox in the sixth, as Victor Acosta, Montesino, and Samuel Zavala hit back to back to back doubles, giving the Padres a two-run lead. However, the White Sox erased that deficit in the seventh before taking the decisive lead in the eighth.
ACL Padres (Won 9-8 vs. ACL Mariners) (26-32 on the season)
Ryan Bergert: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
James Wood: (3-for-3), HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB
River Ryan: (2-for-3), RBI, K
Alejandro Hernandez: (1-for-3), RBI, 2 R, BB, K
The Padres pitchers allowed four runs in the first two and final two innings, but strong hitting and scoreless middle innings meant that the Padres picked up the win. James Wood, who is hitting .382 with a 1.000 OPS, led off the game with a home run before the Padres exploded for five runs in the second inning. The first five batters of the inning showed great discipline by walking before three runs came in on a sacrifice fly and a throwing error. The Padres added three insurance runs in the sixth, all of which came with two outs, something that proved crucial as the back end of the bullpen struggled. Wilton Castillo retired four batters while giving up four runs in the process, but Brenden Heiss shut the rally down by getting the last three outs of the game.
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Sunday’s Probables
El Paso: Adrian Martinez (0-2, 6.28 ERA)
San Antonio: Osvaldo Hernandez (4-8, 5.11 ERA)
Fort Wayne: Connor Lehmann (3-3, 7.04 ERA)
Lake Elsinore: TBD
DSL Padres: Off
ACL Padres: Off
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.