Padres Down on the Farm: September 21 (Waldron K’s 5/Chihuahuas win 10th straight)
El Paso Chihuahuas
San Diego Padres affiliates went 1-0 on Saturday.
Here is a recap of the evening’s events.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 6-5 vs Las Vegas) (64-85 on the season)
Matthew Batten – 1-for-4, Home Run, Two Runs Scored
Cal Mitchell – 1-for-4, Go-Ahead RBI Single
Matt Waldron – 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K (72 pitches – 43 strikes)
The Chihuahuas’ winning streak reached a season-high ten games after a 6-5 win on Saturday. Starting pitcher Matt Waldron made his final Triple-A start of the season, and it was another strong showing for the knuckleballer. Waldron fired five innings, striking out five batters and holding Las Vegas’ offense to three hits. One of those hits, however, was a three-run home run off the bat of Brett Harris, a swing that put El Paso down 3-0.
The El Paso offense kept their recent tear going in the ensuing innings. Matthew Batten homered to put the Chihuahuas on the board, and Connor Hollis drove in Clay Dungan on a double to make it a one-run game. Bryce Johnson singled in the tying run with two outs, tying the game at three runs apiece. The sixth inning saw another three-run outpour as Cal Mitchell singled in the go-ahead run with one out against Aviators starter Robert Dugger. Clay Dungan singled to score Luis Campusano, and Connor Hollis’ bases-loaded walk scored El Paso’s sixth run of the ballgame.
Now with a three-run lead, relievers Omar Cruz and Ethan Routzahn combined for a scoreless sixth and seventh inning, with each recording a strikeout. Logan Gillaspie struck out one batter in a scoreless eighth inning, his sixth scoreless appearance in seven outings this month. Austin Davis took the mound in the ninth but faced a rally from the Aviators. Cooper Bowman singled in a run for Las Vegas, and a throwing error from Matthew Batten brought the home team to within a run. With the tying run 90 feet away, Austin Davis got Hoy Park to pop up a sweeper, and the ball landed in the glove of Jose Sanabria for the final out of the game, sealing the Chihuahuas’ fifth consecutive win against Las Vegas and their tenth consecutive win overall.
Sunday’s Probable Starters:
El Paso – Jared Kollar (2-2, 4.43 ERA)
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.