Padres minor league affiliates went 1-2 on Thursday night, with two teams celebrating Opening Day on the road. 

Here is our daily recap of games played. 

El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 3-1 vs Tacoma) (2-3 on the season)

Carlos Rodriguez – 1-for-4, RBI Single

Jase Bowen – 2-for-4, Two Doubles

Matt Waldron – 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K (61 pitches – 43 strikes)

A rehabbing Matt Waldron made his second start of the season for El Paso, and when all was said and done, he looked sharp. Waldron threw four scoreless innings with six strikeouts. The knuckeballer did not walk a batter, scattering two hits across his outing. Waldron landed 70.5% of his pitches for strikes, and got whiffs on 25.9% of swings against. It is not known how much longer Waldron will be on rehab assignment, but if he continues this run of form, his next stop could very well be the major leagues. 

Jase Bowen had two doubles in the loss, bringing his OPS up to .838 on the young season. The Chihuahuas were unable to get much going against former Chihuahuas Gabe Mosser, who allowed only five hits in six innings of one-run baseball. Carlos Rodriguez picked up El Paso’s lone RBI of the night with an RBI single in the sixth inning, scoring Nick Schnell. Sung-Mun Song drew two walks in the game. 

The El Paso bullpen started their evening well, as Sean Boyle came in for two scoreless innings of relief. Boyle struck out two batters while allowing only one baserunner in his outing. It was a bounce-back outing for the right-hander, who labored through three innings in his first appearance. Jackson Wolf came on in the seventh and, with one out, struck out Colt Emerson. The strikeout pitch got past Rodolfo Duran, allowing Emerson to reach. Connor Joe then singled on the infield to put two runners on. Wolf retired Patrick Wisdom, but Carson Taylor took a slider from Wolf out to right field, just clearing the wall for a go-ahead home run. Wolf struck out three in his two innings of work, but was tagged with the loss. 

CARSON TAYLOR FOR THE LEAD pic.twitter.com/OClgbntGRW

— Tacoma Rainiers (@RainiersLand) April 3, 2026

San Antonio Missions (Lost 5-1 vs Tulsa) (0-1 on the season)

Luis Verdugo – 2-for-3, Home Run, RBI

Ethan Salas – 1-for-4, Single

Victor Lizarraga – 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 6 BB, 2 K (74 pitches – 37 strikes)

San Antonio made the trip to Tulsa for their season opener, losing 5-1 to the Drillers. The Missions’ pitching staff had a case of the walks tonight, as they combined to issue 10 free passes. Victor Lizarraga earned the Opening Day nod for the Missions and only allowed two hits in five innings. However, the right-hander did not get the chases he is used to, generating four whiffs all game. Lizarraga did keep the ball on the ground, as is his specialty. There was no out recorded in the air, as he got 10 ground ball outs, including a pair of nifty double plays turned by Francisco Acuna. The Missions’ bullpen covered three innings but allowed three runs. Andrew Thurman made his Missions debut, but was charged with one run on a single by Griffin Lockwood-Powell. Harry Gustin ended the inning by striking out Jake Gelof, but his second inning of relief saw Josue De Paula single to score Kendall George. The inning had every chance to pile on, but did not, as Braedon Karpathios threw out De Paula as he aimed to stretch his hit to a double. Johan Moreno walked three batters in the eighth inning, allowing one run on no hits. 

The @Dodgers #1 Prospect, Josue De Paula singles to send Kendall George home! ? pic.twitter.com/ELRUpi6qci

— Tulsa Drillers (@TulsaDrillers) April 3, 2026

At the dish, the Missions had a tough time against Tulsa starter Luke Fox. San Antonio batters struck out eight times against the Drillers’ southpaw. Ethan Salas’ first-inning single was the first hit of the season for the Missions. Outside of Salas, the offense was led by offseason signee Luis Verdugo. Verdugo, Rosman’s older brother, had two hits and the team’s first home run of the season. Ryan Jackson and Romeo Sanabria each had a base hit in the loss. Jackson and Francisco Acuna had the team’s lone two walks. 

Luis Verdugo with the first homer of the season for @missionsmilb!

Missions trail 2-1 against Tulsa. @EVT_News pic.twitter.com/Cq1Wvz3Yui

— Diego Garcia (@StatNerd_Base) April 3, 2026

Fort Wayne TinCaps – No Game

Fort Wayne’s season kicks off Friday against Great Lakes. Kash Mayfield will take the mound for Opening Day, with Kleiber Olmedo and Abraham Parra starting the weekend games. Olmedo takes Jaxon Dalena’s spot in the rotation, as Dalena and CJ Widger were placed on the 7-day injured list. 

Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 7-5 vs Ontario) (1-0 on the season)

Ty Harvey – 1-for-3, Three-Run Double, Two Walks

Ryan Wideman – 2-for-3, Two Singles, Two Stolen Bases

Bryan Balzer – 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 K (68 pitches – 42 strikes)

Lake Elsinore opened the season by playing spoiler to the Ontario Tower Buzzers’ franchise opener. Bryan Balzer earned the Opening Day nod for the Storm, and he showed up to play! Balzer pitched four innings of one-run baseball, walking two and striking out seven batters. The seven strikeouts were a career-high for the right-hander, who recorded eleven whiffs on the night. Balzer’s arsenal showed impressive movement for his first outing, as the sinker was tailing as sharply as it was last season, and the breaking ball showed more depth than in 2025. Joseph Herrera threw a scoreless inning in his Storm debut, striking out one batter, and Winyer Chourio pitched a scoreless sixth inning with a punchout. Will Koger allowed a home run in the seventh, but outside of that, he retired the remaining three in the frame. Koger allowed two runs in the eighth, but on the whole outing struck out four batters.

@Storm_Baseball starter Bryan Balzer vs Ontario:

4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 K
68 pitches – 42 strikes (11 whiffs)

If he keeps performing like this, the Padres might have another ace-caliber arm in the making! @EVT_News pic.twitter.com/nFXLfeYK1h

— Diego Garcia (@StatNerd_Base) April 3, 2026

The Storm’s lineup came to life in the third inning against Ontario starter Brady Smith. Jose Verdugo opened the inning with a double to right field, his first hit stateside. Connor Westenburg, in his first pro game, had a bunt single to chase Smith from the game. Smith was on a pitch count per the Buzzers’ broadcast, and right-hander Jhonny Jimenez came on in relief. Ryan Wideman reached base on an error, scoring the first run of the game for the Storm. Jorge Quintana worked a 12-pitch walk to load the bases, and Ty Harvey cleared the bases with a double out to dead center. Harvey’s double missed being a home run by a few feet, and he scored on a single from Kerrington Cross. Lake Elsinore added insurance runs on a bases-loaded two-run single by Connor Westenburg in the seventh inning. The Storm lineup stole seven bases, causing havoc on the basepaths. Truitt Madonna and Ryan Wideman each had two stolen bases in the game, with Jorge Quintana, Kale Fountain, and Ty Havey tacking on a steal each. Madonna and Quintana each drew three walks, part of a 12-walk showing for the Storm.  

Ty Harvey’s first hit of 2026, a bases-clearing double that just missed being a grand slam!@EVT_News pic.twitter.com/pmhe871lXn

— Diego Garcia (@StatNerd_Base) April 3, 2026

Ethan Long came on for the ninth for his first appearance as a full-time pitcher and got into some trouble. After striking out his first batter faced, a single, wild pitch, and a walk put two on with one out. Jaron Elkins grounded a ball into left field for a hit, placing the tying run on first base and making the score 7-5. Emil Morales drove a ball out to right-center, but did not get all of it, as the ball landed in Kale Fountain’s glove on a near-collision in right-center. With two outs and two on, Elkins tried for the steal of second base, but Ty Harvey made a perfect one-hop throw to Jose Verdugo at second, who applied the tag and sealed the Storm win. The win marked manager Brallan Perez’s first win as the Storm’s skipper.

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.