Padres Down on the Farm: August 28 (Salas, Didder deliver big swings)
The Padres’ minor league affiliates went 4-1 on Wednesday.
Here is a recap of the day’s events.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 9-8 vs Tacoma Rainiers in 11 innings) (47-79 on the season)
Tirso Ornelas – 3 for 4, Double, 2 RBI
Brett Sullivan – 2 for 5, Two-Run Home Run
Gabe Mosser – 5.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 2 K (89 pitches, 62 strikes)
The Chihuahuas, playing a day game for the first time in an era, fought off a six-run inning to win 9-8 in a tense, thrilling 11-inning affair. Tirso Ornelas went 3 for 4 out of the leadoff spot with two RBI. Brett Sullivan roped a two-run home run in the first inning. Cal Mitchell posted a 3 for 4 day with a double. Jose Azocar hit a double of his own as part of a two-hit day.
Gabe Mosser gave the team length, tossing 5.2 innings, allowing five runs. Mosser had five shutout innings before the sixth inning snowballed on him. Mosser allowed a two-run home run to former Chihuahua Luis Urias. A single from Nick Solak tied the game at three. Tom Cosgrove entered with two out and two on, and on a 2-2 count, threw a sweeper low and inside to left-handed hitting Rhylan Thomas. Thomas turned on the pitch, sending it 374 feet out to right field for a game-changing home run.
Down 6-3, El Paso scored a run in the bottom of the inning on a double play ball before tying the game at six apiece in the seventh, with Clay Dungan driving in the tying run. Knotted at six, Francis Pena entered in the 10th and with one out, former Chihuahua Jason Vosler golfed a backfoot cutter to right field to give Tacoma an 8-6 lead. Eguy Rosario singled the following inning, driving in Matthew Batten. Tirso Ornelas tied the game on his third hit of the game. Pena returned to the mound and tossed a scoreless 11th inning, and with one out in the bottom of the eleventh, Matthew Batten singled to center field, scoring Jose Azocar from third and winning the game for the Chihuahuas.
San Antonio Missions (Won 3-2 vs Midland) (55-65 on the season)
Ray-Patrick Didder – 1 for 3, Game-Winning HR
Ripken Reyes – 2 for 4
Miguel Cienfuegos – 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K (87 pitches, 56 strikes)
In some baseball games, one swing is all it takes to win. The Missions were on the ideal side of such an outcome on Wednesday night at home. Miguel Cienfuegos had a dominant outing against Midland, tossing six innings of two-run baseball, striking out five. The left-hander is posting solid results in Double-A after a difficult month at Triple-A El Paso (7.66 ERA in 22.1 innings). His outing was statistically his most efficient of the month. The left-hander did his best effort to eliminate baserunners, with a double play ball and pickoff among his 18 outs recorded.
The Missions’ offense took some time to kick into gear, but threatened in the fourth inning with two on and no outs. This threat didn’t flip the score, as the inning ended on a double play off the bat of Robbie Tenerowicz. However, it was a moment of foreshadowing for what came in the fifth. Marcos Castanon hit a one-out double, and Anthony Vilar walked with two outs, bringing up Ray-Patrick Didder. The Missions’ shortstop turned on a 1-0 pitch to left field, giving San Antonio a 3-2 lead.
Jason Blanchard navigated around a one-out double in the seventh inning, and Missions skipper Luke Montz turned to Bradgley Rodriguez in the eighth inning. Rodriguez hurled a 1-2-3 eighth inning on eleven pitches, returning to the mound for the ninth. A one-out single put the tying run on base, but Rodriguez locked in, inducing a ground ball to shortstop off the bat of former Padres minor leaguer Jeisson Rosario. Ray-Patrick Didder, Ripken Reyes, and Robbie Tenerowicz combined to secure the game-ending double play, closing out the 3-2 Missions win.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (Won 9-5 vs Lansing in Game 1) (48-73 on the season)
Ethan Salas – 2 for 4, Double, 3 RBI
Tyler Robertson – 3 for 3, Two RBI
Isaiah Lowe – 5 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 1 K (86 pitches, 50 strikes)
In the first of two games against the Lansing Lugnuts, Fort Wayne’s offense made quite the opening statement. The first five batters for the TinCaps reached base, with Ethan Salas driving in Kai Murphy on an RBI double. Tyler Robertson drew a bases-loaded walk to extend the lead to two, and Jacob Campbell drove in another run on a double play. Some might say that was the end of the rally, but the TinCaps never got that memo, as Nerwilian Cedeno doubled in Devin Ortiz from third base before coming around to score on a single from Wyatt Hoffman. Fort Wayne now led 5-0 after half an inning, and the run support certainly came into play.
Right-hander Isaiah Lowe did not have his best stuff in his appearance. He yielded eight hits and five runs across five innings of work, striking out just one batter. A single from Lansing’s Ryan Lasko brought the score to 5-4, but a baserunning gaffe cost the Lugnuts a chance at blowing the inning open. Fort Wayne scored two more runs in the fourth on a bases-loaded walk to Rosman Verdugo and an RBI fielder’s choice off the bat of Ethan Salas. The insurance again came into play, as the Lugnuts’ batters scored once more against Isaiah Lowe in the fifth inning to make the score 7-5. The TinCaps promptly responded with an RBI single from Salas and Tyler Robertson’s RBI double to extend the lead to four. Despite the back-and-forth nature of the scoring in this game, Lansing did not score again, as Manuel Castro retired the final four batters in a row to lock down a 9-5 TinCaps win.
(TinCaps lost 2-1 vs Lansing in Game 2) (48-74 on the season)
Tyler Robertson – 2 for 3
Nick Vogt – 1 for 3, RBI Single
Enmanuel Pinales – 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K (94 pitches, 53 strikes)
Following a slugfest in the first half of their doubleheader, the TinCaps and Lugnuts followed up the day game in a very different matter: a pitcher’s duel. Enmanuel Pinales took the mound for the TinCaps, tossing a quality start. Pinales allowed one run in six innings of work, striking out three. He benefitted greatly from two double plays induced, holding the Lugnuts scoreless through five innings. Pinales was one strike away from six scoreless innings. However, right fielder Nate Nankil turned on a hanging changeup, lining it to left field and giving Lansing a 1-0 lead.
Despite allowing a run, Pinales’ start was successful, marking the end of his season-best month (2.57 ERA, 22 K in 21 IP). Down one run in the top of the seventh, Devin Ortiz walked and advanced to second on a two-out wild pitch. Nick Vogt rolled a base hit up the middle to score Ortiz from second, tying the game at one run apiece. With the game tied at one, Harry Gustin was summoned to get the game to extra innings. That outcome didn’t come to be, as Gustin allowed a double and single to put runners on the corners with no outs. On a full-count pitch, Lugnuts catcher CJ Rodriguez hit a ground ball past the infield, walking off the TinCaps into the night.
Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 6-4 vs Modesto) (66-54 on the season)
Jack Costello – 3 for 5, Double, RBI
Braedon Karpathios – 2 for 5, Double, 2 RBI
Javier Chacon – 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R (1 ER), 4 BB, 4 K (81 pitches, 48 strikes)
Lake Elsinore’s offense received a substantial jolt with the Padres’ 2024 draftees. That jolt was felt again in the team’s 6-4 win. Jack Costello had a stellar day at the plate, going 3 for 5 with an RBI double in the first inning. Costello made his third appearance of the season in right field, and certainly dazzled with the glove. He added two outfield assists. Braedon Karpathiso drove in two runs on two hits, and Lamar King Jr singled in a run of his own.
Storm starter Javier Chacon tossed five strong innings of two-run baseball. While Chacon walked four batters, he also struck out four and was aided by stellar defensive plays behind him. Chacon looks to finding his footing out of the rotation. He could be a big factor in a playoff push for Lake Elsinore. Right-handers Josh Mallitz and Tyson Neighbors made their professional debuts. Mallitz allowed a run on two hits, but also recorded his first professional strikeout, and Neighbors struck out two in his own inning of relief. Yerry Landinez struck out three in the eighth, and Xavier Ruiz allowed a two-out double in the ninth before striking out Brandon Eike to end the game.
Thursday’s Probable Pitchers:
El Paso – TBD
San Antonio – Sam Whiting (0-2, 5.40 ERA)
Fort Wayne – Jagger Haynes (2-5, 4.09 ERA)
Lake Elsinore – TBD
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.