Padres minor league affiliates went 1-3 to end the week.

Let’s dive right into the day’s action. 

El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 8-7 vs Albuquerque) (25-32 on the season)

Jase Bowen – 2-for-4, Home Run

Will Wagner – 1-for-1, Pinch-Hit Two-Run Home Run

Fernando Sanchez – 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K (59 pitches – 38 strikes)

Left-hander Fernando Sanchez fired his best Triple-A start to date, as the Sonora, Mexico native threw five scoreless innings against Albuquerque. Though the left-hander did not pick up a strikeout, his changeup-heavy approach against the Isotopes yielded eight ground ball outs. Sanchez allowed only four baserunners, with no extra-base hits allowed. Garrett Hawkins issued a leadoff walk to Cole Carrigg to lead off the sixth, and Carrigg stole two bases against Hawkins and Victor Duarte. Nic Kent walked, which set up the double play. Zac Veen then hit a shallow sac fly to score Carrigg, but Hawkins dialed in and struck out the next two batters. Kyle Hart allowed a solo home run to Andrew Knizner before picking up two outs. The third out simply did not come easy, as Hart allowed a single, two doubles, and a home run in that order. Albuquerque now led 6-4 after the seventh. Ethan Routzahn walked in a run in the eighth inning, extending El Paso’s deficit to 7-4. 

The El Paso lineup broke out the muscle, as they hit three homers in the loss. Jase Bowen got El Paso on the board with a solo home run, his 13th of the season. Marcos Castanon and Carlos Rodriguez singled in a run each in the fourth inning, at the time giving El Paso a 3-0 lead. Nick Solak’s solo home run against Fisher Jameson extended the lead to 4-0. Trailing 7-4 in the ninth, the Chihuahuas put on a mad rally. Marcos Castanon drew a one-out walk, and after Mason McCoy struck out, Carlos Rodriguez hustled out a triple, scoring Castanon. With the tying run coming to the plate, Pete Zamora sent up Will Wagner to pinch-hit. Wagner made his skipper’s decision look like the right one, as he took a slider out to right field for a game-tying two-run home run. Unfortunately, the momentum was snatched away in one swing, as Charlie Condon crushed a hip-high slider from Justin Yeager for a walk-off home run. 

WALK-OFF HOMER BY CHARLIE CONDON TO SECURE THE SERIES DUB!!!!! pic.twitter.com/NyfWYyYYVy

— Albuquerque Isotopes (@ABQTopes) May 31, 2026

San Antonio Missions (Lost 6-5 vs Corpus Christi) (20-31 on the season)

Tirso Ornelas – 3-for-5, Double, Two RBI

Ethan Salas – 2-for-4, Double, Sac Fly, RBI

Jagger Haynes – 4.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 6 K (93 pitches – 57 strikes)

San Antonio and Corpus Christi had themselves a game that was akin to a boxing match, with a punch, counterpunch nature to the scoring. Jagger Haynes started for the Missions, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the second inning. Haynes gave up two singles and hit a batter to load the bases before Joseph Sullivan drew a bases-loaded walk. A groundout by Tyler Whitaker scored the Hooks’ second run, and the Missions escaped the inning with no further damage. 

Francisco Acuna and Carson Tucker singled to open the fourth inning, putting runners on the corners with one out. Ethan Salas then barreled a pitch from Trey Dombroski, hitting a drive to right-center field where Yamal Encarnacion made a running catch. Francisco Acuna tagged up and scored, and Tucker made the aggressive choice to round third and head home as Encarnacion took a tumble upon making the catch. The Hooks’ relay throw home reached as Tucker was coming home, and he was tagged out in a “matter of milliseconds” kind of play. The Missions tied the game in the fourth inning, as Romeo Sanabria was plunked and Tirso Ornelas singled. Braedon Karpathios drew a five-pitch walk to load the bases, and Luis Verdugo drew another five-pitch walk to score the tying run. The Missions failed to score again, which came back to bite them. Lucas Spence hit a go-ahead triple against Haynes, giving the Hooks a 3-2 lead, and a fielder’s choice by Joseph Sullivan scored Spence. After Haynes struck out Whitaker, he was relieved by Andrew Thurman, who ended the frame.

Lucas Spence with his first Double-A triple! pic.twitter.com/2qL0t5r9qq

— Corpus Christi Hooks (@cchooks) May 31, 2026

San Antonio drew the reverse card, as they matched the two-run fifth with one of their own. Romeo Sanabria singled with two outs, and a double by Ornelas brought them within one. Braedon Karpathios then hit a sharp ground ball up the middle to tie the game. On the mound, Thurman threw a scoreless sixth, but saw the first two hitters he faced in the seventh reach base. Omar Cruz was called on with two left-handed hitters coming up, but the move did not yield the intended result. Cruz allowed a go-ahead ground ball single, and a squeeze bunt by Joseph Sullivan scored another run. Trailing by two, the Missions were unable to score in the seventh and eighth innings. The ninth saw a furious two-out rally, as Ethan Salas doubled ahead of a Sanabria walk. With Ryan Jackson pinch-running for Salas, Tirso Ornelas singled past the infield to score Jackson. Braedon Karpathios drew his third walk of the game to load the bases, but Luis Verdugo grounded out to end the game. 

Today’s @FrostBank Player of the Game is Tirso Ornelas! ? pic.twitter.com/TaqKqT4SJQ

— San Antonio Missions Baseball (@missionsmilb) May 31, 2026

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 7-5 vs South Bend) (23-28 on the season)

Kavares Tears – 1-for-3, Two-Run Triple

Justin DeCriscio – 3-for-5, Double, Run Scored

Jamie Hitt – 6.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 3 K (96 pitches – 59 strikes)

Fort Wayne took a 3-0 lead after the first inning, but a four-run seventh by South Bend allowed them to pull ahead to swipe away a win. Kasen Wells opened the TinCaps’ scoring with an RBI double, with Justin DeCriscio crossing home. Kavares Tears hit a two-run triple in the first as well, scoring Wells and Lamar King Jr. DeCriscio had three of the TinCaps’ seven hits, with a double and two singles. Zach Evans finished 1-for-3 with a single and a walk, scoring a run in the game. King Jr and Jake Cunningham drew bases-loaded walks in the ninth inning, as the TinCaps put on a late-game rally, but their efforts were not enough to overcome a four-run deficit. A pair of third-inning outfield assists by South Bend wound up being pivotal to the end result, as Kasen Wells was thrown out at home on a fly ball by Alex McCoy. 

KT Delivers ?

Two-run triple and it’s 3-0 pic.twitter.com/11VyLHiWhW

— Fort Wayne TinCaps (@TinCaps) May 31, 2026

Left-hander Jamie Hitt pitched the deepest outing of his professional career, pitching 6.2 innings of three-run baseball. Hitt was in control throughout his first six innings, as he held the Cubs scoreless through three. A solo home run by Miguel Useche put the Cubs in the board in the fourth, but Hitt was able to prevent any further scoring from then to the sixth inning. Having thrown 78 pitches through six, the southpaw returned to the mound for the seventh, partly due to the TinCaps’ bullpen’s efforts on Friday (8.1 IP, 1 ER). Hitt recorded two outs, but with one on, he walked Josiah Hartshorn after a nine-pitch at-bat.

Manager Jonathan Matthews relieved his starter with left-hander Javier Chacon. Chacon had pitched well through his first six outings in Fort Wayne, but he just couldn’t find the strike zone, throwing 16 of 24 pitches outside of the strike zone. Chacon walked four batters and allowed a game-tying single. The left-hander was ultimately charged with two runs while recording no outs. Tucker Musgrove struck out Christian Olivo to end the inning, but the deficit was now two. Musgrove allowed two unearned runs in the eighth inning, on a two-run single by Miguel Useche. Musgrove picked up 10 whiffs on 19 swings, which was a total that led the team. 

Lead? Taken.#SBCubs pic.twitter.com/XsDrBppWjd

— South Bend Cubs (@SBCubs) May 31, 2026

Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 11-6 vs Inland Empire) (30-21 on the season)

Kerrington Cross – 2-for-4, Home Run, Two RBI

Ryan Wideman – 3-for-5, Two Doubles, Two RBI

Carlos Medina – 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 7 K (74 pitches – 57 strikes)

Scoring eleven runs in the first three innings is usually a good recipe for success, and the Storm’s results on Sunday reinforced the point. Lake Elsinore pounced on 66ers starter Jack Bowery for 11 runs (nine earned). Jose Verdugo pulled off a successful safety squeeze to score Ryan Wideman. If small ball plated their first run, power scored their next four. Qrey Lott hit his third home run of the season off the scoreboard in the second, and Ryan Wideman doubled to score Dylan Grego. Kerrington Cross then hit a two-run home run to the scoreboard, making it 5-0 Storm. Bradley Frye singled to score Jose Verdugo, and the Storm led 6-0 after two. The Storm pulled off two successful double steals of home, as Dylan Grego and Conner Westenburg came in to score. Verdugo doubled to score Ryan Wideman, and a ground ball single by Yoiber Ocopio scored the tenth run of the game. Wideman’s second double of the game in the seventh scored the 11th and final run of the game. Lake Elsinore also went a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen bases. 

QREY LOTT OFF THE SCOREBOARD!! pic.twitter.com/m6xiFBcY5b

— Lake Elsinore Storm (@Storm_Baseball) May 31, 2026

KERRINGTON CROSS GOES OFF THE SCOREBOARD IN THE SAME INNING!!!! pic.twitter.com/aAwlgWooGe

— Lake Elsinore Storm (@Storm_Baseball) May 31, 2026

Ever seen a picture perfect double steal??

BAMM! Photo of the Week pic.twitter.com/M0paLJwC17

— Lake Elsinore Storm (@Storm_Baseball) May 31, 2026

Carlos Medina pitched five innings of three-run baseball, with an elite 77% strike rate. Medina struck out a career-best seven batters in his start. The 21-year old has shown a mature poise and calm demeanor on the mound, and his experience in the Mexican League in 2025 has prepared him for affiliated ball quite well. After Medina, three relievers combined to throw three scoreless frames. Brandon Langley struck out one in a scoreless inning, and Joseph Herrera worked around two baserunners in a scoreless seventh. Fireballer Sean Barnett struck out one batter in a scoreless eighth, stranding two baserunners in the process. Cal Riehl allowed two home runs and three earned runs in two-thirds of an inning. Carson Swilling came on for the final out, and after allowing a walk & single, picked up the 27th out on a groundout.

ACL Padres – No Game

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.