Padres Down on the Farm: April 23 (Storm score 13/Bowen homers in EP)

Padres minor league affiliates went 2-2 on Thursday. 

Here is our daily recap of games played. 

El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 8-5 vs Reno) (11-13 on the season)

Jase Bowen – 2-for-5, Home Run

Samad Taylor – 3-for-3, Double, Two Runs Scored

JP Sears – 6 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 1 K (82 pitches – 52 strikes)

El Paso’s offense came to life bright and early, as they held an early lead all the way through to win by an 8-5 final. Jase Bowen continued to hit the ball with authority, with his sixth home run of the season coming off the bat at 105.1 mph. Bowen’s homer made the score 6-0, so how did El Paso get there? Bowen and Samad Taylor led off with singles, and with one out, Jose Miranda reached base on a throwing error by Andrew Velasquez. The error allowed both runners to score. Back-to-back two out singled by Rodolfo Duran and Carlos D. Rodriguez scored a run, and Mason McCoy’s ground-rule double scored two runs, punctuating the five-run frame. 

Jase Bowen crushes his team-leading 6th homer 425 ft. to the @myGECU Green Seats! ? pic.twitter.com/x45qgqwfCu

— El Paso Chihuahuas (@epchihuahuas) April 24, 2026

JP Sears started for the Chihuahuas, and his outing was… definitely a start. Sears pitched six innings, a season-high for him. However, the PCL environment did allow Reno to get to him. Sears allowed two home runs and four runs in the fourth inning, as Kristian Robinson and Tommy Troy got to Sears in the inning. However, outside of the fourth inning, Sears allowed his defense to go to work. Yuki Matsui made another rehab appearance, allowing a home run in the seventh inning. Matsui has pitched to a 4.70 ERA in 7.2 rehab innings, and while he has fanned 10 batters, he has also allowed 12 hits. Eli Villalobos made another scoreless outing, striking out two batters in one inning. Ethan Routzahn picked up his second save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning, again aided by a ground ball double play. 

San Antonio Missions (Lost 7-5 vs Amarillo) (5-13 on the season)

Braedon Karpathios – 1-for-3, Double, Walk, Two RBI

Leandro Cedeno – 2-for-5, Double, Triple, RBI

Miguel Mendez – 2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 1 K (53 pitches – 34 strikes)

San Antonio faced a back-and-forth affair in the early going, but the Sod Poodles pulled away against the Missions bullpen. The Missions actually drew first blood, as Braedon Karpathios worked a bases-loaded walk against starter Ashton Izzi, scoring Ethan Salas. Tirso Ornelas drove in the team’s second run on a sacrifice fly, and an RBI single by Ryan Jackson in the third inning made the score 4-3. While Amarillo added another run in the top of the fifth inning, San Antonio came roaring back. With Romeo Sanabria on first, Leandro Cedeno lined a ball to right field. Sanabria came in to score, and all of Cedeno’s 6-foot-2, 264-pound frame ended up at third base with a triple. Cedeno scored on Braedon Karpathios’ single, knotting up the game at five. Sanabria and Ethan Salas each finished with two hits in the game. Salas is now hitting .304 with a .360 on-base percentage and .391 slugging in the leadoff position, which has allowed him to use his plate discipline to be a sparkplug atop the lineup. 

CEDEÑOOO ? pic.twitter.com/5drskWNixW

— San Antonio Missions Baseball (@missionsmilb) April 24, 2026

Miguel Mendez pitched two innings in his start on Thursday, laboring through a four-run second inning. The right-hander allowed five hits in the second inning, with four coming on ground balls past the infield. Mendez averaged 97-98 mph on his fastball, with his changeup registering as high as 91 mph. The Missions bullpen stepped up with Mendez’s short outing, as Francis Pena threw a season-high 2.1 innings of one-run baseball. Pena struck out two in 2.1 innings, working around four hits allowed. Michael Flynn allowed two unearned runs on 1.2 innings of relief, but both were the go-ahead runs. Flynn struck out three batters, walking one. Manuel Castro worked a scoreless seventh inning despite walking two batters and striking out one batter. Sadrac Franco made his first appearance of the series with two scoreless innings. In just his seventh career Double-A appearance, Franco struck out two batters and lowered his season ERA to 8.59. 

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 9-7 vs Wisconsin) (6-12 on the season)

Oswaldo Linares – 2-for-3, Home Run, Three RBI

Carlos E. Rodriguez – 1-for-5, Three-Run Home Run

Carson Montgomery – 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 2 K (70 pitches – 37 strikes)

Fort Wayne’s lineup showed fight against a potent Wisconsin team, drawing to within two runs but ultimately falling 9-7. Carson Montgomery did his job, pitching four innings of two-run baseball with two strikeouts. Montgomery hasn’t picked up the same level of whiffs as he did in the Arizona Fall League, but he has pitched well without his best command. The early results have been promising for the right-hander, who enters what is essentially his first full professional season. Kleiber Olmedo took the loss, allowing three runs in 1.2 innings, including one of the most “how was that a home run” home runs seen this season. Luis German allowed back-to-back home runs in relief, recording just one out. Will Varmette pitched an inning in relief, allowing one run on two hits and a walk. Bernard Jose was charged with one run on three walks in two innings. 

Kavares Tears opened the scoring for the TinCaps with an RBI double in the fourth inning, scoring Alex McCoy. Jake Cunningham’s double in the fifth scored Jonathan Vastine, tying the game at two. The TinCaps didn’t have too much going for them in the first six innings of the game, but as has been the case all season, the TinCaps didn’t hear no bell. Oswaldo Linares hit his first home run of the season in the seventh to bring his team within slam range. Linares had a multi-hit performance as well. Carlos E. Rodriguez hit his second home run in as many days, launching a three-run home run to right-center field to make the score 8-7. Zach Evans drew two walks and scored a run, and Rosman Verdugo finished with two singles in the loss. 

C-ROD GOOOODDBBYYEEE ?

ONE-RUN GAME pic.twitter.com/cdaYSTIGAV

— Fort Wayne TinCaps (@TinCaps) April 24, 2026

Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 13-6 vs Visalia) (9-9 on the season)

Ryan Wideman – 2-for-3, Double, Two RBI, Four Stolen Bases

Conner Westenburg – 2-for-4, Two Singles, Two Runs Scored, Stolen Base

Bryan Balzer – 4 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 3 K (76 pitches – 50 strikes)

Lake Elsinore’s week at home continues to produce quality home cooking, as the Storm scored double-digit runs once again. Ryan Wideman led off the game, and was at the center of scoring. The former third-round pick went 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI, and four stolen bases in the game. Wideman now leads the Storm in stolen bases, overtaking Conner Westenburg. Westenburg continued to hit, as he finished with two singles, two runs scored, and a stolen base. Kerrington Cross went 1-for-3 with a triple and two walks, raising his OPS to .838. Bradley Frye hit his second home run of the season in the first, parking it between the scoreboard and the Ad Monster. Justin DeCriscio had a 2-for-5 day, with a double and two RBI. Truitt Madonna had himself a quiet day by his recent standards, but still had a single and run batted in. Qrey Lott made his professional debut with a pinch-hit single in the eighth inning. 

A dozen runs is a whole lot of fun!!!#EmbraceTheStorm?️ pic.twitter.com/2qgtycsSN8

— Lake Elsinore Storm (@Storm_Baseball) April 24, 2026

Bryan Balzer had a gutsy outing against Visalia, allowing four runs in four innings. Balzer only struck out three batters and also picked up five of 12 outs via the ground ball. Balzer continued to make competitive offerings, and while his ERA is now up to 4.50, the right-hander has performed better than the surface number. Javier Chacon led the Storm staff with four strikeouts over three scoreless innings. Chacon did not allow a hit in his three innings, his best outing of the season. Sean Barnett walked three in 0.2 innings, allowing two runs. Vicarte Domingo threw 1.1 innings of relief to close out the game, fanning three.

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.