Padres Down on the Farm: September 17 (Ornelas’ slam lead EP to win/Hawkins, Mendez named All-Stars)
MiLB (Tirso Ornelas)
Padres minor league affiliates went 1-0 on Wednesday.
Here is our daily recap of games played.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 13-2 vs Sugar Land) (79-66 on the season)
Tirso Ornelas – 2-for-5, Home Run, Four RBI
Francisco Acuna – 4-for-5, Home Run, Double, Two RBI
Victor Lizarraga – 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 0 K (80 pitches – 45 strikes)
El Paso entered the game in must-win mode, as a Tacoma win or a Chihuahuas loss would knock the team out of playoff contention. El Paso’s offense did more than a good job, as they racked up 13 against Sugar Land. Tirso Ornelas’ seventh-inning grand slam gave the team a secure lead that would last. Ornelas finished with two hits and four RBI. Francisco Acuna finished with a four-hit game. That was his first since June 10. Acuna launched a two-run homer in the ninth inning, one of two in the frame. Rodolfo Duran hit the first two-run homer of the ninth inning, his 16th of the season. Duran has hit .379 with 11 homers and 39 RBI since August 1.
We’ll take our Tirso GRAND SLAMS with extra syrup @DennysDiner pic.twitter.com/YBMNxFm2lH
— El Paso Chihuahuas (@epchihuahuas) September 18, 2025
Victor Lizarraga made his second Chihuahuas start, pitching five innings of two-run baseball. While the right-hander did not record a strikeout, eight of his 15 outs recorded came via the ground ball. 12 of 14 ground balls in play against him registered as soft or medium contact, with his curve and sinker leading the way. Jake Higginbotham recorded four outs in relief, earning the win after the Chihuahuas’ seventh-inning rally. Alek Jacob and Francis Pena recorded the final eight outs, with Jacob striking out three.
Despite their win, El Paso’s chance at a playoff berth came to a screeching halt as Tacoma won 6-1 over Oklahoma City.
Hey Now, You’re All Stars!
In non-Chihuahuas news, two Padres minor leaguers earned spots on the Midwest League All Star team. Right-handers Miguel Mendez and Garrett Hawkins were named as Midwest League All-Stars. Mendez made 12 starts with High-A Fort Wayne, pitching to a 1.32 ERA, 3.33 FIP, and 28,6% strikeout rate in 61.1 innings. Hawkins, meanwhile, had one of the most dominant stretches the decade has seen in all of minor league baseball, pitching 44 innings to the tune of a 1.43 ERA, 2.00 FIP, and 29% K-BB rate (37% strikeout rate vs 8% walk rate). With their performances this season, these two players may have earned themselves 40-man roster spots, but that’s a discussion for another day. From all of us here at EVT, congratulations to Garrett and Miguel for their accolades!
Congratulations to Garrett Hawkins and Miguel Mendez on being named @MiLB 2025 Midwest League All-Stars ⭐ pic.twitter.com/gfnqhrAlxI
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 17, 2025
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.