Padres Down on the Farm: Aug. 31 (Waldron pitched in EP/Reyes, Yost sharp for FW)

The San Diego Padres minor league affiliate went 2-3 on Saturday.

Here’s a recap of the day’s events.

El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 7-5 vs. Tacoma in Game 1) (51-79 on season)
Brandon Lockridge – 2 for 3, double, two runs
Jose Azocar – 2 for 5, RBI, Four stolen bases
Jared Kollar – 4 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 0 K (64 innings, 39 hits)

El Paso immediately jumped on Rainiers starter Jhonathan Diaz, scoring five runs in the first half. Brandon Lockridge led off with a double and scored on an RBI single from Jose Azocar. Azocar had quite the performance himself as he posted two hits and four stolen bases. Four. Eguy Rosario drove in two runs on an RBI double and Kevin Plawekci singled in Rosario to chase Diaz from the game. Reliever Jason Ruffcorn allowed a sacrifice fly to Brandon Valenzuela to push El Paso’s lead to 5-0 after one inning. Starter Nabil Crismatt threw two scoreless innings on 23 pitches en route to a quality start. The heavens had other plans as a downpour swept through El Paso, suspending play.

When play resumed on August 31, right-hander Jared Kollar threw four innings of relief. While the right-hander allowed three runs on seven hits, the damage was limited to one frame as the Rainiers struck for three runs in the fifth inning. Despite the base traffic, Kollar kept the Chihuahuas ahead. El Paso scored twice more in the game, with Tirso Ornelas driving in Jose Sanabria on a line drive in the fourth and scoring Brandon Lockridge on a single in the eighth. Jose Sanabria reached base twice in the game, his second two-hit game in Triple-A. Lake Bachar struck out three in two frames of scoreless relief and Austin Davis hit Logan Warmoth on a fly over the outside corner to end the game.

(Lost 6-3 vs. Tacoma in 7 innings in Game 2) (51-80 on season)
Eguy Rosario – 2 for 3, Home Run
Cal Mitchell – 2 for 3, Home Run
Matt Waldron – 4.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 4 K (72 innings, 49 hits)

Matt Waldron returned to action for the first time in 10 days, throwing 4.2 innings against the Tacoma Rainiers. Waldron struck out four batters, striking out on 25 percent of his swings. Given that Waldron started on the same day as Randy Vasquez at the major league level, Waldron appears to be a possible call-up for the Padres’ long run.

Eguy Rosario hit his 18th home run of the season to put the Chihuahuas on the board, blasting a baseball into the playing field in left-center field. Kevin Plawecki doubled to bring the team within one and Jose Azocar tied the game on an RBI single off Rainiers pitcher Emerson Hancock. With the game knotted at three, Logan Gillaspie entered the game but immediately ran into trouble, walking Seby Zavala and committing a throwing error to put runners on the corners with no outs. While Gillaspie has worked through such jams before, all it took was one pitch to change that outcome. Gillespie hung a bunt that Rainier second baseman Samad Taylor crushed for a three-run home run, giving Tacoma a 6-3 lead. Rainiers starter Emerson Hancock returned to the mound for the bottom half of the inning, but was met with a huge steal from the bat of Cal Mitchell, cutting Tacoma’s lead to 6-4. Reliever Chris Devenski was called out to end the game, but El Paso got the tying run at first base on a failed fielder’s choice. With two on and two out, Jose Azocar threw a sweeper down and away, giving Devenski the ball to end the game. The loss ended El Paso’s four-game winning streak.

San Antonio Missions (lost 7-4 vs. Midland) (55-68 on the season)
Juan Zabala – 1 for 3, Three Run Home Run
Ray-Patrick Didder – 1 for 4, RBI single
Henry Baez – 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 2 K (80 innings, 54 hits)

Henry Baez battled through a 26-pitch third inning in which he allowed four runs on five hits to put Midland up 4-0. Baez was sharper with his command than his last outing, but still hasn’t generated the high whiff levels he posted at High-A. The move from High-A to Double-A is viewed as one of the toughest in the minor leagues, though, and Baez has shown signs of adjusting after his struggles, so he’ll have longer and stronger outings in future starts to match what will happen acclimated to Double-A.

The Missions’ offense came alive in the fourth inning, with Connor Hollis and Marcos Castanon reaching base with one out. Ray-Patrick Didder drove in Hollis on an RBI single to right field. With runners still at the corners, catcher Juan Sabala launched his third home run of the season deep into left field, tying the game at four. The game remained tied until the middle of the innings, thanks in part to the efforts of Raul Brito, who threw three scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Jackson Wolf was called up for the eighth inning, but threw 31 pitches while allowing three runs on four hits and two walks. Down three in the ninth, San Antonio brought the heart of their order to the plate, but Marcos Castanon struck out and both Joshua Mears and Ray-Patrick Didder struck out as the Missions lost 7-4.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Won 3-2 vs Lansing) (48-73 on season)
Ethan Salas – 1 for 5, RBI Single
Devin Ortiz – 3 for 4, Double, Run Scored
Jose Luis Reyes – 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 1 K (64 innings, 36 hits)

With Jose Luis Reyes making appearances in long relief of Eric Yost, the TinCaps turned the tables and earned a win against the Lansing Lugnuts. Reyes started for Fort Wayne, throwing four scoreless innings on 64 pitches. The right-hander struck out four in four innings but induced three double plays in the first three innings to escape the tight ends. Reyes now has a 2.50 ERA in 18 innings with the TinCaps and is looking to build on his strong late-season performance. Eric Yost entered the fifth inning and didn’t miss a beat, striking out four in four innings. Yost allowed one run on five hits with the damage coming in the seventh inning, but was still able to deliver a quality performance. The tandem of Reyes and Yost combined for eight innings of one-run baseball. Pretty good day in the minor leagues for the righty!

Ethan Salas gave Fort Wayne the lead again, this time with a first-inning RBI single on a swinging slider. While Salas was gunned home for the second of the inning on a fielder’s choice, Nerwilian Cedeño drove in the TinCaps’ second run on an RBI single, but was thrown out at second for third in the opening frame. Tyler Robertson continued to show improvement at the plate, singling in Colton Bender in the second after stealing his 14th base of the season in the first. The former Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajun has reached base at a .360 clip this season and has impressed with a .500 OBP in 42 at-bats in August. Devin Ortiz posted another three-hit game and Nick Vogt earned another outfield assist in the 3-2 win.

Lake Elsinore Storm (lost 6-4 vs. Modesto) (67-56 on season)
Chase Valentine – 3 for 3, Home Run
Braedon Karpathios – 2 for 4, RBI double
Miguel Mendez – 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 1 K (86 innings, 49 hits)

While Lake Elsinore starter Miguel Mendez has been dominant at The Diamond in his last three home starts, his start Saturday night was not one of those outings. Mendez went six innings for the first time since July 5 against Inland Empire. Unfortunately for him and the Storm, he allowed four runs in six innings, walked two and struck out just one. It was a rough outing for the right-hander, who was coming off a three-start stretch in which he posted a 1.90 ERA. Josh Mallitz allowed two runs on two hits in the seventh inning and Tyson Neighbors struck out three in a scoreless eighth.

Chase Valentine was 3-for-3 in the ninth, which included his fifth home run of the season. Braedon Karpathios capped his phenomenal August with a 2-for-4 showing. Karpathios posted a .352/.445/.582 slash line in 91 at-bats in August, scoring four runs and driving in 20. Ryan Jackson continued his great start to his pro career with a 2-for-3 game, bringing his OPS to .920 through his first 26 at-bats. The team had 15 opportunities with runners in scoring position, but only won twice in those 15 at-bats. As they brought the tying run to the plate with two down in the ninth, BY Choi was called out to strike out to end the game.

Sunday’s Probable Pitchers:
El Paso – Omar Cruz (1-1, 2.23 ERA)
San Antonio – Ryan Bergert (2-8, 5.11 ERA)
Fort Wayne – Isaiah Lowe (1-2, 3.26 ERA)
Lake Elsinore – TBD

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