Down on the Farm: August 17 (Baez Struggles in Double-A, Urias Stays Hot)

The San Diego Padres affiliates were 5-4 on Friday.

Here is a recap of the day’s action:

El Paso Chihuahuas (71-52) Won 8-2

The Chihuahuas jumped out to an early 4-0 lead on the 51’s thanks to an Allen Craig sac fly and homers by Javier Guerra and Carlos Asuaje. Starter Logan Allen did his part in his second Triple-A start since his promotion, allowing just two runs in five innings with five strikeouts. Four Chihuahuas had multi-hit games as they collected 12 total hits. Luis Urias continues his hot streak, going 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI. He now has a seven-game hitting streak. Ty France keeps proving he deserved his promotion from Double-A with two doubles as El Paso cruised.

Logan Allen 5 IP,6 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 K

Luis Urias 3-5, 2B, RBI, R

Carlos Asuaje 2-5, HR, 3 RBI

Javier Guerra 2-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB

Ty France 2-4, 2 2B, BB

First strikeout at home for @SD_Southpaw! pic.twitter.com/WvlJ4aVsfw

— El Paso Chihuahuas (@epchihuahuas) August 18, 2018

San Antonio Missions (67-55) DH Lost 9-0, Lost 6-3

The Missions dropped the first game due to an out-of-character bad start from Michel Baez. He allowed four earned runs, eight total, and four walks in just 3 2/3 innings. The Tulsa Drillers jumped all over him. Baez was making just his second career start at Double-A, and so far has struggled, allowing 10 earned runs in 8 1/3 innings. The offense didn’t help much, mustering just one measly hit, a single by Josh Naylor.

Michel Baez 3 2/3 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 3 K

Josh Naylor 1-3

Matthew Batten 0-2, BB, SB

The Missions didn’t fare much better in the second game of the doubleheader. Chris Huffman only made it through three innings, allowing three runs on three walks, with three strikeouts. The Drillers took a 3-0 lead after the first inning and didn’t look back. The Missions showed a little more fight than in the first game with home runs by Nick Schulz and Taylor Kohlwey. They could not keep up with the Drillers’ offense.

Chris Huffman 3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K

Nick Schulz 1-2, HR, BB

Taylor Kohlwey 1-1, HR

Austin Allen 1-2, BB

Lake Elsinore Storm (59-65) Lost 8-6

Bryan Mitchell made a rehab start with the Storm and had good moments, but allowed two runs in 3 2/3 innings with three walks. The Storm scored two runs early on a two-run single by Luis Torrens. After falling behind 6-4, the Storm tied it in the fifth thanks to a two-run double by Jorge Oña, who has been heating up lately. Unfortunately, the lead was short-lived as Rancho Cucamonga scored two of their own in the sixth to retake the lead that they would never relinquish. Eguy Rosario had himself a memorable day at the plate, going 4-for-4.

Bryan Mitchell 3 2/3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K

Eguy Rosario 4-4, R

Jorge Oña 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI

Luis Torrens 2-4, 2 RBI

The Storm bullpen has now retired nine straight hitters, after Blake Rogers strikes out his second batter in the ninth inning. @EVT_News

— Fathomable Friar Facts Research (@friarstats) August 18, 2018

Fort Wayne TinCaps (58-63) Won 6-5

Tom Cosgrove had one of the best nights of his professional career. He pitched five innings, allowing just one run on three hits, and struck out 11. Kelvin Melean let the charge with a two-run homer. Owen Miller and Jack Suwinski both had two hits and Suwinski drove in three. Gabriel Arias added a double and a run scored. Melean’s homer came in the seventh and helped seal the deal for the TinCaps.

Tom Cosgrove 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 11 K

Kelvin Melean 1-3, HR, 2 RBI

Owen Miller 2-4, R

Jack Suwinski 2-4, 3 RBI

Tri-City Dust Devils (27-33) Won 6-4

After a rocky start from Angel Acevedo (6 IP, 4 ER), the Tri-City Dust Devils chipped away for the comeback victory. Michael Curry had three hits. 2018 draft pick Xavier Edwards had a double and a run scored. The Dust Devils broke the 4-4 tie in the seventh thanks to a Blake Hunt RBI double and a run-scoring single by Curry.

Michael Curry 3-4, R

Xavier Edwards 2-3, 2B, R

Blake Hunt 1-4, 2B, RBI

AZL Padres 1 (23-24) Won 3-2

The AZL Padres jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first thanks to a Nick Gatewood two-run single after Luis Almanzar doubled. Alexuan Vega was the starter, at least briefly, tossing two solid, scoreless innings while striking out three. The Padres would get a crucial insurance run in the fourth with a bases loaded walk. They would need that third run as the Royals scored two of their own before Tom Colletti closed the door for the save.

Edwuin Bencomo 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Nick Gatewood 1-4, 2 RBI

Luis Almanzar 1-5, 2B, R

Reinaldo Ilaraza 1-2, 3B, BB

AZL Padres 2 (23-23) Lost 5-3

Noel Vela had a rough start for the AZL Padres 2. He allowed seven hits and five runs in 4 2/3 innings. After that, the bullpen tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings. The Padres were unable to overcome those four runs the AZL Dodgers scored in the first. That didn’t stop them from trying as Mason House had two hits, including a home run, and Jonny Homza also homered. However, it was too little, too late, and the AZL Padres 2 dropped back to .500.

Noel Vela 4.2 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Mason House 2-4, HR

Jonny Homza 1-3, HR, BB

DSL Padres (34-32) Won 2-0

The DSL Padres pitched a shutout with the combined efforts of Manuel Partida, Jesus Cisneros, Nick Rios, and Cesar Gonzalez. Partida started with four innings and allowed just three hits, walking none and striking out three. He has been a standout on this team, now with a stellar 2.31 ERA. There was not much offense on either side, but thanks to two errors by the DSL Orioles, the Padres scored twice. Luis Paez scored after walking, as did Juan Garcia.

Manuel Partida 4 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Luis Paez 0-3, BB, R

Juan Garcia 0-2, 2 BB, R

Brandon Valenzuela 1-3, BB

Saturday’s Probables

El Paso: Cal Quantrill

San Antonio: Emmanuel Ramirez

Lake Elsinore: TBD

Fort Wayne: Luis Patiño

Tri-City: Adrian Martinez

Nick Lee

Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.