Down on the Farm: May 1 (Edwards Sets Career High/Allen Dominates Grizzlies, as El Paso Wins 12th Straight)
Photo by Ivan Pierre Aguirre/El Paso Chihuahuas
The San Diego Padres minor league affiliates went 2-2 on the day.
Here is a recap of the day’s action.
El Paso Chihuahuas won 4-2 (19-7 on the season)
As the Chihuahuas tried to extend their win streak to 12 straight games, a struggling top pitching prospect took the mound for them.
The offense started in the second inning for the Chihuahuas. Chris Stewart reached on a fielding error by second baseman Jacob Wilson that ultimately scored Jason Vosler. Peter Van Gansen made the Grizzlies pay for their poor defense as he destroyed a 2-2 pitch for his second home run of the season. Stewart’s ground out in the top of the third plated another run, and the Chihuahuas took a 4-0 lead early in the game.
Fresno got to starter Logan Allen in the bottom half of the third inning. Collin Cowgill continued his successful series with an RBI single to center field. Cowgill himself would score on a passed ball by catcher Chris Stewart, and it was suddenly a two-run game.
It was all Logan Allen after the third inning. The southpaw cruised through the next three innings and set the El Paso bullpen up for success. His day was over after six innings where he allowed only one earned run on six hits, walked none, and struck out seven.
Sammy Solis, Robert Stock, and Tyler Higgins combined for three scoreless innings in relief and shut down the Grizzlies offense in route to a victory. Allen earned his second win of the season while Higgins recorded his first save. The Chihuahuas improve to an incredible 19-7 and have now won 12 straight games.
Michael Gettys: 2-5, 2 K
Jason Vosler: 2-4, Run Scored, K
Peter Van Gansen: 2-4, Run Scored, 2 RBI, HR
Robert Stock: IP, 2 H, BB, 3 K
Logan Allen: 6 IP, 6 H, ER, 7 K (78 pitches – 54 strikes)
Amarillo Sod Poodles lost 9-6 (10-16 on the season)
After an off-day, the Sod Poodles went back to work in a home game against the Springfield Cardinals. Emmanuel Ramirez made his fourth start of the season for Amarillo, while Williams Perez toed the rubber for the opposing Cardinals.
Kramer Robertson‘s two-run home run opened the scoring for the Cardinals in the top of the fourth. The Sod Poodles answered their opponents in the bottom half of the inning on a Luis Torrens groundout and a two-run single by the pitcher, Emmanuel Ramirez. The long ball continued for the Cardinals when Conner Capel homered in the top of the fifth to even the game up at 3-3. This tie did not last long, as outfielder Edward Olivares hit his fifth home run of the season in the bottom of half of the inning to give the Sod Poodles a one-run lead.
Springfield’s offensive attack continued in the top of the sixth when Robertson blasted his second home run of the night to start the inning off. Jose Goddoy’s sacrifice fly gave the Cardinals a 5-4 lead and chased starting pitcher Ramirez. The 24-year-old allowed five runs on five hits, including three home runs, throughout 5 and 1/3 innings pitched.
The Cardinals would strike again in the top of the eighth inning when Evan Mendoza‘s single scored Dylan Carlson. Mendoza himself would come across to score on a wild pitch from reliever Blake Rogers. Chris Chinea‘s fourth home run of the season put the Cardinals up 9-4 and seemingly sealed the victory for Springfield.
The Sod Poodles did not go down without a fight, however. Luis Torrens homered in the bottom of the eighth inning to bring the game within four runs. Amarillo called upon their red hot closer, Andres Munoz, to shut the Cardinals down in the top of the ninth. Munoz delivered, as he struck out two batters and extended his scoreless streak to five straight innings. First baseman Brad Zunica had this to say about Munoz’s hot streak: “He’s throwing more strikes and trusting his stuff more. It’s really showing,” Zunica told EVT after the game on Wednesday.
A single by Edward Olivares in the bottom of the ninth brought the game within three runs, but the Cardinals would still find themselves on the winning side of this game. Emmanuel Ramirez earned his fourth loss of the season, while Williams Perez improved to 2-1.
Edward Olivares: 2-5, Run Scored, 2 RBI, K, ROE, HR
Luis Torrens: 2-4, Run Scored, 2 RBI, HR
Emmanuel Ramirez: 5 1/3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, BB, 5 K, 3 HR, 1-2, 2 RBI
Hudson Potts: 1-4, Run Scored, RBI, 2B, K
Andres Munoz: IP, 2 K (14 pitches – 9 strikes)
Lake Elsinore Storm lost 8-3 (11-16 on the season)
The Lake Elsinore storm entered play today trying to avoid their fifth straight loss. Promising pitching prospect Luis Patino took the mound for the storm while Rancho Cucamonga sent Edwin Uceta to the mound.
Lake Elsinore took an early one-run lead when Esteury Ruiz homered for the first time this season in the top of the second inning. The Quakes had an answer for this run, however, as Drew Avans‘ two-run shot in the bottom half of the inning put them up 2-1. Donovan Casey singled in the bottom of the third inning, giving the Quakes a 3-0 lead on Patino and the Storm.
Patino did not last very long in this affair, as his pitch count reached 83 pitches in only four innings. The young right-hander allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits through four innings pitched. He also struck out four batters, walked one, and surrendered a home run.
Elliot Ashbeck took over for Patino in the fifth inning. Devin Mann scored on an Ashbeck wild pick in the bottom of the fifth inning and gave Rancho Cucamonga a commanding 5-1 lead. Brayan Morales added another run in the bottom of the sixth on a single to left field that scored Marcus Chiu.
The Storm had an answer for their division rivals. Taylor Kohlwey worked a bases-loaded walk in the top of the seventh to score Luis Campusano. Robbie Podorsky followed up by smacking a single to left and plating Ruiz. Just when the Storm showed signs of life again, however, Rancho Cucamonga added some insurance runs. A Jeter Downs RBI single and Connor Wong‘s two-run double put the Quakes up 8-3 in the bottom of the eighth.
As they did earlier, however, Lake Elsinore had something brewing in the top of the ninth. Back-to-back singles by Kohlwey and Podorsky in the top of the ninth gave the Storm two base runners with one out. Unfortunately for them, Quakes reliever Ryan Moseley induced a game-ending double play off the bat of Jeisson Rosario.
Patino recorded his third loss of the season and Uceta recorded his first win on the year. Lake Elsinore will try and avoid a sweep at the hand of Rancho Cucamonga tomorrow at 7:05 PDT.
Tirso Ornelas: 2-4, K, 2 1B
Esteury Ruiz: 2-4, 2 Runs Scored, RBI, HR
Taylor Kohlwey: 2-3, RBI, BB, K
Robbie Podorsky: 2-4, RBI, 2 1B
Luis Patino: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, BB, 4 K (83 pitches – 48 strikes)
Fort Wayne TinCaps won 10-4 (12-13 on the season)
After losing four straight games, the Fort Wayne TinCaps exploded for ten runs en route to their first victory over Kane County this season.
The Cougars tagged TinCaps starter Efrain Contreras for one run in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Zack Shannon. Jorge Perez and Shannon both singled in the top of the third, giving the Cougars an early 3-0 lead in the game. Fort Wayne got on the scoreboard after an Agustin Ruiz sacrifice fly that scored Juan Fernandez in the bottom of the third.
The fifth inning of this game was very eventful. Tra Holmes homered for the Cougars in the top of the fifth, giving the Cougars a 4-1 lead. That would be all for Contreras, as the 19-year-old gave up four runs on five hits through five innings. Fort Wayne blew the game wide open in the bottom of the fifth inning. It all started when Tucupita Marcano worked a bases-loaded walk to score Fernandez. Agustin Ruiz followed that with a bases-clearing double and would eventually score on a Luis Almanzar groundout. The offensive onslaught continued when Nick Gatewood doubled in Dwanya Williams-Sutton and then scored himself on a Fernandez single. Back-to-back doubles by Jawuan Harris and Xavier Edwards would be the finishing touches on a nine-run fifth inning for the TinCaps.
The TinCaps held onto their lead for the remainder of the game, as relievers Adrian Martinez and Tom Colletti combined for four scoreless innings. Edwards posted a career-high in hits, five, and raised his batting average on the season to .390. Contreras earned the victory for the TinCaps, while Jackson Goddard was on the losing end for Kane County.
Xavier Edwards: 5-5, Run Scored, RBI, 4 1B, 2B
Agustin Ruiz: 1-3, Run Scored, 4 RBI, BB, 2B
Juan Fernandez: 3-4, 3 Runs Scored, RBI, K, 3 1B
Tucupita Marcano: 1-4, Run Scored, RBI, BB, SB
Adrian Martinez: 3 IP, H, 3 BB, 3 K (60 pitches – 34 strikes)
Probable Starters for Thursday, May 2nd
El Paso: TBD vs. Kyle McGowin (Fresno)
Amarillo: T.J. Weir vs. Evan Kruczynski (Springfield)
Lake Elsinore: TBD vs. Bryan Warzek (Rancho Cucamonga)
Fort Wayne: Gabe Mosser vs. Franklyn Soriano (Kane County)
Diego works at Prep Baseball Report as an Area Scout in Illinois and Missouri. He graduated this spring with a Bachelor Degree in Communications and played four years of college baseball, logging nearly 50 innings of work in a relief role. Diego hopes to work in an MLB front office one day and has been a Padres fan since he was six years old.