Down on the Farm: May 9th (Quiroz homers for El Paso, Lake Elsinore gets shutout win)
Fort Wayne and El Paso won big while the Lake Elsinore Storm got a shutout victory at home.
The minor league affiliates for the San Diego Padres went 3-1 in four games
Here is a recap of the day’s action
El Paso Chihuahuas Won 5-2 (24-10 on the season)
The Chihuahuas saw their modest four-game snapped yesterday but got right back to their winning ways with a victory against the Isotopes.
Despite Jerry Keel allowing an early run in the first inning, his offense gifted him with early run support. On a full count pitch, Esteban Quiroz lifted a ball over the wall in left-center field for his sixth home run of the season while Seth Mejias-Brean followed with a run-scoring single in the third inning.
Despite Drew Butera tying the game at two with a sacrifice fly, Chris Stewart permanently put El Paso ahead with a solo home run in the fourth inning. With a lead, Keel settled down to pitch two more innings. In the end, he pitched six innings and allowed two runs while punching out five batters.
Quiroz drove in two runs in the seventh inning to pad the El Paso led to 5-2 and finished the game with two hits, raising his batting average to .317 in El Paso. He joins Mejias-Brean, Josh Naylor, and Matthew Batten with batting averages over .300 (while Boog Powell does have a batting average over .300, he has less than 50 at-bats in the season).
Esteban Quiroz: 2-3, HR, 3 RBI, Run Scored, BB, K
Josh Naylor: 3-4, 2B
Chris Stewart: 2-4, HR, RBI, Run Scored
Jerry Keel: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K (100 pitches-64 strikes) Win
Eric Yardley: IP, 2 H (12 pitches-8 strikes) Save
Amarillo Sod Poodles Lost 6-5 (13-18 on the season)
Amarillo witnessing their last three games in Arkansas get rained out, the Sod Poodles were ready for some baseball. Unfortunately, so were the Corpus Christi Hooks as they overcome the Sod Poodles in extra innings.
The game was a back-and-forth battle as both teams jockeyed for the lead. Corpus Christi took the lead in the second inning when Osvaldo Duarte got a two-RBI single with two outs. However, the Sod Poodles got on the scoreboard when Owen Miller smacked an RBI single to score Buddy Reed. Hudson Potts then cashed in on a bases-loaded opportunity with a base hit up the middle to score Miller and Ivan Castillo.
Corpus Christi struck back in both the fourth and fifth inning to retake the lead. Lawson was done after the fifth inning, having allowed four runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out five batters. Amarillo still had some fight left in them, tying the game up once more on an Ivan Castillo infield single. The game remained deadlocked at four runs each after Kyle Lloyd, Andres Munoz, and Blake Rogers combined to keep the game tied.
In the tenth, Potts was placed on second base. An intentional walk to Kyle Overstreet brought Brad Zunica up to the plate, and the designated hitter came through with a run-scoring single. Unfortunately for the Sod Poodles, Rogers, who was left in for the tenth, hit the first two batters he saw and Travis Radke couldn’t bail out the Sod Poodles as Abraham Toro slapped a game-winning single.
Hudson Potts: 1-5, 2 RBI, 4 K
Ivan Castillo: 2-6, RBI, Run Scored
Owen Miller: 1-3, RBI, Run Scored, 2 BB, K
Reggie Lawson: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 5 K, WP, Balk (98 pitches-62 strikes) No Decision
Blake Rogers: IP, H, 2 R (One earned), BB (25 pitches-13 strikes) Loss
Lake Elsinore Storm Won 4-0 (15-19 on the season)
Despite leaving the game because of a hamstring issue, Aaron Leasher pitched slightly over six innings of shutout ball and led the Storm to a shutout victory over Visalia at Lake Elsinore.
The Storm wouldn’t score until the fourth inning, but it was a big fourth inning. Luis Campusano and Gabriel Arias led the inning off with singles and Campusano scored after Jack Suwinski grounded into a forceout. Two walks loaded the bases for Esteury Ruiz, who cashed in with a two-run single. Robbie Podorsky topped the Storm off with an RBI single, but Ruiz got caught trying to score at home.
Even after Leasher left the game, the Storm bullpen kept the shutout intact as Jean Cosme and Fred Schlichtholz combined for 2.2 shutout innings to secure the win for the Storm. After the game, Leasher told EVT that the injury wasn’t serious and his removal was just a precautionary move. “It’s good. A little tight, but everything is alright,” Leasher said after the game.
Esteury Ruiz: 2-2, 2 RBI, BB, SB
Robbie Podorsky: 1-3, RBI
Jack Suwinski: 1-4, Run Scored, RBI
Aaron Leasher: 6.2 IP, 3 H, BB, 6 K (97 pitches-63 strikes) Win
Jean Cosme: 1.1 IP, H, BB, K (33 pitches-21 strikes)
Fort Wayne TinCaps Won 8-1 (14-18 on the season)
After their last game against Timber was rained out and amid a cold spell, the TinCaps got their second win in their last seven games by exploding for eight runs on eleven hits.
After allowing a run in the first inning on a leadoff home run hit by Lester Madden, Gabe Mosser settled down to shut down the Snappers. Mosser seemingly escaped trouble in every inning, but his curveball was sharp all night while Blake Hunt called an excellent game behind the plate. All in all, Mosser tossed six innings of one-run ball while striking out six Snappers and walking just one.
Mosser gets Ward to ground out to end the sixth. His night is likely over, but the right hander goes six innings with six strikeouts, one walk, and an earned run. @EVT_News pic.twitter.com/E8ABmOnGiD
— Diego (@Deegs_FFC) May 10, 2019
The Fort Wayne offense did a good job of backing up their starting pitcher as well. Fort Wayne took the lead in the second inning thanks to a Lee Solomon two-RBI double and opened the third inning with singles from Xavier Edwards and Tucapita Marcano. An Agustin Ruiz walk loaded the bases for Justin Lopez, who grounded into a fielder’s choice that should’ve resulted in a double play. However, a throwing error allowed Marcano to scamper home after Edwards had already scored, making the game 4-1. An RBI single by Dwanya Williams-Sutton made the game 5-1.
Fort Wayne scored four more times in the game, with Williams-Sutton hitting a home run and Hunt scoring on a balk by pitcher Wandisson Charles.
Xavier Edwards: 3-4, Run Scored, 2 BB, SB
Lee Solomon: 2-4, 2 RBI, 2B, BB, K, E
Dwanya Williams-Sutton: 3-5, HR, 2 RBI, 2 Runs Scored, K
Blake Hunt: 1-3, 2 Runs Scored, 2B, 2 BB, K
Gabe Mosser: 6 IP, 6 H, R, BB, 6 K (91 pitches-60 strikes) Win
Probable Starter’s for Friday’s games
El Paso: Dillon Overton vs. TBD (Alburquerque)
Amarillo: T.J. Wier vs. TBD (Corpus Christi)
Lake Elsinore: TBD vs TBD (Visalia)
Fort Wayne: Joey Cantillo vs Reid Birlingmair (Beloit)
I am currently attending San Diego State University while working on achieving a major in journalism. At SDSU, I write for The Daily Aztec while also hosting the sports radio show “Picked Off”, for KCR Radio. A loyal fan of San Diego sports, I hope to bring content that you will enjoy reading.