Padres Down on the Farm: April 23 (Hassell & Mears 2 HR for FW/Wood grand slam for LE/Dixon HR for SA)
Credit: MiLB TV
The San Diego Padres affiliates went 4-1 on Saturday, as the Fort Wayne TinCaps played a doubleheader.
Here is a recap of the day’s events.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 5-2 to Las Vegas) (8-9 on the season)
Luke Westphal: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K (55 pitches, 36 strikes)
Brett Sullivan: (1-for-4), HR, 2 RBI, R, K
Aderlin Rodriguez: (2-for-4), 2B, K
Matt Batten: (2-for-4)
The Chihuahuas offense took eight innings to wake up, and Brett Sullivan’s two-run home run was too little too late for El Paso. Luke Westphal pitched splendidly, giving up just two hits in four innings of work before Tyler Tyler pitched a hitless fifth. Unfortunately, Las Vegas knocked the back end of the bullpen around, scoring five runs, four of which came in the eighth inning. El Paso had plenty of opportunities, but they went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, which proved extremely costly. Sullivan’s home run and Aderlin Rodriguez’s double were the only extra-base hits in a disappointing game for the Chihuahuas.
San Antonio Missions (Won 15-11 vs. Amarillo) (3-11 on the season)
Brandon Dixon: (3-for-5), HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, BB, SB, K
Korry Howell: (2-for-5), HR, 3B, 2 RBI, 2 R, K
Esteury Ruiz: (3-for-5), 2B, RBI, 3 R, BB, 2 SB, CS, K
Robbie Podorsky: (3-for-5), 3B, 2B, 3 RBI, 4 R, K
The Missions managed to end a ten-game losing streak, as the offense exploded for 15 runs and 21 hits. Every player in the starting lineup got a hit. Seven players had multi-hit nights. Brandon Dixon and Korry Howell homered. Howell and Robbie Podorsky tripled, and the Missions had nine extra-base hits in total. The top four players in the lineup combined to go 12-for-18 while driving in 11 runs and scoring nine. The Missions needed almost every ounce of their offense, as San Antonio’s pitching staff surrendered eleven runs, including seven in the fourth inning alone. San Antonio scored in every inning except the fifth, but they never pushed across more than three runs, as they just constantly chipped away. It was the perfect way to end a streak, as the Missions just out-slugged the Sod Poodles.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (Won 13-9 vs. Lansing) (Won 6-2 vs. Lansing) (9-5 on the season)
Game 1:
Jackson Wolf: 4 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 5 K (68 pitches, 47 strikes)
Joshua Mears: (2-for-4), 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, 2 K
Olivier Basabe: (2-for-4), HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, K
Jarryd Dale: (2-for-4), 2 2B, RBI, 2 R, K
The TinCaps offense scored 13 runs in the final four innings of the game, coming up clutch to win the first game of the doubleheader. Fort Wayne didn’t have a player reach base in the first three innings of the game, but Joshua Mears homered in the fourth. Mears brought home top prospect Robert Hassell III on the long ball, and Angel Solarte doubled home Jarryd Dale.
21-year-old @Padres prospect Joshua Mears of the High-A Fort Wayne @TinCaps hit this homer 5️⃣0️⃣4️⃣ feet, according to @TrackManBB.
In the @statcast era (since 2015), the only homer hit further in an @MLB game was @NomarMzra26’s 505ft HR in ’19.
📹 @LansingLugnuts
🎙 @jgoldstrass pic.twitter.com/cbDr3x1971— John Nolan (@John_G_Nolan) April 24, 2022
Lansing took the lead as they chased TinCaps starter Jackson Wolf from the game with three runs in the fourth. Fort Wayne answered with four runs in the fifth, going back in front. Justin Lopez brought Dale and Hassell III home with a double. The TinCaps’ pitching continued to struggle, as Sam Keating surrendered two runs while recording just two outs, tying the game at seven. Fort Wayne’s offense answered back again, as Joshua Mears hit his second home run of the day, and seventh of the season, helping the TinCaps to a four-run inning. They didn’t stop adding on, as Olivier Basabe hit his first home run of the season with a two-run shot in the seventh and final frame.
Game 2:
Alek Jacob: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (38 pitches, 28 strikes)
Robert Hassell III: (2-for-3), 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, SB
Ripken Reyes: (2-for-3), HR, 2 RBI, R, K
Corey Rosier: (1-for-4), HR, RBI, R, K
The TinCaps swept the doubleheader with a win that relied on some strong pitching and four long balls. Top prospect Robert Hassell III hit a pair of home runs and showed his speed as well, swiping a bag. Ripken Reyes and Corey Rosier also added a home run apiece. Hassell III, Reyes, and Rosier combined to drive in five of the six runs in the evening.
Robert Hassell III with his second career multihomer game! pic.twitter.com/Tj1e2iNSvm
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 24, 2022
Fort Wayne’s pitching also excelled. Noel Vela started off the game well, putting together 3.1 frames of one-run ball before turning the ball over to Alek Jacob. Jacob went 2.2 innings, earning the win after he surrendered just one hit, punching out three Lugnuts. Ryan Och finished off the game with a 1-2-3 inning, securing the win for Fort Wayne.
Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 8-6 vs. Fresno) (8-5 on the season)
Garrett Hawkins: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K (83 pitches, 58 strikes)
James Wood: (1-for-3), HR, 4 RBI, R, 2 BB
Jackson Merrill: (2-for-5), HR, RBI, R
Lucas Dunn: (2-for-3), 2 2B, RBI, 2 BB, K
Lake Elsinore took a five-run lead in the second, as James Wood hit a clutch two-out grand slam before Jackson Merrill hit a solo shot of his own.
Lift. And. Separate.
No. 5 #Padres prospect James Wood demolished a grand slam for @Storm_Baseball: pic.twitter.com/TGwwy2HXXb
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 24, 2022
Lucas Dunn extended the lead to sixth, as his second double of the night brought Max Ferguson home. Fresno made two errors in the fifth inning, and Lake Elsinore turned that into two unearned runs, giving the Storm an eight-run lead. With Garrett Hawkins on the mound, that looked very comfortable. Hawkins had thrown four scoreless innings, and while he did surrender a run in the fifth, the seven-run lead as the Storm turned to their bullpen looked like plenty. Matt Sparling and Brenden Heiss struggled in the sixth and seventh, as they combined to give up five runs. Ben Miller came up clutch late, as he pitched two scoreless innings to pick up the save, securing the win.
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Sunday’s Probables
El Paso: TBD
San Antonio: TBD
Fort Wayne: Adam Smith (0-1, 4.50 ERA)
Lake Elsinore: TBD
Sam is a Senior in High School. He has been writing for three years, and started at EVT in June of 2021. He’s headed to Syracuse’s Newhouse School of Communications in the fall of 2023.