Padres Down on the Farm: April 7 (Lesko & Bergert pitch solid)
San Diego Padres affiliates were 2-2 on Sunday.
Here is a recap of the day’s events.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost to Round Rock 9-6) (5-4 on the season)
Mason McCoy– (2-for-5) 2 RBI, K
Clay Dungan– (3-for-4) 3B, 2B, 3 RBI, BB, K
Cal Mitchell- (2-for-5) 2B, K
Randy Vasquez– 4.1 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, BB, 4 K (75 pitches- 49 strikes)
El Paso slugged 10 hits in the game, but that was not enough as a six-run fifth inning propelled Round Rock to the 9-6 win. Randy Vasquez was doing well for the first four innings but could not make it out of the fifth. Vasquez surrendered five earned runs and nine hits in 4.1 innings of work. Veteran arm Tommy Nance did not do any favors to Vasquez as he coughed up two runs and two hits to end the inning for El Paso. A fielding error by Cal Mitchell was big in the inning as well for the Chihuahuas. Adrian Morejona and Kevin Kopps both pitched a scoreless inning in relief.
Clay Dungan earned three hits in the game, including a triple and double. The 27-year-old career minor league formerly of the Royals organization is off to a hot start in the PCL, recording a 1.116 OPS so far this season. 29-year-old veteran minor leaguer Mason McCoy went 2-for-5 for El Paso. The shortstop was originally drafted by the Orioles but spent time in the Blue Jays and Mariners organizations. Cal Mitchell went 2-for-5 in the loss and could factor for the Padres eventually in the outfield.
San Antonio Missions (Won 9-4 over Amarillo) (3-0 on the season)
Zach Reks– (2-for-5) 2B, 3 RBI, Run, K
Nathan Martorella– (3-for-5) 2B, 2 Runs, K
Connor Hollis– (2-for-5) HR, RBI, Run, 2 K
Ryan Bergert– 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 5 K (58 pitches- 44 strikes)
The Missions finished off the sweep of Amarillo with yet another excellent offensive output. San Antonio recorded nine runs on ten hits in the game and outscored the Sod Poodles 39-14 in the three-game series. On Sunday, the Missions got two homers in the game. One came from Connor Hollis, who went 2-for-5 in the game. The other came off the bat of Marcos Castanon, who went 1-for-3 on the day with two walks, two runs scored, and two RBIs. Nathan Martorella earned three hits in the game and has a 1.576 OPS to start the season.
Ryan Bergert made the start for San Antonio, and the right-handed pitcher was very effective. Bergert is unheralded in the Padres system but is someone to monitor moving forward. Bergert struck out five batters on Sunday in four innings of work. Raul Brito earned the win, pitching two innings of shutout ball for the Missions. Woo-Suk Go coughed up four hits and two earned runs in the ninth inning for San Antonio. The Korean pitcher has not looked very effective yet in his time with the Padres.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (Won 2-0 over Great Lakes) (1-2 on the season)
Griffin Doersching– (2-for-4) 2 2B, RBI, 2 K
Ethan Salas– (1-for-4) Run, BB, SB, K
Homer Bush Jr.- (1-for-4) BB
Dylan Lesko– 4 IP, 3 BB, 1 K (53 pitches- 25 strikes)
Dylan Lesko was solid for the TinCaps, as the right-hander went four innings without allowing a hit. Lesko did walk three batters but showed great composure on the mound. The rest of the pitching staff finished out the one-hit shutout as Fort Wayne earned their first win of the 2024 season. Miguel Cienfuegos struck out five batters in two innings pitched as the lefty looks poised to be in Texas relatively soon. Ryan Och earned the save by striking out the side in the 9th inning.
Offensively, Fort Wayne only managed five hits in the game. Big first baseman Griffin Doersching doubled twice and drove in a run for the TinCaps. Ethan Salas stole another base and singled on the day. Homer Bush Jr. walked and went 1-for-4. The TinCaps walked eight times in the game and were 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost 14-7) (2-1 on the season)
Nick Vogt– (2-for-4) 2 2B, 3 RBIs, Run, BB, K
Jay Beshears– (2-for-2) 2B, 2 BB, 3 Runs, SB
Colton Vincent–Ā (2-for-2) 3 BB, 2 Runs, 2 RBIs
Carson Montgomery– 2 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 3 K (57 pitches- 26 strikes)
Carson Mongomery made the start for Lake Elsinore, and he flashed a very impressive arm. Montgomery continually overpowered the Quakes’ hitters but also fell behind many of them as the strike zone from the home plate umpire was tight. Montgomery walked five batters in the game, and that doomed the right-hander as he failed to get out of the third inning for the Storm. The rest of the Storm staff did not pitch much better, as Eric Yost, Harry Gustin, Jonney Rosario, and Alejandro Lugo all surrendered runs in the game. The Quakes crushed four homers in the game off Lake Elsinore pitchers.
The offense was productive but could not come back from the deficit the pitching staff put them in. Colton Vincent made his first start of the year behind the dish, and the catcher went 2-for-2 with three walks in the game. Jay Breshears also went 2-for-2 in the game, and Nick Vogt continued his hit start with a 2-for-4 day at the plate. Vogt owns a 1.480 OPS so far this season. Dillon Head went 0-for-6 in the loss and made the last out of the game on a popup to center.
Tuesday’s scheduled starters (no games Monday)
El Paso- TBD
San Antonio- Austin Krob
Fort Wayne- TBD
Lake Elsinore- TBD
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.