Padres Down on the Farm: August 18th (Cordoba walks it off for Storm/Rodriguez crushes two HRs for El Paso)
Credit: AP Photo
The San Diego Padres had nearly a full minor league slate in action on Sunday, with seven of the organization’s teams participating in gameplay.
They went 5-2 on the day.
Here is a recap of the day’s actions:
El Paso Chihuahuas defeat Salt Lake Bees 10-8 (73-52 on the season)
Over in the Pacific Coast League, the El Paso Chihuahuas have been one of the league’s best teams for the entire season. With the minor league season winding down, the Chihuahuas lead the Las Vegas Aviators by half a game in the Pacific Southern division.
Every game counts for El Paso as they continue to play for a division title. The team traveled to Salt Lake for a four-game series, with a win on Sunday earning them a series split. El Paso drew first blood, scoring in the first inning on an error by Salt Lake shortstop Nick Franklin. They tacked on two more runs in the fourth on an Aderlin Rodriguez double, and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Matthew Batten.
Salt Lake got themselves on the board in the fifth inning, when Josh Thole drove in Nick Franklin. El Paso responded quite well, scoring seven runs in the next three innings. Aderlin Rodriguez homered twice, and back-to-back doubles from Seth Mejias-Brean and Austin Allen gave the Chihuahuas a comfortable eight-run lead.
27-year-old #Padres prospect Aderlin Rodriguez with his 15th & 16th home run for the @epchihuahuas today
He has put up a 1.024 OPS in 210 at-bats this season. pic.twitter.com/9QhPySo7Vl
— James E. Clark 3 (@EVT_JClark) August 19, 2019
Jose Rojas hit his 28th home run of the season for Salt Lake in the bottom of the seventh, but El Paso quickly responded to that run in the following frame on a Michael Gettys single. Salt Lake showed signs of life late in the game, scoring four runs in the eighth and two in the ninth. El Paso’s ten runs were too much for the Bees to overcome, however, as the Chihuahuas held on to a 10-8 victory.
Key Performers:
Jerry Keel: 6 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Aderlin Rodriguez: 3-for-5, 5 RBI, 2B, 2 HR, 3 RS, K
Austin Allen: 3-for-5, RBI, 2 2B, 3 RS, K
Jason Vosler: 3-for-5, 3 1B, 2 K
Amarillo Sod Poodles defeat Frisco RoughRiders 2-0 (66-58 on the season)
Ronald Bolaños, the Padres’ No. 17 prospect according to MLB.com, took the mound for the Amarillo Sod Poodles on Sunday afternoon against the Frisco RoughRiders. After losing the first two games of a three-game set, the Sod Poodles are hoping Bolaños can pitch them out of a sweep at the hand of their divisional rival.
He did just that, tossing six scoreless innings of three-hit ball, striking out six and walking three. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound right-hander has pitched his way onto the prospect radar with a strong overall 2019 campaign.
Back to back strikeouts for Bolaños
Strikeout #3
100 MPH Fastball (first to top 100 tonight)@EVT_News pic.twitter.com/vlxagfVdez
— Austin Hartsfield (@HartsfieldMLB) August 18, 2019
Amarillo struggled offensively for most of the night, but a timely RBI single by Hudson Potts in the fourth and a home run from Tyler Benson in the fifth was all the offense they needed. Bolaños handed the ball off to Nick Kuzia, who tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings, and Kazuhisa Makita relived Kuzia for the save.
Key Performers:
Ronald Bolaños: 6 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 6 K, W
Hudson Potts: 2-for-4, 2 1B, RBI
Tyler Benson: 1-for-3, HR, RBI, RS
Ivan Castillo: 2-for-3, 2 1B, RS
Lake Elsinore Storm defeat Stockton Ports 5-3 (65-59 on the season)
After a masterful performance by recently promoted pitching prospect Joey Cantillo, the Lake Elsinore Storm matched up against the Stockton Ports in the rubber match of a three-game series.
The Ports struck first, scoring a run in the top of the second inning on a Robert Mullen ground-rule double. Trace Loehr doubled in a run, while Alfonso Rivas and Jonah Bride each drove in runs of their own. After three innings of play, the Ports held a 4-0 lead over Lake Elsinore.
[wpedon id=”49075″ align=”right”]
Gabrial Arias hit his 15th home run of the season in the bottom of the seventh inning to get Lake Elsinore on the board. Jalen Washington doubled in Jeisson Rosario, then scored on a wild pitch, in the bottom half of the eighth, and the Storm pulled within one of the Ports.
Lake Elsinore worked out of a jam in the top of the ninth inning and gave themselves a chance to win the ball game come the bottom of the ninth. With the bases loaded, Allen Cordoba singled in Lee Solomon and Jeisson Rosario to walk it off for the Storm.
Key Performers:
Elliot Ashbeck: 3 IP, 4 H, 2 K
Gabriel Arias: 2-for-4, RBI, HR, RS
Jeisson Rosario: 2-for-4, 2 1B, K, 2 RS
Allen Cordoba: 1-for-4, 2 RBI, BB
Fort Wayne TinCaps defeat Bowling Green Hot Rods 4-2 (57-66 on the season)
The Fort Wayne TinCaps earned at least a series split with the Bowling Green Hot Rods on Sunday afternoon after taking the first two games of this four-game series. Last year’s Padres’ first-round pick Ryan Weathers took the bump for the TinCaps while 23-year-old Caleb Sampen started for Bowling Green.
Agustin Ruiz got the TinCaps on the board with a sacrifice fly in the second inning, but Grant Witherspoon‘s RBI single in the top of the third made it a 1-1 game. Ethan Skender‘s single to left field put the TinCaps ahead in the fourth, but the Hot Rods scored on a throwing error by reliever Jose Quezada in the fifth inning to, once again, tie the game.
Ryan Weathers today in @TinCaps
4.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, BB, 6 K (85 pitches)
3.62 ERA on the season #Padres pic.twitter.com/HhJ40g09OC
— James E. Clark 3 (@EVT_JClark) August 18, 2019
It was Ruiz and Skender again that helped put this game away for the TinCaps, as each drove in a run in the bottom half of the eighth inning. Henry Henry came on to pitch the ninth inning and earned his ninth save of the season, giving the TinCaps a 4-2 victory over the Hot Rods.
Key Performers:
Agustin Ruiz: 1-for-3, 2 RBI, Sac Fly, K
Ethan Skender: 2-for-3, 2 RBI, 2 1B, BB
Justin Lopez: 2-for-3, 2 2B, BB, 2 RS
Ryan Weathers: 4 1/3 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, BB, 6 K
Austin Smith: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K, W
Tri-City Dust Devils lose 9-1 to Hillsboro Hops (29-33 on the season)
The Tri-City Dust Devils kicked off a three-game series with the Hillsboro Hops on Saturday afternoon, taking game one by a score of 2-0. Ignacio Feliz took the mound for the Dust Devils on Sunday afternoon as the team goes for the series victory.
Feliz did not have one of his best outings, allowing six runs, four earned, in 2 2/3 innings pitched before being pulled. The 19-year-old is still a rather intriguing prospect within the system, with plenty of upside, but will need to consistently throw his offspeed pitches for strikes and increase his fastball velocity if he wants to have success as he matures.
Things got worse for the Dust Devils, as Hillsboro tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. After just four innings of play, it was a 9-0 lead for the Hops. Jason Pineda tripled in Sean Guilbe in the top of the ninth for the Dust Devils lone run of the ball game.
Key Performers:
Jason Pineda: 1-for-4, 3B, RBI, 2 K
Deacon Medders: 2 IP, 2 K
Sean Guilbe: 2-for-4, 2 1B, K, RS
AZL Padres 1 lose 5-1 to AZL Brewers Gold (28-20)
The AZL Padres only managed eight hits in a loss to the AZL Brewers Gold team. Miguel Rondon started and went four innings, allowing only a base hit and two walks. He has a 2.97 ERA on the season now in Peoria. Luis Paez went 2-for-4 in the loss.
Luis Paez- (2-4) 2 K
Bryan Torres– (1-4)
Yordi Francisco– (1-4)
Payton Smith– (1-3) BB, 2 K
Miguel Rondon- 4 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 5 K
AZL Padres 2 defeat AZL Indians Blue 7-0 (33-16)
The AZL Padres beat the AZL Indians by the score of 7-0. Carlos Guarte was the winning pitcher as he went five innings of scoreless ball. He has a 1.52 ERA on the season and is really making a name for himself. Angel Solarte went 3-for-5 with his 4th homer of the season in the win.
Angel Solarte- ((3-5) HR, 3B, 2 Runs, RBI
Luis Almanzar– (2-3) 3 RBIs, SB
Gilberto Vizcara- (2-5) 2B, Run, RBI, 2 Ks
Vladimir Echavarria– (2-5) 3 Ks
Carlos Guarate– (Win) 5 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K
DSL Padres (46-21)
OFF
Monday’s Probables
El Paso- TBD vs. Scott Copeland (4-6 6.87 ERA)
Amarillo- OFF
Lake Elsinore- OFF
Fort Wayne- TBD vs. Edwuin Bencomo (1-0 3.04 ERA)
Tri-City- Jason Reynolds (2-3 8.50 ERA) vs. Ryne Nelson (0-0 1.54 ERA)
AZL Padres 1- TBD vs. AZL Padres 2
AZL Padres 2- TBD vs. AZL Padres 1
DSL Padres- TBD vs. DSL Reds
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.