Daily Transactions

• El Paso has activated C Michael Cantu
• San Antonio has transferred C/1B Yorman Rodriguez and OF Jorge Ona from 7-day to 60-day injured list.
• RHP Henry Henry has been assigned to San Antonio from Fort Wayne.
• SS B.Y. Choi and RHP Will Varmette have been assigned to ACL Padres.
• RHP Anthony Ortiz has been assigned to DSL Padres Brown.

Here is a recap of the day’s events.

El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost to Salt Lake Bees 9-4) (46-59 on the season)

Matt Waldron: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R (5 ER), 3 BB, 4 K (77 pitches, 51 strikes)

Jose Azocar: (2-for-3), R, 2B, BB, SB

Ray-Patrick Didder: (3-for-4), R, 2B, RBI

Tim Lopes: (1-for-4), 2B, RBI, SB

El Paso’s offense seemingly had things going in the second inning on Thursday with two on, but Evan Mendoza grounded into a double play. The Chihuahuas finally scored two innings later when Jose Azocar doubled to left. Oscar Mercado would come around to score to make it 1-0.

After shutting out Salt Lake, nine up. nine down, Matt Waldron allowed back-to-back home runs to David Fletcher and Brandon Drury. The Bees would score three more times in the inning. A sacrifice fly in the fifth made it 6-1. Waldron left after 4.1 innings.

Tim Lopes doubled in a run in the eighth to cut the deficit to 4. Salt Lake added on three insurance runs in the bottom of the inning. With one on and two outs in the ninth, Taylor Kohlwey tied the game with a single to center, scoring Azocar. Mendoza would follow with a walk before Ray-Patrick Didder to right field. The Chihuahuas comeback attempt was too little, too late, however.

San Antonio Missions (Defeated Arkansas Travelers 8-4) (50-49 on the season)

Adam Mazur: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K

Jackson Merrill: (2-for-5), R, 2B, 2 RBI, SB

Marcos Castanon: (3-for-5), RBI

Korry Howell: (1-for-4), R, HR, RBI

Brandon Valenzuela: (1-for-2), 3 R, 2 BB, SB

A surprise came to fans when they found out Jackson Merrill was playing first base for the Missions. With a full infield in San Diego, the organization may look to expand Merrill’s flexibility so that could make a jump to the team at the beginning of next season. Despite never playing the position in a game before, Merrill handled himself well. It remains to be seen if the Padres will use him there on a regular basis.

San Antonio wasted no time getting on the board on Thursday. After a leadoff walk, the Missions flew out twice, but Ripken Reyes advanced to second on his 19th stolen base of the season. After a walk to Daniel Johnson, Marcos Castanon ripped a ball into right field, one of three hits on the day. With two-on, two-out the next inning, Merrill doubled to right field to make it 3-0.

Adam Mazur was the opener for the Missions, striking out four in a pair of scoreless frames. The Padres #6 prospect now has a 2.39 ERA between Fort Wayne and San Antonio. Mazur was replaced by Jose Espada, who gave up three runs, including a two-run blast to Connor Hoover in the fourth inning. Brandon Valenzuela and Merrill pulled off a double steal in the sixth inning. Valenzuela scored to make it 6-3.

First Adam Mazur start in AA after exclusively coming out of the bullpen since his promotion. 2 scoreless innings with 4 Ks. K rate has skyrocketed when he’s been used in short spurts. pic.twitter.com/3UQOwMnW9N

— Giannis Auntiegotapoodle (@TooMuchMortons_) August 4, 2023

Espada kept the Travelers scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings on the way to his third win of the year. Korry Howell homered in the eighth to make it 7-3. A sacrifice fly from Juan Fernandez in the ninth sealed the deal in a great offensive day for the Missions, in route to its fourth straight win.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Defeated Great Lakes Loons 10-0) (51-48 on the season)

Edwuin Bencomo: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K (64 pitches, 43 strikes)

Ethan Routzahn: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K (49 pitches, 33 strikes)

Graham Pauley: (2-for-4), 2 R, HR, 3 RBI

Kervin Pichardo: (1-for-4), R, HR, 2 RBI

Carlos Luis: (2-for-4), R, 2B, 2 RBI

Graham Pauley gets the first Hoosier State Tenderloins home run pic.twitter.com/fRY1qZxo4R

— Fort Wayne TinCaps (@TinCaps) August 3, 2023

In classic TinCaps fashion, Jakob Marsee walked to lead off the game and immediately stole both second and third, good for 36 stolen bases on the season. Two batters later, Graham Pauley hit his 11th home run in 30 games with Fort Wayne. The action continued in the fifth with a leadoff double from Albert Fabian. Kervin Pichardo hit a two-run home run to give the TinCaps a 4-0 lead. Fort Wayne would score four more in the inning, including a two-run double from Carlos Luis as part of a six-run frame.

Kervin Pichardo wants in on the action! 💥 pic.twitter.com/8pYhYlAWNc

— Fort Wayne TinCaps (@TinCaps) August 4, 2023

Edwuin Bencomo was excellent for ‘Caps, striking out four in five shutout innings. The strong pitching performances continued to the bullpen, with Ethan Routzahn striking out six in three scoreless innings. Colton Bender doubled in Luis as part of a two-run seventh inning. The TinCaps held Great Lakes to just five hits on the day, moving to 51-48. The Fort Wayne offense leads the Midwest league in home runs (100), OBP (.340), SLUG (.399), and OPS (.739).

Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost to Modesto Nuts 1-0) (47-49 on the season)

Henry Baez: 7.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K (93 pitches, 60 strikes)

Samuel Zavala: (2-for-4), 2B

Tyler Robertson: (1-for-4), SB

For the second night in the row, Lake Elsinore struggled offensively. Despite this, Henry Baez put on a show in possibly the best start of his career. The right-hander struck out four and allowed just two hits in 7.2 innings. Baez kept Modesto scoreless until the eighth inning. He hit Bill Knight to open the inning and was called for a balk putting a runner in scoring position. Baez got a pop fly to left field and struck out Freuddy Batista. Almost out of it, he walked a batter before getting pulled at 93 pitches.

Henry Baez 77mph breaking ball. pic.twitter.com/gre370ang8

— Friars On The Farm (@Friarsonthefarm) August 4, 2023

David Morgan came in and hit the first batter he faced. A wild pitch allowed a run to score. The Storm managed just four hits, two of which came from Samuel Zavala. The Padres #5 prospect doubled in the ninth game but wasn’t able to score.

DSL Padres Gold (27-15) defeated DSL Padres Brown (13-29), 13-10

Team Gold

Jesus Lopez: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Luis De Leon: (5-for-5), 3 R, 2 2B, 3 RBI, SB

Oliver Carillo: (2-for-4), 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, HBP

Kashon Conliffe: (2-for-2), 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, HBP

Team Brown

Jeison Sanchez: 1 IP, 4 H, 6 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 1 K

Jason Hernandez: (2-for-3), 3 R, 2B, HR, RBI, BB, HBP

Yimy Tovar: (2-for-4), 2 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, BB

Nestor Chevalier: (1-for-4), R, 2B, 2 RBI

ACL Padres (Defeated ACL Angels 13-11) (22-20 on the season)

Will Varmette: 0.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Homer Bush Jr: (2-for-4), 2 R, RBI, BB

Juan Murillo: (1-for-3), 2 R, HR, 4 RBI, BB

Eddy Beltre: (1-for-1), R, 2B, 2 RBI

Will Varmette was tagged for four runs on Thursday in the first inning. Homer Bush Jr. led off in the bottom of the first inning with a single. He would score later in the inning on a ground ball from Jarryd Dale that through a hole. The Angels added on a run in the third, but the lead didn’t last.

San Diego Padres 2023 20th round draft pick out of New Mexico Military Institute, B.Y. Choi makes his professional debut 8/3/23 goes 1 for 3 as DH for the Arizona Complex League Padres. pic.twitter.com/Ky5DOxWymY

— TheJerryEspinoza (@JEspinoza1634) August 4, 2023

2023 20th rounder B.Y. Choi led off the bottom of the fourth with a single, later in the inning, with bases loaded one-out, Homer Bush Jr. came through with a single to left. Dillon Head grounded out to short, scoring another run. Jarryd Dale and Romeo Sanabria followed with back-to-back walks to make it 5-4. Juan Murillo capped off the seven-run inning with a grand slam, his third home run of the year.

See the ball; hit the ball. Single to left to score one. @homerbushjr is 2-3, bottom of 4 at the Peoria Sports Complex pic.twitter.com/n4iiFbdOIP

— Monica Bush (@MonicaNBush) August 4, 2023

The Angels stormed back for six runs in the sixth, including a bases-clearing double from Andy Blake. Eddy Beltre doubled in a pair in the sixth inning. A bases-loaded walk would score him to tie the game up at 11. Luis Torres delivered the final strike for the Angels with a two-run single. Bush Jr. has now score in 11 of the 9 games he’s played in with a 1.158 OPS.

Friday’s Probables:

El Paso: Nolan Watson (3-5, 4.83 ERA, 62 K)

San Antonio: Daniel Camarena (1-6, 7.31 ERA, 45 K)

Fort Wayne: Austin Krob (2-2, 2.22 ERA, 86 K)

Lake Elsinore: TBD

DSL Brown: TBD

DSL Gold: TBD

ACL Padres: TBD

Al Scott

Al was born in Fresno, California with a passion for talking and writing about sports. The lifelong Padres fan is currently attending Fresno State as he pursues a degree in broadcast journalism. In addition to being a student, he does public address announcing at both the high school and collegiate levels.