Padres Down on the Farm: June 15 (Rooker 2 HR’s, Esteury Ruiz continues hot start in EP/Howell 3 hits, HR for SA/Ferguson 3 hits for LE)
Credit: MiLB
The San Diego Padres affiliates went 4-1 on the day.
Here is a recap of the day’s events.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Won 11-4) (36-26 on the season)
Pedro Avila – 4.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO
Esteury Ruiz – (2-for-3) HR, 3 R, RBI, BB, 3 SB, HBP
Brent Rooker – (3-for-4) 2 HR, 2B, 3 R, 3 RBI, BB, IBB
Luis Liberato – (2-for-4) 2B, R, RBI, SO
It is not an understatement to say that every batter in the El Paso Chihuahuas’ lineup had a positive impact on the game. Performances like Eguy Rosario’s solo shot or Taylor Kohlwey’s three-hit game would usually be big-time highlights, but not today.
Esteury Ruiz and Brent Rooker both put up performances on another level. Ruiz reached base a total of four times today. One of those hits was a home run that went 408 feet.
When he was on base, he was potentially at his deadliest. He recorded three steals against former Padre catcher Austin Allen. He now has 43 on the season while posting an OPS above 1.100.
Rooker didn’t let Ruiz have the spotlight all to himself. Rooker tallied three extra-base hits, including two home runs. Like Ruiz, he was deadly even when he wasn’t getting a hit. With two outs and Ruiz on second base, the Las Vegas Aviators opted to intentionally walk Rooker. That move didn’t pay off as Robinson Cano would double to score both runners.
The offense combined for 17 hits and 11 runs scored. Naturally, the pitching staff just had to coast. They did that by allowing four runs over seven hits and four walks.
San Antonio Missions (Won 7-2) (31-26 on the season)
Jason Blanchard – 4.0 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 BB, 6 SO
Korry Howell – (3-for-4) HR, 2B, 3 R, RBI, SO
Domingo Leyba – (3-for-5) 2B, R, SB
Tirso Ornelas – (2-for-4) 2 2B, R, RBI, SO
The San Antonio Missions came out swinging. Over half of the Missions’ eleven hits were for extra bases. Korrey Howell highlighted the big day with a home run and double. He would score three times while serving as the number two batter. Tirso Ornelas also had a two extra-base hit game. Ornelas is in the midst of his fifth season in the Padres organization. After a weak May, he has bounced back in June and posted a .960 OPS.
The pitching staff got the job done to support the great offensive performance. As a group, they allowed eight hits, two earned runs, three walks, and struck out eight. Jason Blanchard was the starter but didn’t get the win because he didn’t reach the fifth inning. Instead, the win went to Carlos Belen, who worked two innings while allowing one run.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 5-9) (23-36 on the season)
Dwayne Matos – 3.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, BB, 2 SO
Robert Hassell III – (2-for-4) 2B, 3B, 2 R, BB
Lucas Dunn – (3-for-5) HR, 2B, R, 2 RBI
Kelvin Melean – (1-for-2) RBI, 2 BB, SO
The Fort Wayne TinCaps started strong but couldn’t ride that to a victory. Oliver Basebe got things going when he tripled in the second inning. He knocked in a run with that hit and later scored. Robert Hassell III saw Basabe’s triple and decided to hit his own, this time in the third inning. Hassell came around to score when Lucas Dunn hit his third home run in A+ baseball.
Those good performances weren’t enough for the win. Dwayne Matos and Sam Keating gave up a combined five runs in five innings. Gabe Morales took over after that. He was in line to work two scoreless innings. Then an error by Dunn gave the Lansing Lugnuts an opportunity they took advantage of. The Lugnuts would score three runs in the seventh inning thanks to Dunn’s two-out error.
The TinCaps attempted some ninth-inning magic. They scored one in the ninth then loaded the bases. Unfortunately, none of those runs would come around to score as the final out was recorded by Basabe.
Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 8-4) (35-24 on the season)
Bodi Rascon – 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, BB, 5 SO
Max Ferguson – (3-for-4) R, RBI, 2 SO, 2 SB
Carlos Luis – (2-for-4) 2B, 4 RBI, 2 SO
Justin Farmer – (1-for-4) HR, RBI, R, 3 SO
The game started as a slugfest. The Lake Elsinore Storm immediately loaded the bases. Marcos Castanon grounded a ball back to the pitcher, but a throwing error by Jordan Jackson allowed two to score. Carlos Luis later knocked him and Cole Cummings to make it a four-run first inning. The Modesto Nuts responded by scoring two runs of their own.
Both pitching staffs settled in, and there was no action until the fifth inning. Luis and Albert Fabian hit back-to-back doubles to score two more runs. While Lake Elsinore had a comfortable lead, they put the nail in the coffin in the ninth inning. In the ninth, the Storm put up two more runs to give them double digits on the day.
DSL Padres (Won 4-1) (6-3 on the season)
Jhosep Chirinos – 3.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), BB, 4 SO
Oswaldo Linares – (2-for-3) R
Jose Cordero – (2-for-3) R, SO
The DSL Padres took advantage of some mistakes by the DSL Reds to get the win. In the first inning, Yendry Rojas walked, then advanced to third on two balks. He then scored on a throwing error. In the second inning, Jose Sanabria walked with the bases loaded to score their second run. Later in the game, two sac hits scored the final two runs for the Padres.
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Thursday’s Projected Starters
El Paso – TBD
San Antonio – Lake Bachar (0-1 5.09 ERA)
Fort Wayne – Jackson Wolf (2-3 4.27 ERA)
Lake Elsinore – TBD
ACL – TBD
DSL – TBD
Evan is a student finishing up a degree in Finance from Northern Arizona University. The ability to break down numbers and find the story behind them has lead to his first of writing for East Village times. He covers baseball which is the sport he grew up playing and has followed even after his playing years.
43 stolen bases in mid-June with an OPS above 1.100, and at the AAA level … how many players are like this, but not called up to the show? It’s not like the Padres can’t find a place for Ruiz in the OF. What will it take?
Success in the minors is good, it’s never a negative. The thing to note is that minor league success does not always translate to MLB success. The Padres have a few examples of this. Luis Campusano (so far), Luis Urias, and Francisco Mejia.
Ruiz is on an absolute tear and with the injury to Machado the Padres might opt for better hitters over traditional 4th outfielders like Azocar. BUT, from what I have heard there are concerns about how Ruiz will translate in the leagues.
People who watch him in person have said that he CRUSHES mistake breaking balls but can be overmatched by a good fastball. In the MLB he will see a lot more good fastballs and a lot less breaking balls that hang.
I still think he has earned a call up.