Padres Down on the Farm: May 15 (Andres Munoz hits 104 on radar gun, Xavier Edwards with two hits)
Credit: MiLB
With El Paso having a night off, the San Diego Padres farm system had just three games in play.
Fort Wayne fell behind early and lost despite putting up six runs. The Amarillo Sod Poodles got a strong start and reasonable effort from their bullpen.
Lake Elsinore went up 1-0 in the second inning, but the game was delayed in the third inning, putting the affiliates 1-1 on the night.
Here is a recap of the day’s events.
Amarillo Sod Poodles win 3-2 (16-21 on the season)
T.J. Weir took the mound to start the game for Amarillo. Weir was able to bounce back from his last outing in which he gave up eight hits and six runs across four long innings. He got touched up a little bit early this game, allowing two quick runs in the second inning but he quickly recovered and was able to get through five full innings allowing no more than those two runs.
Paco Rodriguez came in to fill in for Weir in the sixth inning. The 28-year-old former 2nd-rounder has had an up-and-down year so far in the minors. He started the season in Triple-A El Paso but has since gone back and forth between El Paso and Amarillo. In Triple-A he sports a struggling 8.59 ERA allowing seven runs in 7.1 innings of work across six games. He has been able to stretch himself at the Double-A level. However, he has 11 innings pitched in just one more game played holding a stable 1.64 ERA with nine strikeouts to just three walks.
Rodriguez was able to continue his dominance at the Double-A level showcasing three no-hit innings of work in which he struck out three. It was Andres Munoz however who came in and stole the show for Amarillo. He closed the door quickly on the Midland RockHounds sticking out two of three to close the game. Here is why fans are putting the pressure on the Padres for Munoz to be promoted straight to San Diego:
With a fastball-slider combo like this, it’s no wonder that Andres Munoz has racked up 30 strikeouts in 14 innings for the @sodpoodles this season.
Here he is on the #Padres Top 30: https://t.co/UMjUGjvhOS pic.twitter.com/2ANb35XNkM
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 16, 2019
After hitting 104 (!!) on a fastball, Munoz drops down to 85-MPH on a slider to end the game. He now rocks an impressive 1.93 ERA with 30 strikeouts to just 11 walks, and seven hits in only 11 innings pitched; he also recorded his third save in his fourth save opportunity.
Catcher Webster Rivas had the only offense of the night for the Sod Poodles. He crushed a three-run bomb in the bottom of the six to give the Sod Poodles their lead.
Paco Rodriguez: 3.0 IP, 0 H, 3 K, Win
Andres Munoz: 1.0 IP, 2 K, Save
Webster Rivas: 1-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 K
Andres Munoz hits 103 and 104 mph on the radar gun tonight, before flipping up a 85 mph slider for the strikeout. The Mexican pitcher is still only 20-years-old. @SammyLev with the call for @sodpoodles #Padres pic.twitter.com/EWz4ArdJkC
— James E. Clark (@EVT_JClark) May 16, 2019
Fort Wayne loses 10-6 (15-22 on the season)
This game was ugly from the start for Fort Wayne. Gabe Mosser took the mound for his seventh start of the season; he faced 22 batters today to who he allowed seven runs and nine hits in just 4.1 innings.
Three straight singles in the bottom of the first put the Lake County Captains up 3-0 to start the game. It was Blake Hunt for Fort Wayne who answered with a double to left to cut the lead down to two runs. The Captains, however, came right back as Mosser allowed a two-run blast to stretch the game out to 5-1 after just two innings.
It seemed like every time Fort Wayne was able to chip away at the Lake County lead; they would come right back with some runs of their own to stretch out their lead.
An error in the top of the fifth brought in a run for the TinCaps, but a throwing error and a line drive in the bottom of the same inning gave the Captains two more runs. A solo shot in the top of the sixth by Justin Lopez was responded with three runs in the bottom of the sixth.
The TinCaps were able to get three more in the top of the seventh that went unanswered, but at this point in the game, the Captains already had ten runs of their own. Those ten runs ended up being just too much for the TinCaps to answer.
Xavier Edwards: 2-5, R
Dwanya Williams-Sutton: 2-5, 2 RBI, R
Cody Tyler: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2K
Carlos Belen: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, K
Lake Elsinore Winning 1-0 in Stockton
The game was suspended in the bottom of the third inning due to rain; to be finished 5/16/19
Thursday’s Probables
El Paso- Dillon Overton (0-1 5.60 ERA) vs. Tim Melville (1-0 1.80 ERA)
Amarillo- TBD vs. Joe Palumbo (0-0 3.82 ERA)
Lake Elsinore- TBD vs. TBD
Fort Wayne- Joey Cantillo (0-2 4.09 ERA) vs. Sean Wymer (2-2 7.31 ERA)
Derek is a 22-year-old out of Lemon Grove, California. A burning passion for San Diego sports led him to pursue an opportunity to write and share about what’s going on with the teams in America’s Finest City. A young and aspiring sports journalist looking to grow his knowledge and expand his experience at any opportunity.