Padres Down on the Farm: May 26 (Batten & Kohlwey HR again for EP/Bergert wins duel for FW/Zavala HR for LE)
Credit: Storm Baseball
Here is a recap of the day’s events.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Defeated Reno Aces 8-3) (22-27 on the season)
Angel Sanchez: 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, BB, 4 K (37 pitches, 22 strikes)
Matthew Batten: (3-for-5), 2 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI
Taylor Kohlwey: (2-for-4), R, HR, 2 RBI
Tim Lopes: (3-for-5), R, 2B, RBI
Jantzen Witte: (3-for-4), R, 2B, RBI
Rangel Ravelo: (3-for-4), R, BB
The bats came alive again at Southwest University Park on Friday night. After Chihuahuas starter Angel Sanchez stranded two runners in scoring position in the top half of the first inning, Mattew Batten opened the bottom half with a leadoff home run, his third straight game leaving the yard. Later in the inning, David Dahl doubled in two to take a 3-0 lead. Batten would homer again in the second inning to make it 4-0.
2 ABs 2 HRs for The Captain tonight!
He has 3 HRs in his last 3 ABs going back to last night and 4 HRs in his last 3 games!@batten4 x #FearTheEars pic.twitter.com/0XYjHoE8GM
— El Paso Chihuahuas (@epchihuahuas) May 27, 2023
Working as an opener on Friday, Sanchez went two innings, striking out four while not allowing any runs. Nabil Crismatt allowed a two-run home run in the fourth inning, one of the few blunders in the game for El Paso. Taylor Kohlwey joined Batten in the home run parade in the fifth inning, his third jack in as many games. The Chihuahuas would reach base 20 times in the game en route to the 8-3 victory.
San Antonio Missions (Beat Amarillo Sod Poodles 8-2) (23-20 on the season)
Jackson Wolf: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (93 pitches, 58 strikes)
Ripken Reyes: (1-for-4), R, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 HBP, 2 SB
Cole Cummings: (1-for-3), R, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Jorge Ona: (1-for-4), 2 R, 2B, RBI
Daniel Johnson: (0-for-3), 2 R, RBI, 2 BB
Ripken Reyes has had a really good week for San Antonio, and that continued Friday. The second baseman doubled in two in the second inning of the Missions 8-2 victory over Amarillo. Despite leaving 14 men on base as a team, the Missions scored eight runs thanks to reaching base 22 times in various ways, including 11 walks.
Jackson Wolf picked up his third win of the young campaign after allowing just one run in six innings. The lefty also struck out four in what was the second-longest outing of his season. San Antonio is now 12-4 in the last 16 games, including a modest four-game winning streak.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (Defeated Lansing Lugnuts 1-0) (18-25 on the season)
Ryan Bergert: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, BB, 8 K (95 pitches, 70 strikes)
Keegan Collett: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 5 K (30 pitches, 21 strikes)
Joshua Mears: (1-for-4), 2B, RBI
Lucas Dunn: (1-for-1), R, BB
Fresh off winning seven of the last ten games, Fort Wayne rode into Friday red hot. The bats cooled off, however, and were held to just four hits through the first nine innings. Thankfully for the TinCaps, they had Ryan Bergert on the mound to counter. The 2021 sixth-round draftee threw seven shutout innings while striking out eight. The right-hander limited the Lugnuts to a mere three hits.
Ryan Bergert in 2023 w/ Fort Wayne:
1.69 ERA – 1.22 WHIP – 37 K in 32 IP
The @Padres #24 prospect was drafted in the 6th round in 2021 out of West Virginia.@ryan10bergert | #PadresOnDeck pic.twitter.com/pcb4TpN2T6
— Al Scott (@AlScott1998) May 27, 2023
The bullpen was equally dominant for Fort Wayne. Keegan Collett struck out five in two scoreless innings. In the top half of the tenth inning, Chris Lincoln stranded two runners to hold the Lugnuts scoreless. In the bottom half of the inning, Joshua Mears doubled to walk it off, ending the pitcher’s duel. The three-game winning streak ties a season-high for the TinCaps, who are now 8-3 in its last 11 games.
Joshua Mears with a walk-off double to send 6,000-plus fans at @ParkviewField home happy! 😃🍎 #PadresOnDeck pic.twitter.com/7mTsor2pYZ
— Fort Wayne TinCaps (@TinCaps) May 27, 2023
Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost to Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 10-9) (23-17 on the season)
Adrian Morejon: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, K (21 pitches, 12 strikes)
Henry Baez: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 8 K (76 pitches, 50 strikes)
Samuel Zavala: (2-for-6), 2 R, HR, 3 RBI
Griffin Doersching: (2-for-4), R, 3 RBI, BB
Wyatt Hoffman: (1-for-3), R, RBI, 2 BB, 2 SB
Albert Fabian: (3-for-6), R, 2B
Graham Pauley: (3-for-5), 2 R, RBI
Four of the first five batters for Lake Elsinore singled to open the game on Friday, the last of which from Griffin Doersching scored a pair. The busy inning continued into the bottom half when Adrian Morejon made his second rehab appearance of the week. The left-hander allowed a single and an RBI double to cut the Storm lead to 2-1. He was able to get the next two batters before being pulled for pitch count.
After a four-run rally from the Quakes, Samuel Zavala tied the game at 5-5 with a three-run home run in the fifth inning, his fifth of the season. The Storm would score three more in the sixth to make it 8-5. The game of back-and-forths didn’t end, however. Kyle Nevin, son of former Padre Phil Nevin, would single in two in the bottom half of the inning, making it 8-7.
#Padres: Samuel Zavala tying the game with a 3 run HOMERUN!!! Let's go @Storm_Baseball @Padres #LFGSD pic.twitter.com/1GeQih3MKs
— 🇵🇭 🍚 (@MrWeRk84) May 27, 2023
After getting the final two outs in the eighth, Lake Elsinore’s Dwayne Matos allowed three straight singles tying the game at 8-8. In the tenth, Albert Fabian moved Charlis Aquino (ghost runner) over to third. Doersching would bring Aquino in on a sac fly to retake the lead for the Storm. Chris Newell homered off Matos in the bottom half to win it for Rancho Cucamonga.
Saturday’s Probables:
El Paso: Anderson Espinoza (2-2, 5.87 ERA, 37 K)
San Antonio: Duncan Snider (0-2, 4.22 ERA, 23 K)
Fort Wayne: Bodi Rascon (0-2, 6.50 ERA, 23 K)
Lake Elsinore: TBD
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.