The San Diego Padres’ farm affiliates had a tough day this Friday, going winless across the board.

Here’s a recap of the night’s action.

El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 9-6 to Sugar Land)

Clay Dungan – (1-for-4) Home Run, 2 Runs Scored

Tirso Ornelas – (1-for-4) RBI Single

Nolan Watson – 4 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 4 K

The Chihuahuas and Space Cowboys faced off in a classic Pacific Coast League slugfest, with the Chihuahuas falling 9-6 on Friday night. 

Sugar Land would score first on an RBI double, but a home run from Clay Dungan would tie the game in the bottom of the first. Sugar Land would get back-to-back home runs off Chihuahuas starter Nolan Watson in the second to lead 3-1, but El Paso fought back with a four-run third inning, capitalizing on a throwing error by Space Cowboys starter Misael Tamarez to keep the line moving.

The lead would not last, as another set of back-to-back home runs from the Space Cowboys would knot the game at five. Nate Mondou would homer to put the Chihuahuas in the lead, but again, the lead would not last. Sugar Land outfielder Quincy Hamilton, already with one home run on the day, would hit his second home run of the night off of El Paso reliever Bobby Milacki to give his team a 7-6 lead.

The Space Cowboys would reel in two more runs off of Kevin Kopps on a double by Shay Whitcomb, and with the score 9-6, Sugar Land reliever Luis Contreras would close out the game with two shutout frames.

San Antonio Missions (Lost 14-2 vs Arkansas)

Juan Zabala – (2-for-3) RBI Double

Robert Perez Jr – (2-for-4) RBI Double

Ryan Bergert – 2/3 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 1 K (34 Pitches – 17 Strikes)

The Missions suffered one of their worst losses of the season this Friday on a night that would mark a change for the team.

Ryan Bergert started for the Missions but had a rough start on the mound. He did not make it out of the first inning, as he was ambushed by the Travelers’ offense. Bergert was knocked around in the first, allowing four hits and two walks while only recording two outs. Ethan Routzahn would relieve Bergert, but he would not escape the inning unscathed. Entering the game with a three-run deficit, Routzahn would allow a single and then a grand slam, ending the inning at an 8-0 score. Juan Zabala would single in a run to make it 8-1 in the second. 

In the third inning, Nathan Martorella and Jakob Marsee were pulled from the game due to their involvement in the Luis Arraez trade (you can find our EVT initial breakdown here). 

Robert Perez Jr would single in a second run in the same inning, making it a six-run game, but that would be the last time the Missions scored. The Travelers would drive in three more in the fourth inning off of Routzahn and Reggie Lawson, highlighted by a Harry Ford home run. With the score now 11-2 in the fourth, the game was more or less decided. The Missions mounted a scoring threat in the fifth, but Zach Reks would strand runners on second and third to end the inning. This would be a missed opportunity, as the Travelers would bring in three more runs off Raul Brito (but charged to Lawson) on a wild pitch, single, and sacrifice fly. 

San Antonio would not score in the rest of the game, and they would drop the game in a 14-2 blowout.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 6-4 vs Lake County)

Anthony Vilar – (3-for-4) Home Run, Double, 4 RBI

Kai Murphy – (2-for-4)

Henry Baez – 5 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 4 K (83 Pitches – 52 Strikes)

In their matchup against the Lake County Captains, the Fort Wayne TinCaps fell victim to a five-run second inning  Henry Baez took the hill for the TinCaps and had four solid frames. However, Baez’s third inning was not like the others. After the TinCaps took a 2-0 lead on a two-run double by catcher Anthony Vilar, the wheels would come off against the Captains’ offense. A throwing error would open the floodgates, as the error was followed up by three consecutive singles to tie the game, and two consecutive doubles would give Lake County a 5-2 lead.

The TinCaps offense would battle back with a two-run home run by Vilar to make it a one-run game, but that would be the end of the scoring for them. Lake County relievers would hold the TinCaps to four hits and no runs over the last five innings of the ballgame, while the Captains would get an insurance run off TinCaps reliever David Morgan en route to a 6-4 win. 

Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost 4-3 vs Giants)

Rosman Verdugo – (2-for-5) Home Run, 2 RBI

Jay Beshears – (2-for-4)

Eric Yost – 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K (69 Pitches – 42 Strikes)

The Storm had a tense, close game against the San Jose Giants, eventually falling in extra innings. Eric Yost would deliver a quality start for the Storm, tossing six innings of two-run ball, with two walks and four strikeouts, but he would be matched by Giants starter Ubert Mejias, who hurled five innings of two-run ball. 

Offensively, the Storm would be out to an early lead on the back of a two-run homer by Rosman Verdugo, his third of the year. A rally in the sixth against a fatiguing Yost would tie the game at two runs apiece, with an RBI single and forceout bringing in the Giants’ runs. 

Estanlin Cassiani would put the Giants ahead with an RBI single against Will Varmette, but JD Gonzalez would tie the game with a line drive single to score Jay Beshears to make it 3-3. The game would be scoreless into the 10th inning, where a bunt by Cassiani would move the automatic runner to third, but a throwing error by Gonzalez would score the Giants’ winning run, ending the game with a 4-3 final in 10 innings.

Sunday’s Probable Pitchers:

El Paso – Ryan Carpenter (0-2, 9.72 ERA)

San Antonio – Victor Lizarraga (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Fort Wayne – Dylan Lesko (0-1, 6.14 ERA)

Lake Elsinore – TBD

Diego Garcia

I am a proud lifetime San Diegan. Currently a student at San Diego State, I’ve been a Padres & baseball fan my entire life, and have been involved with baseball (be it writing, coaching, content creation) continuously since 2018. I’m big on baseball statistics, statistical analysis, and sports strategy.

Outside of sports and baseball, I’m a musician and aspiring music educator residing in San Diego