San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report – April 7

Esteban Quiroz makes hard contact for El Paso. (Photo: Jose Salgado)

Chihuahuas 10, Las Vegas Aviators 6

Key Statistics: Luis Urías 1-for-3, 2B, 2BB, K; LF Josh Naylor 1-for-5, HR (1), 2RBI, 2K, OF Assist; C Austin Allen 2-for-4, 2B, 2R, HBP, 1 runner CS; DH Alex Dickerson 1-for-3, HR (1), 2HBP, 3RBI, 2K; Esteban Quiroz 3-for-3, 2BB; RHP Bryan Mitchell 2.1IP, 3H,0R, 1K, 1BB

Prospect Watch: The Chihuahuas got their first win of the season, pounding out all 10 of their runs over the final three innings. Alex Dickerson launched a three-run homer to right in the seventh for his second round-tripper in as many days. The 28-year-old from Poway missed all of 2017 with back issues and underwent Tommy John surgery last spring, costing him his spot on the 40-man roster. After re-signing as a minor league free agent this winter, Dickerson is trying to carve out another opportunity to reach the big leagues. He owns a career OPS over .900 in the PCL. … Esteban Quiroz has followed a unique career arc, playing parts of seven seasons between the ages of 19 and 25 in his native Mexico. The diminutive left-handed hitter reached base at over a .400 clip in his final four seasons and earned a contract from the Red Sox heading into last season. As a 26-year-old, he got off to a torrid start in Double-A, posting a .299/.413/.598 line before a sports hernia sidelined him for most of the summer. The Padres acquired him in exchange for Colten Brewer, for whom they didn’t have space on the 40-man roster. A left-handed hitter with positional flexibility, Quiroz could find his way to the big leagues. … Luis Urías reached base three more times Sunday, lacing a double to left and drawing his first two walks of the season.

Corpus Christi Hooks 5, Sod Poodles 4

Key Stats: SS Owen Miller 1-for-4, HR (1), 2K; RF Edward Olivares 2-for-4, HR (1), OF Assist; RF Jorge Oña 1-for-4, HR (1), 2RBI, 3K; 1B Brad Zunica 2-for-4; RHP Lake Bachar 5IP, 3H, 2ER, 7K, 3BB, WP; RHP Andres Muñoz 0.2IP, 2H, 3R (0 ER), K, WP

Prospect Watch: The Sod Poodles took a two-run lead into the eighth inning, but a key error by Hudson Potts and a two-out, full-count home run surrendered by Andres Muñoz cost them their second franchise victory. All four Amarillo runs came on homers, including a blast by Owen Miller in the first. The offense went cold in the late innings though, and eight of their final nine batters went down on strikes. … Miller is off to a slow 3-for-17 start with five strikeouts against one walk. The one red flag in his otherwise brilliant showing after the draft last summer was his low walk rate. A collegiate bat who can destroy mistake pitches, Miller will need to show he can do damage against better stuff in Double-A. … Lake Bachar struck out seven over five innings, but also issued three walks and surrendered a pair of loud doubles. The 23-year-old from Illinois has shown flashes of swing-and-miss stuff at times since the Padres selected him in the fifth round in 2016, but has struggled for consistency.

Storm 2, Inland Empire 66ers 1

Key Stats: Luis Patiño 5IP, 4H, 1ER, 7K, 3BB; 3B Eguy Rosario 2-for-5, 3K, SB (1); C Luis Campusano 1-for-2, BB, SF; 2B Esteury Ruiz 1-for-3, BB, SB (2), E (3)

Prospect Watch: A single and error put the first two Cal League hitters Luis Patiño faced on base. So how did the 19-year-old respond? He got three straight swinging strikeouts to escape unscathed. Showing his mid-90s fastball, the Colombian hurler didn’t exactly dominate, but more than held his own in his Hi-A debut. Patiño allowed one earned run – and was spared a second one thanks to a beautifully executed relay to the plate by Gabriel Arias – and uncharacteristically walked three in his five innings. But he also held Inland Empire to just four hits and got 20 swings and misses among his 83 pitches while notching seven strikeouts. … Luis Campusano continued his hot start, driving in the first Storm run with a sacrifice fly and collecting another single. He’s 8-for-13 with four walks for a cool 1.436 OPS through his first four games. … Olivier Basabe, playing primarily first base in the early going, had a double and walk on the day. The 21-year-old Venezuelan, who came stateside for college, hit well enough in his Tri-City campaign last year to earn consideration as a bat-first position.

For Subscribers: MacKenzie Gore took time to talk with Kevin Charity heading into the season about his takeaways from a shortened 2018 campaign and his focus points for the upcoming year.

Lansing Lugnuts 5, TinCaps 4

Key Stats: 3B Tucupita Marcano 3-for-5; RF Agustin Ruiz 2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI; 2B Justin Lopez 2-for-4, 2B, RBI; RHP Gabe Mosser 7IP, 3H, 1ER, 6K, 0BB

Prospect Watch: A three-run ninth inning cost the TinCaps a win after starter Gabe Mosser‘s stellar debut as a starter. The 22-year-old righty, who worked exclusively out of the pen after the Padres selected him in the 27th round last year, threw seven strong innings, allowing just one run on three hits. A product of tiny Shippensburg University, Mosser struck out 18 in 12 Midwest League relief innings at the end of last season. He improbably became the first pitcher at any level of the Padres system to go beyond the sixth inning this year. … As sharp as Mosser was, Dan Dallas and Carlos Belen were not. Dallas gave up a two-run homer in the eighth then gave way after a leadoff single in the ninth. Called upon to shut the door, Belen instead went single, wild pitch, intentional walk, wild pitch, intentional walk, hit batter to give the game away. The hard-throwing former third baseman hadn’t been asked to enter a game mid-inning previously. … Agustin Ruiz collected an RBI single and a double as he continued his hot start to the season. The 19-year-old outfielder is 8-for-16 with a walk against four strikeouts early in the year. … Infielders Justin Lopez and Tucupita Marcano combined for five of the club’s 10 hits.