It’s understandable if the Padres’ deflating loss took the wind out of your baseball viewing sails, but hopefully, a decent night for the organization, bolstered by that highlight-reel play by C.J. Abrams making the rounds on social media, gets you a little bit back in the spirit. After all, the Chihuahuas won in extras at Salt Lake City, and the Missions owe it all to Tulsa, Oklahoma, taking a win at home against the Drillers, while both Single-A clubs took losses on the road.
Chihuahuas 4, Salt Lake Bees 3
Luke Westphal threw three scoreless innings. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Key Stats: LHP Luke Westphal, 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K; RHP Kyle Tyler, 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; SS C.J. Abrams, 2-for-5, 2B, RF Shogo Akiyama, 2-for-4, RBI, C Luis Campusano, 1-for-5, 3 R; 1B Aderlin Rodriguez, 1-for-3, 2B, BB, 2 RBI
Prospect Watch: The Chihuahuas took an early lead, fell behind, and managed to rally in extras for a fun Thursday night in the red hills of Utah. Luke Westphal made his fourth start among 10 appearances as the veteran lefty has continued to work as a swingman for El Paso this year. He threw three no-hit innings to get things rolling for El Paso. For the year, he’s 2-1 with a 4.81 ERA in 24.1 innings. … After two scoreless innings on Monday, Kyle Tyler threw another one, continuing his revenge series against the Bees. Tyler made his Major League debut last year for the Angels before being designated for assignment twice by the Halos in the offseason in a saga that saw the righty be a member of the Angels, Red Sox, Padres, Angels, and Padres organizations before the threw a pitch. … C.J. Abrams smacked a pair of hits, including a double, but the night will be remembered for the incredible barehanded play he made at shortstop, a serious contender for the best play of the year so far. But don’t overlook his work at the plate, where he’s now 15-for-35 in his last eight games. … Shogo Akiyama has certainly continued to hit in his first go at Triple-A, contributing another two tonight along with an RBI. The former Cincinnati Red is batting .348 and should see plenty of playing time with Nomar Mazara joining the Padres and Trayce Thompson out of the organization. … Luis Campusano belted a double and managed to score three times despite one hit, reaching on a fielder’s choice in the eighth, and then scoring the go-ahead run as the extra innings runner in the 10th. … Not only did Aderlin Rodriguez contribute a double and a pair of RBIs to the cause, he also had a wonderful stretch on Abrams’ play in the field.
Esteury Ruiz has been electric this year. (Photo: Rey Holguin)
Missions 6, Tulsa Drillers 5
Key Stats: CF Esteury Ruiz, 3-for-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 SB, DH Yorman Rodriguez, 2-for-4, 2 RBI; C Chandler Seagle, 2-for-3, R, BB; RHP Moises Lugo (W, 3-0), 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 4 K; RHP Carlos Belen (H, 3), 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, K; RHP Angel Felipe (S, 6), 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, 3 K
Prospect Watch: There he goes again. Smacking a double and tearing up the basepaths, Esteury Ruiz has become nightly must-see TV in the Padres organization. In 48 games, the center fielder has now stolen 37 bases, while batting a robust .350 with an OPS of 1.099. … Yorman Rodriguez, continues to swing a hot bat as well. The 24-year-old collected his eighth multi-hit game in his last 11 contests and is now slashing .312/.342/.474 in 173 at-bats on the year. … Chandler Seagle often gets noted for his defense, and rightfully so, and while the golden-armed catcher threw out a baserunner tonight, I’ve come to give the man his due for a two-hit evening that raises his average to .250 and OPS to .676. Seagle played 2021 for the Missions and spent his autumn with the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League. … Moises Lugo pitched two scoreless innings for the win, escaping four walks and a hit in the process while also striking out four. Lugo now has a 3-0 record to go along with a 3.00 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 24 innings of work. … Carlos Belen managed seven outs of scoreless work himself, allowing only two hits and walking none for a hold. The Dominican righty has a 1.18 WHIP and 20 strikeouts in 22 innings this year. … From free agent to San Antonio closer, Angel Felipe certainly has a decent grip on the role at this point in time, picking up his sixth save and dropping his ERA to 2.29 in the process.
Great Lakes Loons 5, TinCaps 2
Key Stats: RHP Edwuin Bencomo, 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; LHP Gabe Morales, 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; DH Jack Stronach, 2-for-3, 2 2B, R, BB, CF Matthew Acosta, 1-for-3, 2 BB, 2 SB, RBI; C Anthony Vilar, 2-for-3, 2B, BB, RBI
Edwuin Bencomo continues to deal for the TinCaps. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Prospect Watch: While this TinCaps offense can bring to mind the line “there ain’t no berries on the trees” from Joe Strummer’s “Johnny Appleseed” without Robert Hassell III and Joshua Mears, Matthew Acosta did his best of provide a spark, smacking a single, walking twice, and also swiping a pair of bases. Acosta is slashing .233/.292/.349 in 43 at-bats since his promotion to Fort Wayne. … Edwuin Bencomo threw a perfect inning and a third, striking out two to reduce his ERA to 2.84 in 25.1 innings. The native of Rio Chico, Venezuela has 23 strikeouts and a 2-1 record. … Gabe Morales also dealt out of the bullpen. The southpaw threw a perfect inning with two strikeouts of his own, and has now struck out 28 batters in 25.1 innings of work for the 2022 season. … Jack Stronach got the start in the DH spot and slugged two doubles, bringing the UCLA alum to five on the year. Stronach was a 21st-round selection in 2019 by the Padres. … Miami product Anthony Vilar impressed with a two-hit evening and also worked a walk. The 2021 15th-round selection is batting .246 with a .634 OPS in 57 at-bats while impressing in his conversion to catching in his first full professional campaign..
Roster Move: Before Thursday night’s game, the TinCaps placed outfielder Corey Rosier on the COVID-19 list. In 45 games for the TinCaps, Rosier is hitting .224/.369/.335 with a 17% walk rate.
Taking his place on the roster is infielder Wyatt Hoffman, the youngest son of Padres’ Hall of Fame closer Trevor Hoffman. The younger Hoffman, 23, signed with the Padres as a minor league free agent last September. He played collegiately at the University of Pacific. In his final year as a Pacific Tiger, Hoffman hit .228/.306/.321. He saw some time with the Missions this season and went 1-for-5 in two games.
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 8, Storm 3
Key Stats: RHP Aaron Holiday, 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; SS Max Ferguson, 1-for-4, 2B, R, RBI, SB; 2B Nerwilian Cedeno, 1-for-4, RBI; CF Justin Farmer, 1-for-4
Justin Farmer was 1-4 on Thursday. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Prospect Watch: It’s definitely not your night when you get three-hit by your rival organization, but let’s look on the bright side. For having three hits, the Storm were productive, also plating three runs! Unfortunately, the pitching staff had a tough night as well, with only Aaron Holiday escaping unscathed with a scoreless inning of work. Holiday, acquired from Oakland in April, has more than impressed in his first 11 games in the organization, striking out 24 batters in 18.2 innings while posting a 3-1 record and 1.45 ERA. … Max Ferguson doubled in a run, leading to the sequence of the night when he then stole third base for his 36th of the year and scored when he tagged up on a pop fly to the first baseman in foul territory. He remains one steal behind Ruiz for the minor league lead. … Nerwilian Cedeno has arrived in style, batting .308 after three games in Lake Elsinore, including a single tonight and an RBI when Ferguson scored on the pop-out. For readers unfamiliar with the bat-first infielder, he was in the Arizona Complex League last year, and the Dominican Republic in 2019 after signing with the Padres as part of the 2018 class. … Justin Farmer extended his hitting streak to six games with a single, raising his batting average to .213. During the streak, Farmer is 7-for-20.
Roster move: Before Thursday’s game, the Storm placed outfielder Michael Green on the seven-day injured list with an undisclosed injury. The former Clemson Tiger signed with the Padres as an undrafted free agent after the 2020 draft. Green finally made his professional debut this season with Lake Elsinore. In seven games with the Storm, Green is 4-for-19 with a homer.
Fellow outfielder Cristian Heredia took his place on the roster. The 21-year-old Heredia played 10 games for the Storm last season, hitting just .083/.108/.083 in 37 plate appearances.
