San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report June 14

Chihuahuas 8, Round Rock Express 4

Key Stats: RHP Anderson Espinoza 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R (3 ER), 3 BB, 2 K; LHP Adrian Morejon (W, 1-0), 2.1 IP, H, 4 K; LHP Ray Kerr IP, H, 3 K; SS Matthew Batten 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 SB (21);  LF Taylor Kohlwey 2-for-3, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB; CF Jose Azocar 2-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBI; C Kevin Plawecki 2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI

Prospect Watch: El Paso won this one by four runs but it could have been a much bigger spread as the Chihuahuas went 4-for-16 with runners in scoring position. The club had 10 hits (eight singles) and nine walks in the game.  The first four batters all recorded at least one hit and walked twice. … Jose Azocar had two hits, two RBI, and scored two runs for good measure. However, in the three outs he made, he left seven on base.  Still, “Sugar” is hitting .314 with a .798 OPS in 11 games with El Paso. … Matthew Batten continues to pace the Chihuahuas on offense. Not only did he reach base safely three times and score two runs, but he stole two bases giving him a league-leading 21 in 23 attempts. He is hitting .298/.340/.468 in June. … On the mound, lefthander Adrian Morejon picked up his first Triple-A win of the year. After surrendering a run in his first game with El Paso, Morejon has turned in 4.1 scoreless innings over a pair of relief outings. He’s allowed two hits while striking out five batters during that span. … After the OKC Dodgers blasted Ray Kerr for four runs in an inning in his last outing, Wednesday was a nice rebound. The hard-throwing lefty struck out the side around a single, sitting 97 with his fastball and breaking out a changeup for a pair of swinging strikes. Since being optioned to Triple-A, Kerr has gone scoreless in 13 of 16 games with 22 strikeouts in 16 innings.

Missions 5, Amarillo Sod Poodles 2

Key Stats: RHP Kevin Kopps 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 K; RHP Jose Quezada (W, 1-1) 1.2 IP, 4 K; RF Tirso Ornelas 2-for-4; CF David Johnson 2-for-4, 2 R, SB (11); SS Ray-Patrick Didder 2-for-4, HR (2), 2B, 5 RBI, SB (5); 1B Cole Cummings 1-for-4, 2B, R

Prospect Watch: The Missions just continue to win behind solid pitching and clutch hitting. Today’s game featured five pitchers combining to allow only two runs to a really good Sod Poodles offense. Jose Espada started by striking out six over 3.1 innings before a quartet of relievers combined to strike out 11 more Sod Poodles.  The Missions finished with a season-high 17 strikeouts. … Righty Kevin Kopps came in with a runner on in the seventh and quickly got out of it. The Sod Poodles opened the eighth with a pair of singles, but he was able to escape with a popup and two strikeouts. He has struck out 37 in 30 innings this season but still is walking 4.6 batters per nine innings. … The offensive hero of the game was shortstop Ray-Patrick Didder. The former Brave prospect hit a three-run home run in the fourth to give the Missions a lead they wouldn’t surrender. For good measure, Didder came through with a two-run double in the ninth.  He collected all five of the team’s RBIs and was responsible for both of the team’s hits with RISP. … Right fielder Tirso Ornelas went 2-for-4 and has now hit safely in 11 of 12 games so far this month. After a slow start, he is hitting .340/.386/.528 in June

Roster Moves: Prior to Wednesday’s game, the Missions placed catcher Yorman Rodriguez on the seven-day injured list and activated Connor Hollis from the injured list to take his roster spot.

Game 1: TinCaps 2, Dayton Dragons 0 (7 innings)

Key Stats: RHP Adam Mazur (W, 2-0) 5 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 8 K; ; RHP Nick Thwaits (S, 2) 2 IP, H, BB, 3 KSS Jackson Merrill 1-for-4 HR (5) 2 RBI; RF Joshua Mears 1-for-2, 2B, BB; 1B Nathan Martorella 1-for-2, BB

Game 2: TinCaps 4, Dayton Dragons 2 (7 innings)

Key Stats: RHP Jared Kollar (W 4-0) 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, BB, 6 K; SS Jackson Merrill 1-for-3, RS, RBI; CF Jakob Marsee 2-for-3, 2B, 2 R; 3B Marcos Castanon 2-for-3, 2 RBI

Prospect Watch: On May 4, the TinCaps were 6-17 and had the worst record in all of High-A. After Wednesday’s doubleheader sweep, they are back to 29-30, one game under for the first time since opening day. Game 1 was powered, literally, by the top prospects on the Fort Wayne roster. Righty Adam Mazur was brilliant again on the mound as he set a new career-high with eight strikeouts over five scoreless innings. Wednesday’s outing was the fourth time in seven starts since returning from the Development List he has not allowed a run. The 22-year-old drafted in the second round out of University of Iowa has a 1.71 ERA over 42 innings this season. … The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the fourth. With two outs and a runner in scoring position, shortstop Jackson Merril lifted a ball down the right-field line that – according to the umpiring crew – just snuck in fair. It was a welcome hit for Merrill who was mired in an 0-for-13 slump. It was his first big fly of June and only his third extra-base hit.  He would add another hit and RBI in Game 2 as he inches his OPS closer toward .700. … Joshua Mears doubled and walked in game one.  More impressively, this was the first game Mears has not struck out in since May 28. Mears started the year off incredibly slow but has been heating up.  Despite the strikeouts, Mears has a .885 OPS in June. … Thanks to the doubleheader, Jared Kollar got back into the starting rotation. The righty tossed another five strong innings with six strikeouts. The undrafted free agent is 3-0 with a 2.10 ERA in six starts. … Center fielder Jakob Marsee walked in Game 1 and had two hits and two runs in the second game. Marsee has reached base via either a hit or a walk in 10 straight games.

Storm 11, Stockton Ports 2

Key Statistics: C Ethan Salas 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, 2B; CF Samuel Zavala 3-for-4, HR (6), 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB; 3B Graham Pauley 2-for-5, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 3 RBI; LF Kai Murphy 3-for-4, R, RBI; RF Nick Vogt 2-for-4, 2 R, SB (2); RHP Manuel Castro 4.2 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 9 K

Prospect Watch: It’s easy to win games when the top three in the order combined to go 7-for-13 with six runs scored, seven RBI, two walks, 3 doubles, a triple, and a homer.  Center fielder Samuel Zavala led off the game with a home run and continued to pour it on. Zavala, who won’t turn 19 until July and made Keith Law’s preseason Top 100 prospect list, hit his first home run of the month. He reached base four times to raise his season on-base percentage to .396; Since May 1, Zavala has reached base at an even-more impressive .425 clip. … Batting right after him was phenom backstop Ethan Salas, who recorded his first multi-hit game since turning 17 on June 1. It was the first time Salas had scored multiple runs and drove in multiple runs in his young career. Most impressively, Salas threw out the only runner who tried to steal on a bullet throw to second. … Third baseman Graham Pauley had two more extra-base-hits in the three-hole. After aonly three doubles in all of May, Pauley has 12 extra-base hits this month, including four triples.  Pauley is third in the California League with a .332 average and leads the league with a .436 OBP. The Duke product has done virtually everything that can be asked.  He is hitting for a high average, has 12 stolen bases, leads the team with 19 extra-base hits, and has more walks (35) than strikeouts (32).  He currently has a 12-game hitting streak, as he has hit safely in every game this month (.415/.436/.792 line). … Righty Manuel Castro set a season-high with nine strikeouts over 4.2 innings. While he gave up a season-high eight hits, he has 15 strikeouts and no walks over 8.2 innings in two starts this month. The 21-year-old Sinaloa native has now nearly matched his innings total fro across two levels last year. The results are night and day. He’s cut his walk rate by more than half to 6.8%, dropping his ERA from 7.59 last year to his current 3.38 ERA. Opponents are hitting .230 against him and have struck out in 29.2% of plate appearances.

ACL Giants 4, ACL Padres 0 (7 innings)

Key Stats: LHP Miguel Cienfuegos 4 IP,4 H, 2 ER, BB, 4 K; CF Estuar Suero 1-for-3; DH Oswaldo Linares 1-for-2, BB; RF Braedon Karpathios 1-for-3

Prospect Watch: The offense managed just five singles and two walks in this planned seven-inning game. Designated hitter Oswaldo Linares was the only ACL Padre to reach base multiple times and still leads the team with a 1.488 OPS in seven games. …  Lefty Miguel Cienfuegos made his second rehab start as he looks to make his way back to Fort Wayne. Cienfuegos had a 3.18 ERA through six appearances (four starts) with the TinCaps, including the team’s only complete game of the year.  After going three innings last week in his first rehab start, Cienfuegos went four innings against the Giants, allowing two runs over four innings. Assuming he remains healthy, he could be back on the TinCaps roster shortly. … 19-year-old outfielder Braedon Karpathios followed up a three-hit night with a single in three at-bats. The left-handed is 6-for-15 with six walks thus far in the ACL. Karpathios spent some time earlier this year with the Storm. He signed with the Padres as an undrafted free agent last season, after playing with Harford Community College in Maryland.