San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: July 20

Chihuahuas 12, Oklahoma City Dodgers 6

Key Statistics: LHP Jay Groome (W, 3-6), 6 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 2 K; RHP Sean Poppen, 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; RF Oscar Mercado, 3-for-4, 2 HR (2), 3 R, 4 RBI; 1B Brandon Dixon, 1-for-5, HR (8), R, 3 RBI

Prospect Watch: The PCL certainly giveth and the PCL taketh away. While Jay Groome did allow six runs, he leaves the game with the victory. Groome’s stat line would’ve looked better had he not gone out for the seventh inning, when he allowed a double and a two-run home run without recording an out. While it’s certainly been a challenging season for the southpaw, he’s now managed to pitch at least five innings in his last five starts, and six innings in four of those. Groome owns a 4.24 ERA in 17 innings in July, a marked improvement over his 8.32 ERA for the 2023 season as a whole. After fighting his control all year, his 15:9 strikeout-to-walk ratio this month is a step in the right direction. … Sean Poppen wrapped things up for El Paso by striking out two batters in a scoreless ninth inning. The 29-year-old righty, claimed off waivers from the Diamondbacks in the offseason, is 1-0 with a 7.34 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 34.1 innings for the Chihuahuas in 2023. … Oscar Mercado logged his second three-hit outing in his past three games, slugging a pair of home runs and driving in four runs. The 28-year-old outfielder, a 2013 second-round pick by the Cardinals, is slashing .286/.333/.571 in 28 at-bats since joining the Padres organization as a free agent on July 7. … Seemingly all Brandon Dixon does in the Chihuahuas lineup is hit home runs. Tonight’s three-run shot was his eighth of the season in 104 at-bats for El Paso, giving the corner bat a .910 OPS.

Frisco RoughRiders 10, Missions 3

Key Statistics: RHP Gabe Mosser 1.1 IP, 4 H, 5 R (2 ER), 1 BB; RHP Jose Espada, 3.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, (0 ER), 2 BB, 3 K; RHP Adam Mazur 1.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 K, 2 HR; RHP Jose Quezada, 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K; SS Jackson Merrill, 3-for-5, HR (1), R, RBI; 3B Marcos Castañon, 2-for-3, RBI, BB

Prospect Watch: Frisco got the jump early with a five-run second inning, but Jose Espada came on and put out the fire, getting a double play to escape the frame with no further damage, then tossed three more solid innings of relief. The 26-year-old righty has enjoyed his finest professional season since joining the Padres organization last year, striking out 75 batters and walking 26 in 55.2 innings and posting a 2.75 ERA while being used as a bulk reliever as well as a starter. … On a rocky night for the Missions pitching staff, Jose Quezada was also a calming presence, getting four outs and striking out one while allowing just a hit in his scoreless outing. Seeing action in San Antonio for the third season, the 27-year-old righty is 2-1 with a 4.79 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 20.1 innings of work. Adam Mazur made his second relief appearance since joining the Missions, and got hit hard again. The righty gave up four runs over 1.2 innings, allowing a pair of homers in the process. The 22-year-old righty, just a year removed from being the Padres’ second-round draft pick, has struck out five without issuing a walk in his 3.2 innings, but has surrendered five runs. … Jackson Merrill made the highlight of the night for the Missions, hitting his first home run at the Double-A level as part of a three-hit evening for the shortstop. Since his promotion to San Antonio, Merrill is slashing .321/.321/.643 in 28 at-bats with tonight’s home run to go along with two doubles and two triples, making five of his nine hits for the Missions good for extra bases. … Another recent promotion also shined in the lineup as Marcos Castañon smacked a pair of hits. The UC Santa Barbara product is 6-for-21 with a double and three walks since his promotion from Fort Wayne.

Lake County Captains 11, TinCaps 2

Key Statistics: RHP Henry Henry 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 K; Aaron Holiday, 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K; RHP Alan Mundo 0.1 IP, 3 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, WP, K; Keegan Collett, 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; 1B Nathan Martorella, 1-for-3, BB; LF Lucas Dunn, 1-for-3, R, BB

Prospect Watch: On a rough one for the TinCaps, Aaron Holliday kept things steady for two innings, keeping Lake County from scoring despite issuing three walks. Holiday, acquired with Sean Manaea from Oakland prior to the 2022 season, is 3-3 with a 4.75 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 30.1 innings for Fort Wayne this season. …Keegan Collett  had to come on to stop the bleeding in the ninth after Alan Mundo was hit for six runs while recording just one out. The Padres’ 35th-rounder in 2019, gave up a bases-clearing triple to plate all three inherited runners before recording a pair of strikeouts to close it out. The Florida Gulf Coast alum is 2-4 with a 5.34 ERA in 28.2 innings, but has struck out 48 batters in that span. … At the plate, Fort Wayne managed just two hits, with one being a single off the bat of Nathan Martorella. The 22-year-old, a fifth-round pick last year, is batting .271 with 14 home runs and an .848 OPS in 306 at-bats for the TinCaps in 2023. … The other hit belonged to Lucas Dunn, who also walked and scored a run. Dunn, an eighth-round pick in the 2021 draft out of Louisville, is batting .251 with a .733 OPS and six home runs in 2023.

Storm 18, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 0

Key Statistics: RHP Henry Baez, 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K; LF Kai Murphy, 3-for-5, 2 HR (5), 3 R, 3 RBI; DH Samuel Zavala, 3-for-5, 2 HR (10), 4 R, 2 RBI, BB; C Ethan Salas, 2-for-3, 3 R, RBI, BB; 3B Devin Ortiz 2-for-3, 2B, 2 BB

Prospect Watch: Just about everything worked for the Storm tonight, as the club scored in each of the first six innings. Meanwhile, starting pitcher. Henry Baez was sublime in five innings of work, scattering four hits and two walks and striking out four batters to get the shutout started. The 20-year-old Baez is 5-2 with a 3.90 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 64.2 innings for Lake Elsinore in 2023, his third season in the Padres system and first in full-season ball. … Kai Murphy wreaked havoc from the leadoff spot, smashing a pair of home runs as part of a three-hit night. The 22-year-old Arizona State product is batting .285 with a .784 OPS for Lake Elsinore. … Samuel Zavala also slugged a pair of homers and now has 10 round-trippers in 265 at-bats for the Storm. Zavala hit an inside-the-park job and then followed it up with the traditional homer that  cleared the right-center wall. The outfielder, who turned 19 last week, owns an .846 OPS and has also stolen 15 bases in 2023. … With a pair of hits, Ethan Salas is now on a four-game hitting streak and is batting .392 in 51 at-bats in July. The 17-year-old catcher owns an .898 OPS through his first 140 at-bats of professional baseball.

ACL Rockies 7, ACL Padres 1

Key Statistics: LHP Luis Gutierrez 0.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 2 WP; RHP Reinier Parra, 2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 BB; 2B Alain Camou, 2-for-3, 2 2B; 1B Romeo Sanabria, 1-for-2, HR (5), BB; CF Estuar Suero, 1-for-2, BB

Prospect Watch: It’s been a season of ups and downs for Reinier Parra, but he continued a streak of three appearances with one run allowed or less on Friday. Despite a trio of walks, the 22-year-old Dominican righty held the Rockies to one run. His 2023 ERA stands at 7.00 in 18 innings of work, all but 0.1 of those innings at the complex after making one rough appearance for Fort Wayne in April. … Now batting .304 with a .813 OPS in 112 at-bats, Alain Camou remains a name to watch at the complex. The 19-year-old infielder, whose game is more about contact than power, connected for a pair of doubles Friday and is now on a three-game hitting streak. … Romeo Sanabria hit his fifth home run of the season as the 2022 18th-rounder stayed on fire in the ACL, batting. The big lefty is hitting .359 with a 1.055 OPS in 103 at-bats. After making five starts at catcher last year, Sanabria has exclusively played first base and DH so far this season. … Estuar Suero went 1-for-2 with a walk to continue a solid month in the desert. The 17-year-old outfielder is now slashing .303/.425/.394 despite 14 strikeouts in 40 plate appearances for July. … Evan Mendoza, who has been on the San Antonio IL since late April, began a rehab assignment Thursday night, going 0-for-2. The 27-year-old, who the Padres selected in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft last winter, had been in the Cardinals system since 2017.