San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: July 26

Chihuahuas 7, Round Rock Express 6

Key Stats: LF Ben Gamel 3-for-4, 2 HR (1, 2), 3 R, 3 RBI, BB, SB (2); LHP Ryan Weathers 5 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 7 K; LHP Ray Kerr (W, 4-0) IP, BB, 2 K; CF Oscar Mercado 2-for-4, BB, 2 SB (5, 6); C Brett Sullivan 2-for-5, R, SB (6); 1B Brandon Dixon 3-for-5, RBI, SB (4)

Prospect Watch: El Paso fell behind early only to tie the game on Ben Gamel’s first home run as a Chihuahua. Seven innings later, Gamel – who the Padres acquired from the Rays organization for cash considerations this month – hit his second home run to break the tie and give El Paso a walk-off win. Gamel, making his first appearance in five days, reached base four times, scored three runs, and drove in three more.  Between El Paso and Durham, the 31-year-old is hitting .276/.399/.476 with 10 home runs and six stolen bases in 65 games. … After pitching well in his first appearance back in Triple-A after his most recent big league start, southpaw Ryan Weathers struggled again Wednesday. On the positive side, Weathers had seven strikeouts in five innings and induced 21 swings-and-misses. That is his highest total in any Statcast tracked start and led all Triple-A pitchers on the night. However, he also gave up nine hard-hit balls including a massive home run. The number of swing-and-misses is still a good sign – especially with a 63% whiff rate on his changeup, a pitch that can allow his fastball to play up. … First baseman Brandon Dixon collected three hits in his first multi-hit game since being sent down to El Paso a week ago. Over that time, he is hitting .269/.269/.500 with two home runs in six games. … 26 days ago, lefty Ray Kerr was just one out away from collecting his first big league save. Instead, he gave up a noteworthy home run in Cincinnati and was sent down a few days later.  Since the demotion, Kerr has not allowed a run while allowing only two hits in eight appearances. He is three-for-three in saves and picked up his second win of the month. He’s struck out eight over 7.2 innings, but continues to fight his command, issuing five walks.

Missions 9, Corpus Christi Hooks 0

Key Stats: RHP Gabe Mosser 4 IP, 2 H, BB, K; RHP Jairo Iriarte IP, K; 2B Ripken Reyes 2-for-3, 2 BB; DH Marcos Castañon 2-for-5, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI; CF Korry Howell 1-for-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI; LF Daniel Johnson 2-for-5, 3B, R, RBI; 1B Michael De La Cruz 2-for-2, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB

Prospect Watch: It was a great day at the plate for all the Missions except their top-ranked hitters. Jackson Merrill and Brandon Valenzuela went a combined 0-for-9 with a walk while the other seven members of the team combined for 11 hits, including five extra-base hits, and seven walks. The barrage was led by Ripken Reyes, who reached base four times on the night. In 19 games this month, Reyes has 17 hits and 14 walks, good for a .471 OBP. … Righty Jairo Iriarte, continuing to work exclusively out of the pen after reaching Double-A, tossed a scoreless inning with one strikeout in the game. His stuff has played extremely well as he has allowed no runs, and only one hit over six innings. Even with the reduced workload the Missions are still only using him once every four games. … Designated hitter Marcos Castañon hasn’t missed a beat since his promotion to Double-A two weeks ago. After hitting .287/.352/.491 in Fort Wayne, the 24-year-old is hitting .333/.426/.487 for the Missions and has a nine-game hitting streak. Since being drafted in 2021, Castañon has amassed 53 doubles and 38 home runs over 223 games, but added his first career triple Wednesday.

TinCaps 1, West Michigan Whitecaps 1 (suspended in the third inning)

Prospect Watch This game was suspended by rain before the third inning could get underway and will be picked back up Thursday. Nerwilian Cedeño had a single and scored in the top of the second. Lefthander Miguel Cienfuegos, making his second start back in Fort Wayne, allowed a run over two innings with three strikeouts.

Storm 8, Stockton Ports 6 (11 innings)

Key Statistics: CF Samuel Zavala 3-for-5, HR (12), 3 R, 3 RBI, BB; C Ethan Salas 4-for-6, HR (8), 2 R, RBI; 3B Jay Beshears 2-for-4, RS; LHP Jagger Haynes 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K; RHP Nick Thwaits 1.1 IP, H, 3 K

Prospect Watch: The Storm went 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position but still came back for the win thanks to their two top prospects. Down in the ninth inning, center fielder Samuel Zavala smashed a game-tying, two-run home run to send the game into extras. After the Storm loaded the bases but couldn’t score in the 10^th, Zavala delivered a single out of the reach of the first baseman to knock in the eventual game-winning run. If it wasn’t for a certain teenage catcher, Zavala would be the talk of the Cal League. The 19-year-old is hitting .306/.483/.661 in July, with six home runs and six steals. On the season, Zavala has a .418 OBP, 12 home runs, and 18 stolen bases. … While Zavala had the biggest hits, Ethan Salas added another four hits including his eighth home run on the season. The fourth hit, which he collected right after Zavala drove home Zavala with the game’s final run, established a new career high. The game was also the second time in his three-month career that he homered in consecutive games. Salas is now hitting .371/.429/.729 this month to just edge out his teammate and countryman. All this while still being the youngest player in the league. … Jagger Haynes made his first start in nearly a month after dealing with blisters on his pitching hand and threw the ball well overall. Haynes, in his first season following Tommy John surgery, had missed one start with the issue, returned for a game, but had to leave his last outing on June 28 before going on the IL. The North Carolina native has thrown 25.1 innings with 29 strikeouts in his first taste of action since being drafted in 2020.

Roster Moves: To make room on the roster for Haynes, righty Luke Boyd was released. The 25-year-old righty was a 17th-round pick in 2021.

The ACL Padres had the day off.

Roster Moves: As the Padres begin to activate their 2023 draft class, the grim reality is that many players will see their journey in the Padres’ system come to an end. Today, the organization parted ways with five players: infielders Josttin Diaz and Jake Perez, lefthanded pitcher Ramon Perez, and righthanders Jordan Guerrero and Reinier Parra. Guerrero, drafted in the sixth round of A.J. Preller’s first in 2015, reached Triple-A with the organization but never cracked the big league roster. He has dealt with shoulder and elbow injuries over the last several years. Perez, 24, was a late addition to the Padres’ 2016 international free agent class. He posted a 4.26 ERA across 132 games over five seasons. Injuries have kept him off the mound this year.

In addition, the Padres moved lefthanders Cole Hamels, Noel Vela, and Ryan Och to the 60-day injured list to create room on the 180 spot domestic reserve list. Vela, dealing with bone spurs, appeared in just one ACL game last month before shutting things down again.