San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: August 18

Chihuahuas 7, Albuquerque Isotopes 5

Key Statistics: 2B Tim Lopes, 2-for-5; C Brett Sullivan, 2-for-3, R, BB, RBI; CF Oscar Mercado, 2-for-5, R, RBI; RF Brandon Dixon, 2-for-5, R, HR (13), 2 RBI; LF Taylor Kohlwey, 2-for-4, R, 2B; DH Jantzen Witte, 1-for-4, R, HR (17), 3 RBI, BB; LHP Jay Groome, 4 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 6 K; LHP Adrian Morejon (W, 2-1) 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 K; LHP Ray Kerr (S, 9), IP, H, K

Prospect Watch: After losing on Thursday night, the Chihuahuas bounced back Friday with a win in New Mexico. The Chihuahuas’ offense pounded out 15 hits, and all nine starters found the hit column at least once. … While Brandon Dixon hasn’t hit much in the big league opportunities he has been given, he continues to tear apart Triple-A pitching. Dixon had a pair of hits Friday, including his 13th homer of the season. The veteran slugger has four homers in the series, including three on Wednesday night. Dixon is 9-for-20 in the first four games of the set. … Catcher Brett Sullivan had a pair of hits and drew a walk in the win. The 29-year-old has excelled in August, as he awaits his next big league opportunity. The former Rays and Brewers farmhand is hitting .409/.449/.591 with a pair of homers. … Jay Groome started El Paso, and once again, the big lefty struggled with command. The 24-year-old got through four innings and allowed five runs on six hits. He walked four and struck out six. Groome seemingly turned a corner during a fantastic July in which he pitched to a 3.77 ERA in five starts, but things have turned sour in August. The former first-rounder has put up a 12.34 ERA in three starts this month. Walks remain a major issue for Groome; he’s issued 14 free passes in 11.2 innings. On top of that, he’s allowed 21 hits, including four homers in August. … After a horrid outing last time that ended his rehab assignment with an option from the big league club, Adrian Morejon looked much sharper and earned the win. Morejon pitched 1.2 innings and allowed two hits, notching a pair of strikeouts. Last time out, the 24-year-old lefty allowed seven earned runs without recording an out. The outing lowered his Triple-A ERA to 6.97. 

Missions 1, Midland RockHounds 0

Key Statistics: CF Daniel Johnson, 1-for-4, SB (21); 3B Marcos Castañon, 1-for-2, R, 2B, 2 BB; 2B-3B Connor Hollis, 1-for-2, BB, SB (8); C Juan Zabala, 1-for-2, 2B, BB, RBI; RHP Ryan Bergert, 5.2 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K; RHP Justin Lopez (W, 2-1) 2.1 IP, 2 K; Efrain Contreras (S, 2) IP, H, BB, K

Prospect Watch: Missions catcher Juan Zabala supplied all the offense in this one, delivering a sacrifice fly for the game’s only run. … The 24-year-old Zabala also doubled and walked for San Antonio. The former Dodgers farmhand struggled offensively for the TinCaps this season but was moved up to Double-A when Ethan Salas was promoted to Fort Wayne. With Brandon Valenzuela on the shelf, Zabala has taken advantage of his opportunity so far. He is hitting .294/.316/.471 in seven games with the Missions. … Connor Hollis, who was activated from a six week stint on the IL before the game, doubled and drew a walk. The versatile infielder won the Texas League batting title last year but has had a much harder time this season. He has a .648 OPS for the Missions this year. … Ryan Bergert pitched well again but did not factor in the decision. Bergert worked into the sixth innings, allowing two hits and two walks to go with four strikeouts. In six games (five starts) since being promoted to Double-A, Bergert has pitched to a solid 3.00 ERA. Bergert has walked 14 batters in 27 innings of work, but opposing batters are hitting just .188 against him. … Efrain Contreras pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his second save of the season. He allowed a couple of baserunners but was able to keep them from scoring. The 23-year-old has moved into the bullpen after struggling as a starter. While his 4.97 ERA as a reliever isn’t particularly impressive, he has struck out 24 batters in 16.1 innings. 

TinCaps 3, Dayton Dragons 2

Key Statistics: C Ethan Salas, 1-for-3, R, RBI, 2B; 3B Graham Pauley, 1-for-3, R, HR (15), 2 RBI; 1B Nathan Martorella, 1-for-3, R, 2B; LHP Austin Krob (W, 3-3) 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R (1 ER), 4 BB, 7 K; RHP David Morgan, 2.1 IP, 3 K; RHP Cole Paplham (S, 1) IP, K

Prospect Watch: The TinCaps used a three-run fourth to beat the Dragons at home for the third straight night and move within half a game of the division lead. … Catcher Ethan Salas doubled and drove in a run. Salas’ two-bagger was his first extra-base hit as a TinCap. He is off to a .188/.212/.219 start in eight games with Fort Wayne. … The other two runs for the ‘Caps came courtesy of Graham Pauley, who slugged a no-doubt, two-run homer in the fourth. It was Pauley’s 15th homer in 43 games as a TinCap. Pauley ranks seventh in the Midwest League in homers, just three behind the league leader who has come to the plate more than twice as often as the Padres’ 2022 13th-rounder. … On the mound, Fort Wayne got a nice bounce-back from Austin Krob, who earned his third win for his effort. Krob pitched 5.2 innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits, walking four and striking out seven. Last time out, Krob allowed three homers which was a complete anomaly. Outside of that, Krob has allowed just one homer in 87 innings pitched between Lake Elsinore and Fort Wayne. The Lisbon, Iowa native induced six groundballs Friday night. … Righty David Morgan made his TinCaps debut and recorded eight outs without allowing a baserunner. He punched out three batters. The Southern California native played shortstop in junior college and was a center fielder at Hope International University before becoming a professional pitcher. In 40.1 innings for Lake Elsinore, Morgan posted a 4.24 ERA. 

Inland Empire 66ers 2, Storm 0

Key Statistics: 1B Griffin Doersching, 1-for-3, 2B, BB; CF Samuel Zavala, 1-for-3, BB; RHP Dylan Lesko (L, 0-3) 4 IP, 2 H, ER, 3 BB, 5 K; RHP Kobe Robinson, 3 IP, BB, 3 K

Prospect Watch: The Storm bats were quiet on Friday night, as they managed just four hits in a loss at home. With 20 games left, the Storm are six games behind the 66ers for a playoff berth. The two teams will square off eight more times this season, so the Storm still have a chance. … Griffin Doersching drew a walk and doubled to provide the only extra-base hit of the evening for Lake Elsinore. The 25-year-old first baseman has hit the ball hard often in August, but a .253 BABIP has led to a .245/.315/.388 this month. Doersching has struck out just seven times in 54 plate appearances. … Righty Dylan Lesko put together his second straight terrific outing but was the hard-luck loser. Lesko threw four innings and allowed just one run on two hits. He did walk three, but he struck out five. The former first-rounder has enjoyed pitching at The Diamond. In three starts with the Storm at home, he has a 0.82 ERA. He’s allowed just three hits in 11 innings. In two starts on the road, he has a 12.60 ERA. 

Roster Move: Before Friday’s game, the organization announced that righty Nick Thwaits has voluntarily retired. The Fort Recovery, Ohio native was drafted in the 15th round in 2018, signing for an over-slot deal of $450,015. Thwaits had a 12-20 record in five seasons in the system, with a 4.74 ERA. 

ACL Padres 1, ACL Diamondbacks 0

Key Statistics: CF Dillon Head, 1-for-3, RBI; LF Donte Grant, 1-for-3, R; RHP Drew Carlton, IP, H, K; LHP Harry Gustin, IP, H, BB, K; RHP Jonney Rosario (W, 3-1) 4 IP, 2 H, BB, 4 K

Prospect Watch: Another game, another low-scoring affair. This time, the ACL squad pushed across a single run to beat the ACL Diamondbacks. … Center fielder Dillon Head drove in the run with an RBI infield single. The 18-year-old is off to a .298/.414/.426 start in the desert since the Padres selected him with the 25th overall pick in last month’s draft. … Drew Carlton started a rehab assignment with a scoreless inning. The righthanded reliever is on the 60-day injured list after spending most of June with the big league club. The Padres can keep him in the minors for 30 days before he has to be placed back on the 40-man roster. … Harry Gustin, the club’s 18th-rounder, made his professional debut with a scoreless inning of work. He walked one and notched a strikeout. Gustin was the University of Hawaii’s Friday night starter this season and earned first-team Big West honors.He becomes the tenth member of the draft class to get underway so far this year. There are three games remaining on the ACL schedule.