Missions Spit Series with Wichita

SAN ANTONIO—After three dismal nights, the sun shone brightly after a brief morning rain; the wind died down, and the Missions put together a solid game on both sides of the ball, beating the Wichita Wind Surge 3 to 1 to split the series.

Victor Lizarraga got the start, and the righthander from Tijuana turned in his best performance of the year. He needed only 55 pitches to go a season-high four innings and strike out five against only one walk and a single.

“I thought I did a good job of keeping them off balance today,” said Lizarraga. “I had four pitches working that I was throwing in the zone, and when I have them, I usually do pretty well.”

Lizarraga suffered a lat strain in spring training and didn’t log any innings, so the 20-year-old is still building up his pitch count. Through three outings, he has allowed just two hits in 8.2 innings while striking out nine.

“He kept them off balance well, particularly with his changeup and sweeper, and for the first time this week, he got Wichita chasing pitches out of the zone,” said Missions manager Luke Montz.

“He also pitches these guys backward, throwing changeups and sweepers early in the count and fastballs late. He’s not some guy with some huge velocity, and that is how he has to pitch. When he commands his pitches, you are going to see good results from him.”

Nathan Martorella, who came into the game with five extra-base hits in his first 90 plate appearances, quickly added to that number with a blast over the right field wall for his second home run of the year.

“It’s kind of fun when the ball is crushed, and you get rewarded for it,” said Montz. “Whether it goes out or not—like a few of Nathan’s shots during the series—it’s going to go in the report as a hard-hit ball. It’s nice to see him get the results that he deserves because he is swinging the bat well.”

After Wichita tied the game, Martorella doubled with two outs in the sixth inning and Cole Cummings followed with a walk to bring up switch-hitting Brandon Valenzuela. Batting from the right side, poked a 2-2 pitch to the opposite-field for a single to score the thinned out former Cal Bear from second base.

The Missions added another run in the seventh, again with two outs, when a Ripken Reyes single brought home Ray-Patrick Didder to make it 3-1.

To close out the game, the Missions brought in Jayvien Sandridge, who has been stellar after the Padres signed him on a minor league free agent deal in the offseason. 

After walking the first batter, an annoyed Sandridge struck out the side to close out the game for his second save of the season.  

For the year, the 6-foot-5 lefty from Maryland has 18 strikeouts in 8.1 innings against six walks while allowing just one earned run.

“He lit up the big league camp this spring and was – and is – still talked about a lot,” said Montz earlier in the day. “The first thing I heard was he walks the house and strikes out the house.”

“This year, he’s doing the same thing; only he’s not walking people.”

Notes: Jared Kollar, who tossed three innings of relief Sunday after four shutout innings as a starter on Tuesday, will remain in the San Antonio rotation and they’ll work with six starters for the foreseeable future. … Under the terms of a sponsorship agreement Minor League Baseball signed, every team will play one contest this year as the “Oat Milkers.” San Antonio’s turn came up on Sunday. … The Missions kick off a two-week road trip with the Arkansas Travelers at the first stop in Little Rock, Arkansas, followed by a trip to Frisco to take on the RoughRiders.