San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: August 9

Sugar Land Space Cowboys 4, Chihuahuas 2

Key Statistics: RF Jose Azocar, 2-for-4, 2 R, SB (13); 1B Tirso Ornelas, 1-for-4, 2B; DH Brett Sullivan, 1-for-3, BB, RBI; RHP Lake Bachar (L, 5-3) 2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, BB, K; RHP Ethan Routzahn, 2 IP, H, 2 K

Prospect Watch: The Chihuahuas’ offense was quiet again on Friday, as the team lost another low-scoring affair in Sugar Land. El Paso has scored just nine runs in the series, but they’ve held the Space Cowboys to eight through the first four games of the series. The Chihuahuas have lost three of four in the series despite having the edge in the aggregate score. … Jose Azocar notched a pair of hits and scored both El Paso runs. He also added his 13th stolen base of the year. The former big leaguer has had a solid August, hitting .313/.353/.375. The two-hit night raised Azocar’s batting average to a solid .294 but thanks to his lack of power, his .777 OPS has been below the league average since he returned to Triple-A. … Tirso Ornelas made his first professional start at first base on Friday, and he had a double in four plate appearances. The hot-hitting Ornelas is knocking on the door of the big leagues and competency at multiple positions would only help his case. The 24-year-old has an excellent .912 OPS this season. … Having sent two members of their starting rotation to the big leagues in the previous 48 hours, the Chihuahuas used Johnny Wholestaff on Friday. Lake Bachar kicked off the festivities, pitching the first two innings. The right-hander allowed two runs on four hits, earning his third loss of the season. The Wisconsin native walked one and struck out one. In 60.2 innings, the 28-year-old has a solid 4.03 ERA. … Righty Ethan Routzahn made his Triple-A debut with a pair of scoreless innings and two strikeouts. The 26-year-old has only allowed runs in two of his last 20 appearances. After making three appearances for Fort Wayne to open the year, the 2021 undrafted free agent posted a 2.38 ERA across 41.2 innings in San Antonio.

Missions 9, Springfield Cardinals 0 

Key Statistics: 1B Romeo Sanabria, 2-for-3, 2 R, HR (1), 2 RBI, BB; LF Cole Cummings, 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB, RBI; 3B Marcos Castañon, 2-for-5, R, HR (10), R, 3 RBI; RHP Ryan Bergert, 4.1 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 3 K; LHP Jason Blanchard (W, 1-2) 2 IP, H, 3 K; RHP Jose Geraldo, IP, H, K

Prospect Watch: The Missions rode a pair of homers to their second straight win over the Cardinals, evening up the series in the process. They will go for the series win this weekend. … Romeo Sanabria had a pair of hits, including his first homer at the Double-A level and his 11th overall this year. The big first baseman also singled and drew a walk. Sanabria started the year with the Storm but has jumped two levels thanks to a solid approach at the plate and frequent contact. Overall, the 22-year-old is hitting .295/.403/.463 with 26 doubles, 11 homers, and 62 RBI. He’s maintained his strikeout rate at 19.2% on the year while walking at a 15.3% clip. It’s been a remarkable ascent for the Miami native, who was still playing in the Arizona Complex League last August. … San Antonio’s other homer came courtesy of third baseman Marcos Castañon, who mashed his tenth bomb of the year as part of a multi-hit night. The 25-year-old has had a bit of a disappointing season, although he’s come on over the last five weeks. The Rialto, California native came into Friday’s action with a wRC+ of 93, but he’s been about 15 percent better than the league average since July 4. During that span, he’s connected on six homers, showing the power potential he’s flashed since joining the Padres’ organization. … Righty Ryan Bergert had a bit of an uneven outing but he did hold the Cardinals scoreless. Bergert pitched 4.1 innings, throwing 78 pitches before giving way to the bullpen. He allowed just two hits and struck out three, but walked three. The right-hander is building back up after going a month in between outings. Bergert was shelled in an outing against Corpus Christi on June 14 and missed a month but was not placed on the injured list. Since returning on July 14, Bergert’s stuff has looked a little crisper. Over 13 innings, he’s allowed just three earned runs while notching 13 strikeouts. 

TinCaps 4, South Bend Cubs 3

Key Statistics: C Ethan Salas, 1-for-4, R, HR (4), 2 RBI; 1B Devin Ortiz, 2-for-4, R; DH Ethan Long, 2-for-4, R, 2B, RBI; LF Nick Vogt, 2-for-4, RBI, SB (2); RHP Isaiah Lowe (W, 1-1) 5 IP, 4 H, R, 4 BB, K; LHP Harry Gustin, 2 IP, K; RHP Manuel Castro (S, 9) 1.1 IP, 2 K

Prospect Watch: The TinCaps jumped out to a lead early and held on to beat their in-state rivals in South Bend. … While 2024 has been a rough campaign for young Ethan Salas, the 18-year-old has heated up in this series. Salas connected on another homer – his only hit in four at-bats. It was Salas’ fourth bomb of the year and second of the series. The top prospect has hit safely in all four games in South Bend, going 5-for-16 overall. Despite the recent hot streak, Salas’ OPS still stands below .600 this season. However, a strong finish to the season would give him a lot of momentum going into next season. … Ethan Long had a single and a double in four at-bats. The former ASU star, who has dealt with a series of arm and wrist injuries, is 4-for-14 with a pair of walks in his first four games since getting the promotion to Fort Wayne. … Righty Isaiah Lowe earned his first High-A win, pitching five solid innings. While his command wasn’t great, he limited hard contact and allowed just one unearned run. The 21-year-old walked four and notched just one strikeout. Lowe has done a nice job of preventing runs since his promotion to the Summit City despite walking eight batters and notching just five strikeouts in nine innings in his first two High-A starts. While his 2.00 ERA is encouraging, walking nearly a batter per inning is not a recipe for sustained success. Overall, Lowe’s season has been a resounding success, especially coming off of a shoulder injury that cost him most of 2024. In spring training, he told us that if he could pitch 100 innings this year, and he’s on track to fulfill his prediction. … Righty Manuel Castro recorded four outs to earn his ninth save of the season. Castro did not allow a baserunner while striking out two Cubs. Since June, Castro has pitched to a sparkling 1.87 ERA while striking out nearly a third of the batters he has faced. He is a bit undersized, but the Mexico native has arguably been the most productive relief pitcher in the system. 

Storm 8, Stockton Ports 2

Key Statistics: CF Kai Roberts, 3-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B, 2 SB (2, 3); 3B B.Y. Choi, 2-for-4, 2 R, BB, 2B, 3B, RBI; SS Brandon Butterworth, 4-for-5, R, 2 RBI, SB (3); RF Braedon Karpathios, 3-for-4, R, HR (5), 2 RBI, BB; RHP Ian Koenig (W, 1-3) 6 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, 6 K; RHP Luis German, 2 IP, ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Prospect Watch: The Storm offense pounded our 15 hits to defeat the Ports in Stockton easily. … It’s very early but thus far the first members of the 2024 Padres draft class to reach Lake Elsinore have impressed. … Seventh-rounder Kai Roberts had three more hits, including a double. He also swiped a pair of bags and drove in two for good measure. The 23-year-old out of the University of Utah is 5-for-13 in his pro debut. .. As hot as Roberts has been, shortstop Brandon Butterworth has been hotter. The former NC State infielder singled four times and stole a base in the Storm victory. The 21-year-old was drafted in the 12th round, signing for $150,000. In four games with the Storm, Butterworth is 7-for-17 and has stolen three bases. … Braedon Karpathios had three hits, including his fifth homer of the year. The 21-year-old has been red-hot in August, hitting .476/.538/.667 slash line. The former junior college outfielder has shown a good eye at the plate and frequently hits the ball hard but has carried big strikeout totals because of his sometimes too-patient approach at the plate. Over the last month, though, he’s cut his strikeout rate to just 20.6%. He has looked noticeably stronger this season and he sports a solid .386 on-base percentage for the Storm. … For the first time this season, Ian Koenig completed six innings, allowing just one run on two hits and two walks against four strike outs to earn his first win of the year. The young righty has flashed good stuff, but struggled to get results as he returns from Tommy John surgery. It’s been a slow buildup, but the former undrafted free agent should have a few more starts to build on Friday’s outing.