San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: April 3

Oklahoma City Comets 6, Chihuahuas 5 (11 innings)

Key Statistics: Ryan Bergert 5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 11 K; Ron Marinaccio, 0.2 IP, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K; RHP Reiss Knehr, (L, 0-1) 0.2 IP, H, R, BB, 2 K; Tyler Wade 3-for-6; Oscar Gonzalez, 2-for-5 2B, RBI; Yonathan Perlaza, 2-for-4, 2B, RBI

Ryan Bergert has been strong in the early going. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)

Prospect Watch: The Chihuahuas’ pitching staff is the night’s story, combining to punch out a franchise record 21 Oklahoma City batters. However, El Paso coughed up the lead three different times, losing on the road to the Comets. … Starter Ryan Bergert accounted for 52% of those strikeouts. The 24-year-old right-hander twirled another gem in his second PCL start, allowing one run on six hits without a walk while fanning a career-high 11 batters across five innings. Much like in his prior outing, Bergert’s fastball was on point. Throwing it 53.8% of the time, he generated a 25% whiff rate. The four-seam continues to look more like the pitch we saw in 2023, as it again featured an excellent ride, averaging 18.5″ of iVB (induced vertical break) and 8.8″ of run. As for Bergert’s secondaries, both flummoxed Oklahoma City hitters. The sweeper spun tight at up to 2871 RPMs while getting -12.5″ of horizontal break, helping it post a 66.7% whiff rate. The slider garnered similar results, generating four whiffs on six swings and a 44.4% chase rate. Bergert also continued to pound the zone, landing 45 of 78 pitches in the zone and generating a 66.7% strike rate. … Righty Reiss Knehr made his first appearance since June 27, 2023. The 28-year-old, coming back from Tommy John surgery last year, came on in the 11th inning. He struck out the first two batters he faced, but after an intentional walk, he gave up a groundball single that plated the winning run. Knehr’s best pitch on the night was his fastball, which generated a 50% chase rate and two whiffs on five pitches. While it lacked ride with only 14″ iVB, it played up a bit thanks to a very flat VAA (vertical approach angle) of -4.1 degrees. … Ron Marinaccio, who the Padres acquired in a waiver wire move with the White Sox over the winter, struggled in his first relief appearance of the year. Facing just five batters, the right-hander allowed two runs and some hard contact that included a ringing 102 MPH exit velocity double in the bottom of the 6th off the bat of James Outman.

Yonathan Perlaza is making loud contact for El Paso. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)

Offensively, El Paso struggled when faced with opportunities to knock runners in, going a combined 4-21 with runners in scoring position. Oscar Gonzalez continued to heat up with a 2-for-5 night that included a double in the top of the sixth that registered an exit velocity of 105.4 mph off right-hander Landon Knack. It’s Gonzalez’s third batted ball with an exit velocity of over 101 in his last nine at-bats. Earlier in the day, Gonzalez was added to the 40-man roster and optioned to El Paso. … Yonathan Perlaza also barreled up Knack for a 105.4 mph RBI double in the top of the fourth inning as part of a two-hit night. In a 1-for-5 effort, Tirso Ornelas also put good wood on the ball with a 111 MPH single in the third. … The most productive night at the dish belonged to the newest member of the Chihuahuas, Tyler Wade, who led off and played second. All three of his knocks were singles, with his last being a Wade staple, an infield single in the top of the 11th. None of Wade’s batted balls on Thursday night logged an exit velocity of 95 MPH.

Roster Moves: In a bit of a surprise, infielder Eguy Rosario cleared waivers and was outrighted to El Paso. Last week, Padres president of baseball operations and general manager A.J. Preller said that Eguy Rosario was likely to go to another organization, but that clearly did not come to fruition. He’ll report to the club prior to tomorrow’s game. Infielder Mike Brosseau was transferred to the development list, following Nate Mondou, who was moved there on Tuesday. To make room for Knehr, reliever J.B. Wendelken hit the injured list after leaving Wednesday’s game with a left leg injury.