Game 1: Albuquerque Isotopes 4, Chihuahuas 3 (8 innings)
Key Stats: RF Yonathan Perlaza 2-for-4, 2B; 2B Nate Mondou 3-for-4, 2B; DH Luis Campusano 1-for-3, BB; LHP Austin Krob 4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 6 K, 5 BB, WP; LHP Omar Cruz 2 IP, 3 H, ER, K, BB
Game 2: Chihuahuas 6, Albuquerque Isotopes 5
Key Stats: 1B Trenton Brooks 3-for-3, 2 2B; SS Clay Dungan 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 SB (8); CF Bryce Johnson 2-for-4, 2 2B; RHP Ryan Bergert 4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 4 K, 3 BB; RHP Reiss Knehr IP
Yonathan Perlaza has stayed hot in his return to domestic competition. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Prospect Watch: The Chihuahuas split a double-header on get-away day as both clubs posted nearly-identical one-run victories. With the Padres continuing to deal with injuries on the big-league level, El Paso batters clearly know that their performance is getting plenty of attention right now. Outfielder Yonathan Perlaza had a pair of hits in the opener before getting the nightcap off. The switch-hitter has a 1.032 OPS while playing solid defense on the corners. … Luis Campusano went 1-for-3 in each game, adding a walk in the opener when he played as the designated hitter. The backstop continues to lead the PCL in multiple offensive categories and now has more walks than strikeouts on the year. … San Diego native Trenton Brooks continues to get great results in his first season in the organization. The 29-year-old, who first reached Triple-A in the Cleveland system back in 2021, went 4-for-6 with two doubles and a walk in the twinbill. He’s carrying a 1.033 OPS from the left side while splitting time between first base and the outfield corners. … Ryan Bergert had another rough outing, giving up four runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings. The righty got five whiffs on 10 classified sliders, but didn’t land his four-seam fastball in the zone enough.
Northwest Arkansas Naturals 12, Missions 7
Key Stats: Francisco Acuña 3-for-5, HR (1), 3 RBI, SB (3); DH Devin Ortiz 3-for-5, 2 2B; 1B Romeo Sanabria 2-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI; RHP Victor Lizarraga 3.2 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 3 K, 2 BB; LHP Miguel Cienfuegos IP, 2 K
Devin Ortiz has been a key part of the San Antonio lineup in the early going. (Photo: San Antonio Missions)
Prospect Watch: The Naturals buried San Antonio early before a four-spot for the Missions in the bottom of the ninth made the final score slightly closer. Francisco Acuña, who signed as a minor league free agent after missing most of last season to injuries, connected on his first homer of the year as part of a three-hit game. The sparkplug infielder also swiped a base. The long-time Pirates farmhand has a career .239/.351/.354 line while offering sold defense around the infield. He’s played exclusively at shortstop for the Missions this year. … Devin Ortiz continued his strong start to the year with a three-hit game that included a pair of doubles. The University of Virginia product, who signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022, had just a .662 OPS over his first two full seasons in the system, but has come out of the gate looking more explosive physically, helping him to a career-best slugging percentage. The 26-year-old’s strikeout and walk rates are down from last year, and he currently has an unsustainable .421 average on balls in play, but he’s also on track to nearly double his extra-base hit total. … Righty Victor Lizarraga had a rough outing, giving up six runs in just 3.2 innings before hitting his 75 pitch limit. The San Diego native has been tagged for a .354 average against in his first three starts, though his underlying metrics are trending in the right direction. He’s going to be pushed to reach 100 innings for the first time in his career.
Lake County Captains 4, TinCaps 1
Key Stats: SS Leo De Vries 2-for-3, 2B, BB; DH Brendan Durfee 1-for-4; RHP Eric Yost 5 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 4 K, 2 BB, HBP; RHP Garrett Hawkins 2 IP, H, 2 K, BB; RHP Tyson Neighbors 2 IP, 3 H, ER, 4 K
Le De Vries takes off from first. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Prospect Watch: The TinCaps managed only five hits on the day. Two of them, including the club’s only extra-base hit, belonged to Leo De Vries, who also drew a walk in his four trips to the plate. The Padres’ top prospect, who has been batting second for Fort Wayne, finished what was an eventful series 5-for-17 with three extra-base hits. Outfielder Jacob Campbell, who drew a pair of walks, was the only other TinCaps hitter to reach base multiple times Sunday. … Starter Eric Yost surrendered three earned runs on eight hits over five innings. While he had traffic all day, he limited the damage through the first four frames by getting a pair of double plays and punching out four batters. In the fifth, though, he yielded a leadoff walk and then a homer to put Fort Wayne in a hole their offense wasn’t going to overcome. … For the third straight outing, Tyson Neighbors was called on to go more than one inning at the back of the bullpen. The Padres’ fourth-round pick last year gave up his first run of the year, but also worked two full innings without giving up a walk. The righty struck out four more and now has an obscene 47.1% strikeout rate on the year.
Fresno Grizzlies 8, Storm 6
Key Stats: SS Ryan Jackson 1-for-3, 3B, 2 BB, E (5); 3B Zach Evans 1-for-4, 2B; RF Ryan Wilson 1-for-3, BB, 2 RBI; 2B B.Y. Choi 1-for-2; RHP Will Varmette 2.1 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 4 K, 2 BB; LHP Luis Gutierrez 5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R (2 ER), 5 K, BB
Prospect Watch: Ryan Jackson continued his hot start, collecting his first professional triple and drawing two more walks out of the two-hole in the lineup. The Bay Area native has drawn an eye-popping 25 walks in 75 trips to the plate, fueling a league-best .560 on-base percentage. In his two years at the University of Southern California – he began his collegiate career at the University of Nevada – the Padres’ 17th-rounder reached base at a .418 clip. … After a slow start to their first series of the year, the Storm offense has been on fire, posting a .792 cumulative OPS that ranks second in the Cal League. That played out on Sunday when, even though the club had only five hits, three went for extra-bases and they drew seven total walks. Unfortunately for Lake Elsinore, the game also showed how they’ve put together a league-worst 7.40 ERA. Will Varmette, working his way back from injury, made his first start of the year and dominated through the first two frames. The righty punched out three and got three grounders, but then came back out for the third and gave up a pair of hits and a walk to load the bases to open the frame. He then got another strikeout, but couldn’t stay on track after that and gave up a bases-clearing double and a walk before he gave way. Varmette has big velocity and a lively slider, but has struggled with control since coming into the organization as an undrafted free agent out of junior college in Alabama in 2023. He has 95 strikeouts and 51 walks in his 64.1 professional innings.
