San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: May 25

Tacoma Rainiers 6, Chihuahuas 0

Key Stats: 1B Trenton Brooks 1-for-3; RHP Jared Kollar 4 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 BB; LHP Jason Blanchard 2 IP, 2 H, K; RHP Francis Peña IP, 2 H, ER, 2 K

Prospect Watch: Bryce Johnson drew a one-out walk in the seventh to break up a perfect game, then Trenton Brooks hit a clean single to right in the eighth to end the Rainiers’ no-hit bid. He was immediately erased on a double-play grounder, ensuring that El Paso sent only one more than the minimum to the plate. While the offense foundered, Jared Kollar and a parade of five relievers gave up 14 hits as the visitors cruised. Kollar surrendered three earned runs in four innings without recording a strikeout. The 26-year-old has struggled much more this year than he did in his first pass at the PCL last summer, allowing a .360 average and posting an 8.19 ERA. He’s been tagged for nine homers in just 40.2 innings. … While he ran his sinker up to 98.8 mph and recorded a pair of strikeouts, Francis Peña also gave up a run on two hits. He has now allowed runs in four of his last five appearances. After starting strong in April, he has allowed opponents to hit .357 this month.

Missions 3, Wichita Wind Surge 2

Key Stats: 1B Romeo Sanabria 2-for-4, 2B; DH Marcos Castañon 2-for-4, 2B; 2B Anthony Vilar 2-for-3, BB; C Cody Roberts 2-for-4, RBI; RHP Matt Waldron 4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 4 K, BB, HBP; RHP Victor Lizarraga 3 IP, H, 2 K, 3 BB; RHP Bradgley Rodriguez IP, K

Prospect Watch: Righty Matt Waldron extended out to 61 pitches in his second rehab appearance with the Missions and third overall, tossing 4.1 innings of two-run ball. The knuckleballer, who has been on the shelf since an oblique strain during spring training, struck out four and walked only one, though he also hit a batter. While he is technically able to come off the 60-day IL this week, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Padres give him another rehab start or two while they evaluate him and the many other moving parts on their 26- and 40-player rosters. … Victor Lizarraga, working an abbreviated piggyback outing behind the big leaguer, turned in a much-needed strong outing, throwing three scoreless innings. The 21-year-old continued to fight his command, walking three, but allowed just one hit while striking out a pair. Opponents are hitting better than .300 against the crafty righty, who has further put himself in a bind this month by walking 14 in 17 innings. That combination has his ERA more than double what he posted for the Missions last year. … Catcher Cody Roberts, who the Padres signed as a minor league free agent just before spring training, had a pair of hits to extend his hitting streak to nine games. Originally drafted by the Orioles all the way back in 2018, the UNC alum hit a career-best .290 in Triple-A for the Phillies organization last year. He opened this year as an infrequently used member of the El Paso roster, but has seen more regular playing time since moving back to San Antonio, where he’s hitting .304. … Romeo Sanabria collected two more hits as he posted his fourth multi-hit contest of the series. The 23-year-old has a career-best 16.9% strikeout rate while maintaining a .507 slugging percentage in a home park that is traditionally very hard on left-handed power hitters.

TinCaps 4, Cedar Rapids Kernels 1

Key Stats: CF Braedon Karpathios 1-for-2, 2B, 2 BB; LF Jack Costello 2-for-3; RHP Eric Yost 6.1 IP, H, ER, 8 K, 2 BB,  2 HBP; RHP Garrett Hawkins 0.2 IP, K; RHP Tyson Neighbors IP, 2 K

Prospect Watch: Righty Eric Yost continued his stellar month, allowing just one run over 6.1 innings. The 2023 17th-rounder carried a one-hitter through six innings. He issued his second walk of the day to open the seventh, then recorded one more out before giving way at 94 pitches and having the inherited runner come around to score. He has allowed only one earned run in each of his last five outings, a span of 29.1 frames in which he’s struck out 31. He’s held opponents to a .163 average this month, dropping his ERA to 1.76, which is good for fourth in the Midwest League. The Northeastern alum has bumped his strikeout rate up to 23.3% this year while remaining a groundball machine. … Working on just one day’s rest for the second time this season, Tyson Neighbors struck out two of the three batters he saw to pick up his third save. He pushed his strikeout rate up to 46.5% on the year, better than any pitcher who has faced more than 10 batters in the Midwest League. … Braedon Karpathios reached base three more times with a pair of walks and a double that drove in the final run of the game. The 21-year-old is hitting only .286 on balls in play this year despite a big spike in his power production and hard-hit rate. If the ball starts falling in at a fairer clip, the outfielder – who already has a .794 OPS that’s good for production about 25% above league average – could see a spike in results. … Brandon Butterworth drew a walk to lead off the game, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error, and then tried to score on a wild pitch, but collided with the Kernels catcher at the plate. The shortstop left the game with a laceration on his face. … Rosman Verdugo, who left Saturday’s game after getting hit with a pitch, returned to action Sunday. He drew two walks in four trips to the plate.

Storm 2, Visalia Rawhide 1

Key Stats: 3B Zach Evans 2-for-4, 2B, RBI; RF Ryan Wilson 2-for-3, SB (3); LHP Luis Gutierrez  IP, 2 H, ER, 7 K, 2 BB; RHP Vic Domingo 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K; LHP Braian Salazar (S, 1), IP, 2 K

Prospect Watch: The Storm plated two in the fourth inning on a Zach Evans double and Ryan Wilson single, and that was all they’d need as Luis Gutierrez and two relievers combined to hold Visalia to four hits. Gutierrez, 21, has allowed just four earned runs over 21.2 innings this month, holding opponents to a microscopic .133 average. While his strikeout rate is a pedestrian 22.6% on the year, the lefty’s changeup is once again helping him to a monster 54.8% groundball rate. That’s actually down just a bit from his career mark. He’s now turned in two straight six-inning starts, striking out 15 while allowing only six baserunners. … Fellow southpaw Braian Salazar picked up his first save of the year, striking out two in a perfect inning. The 19-year-old had a brutal start to the year and was sent back to extended spring training to reset in mid-April, but he’s now worked 8.2 innings without an earned run and 13 strikeouts over his last four games. After allowing nine hits in his first two appearances, he’s held opponents to a .152 average this month.