San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: July 6

Albuquerque Isotopes 4, Chihuahuas 2 

Key Stats: C Rodolfo Durán 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI; SS Mason McCoy 0-for-2, 2 BB; RHP Ryan Bergert 4.2 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 3 K, BB, HBP; LHP Miguel Cienfuegos 2.1 IP, H, 3 K, BB

Prospect Watch: Ryan Bergert, making his first start after being sent out from the Padres, gave up a leadoff home run and allowed five of the first six batters to reach as Albuquerque raced out to a three-run lead they would never surrender. The 25-year-old allowed the first two batters of each of the next two innings to reach, but avoided big damage by getting a pair of double-play grounders. He settled in enough to retire seven straight, but his night ended when he gave up a pair of singles in the fifth. Overall, the righty threw 63 pitches, getting only four whiffs on 35 pitches. … Catcher Rodolfo Durán had a two-run double in the fifth for the only scoring the Chihuahuas managed on the night. The 27-year-old, who first signed with the Phillies way back in 2014, has hit in seven of his last nine games and now has a .680 OPS on the year.

Missions 5, Corpus Christi Hooks 0

Key Stats: 1B Romeo Sanabria 2-for-4, HR (8); LF Albert Fabian 1-for-2, 2B, 2 BB; C Anthony Vilar 2-for-3, 3B, SF; RHP Henry Baez 5 IP, 6 K, 3 BB; RHP Tyson Neighbors 2 IP, 2 K; RHP Ethan Routzahn IP, H, K

Prospect Watch: Righty Henry Baez set the tone on a dominant night for the Missions staff as he, Jake Higginbotham, and Tyson Neighbors held the Hooks hitless through the first eight innings before the home team came through with a leadoff single in the ninth. Baez, 22, bounced back from his first sub-par start in almost two months, punching out six as he worked five innings. The righty did walk three, his highest total in six starts, but looked like the player who earned recognition as the Texas League Pitcher of the Month for June and leads the circuit with a 2.23 ERA. Baez, who stands out as a player development success for the Padres, has already thrown 80 innings on the year and is on track to set a career high in innings pitched this year. … Higginbotham worked a quick nine-pitch inning before giving way to Neighbors, who punched out two of the six batters he faced. now has a 31.9% strikeout rate since his promotion to the Texas League. … With the pitching staff cruising, their battery-mate Anthony Vilar gave them all the run support they would need with a sacrifice fly in his first trip to the plate and a run-scoring triple the next time up. He added a single later in the game and capped off the scoring with an RBI groundout. The 26-year-old, who remains a stalwart staff manager, only had three hits in the series, but two went for extra bases. … Romeo Sanabria launched his second homer of the week as part of a two-hit game. The Florida native looks to be snapping out of his first prolonged slump as a professional. He has his slugging percentage back up over .400, but is still more than 100 points off from where he was in late May.

Lansing Lugnuts 5, TinCaps 2

Key Stats: 2B Brandon Butterworth 2-for-3, 2B, BB; SS Leo De Vries 1-for-4, HR (6), 2 RBI; LHP Luis Gutierrez 4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R (1 ER) 4 K, BB, PO; RHP Travis Barnett 0.2 IP, BB; RHP Will Varmette 3 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 K, BB

Prospect Watch: Lansing put up three runs in the eighth inning to claim the victory Sunday afternoon. The rally came after righty Will Varmette had blown through his first two innings in High-A, getting three weak pop flies while setting the Lugnuts down in order. When the 22-year-old, who was promoted earlier in the week, came back out for his third inning of work, Lansing strung together three hits and a walk, including a big three-run blast by cleanup batter Tommy White. For Varmette, who struck out two, the outing was a microcosm of his second season in the organization. The 2023 undrafted free agent has shown tantalizing stuff, but now has a 6.07 ERA across two levels. … Lefty Luis Gutierrez got the start and labored through 4.1 innings. He gave up five hits and a walk, but managed to hold the Lugnuts to just one earned run despite committing a pair of throwing errors. The 21-year-old struck out four as he continues an impressive breakout season. He’s posted a 2.69 ERA across 67 innings at two levels this season, more than two runs below his career mark coming into the year. … Shortstop Leo De Vries connected on a two-run homer that briefly gave the TinCaps a lead in the third inning. He’s been especially productive against right-handed pitching this year, with five of his six homers coming against them. His .807 OPS from the left side is 160 points higher than he’s hitting from his natural right side. … Brandon Butterworth had a double as part of his second straight multi-hit night. He’s had five extra-base hits in his last six games, while batting .375/.400/.750.

Storm 11, Inland Empire 66ers 7

Key Stats: 2B Yendry Rojas 5-for-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI; SS Chase Valentine 4-for-5, 3 2B, 3 R, 3 RBI; LF Kaden Hollow 2-for-5, BB, 2 RBI; DH Kavares Tears 1-for-2, 3 BB, SB; RHP Manny Parra 4.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R (3 ER), 6 K, 2 BB, HBP; RHP Kleiber Olmedo (W, 2-4) 1.1 IP, K

Prospect Watch: Infielders Yendry Rojas and Chase Valentine combined to go 9-for-10 with five doubles out of the bottom two spots in the lineup to lead the Storm in a rout of their neighbors in San Bernardino. Rojas has raised his OPS from .510 to .584 over the last six games, his second hot stretch of the season. The 20-year-old from Cuba had a nightmare June, batting just .087/.143/.109 across 46 at-bats. Valentine went 4-for-5 with three doubles, matching his total base count from his previous 14 contests. The versatile defender has filled in at three different levels this year for the Padres organization. … Kavares Tears reached base four times, drawing three walks. He converted those opportunities into two stolen bases in three attempts. He finished the brief three-game series at the 66ers 4-for-9 with six walks and three extra-base hits. Encouragingly, he only struck out once. Last year’s compensation round pick has been streaky this year, but has a .734 OPS overall.