San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: August 31

Tacoma Rainiers 2, Chihuahuas 1

Key Stats: LHP Miguel Cienfuegos 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, K, 3 BB; RHP Stephen Jones 1.1 IP, H; 2B Nate Mondou 2-for-4, 2B; CF Tirso Ornelas 1-for-4

Prospect Watch: The Chihuahuas dropped their fourth straight and fifth of six in the series to fall 4.5 games behind Tacoma and likely end their hopes for a second-half playoff spot. After a series of slugfests – the Rainiers scored 40 runs in their four prior wins in the series – this one featured a pair of strong pitching performances. Lefty Miguel Cienfuegos, who hadn’t gone more than four innings in a game all year, got through 5.2 innings while throwing 90 pitches. The 28-year-old allowed only four singles – two of them infield hits – in the outing, but had bad luck to string three of them together in the third inning, which allowed the Rainiers to score twice. Cienfuegos, originally from Quebec, didn’t sign his first contract with an affiliated team until shortly before his 26th birthday. In his first two seasons in the Padres organization, he worked primarily in the rotation. This year, he has provided meaningful innings out of the bullpen for both San Antonio and El Paso. His extended outing on Sunday was a boost to a rotation that has had huge turnover and limited pitch counts in the last few weeks as the Padres stitch together innings for the big league staff. … Righty Stephen Jones was promoted to El Paso in advance of Sunday’s game and immediately chipped in 1.1 scoreless innings. The 28-year-old, who signed as a minor league free agent just before spring training opened, spent half of 2023 and all of the 2024 campaign in the PCL while he was in the Rockies organization, but has been a reliable middle-inning force for San Antonio most of this year. Jones had only allowed three earned runs over his final 17 innings in the Texas League, striking out 16 against only four walks. He will hit free agency again following the season. … The Chihuahuas’ only run came in the second inning when Nate Mondou floated a double down the left field line and then came around when Rodolfo Durán‘s hard-hit ball up the middle got under the shortstop’s glove and trickled into short center field. Durán was credited with a hit, pushing his August line to a stellar .391/.432/.797 with 24 RBIs in just 17 games.

Frisco RoughRiders 2, Missions 0 (Suspended after 4 innings)

Key Stats: RHP Miguel Mendez 4 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 5 K, BB; LF Damon Dues 0-for-1, BB

Prospect Watch: The Missions and RoughRiders got through four innings before the rains descended on Frisco. After about 40 minutes, the game was suspended. With only two weeks remaining in the season and the game not having any bearing on the playoffs, it will be wiped from the record books. Before the rain, Miguel Mendez was in the midst of a nice bounce-back outing after three straight rough starts. The hard-throwing righty gave up a first-inning two-run homer to Luis Mieses, but retired the final seven batters he faced and recorded five strikeouts on the night. Mendez, who was starting on four days’ rest for the first time as a professional, threw 58 pitches. … The Missions offense won’t be heartbroken to see records from the game disappear. The lineup was hitless through four innings. The only two runners to reach were Damon Dues, who drew a walk, and Moisés Gómez, who was hit by a pitch. Both were promptly erased on double plays.

Dayton Dragons 7, TinCaps 5

Key Stats: LF Kasen Wells 2-for-5, R; DH Eguy Rosario 3-for-5, 2 HR (2), 4 RBI, SB (2); RHP Will Varmette 3.2 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 4 K, BB; RHP Johan Moreno 2.1 IP, 5 K, BB; RHP Josh Mallitz 2 IP, 3 K

Prospect Watch: The TinCaps briefly took a 2-1 lead in the third inning. Then, Dayton jumped on Will Varmette for three doubles, a walk, and a loud three-run homer before he could record an out in the fourth, and they built a lead Fort Wayne could not overcome. The Dragons swept the TinCaps in their final home series of the year and kept the home club in the basement of the Midwest League’s East Division. Varmette, 22, has been hit hard in eight appearances since his promotion from Fort Wayne. While he’s shown a high-quality slider at times, his efforts to rein in his command have cost him some life on the pitch. As a result, while he’s cut his walk rate to 12% this year, he’s also seen his strikeout rate ebb to 20% and opponents are hitting .336 against him. … Eguy Rosario finally had a day worth remembering in an otherwise awful 2025 campaign. The former big-leaguer, who went unclaimed on waivers at the end of spring training, slugged just .245 through 110 plate appearances in El Paso, suffered a sports hernia while trying to get back on track at the Peoria Sports Complex, and had struck out 16 times in his first 34 plate appearances in his first action in Fort Wayne since way back in 2017, unloaded on a pair of homers Sunday night. The 26-year-old also had a run-scoring single and stole a base in the contest. He’ll likely find his way back to El Paso in their final three weeks of the season and will look to re-establish himself before heading into minor league free agency. … Josh Mallitz tossed two scoreless innings to finish out the contest and cap a fantastic August. The big righty out of the University of Mississippi ran his fastball up to 98 mph while recording three strikeouts. He now has a streak of 11 scoreless innings over his last seven outings and has struck out 12 without issuing a walk. Since returning from a seven-week stint on the IL, the 23-year-old undrafted free agent has pitched to a 1.80 ERA.

Storm 5, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 2

Key Stats: 2B Dylan Grego 2-for-4, HR (3); 1B Kavares Tears 1-for-4, HR (13); C Truitt Madonna 2-for-4, 2B; RHP Tucker Musgrove IP, H, K; RHP Abraham Parra (W, 4-4) 6 IP, 3 H, ER, 7 K, BB; RHP Adam Conrad (S, 5), IP, BB

Prospect Watch: Kavares Tears launched a two-run homer deep over the center field wall in the first and the Storm never looked back as they won their final match-up with the Quakes as a Dodgers affiliate. Tears, making his third start of the year at first base, now has an extra-base hit in four straight games, adding 22 points to his slugging percentage for the year. After posting a sub-.600 OPS for more than two months, the 23-year-old now has a .755 mark this month despite punching out at a 31.4% rate. … Switch-hitting infielder Dylan Grego capped a fantastic series with a two-hit game that included a towering homer over the right field wall in the seventh. The 13th-round pick went 10-for-25 and slugged .800 for the week. … Truitt Madonna, one of two teenage catchers from this year’s draft class in the Storm lineup, snapped out of an 0-for-22 snap with a pair of hits, including a line drive opposite-field double. It’s been feast-or-famine for the 18-year-old from Seattle, who has collected three multi-hit games in his first nine professional contests, but is hitless with 14 strikeouts in the other six. … Piggybacking behind Tucker Musgrove, who only went one inning and 16 pitches as he continues a cautious return from elbow pain that sidelined him for a month, Abraham Parra delivered six stellar innings. The 19-year-old righty matched a career high with seven strikeouts and allowed just one run on three hits. The Venezuela native has gone at least five innings in seven of his last eight appearances, striking out 35 against nine walks in 38.1 innings. He will finish the year as the Storm’s leader in innings pitched.