San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: May 5

Chihuahuas 10, Tacoma Rainiers 9 (10 innings) 

Key Statistics: 2B Will Wagner, 2-for-4, R, BB, SB (1); DH Nick Solak, 3-for-4, 2 R, BB; 1B-3B Pablo Reyes, 3-for-5, HR (3), 2 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI; C Rodolfo Durán, 4-for-4, HR (4), BB, 4 RBI, SB (1); RHP Evan Fitterer, 4.1 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, K; RHP Logan Gillaspie, 2 IP, BB, K; RHP Alek Jacob (W, 2-0) 2.1 IP, H, 2 ER, BB, 5 K

Prospect Watch: El Paso held a seemingly comfortable five-run lead headed into the eighth inning, but the Rainiers plated five runs to tie the game. El Paso scored the winning run in the tenth on a walk-off wild pitch. … Second baseman Will Wagner slid into the spot vacated by the newly-promoted Sung-Mun Song and delivered a pair of singles. He also drew a walk and stole a base. The former Astro and Blue Jay is 4-for-8 in three games during his current rehab assignment. He seems like a fairly safe bet to be optioned to El Paso once his 20-day rehab period ends. … Veteran infielder Pablo Reyes had a three-hit night. He connected on a three-run shot in the third inning off of former Chihuahua Gabe Mosser, and he added a pair of doubles. The 32-year-old has been a steady offensive presence in the upper minors, having played at the Triple-A level during every season since 2019 (minus the 2020 COVID season. He also received an 80-game suspension in 2020 for PED’s). He has a career .812 OPS in Triple-A and a terrific .950 OPS for El Paso this season. … Catcher Rodolfo Durán broke out at the plate with a four-hit night, including his fourth bomb of the year. He added three singles, a walk, and drove in a season-high four runs. The 28-year-old nearly received his first big league call-up a few weeks ago when it appeared Freddy Fermin was headed to the concussion-injured list. Instead, Fermin turned out to be healthy, and Durán returned to Triple-A where he is patiently awaiting his first opportunity in the big leagues. His four-hit night raised his batting average 41 points, and his slugging percentage jumped 93. He has a .795 OPS for El Paso this season. … Righty Evan Fitterer had a shaky outing as he continues to stretch out as a starter. The 25-year-old worked a season-high 4.1 innings, allowing four runs on five hits. He walked a season-worst five and struck out just one batter. The Mission Viejo native pitched to a 1.10 ERA in 16.1 April innings. The former Marlins farmhand came into the night with just a nine percent walk rate, so hopefully Tuesday’s outing is just an outlier. The former fifth-round pick signed for $1.5 million in 2019 after being drafted by Miami, bypassing a commitment to UCLA. He signed with the Padres in the off-season as a minor league free agent. 

Missions 10, Midland RockHounds 5

Key Statistics: C Ethan Salas, 3-for-5, R, 2B; Leandro Cedeno, 2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, HR (4), 3 RBI; RF Tirso Ornelas, 1-for-4, 2 R, HR (5), RBI, BB; 2B Ryan Jackson, 2-for-3, HR (1), 2 BB; 3B Luis Verdugo, 2-for-4, R, BB, RBI; RHP Lucas Giolito, 4 IP, 8 H, 5 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 2 K; RHP Victor Lizarraga (W, 1-3) 5 IP, 3 H, BB, 2 K

Prospect Watch: The Missions offense shined Tuesday, as they hit three homers in a win against Midland. … While he did not homer Tuesday, Ethan Salas added three more hits to bring his batting average back up over .300. He doubled and had a pair of singles out of the leadoff spot. The double left his bat at 112 mph (the fastest exit velocity of his career), and his two singles were over 95 mph. The 19-year-old catcher is 8-for-20 over his last five games with five walks and a pair of homers. The prized catcher is third in the Texas League with a 1.001 OPS. … Tirso Ornelas homered for the third time in his last five games, drew a walk and scored a pair of runs. The 26-year-old outfielder lost his 40-man roster spot in the spring and couldn’t crack the El Paso roster to start the season. However, Ornelas is hitting the ball in the air more, and the results could pay dividends. Last season in El Paso, Ornelas hit 30% of his batted balls into the air, an improvement from the previous two seasons. This season, Ornelas has raised that to nearly 40%, the best since a small sample in the complex league eight years ago. Ornelas’ overall production has been below-average this season, but when you consider that his K-rate is 17% and his BABIP is 100 points lower than his career average, it could mean that Ornelas’ power surge could be legitimate. More balls in the air and continued contact should lead to more homers for a player who has yet to truly break out since the team signed him out of Tijuana nearly 10 years ago. … Righty Lucas Giolito struggled a bit as he continued his ramp-up process with the Missions. He worked four innings, allowing five runs (three earned) with two walks and two strikeouts. With a fastball sitting 91-93 without much run, he got through the first three frames scoreless, but ran into trouble as he extended into the fourth. He did toss 78 pitches, important as he looks ahead to another start or two before he joins the Padres’ rotation, which could use another veteran. … Victor Lizarraga relieved Giolito and tossed five excellent innings to earn his first win of the season. He allowed just three hits, walking one and striking out two. The 22-year-old righty got off to a miserable start this season, walking 11 batters in his first two outings, including a meltdown on April 9 in which he surrendered seven runs while recording one out. He followed that outing up by allowing six earned runs in 1.1 innings. Lizarraga is turning things around, though; Over his last three outings, he has allowed just four runs in 14 innings. His walks are still a bit high, but the improved results are a positive for the system veteran. 

TinCaps rained out

Fort Wayne will host two games against Beloit Wednesday. 

Inland Empire 66ers 8, Storm 6 

Key Statistics: RF Justin DeCriscio, 2-for-5, 2B, RBI; C Truitt Madonna, 1-for-5, HR (1), 2 RBI; SS Jorge Quintana, 3-for-5, R; 3B Bradley Frye, 1-for-3, BB, R, SB (10); RHP Winyer Chourio, 4 IP, 2 H, ER, 4 BB, 6 K; LHP Cal Riehl, 2.1 IP, 2 H, BB, 4 K; RHP Sean Barnett (L, 0-1) IP, H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 HBP, 2 K

Prospect Watch: The Storm traveled to San Bernardino on Tuesday and watched their five-game winning streak come to an end, thanks to a late rally by the 66ers. … Catcher Truitt Madonna connected on his first professional homer in the loss – his only hit of the evening. The 19-year-old has a solid .752 OPS in his first full professional season, despite a K-rate hovering around 30%. When he’s been able to get ahead in the count, he’s had a monster 1.009 OPS, but that’s dropped to just .659 when behind. … Shortstop Jorge Quintana had a three-hit night, as the young shortstop continues to shake off a slow start. The 19-year-old is 7-for-19 over his last four games, raising his average from .194 to .233. While there are still many parts of his game that are rough around the edges, his raw tools continue to display intriguing upside. … Righty Winyer Chourio turned in another solid start, despite issues commanding the strike zone. The 22-year-old needed 73 pitches to get through four innings, but he allowed just one run before departing. He walked four and struck out six. The young righty came into the game with a 37% K%, but he is prone to bouts of wildness. He’s issued 12 walks in 21 innings, but opposing batters are hitting just .153 off him. If he can find a way to be more efficient, the Padres organization has an intriguing young arm on its hands. … It’s not often that you find two Division II arms on a professional roster, let alone two Division II pitchers from the same college. However, the Storm deployed a pair of Wingate Bulldogs on Tuesday night. Lefty Cal Riehl, fresh up from the ACL, made his professional debut and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings in relief. The 6-foot-4 lefty walked one and struck out four. The 22-year-old signed with the Padres as an undrafted free agent last July. … Fellow Bulldog Sean Barnett took over for Riehl and wore the loss with another tough outing. Barnett pitched one inning and allowed two runs, walking two and hitting two more as he struck out a pair. The Padres attempted to develop Barnett as a two-way player initially, but they moved him to the mound exclusively last May. The 22-year-old has surrendered a staggering 16 walks over 7.2 innings this year, resulting in an ERA pushing 13. While he has not allowed as frequent contact this year, in 18.1 career innings pitched, he has a WHIP north of three. 

Roster Move: Southpaw Javier Chacon was promoted to Fort Wayne, creating the space for Riehl in Lake Elsinore.

ACL Padres 3, ACL Angels 2 (7 innings)

Key Statistics: DH Jhoan De La Cruz, 1-for-3; SS Yimmy Tovar, 1-for-3, 3B; RF Ty Harvey, 0-for-1; 3B Luis De Leon, 1-for-3, RBI; RHP Erick Batista, 3 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, 3 K; RHP Bernard Jose (W, 1-0) 2.1 IP, 4 K

Prospect Watch: The ACL Padres got a walk-off win thanks to an RBI single from Fabian Alcantara to claim their first victory of the season. … Jhoan De La Cruz got the start at designated hitter and had a single in three at-bats – the first domestic hit of his young career. The 18-year-old switch-hitter had an .837 OPS in the DSL last summer. He signed with the Padres in 2025 for $1 million. … ACL returnee, and reigning MadFriars ACL Player of the year Luis De Leon went 1-for-3. The 20-year-old led the complex league Padres with a .419 on-base percentage last year. He is 3-for-7 to start the year, as he awaits an opportunity in Lake Elsinore at some point. … Ty Harvey entered the game as a defensive replacement in right field and went 0-for-1 as he continues to rehab a quad strain. He’ll be brought along slowly as he prepares to rejoin Lake Elsinore. … Fresh off a demotion from Fort Wayne, Bernard Jose tossed 2.1 perfect innings to pick up the win. The 23-year-old struck out four batters. Jose posted respectable numbers last year for the Storm, pitching to a 3.95 over 66 innings. This year, Jose was battered by Midwest League hitters in Fort Wayne. He allowed 36 baserunners in just 13.1 innings.