San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: September 2

Las Vegas Aviators 14, Chihuahuas 12

Key Stats: LHP JP Sears 3.1 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, BB, 3 K; RHP Ethan Routzahn 1.2 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 2 K, 2 BB; RHP Brent Honeywell 2 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 K; SS Mason McCoy 3-for-5, 3 R, 2B, BB; RF Nick Solak 4-for-5, HR (15), 2 2B, 4 RBI, BB; 2B Marcos Castanon 2-for-6, 2B, HR (17), 2 R, 2 RBI; 1B Nick Pratto 1-for-4, HR (11), 2 R, RBI, 2 BB; C Blake Hunt 3-for-5, HR (11), 2 R 3 RBI, BB

Prospect Watch: On a hot afternoon in El Paso with the wind blowing out, it will surprise no one to hear that JP Sears gave up a home run. As he has often, Sears cruised through the first time through the order before making a few mistakes. Sears faced exactly 18 batters and left with two runners on and one out in the fourth. Both of those runners came around, leaving him with a four-run line. Since returning to El Paso at the beginning of August, Sears has allowed 15 earned runs in 14 innings. … While all the attention in San Diego is on the call-up of Ethan Salas, another catcher on the 40-man roster continues to destroy the baseball in Triple-A. Blake Hunt had three hits, including his 11th home run in 40 games. The offense-first catcher is hitting .289 with a .990 OPS for El Paso. Hunt’s batted ball data and contact data mostly ranges from slightly below-average to a bit above-average, but he’s barreling the ball and pulling the ball in the air with enough frequency to get results. … Mason McCoy‘s glove in the middle infield has always been his calling card. This season, McCoy has put up some consistent offense as well. With three hits Wednesday, he now is hitting .276 with 10 home runs and a .755 OPS in 124 games. McCoy scored three runs out of the leadoff spot to establish a new career high with a system-leading 83. He rarely hits the ball hard, but he gets the barrel on the ball frequently and rarely whiffs. … McCoy took the runs-scored lead away from another notable standout from Wednesday, Nick Solak. Solak added four hits, including three extra-base knocks, but only scored one run, giving him 82 on the season. A second-round pick a decade ago, Solak is hitting .308 with 24 doubles, 15 home runs, and an .866 OPS in his seventh season in Triple-A.

Missions 14, Midland RockHounds 5

Key Stats: LHP Luis Gutierrez 3 IP, 3 H, 4 K; RHP Victor Lizarraga 3.2 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 3 K, BB; RF Braedon Karpathios 5-for-6, HR (17), 2 R, 4 RBI; LF Alex McCoy 1-for-5, R, RBI; DH Tirso Ornelas 2-for-5, 2B, HR (15), 3 RBI; 1B Romeo Sanabria 3-for-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI; C Anthony Vilar 3-for-5, HR (1), 2 R, 2 RBI; 2B Wyatt Hoffman 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, BB

Prospect Watch: After starting September with a grand slam on Tuesday, Braedon Karpathios followed it with a five-hit showing, including his 17th home run, and four RBI. Since the start of August, the 23-year-old has hit .346 with a .619 slugging percentage. The 23-year-old now leads the team in both home runs (17) and RBIs (69). The one at-bat in which he did not reach base was a strikeout, giving him 161 on the season. Only four hitters who have spent the full season in the upper minors have struck out more. … Tirso Ornelas held onto second on the team by clubbing his 15th homer of the season in the first inning, capping a four-run inning. Over his last five games, Ornelas is 7-for-20 with three doubles and two home runs. He also logged just his second strikeout in his last 35 plate appearances. His 15 home runs are more than he hit last year in El Paso and the second-highest total of his career. … After a rough first two outings back with the Missions, Luis Gutierrez looks to be getting back on track, tossing three scoreless innings. He struck out four without walking a batter. One of the things that made Gutierrez so effective over the last two years was his ability to limit his walk total to just over 7%. Entering Wednesday’s outing, Gutierrez had walked 10 batters in 13.1 Texas League innings. Gutierrez is a likely candidate for the Arizona Fall League, as injuries have limited him to 29 innings this season after he threw 125 last year.

Lansing Lugnuts 10, TinCaps 1

Key Stats: RHP Matthew Watson 3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB; Jack Pineau 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K; LF Kasen Wells 1-for-4; 3B Kerrington Cross 2-for-4, 2B, R;

Prospect Watch: The TinCaps had a rough day all around, as they fell to 7-17 over the last month. Kerrington Cross had the only multi-hit game and the only TinCaps extra-base hit. After homering on Tuesday, it was his fourth extra-base hit in six games, a feat he hadn’t accomplished since early in the season with the Storm. Last year’s seventh-round pick hit .313 with a 1.075 OPS with the Storm but has struggled to a .733 OPS with the TinCaps. In the last week of the season, Cross is three home runs and one stolen base away from becoming the first 20-20 player in the system. … Less than two months ago, Jack Pineau graduated from Creighton and went undrafted. Three weeks after the draft, the Ontario native signed a free-agent contract with the Padres. Now, the 22-year-old is excelling in High-A. Pineau threw two scoreless innings late in the game and has now allowed one run over his first six professional innings while striking out seven.

Storm 12, Inland Empire 66ers 11

Key Stats: LHP Zack Qin 3.1 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 2 K, 2 BB; RHP Michael Salina (W, 1-0) 1.1 IP, H, 2 BB, K; SS Elliot Lascelles 3-for-5, SB (4), 3 R, 2 RBI; 2B Nu’u Contrades 2-for-4, 2B, 3 SB (7), 2 R, 2 RBI, BB; 1B Joe Tiroly 3-for-4, 2 2B, 3 RBI, BB; 3B Jorge Quintana 3-for-5, 2B, SB (27), 2 R

Prospect Watch: A week after pitching into his second inning for the first time in his professional career, Michael Salina earned his first career win. The hard-throwing right-hander is still making his way back from a pair of setbacks in his return from Tommy John surgery, which helps explain the two walks. Salina threw 29 pitches, 17 of them for strikes. It was the first time in nearly a month that Salina did not allow a run, as the Padres continue to take an extremely cautious approach with his return. … Offensively, the Storm continue to be led by their 2026 draft picks. Second-rounder Elliot Lascelles added another three hits and a stolen base. Over his last three games, Lascelles is 9-for-15 with two doubles, a walk, and a stolen base. The 18-year-old is hitting .354 with a .436 OBP in 13 professional games. … Not to be outdone, his middle-infield partner, Nu’u Contrades added two hits and stole three bases. . The sixth-round pick now has eight extra-base hits and seven stolen bases in 22 games for the Storm. … Shortstop Jorge Quintana slid over to third base and added three hits of his own while stealing his 27th base. The 19-year-old has five hits in two September games, a nice rebound after hitting just .159 through August. Quintana has a respectable .734 OPS against right-handed pitchers this season but a dreadful .450 OPS against southpaws.