Padres Minor League Report: A Mixed Bag For Affiliates As Yendry Rojas & Chase Valentine Launch Doubles

[Brock Beauchamp]

El Paso’s bullpen steadied things after a burst, but the offense only managed Rodolfo Durán’s two-run double. San Antonio blanked Corpus on Henry Baez’s five hitless innings and Romeo Sanabria’s homer. Fort Wayne rode Leo De Vries’ two-run shot until a late blast flipped the game. Lake Elsinore collected 18 hits, Yendry Rojas going 5-for-5 and Chase Valentine doubling three times. A 2-2 night mixed sharp arms with booming bats.

Padres Transactions

• Optioned RHP Stephen Kolek to Triple-A El Paso
• Recalled LHP Kyle Hart from Triple-A El Paso 

Durán’s Double Sparks Mid-Game Rally, but El Paso Falls 4-2
Box Score

A three-run first left El Paso in a hole it never escaped. Starter Ryan Bergert surrendered Zac Veen’s leadoff homer and four total runs on nine hits across 4 2⁄3 innings before Miguel Cienfuegos (2 1⁄3 IP, 3 K) and Harold Chirino (perfect ninth) steadied the game.

The Chihuahuas’ punch came in the fifth. Mason McCoy earned his second walk, Forrest Wall singled and advanced on an error, and Rodolfo Durán slashed a two-run double to the gap, trimming the deficit to 4-2. McCoy reached twice and Wall scored, yet Durán was stranded at third and Albuquerque’s bullpen pitched four scoreless to end the game. Early pickoffs of Tim Locastro and a double play that erased Mike Brosseau’s walk blunted any late push, sealing the 4-2 loss.

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Baez Leads Combined One-Hitter as Missions Blank Hooks 5-0
Box Score

Henry Baez fired five no-hit frames with six strikeouts, then Jake Higginbotham, Tyson Neighbors and Ethan Routzahn finished a one-hitter. San Antonio struck in the second when Albert Fabian doubled and Anthony Vilar lifted a sacrifice fly. Vilar tripled home Devin Ortiz in the fourth for a 2-0 cushion.

The eighth delivered the knockout. Brandon Valenzuela singled and Romeo Sanabria unloaded a two-run homer to left, his eighth. Moisés Gómez singled, Fabian walked, and Vilar’s ground-out plated another. Sanabria (2-for-4) and Vilar (two hits, three RBI) paced an offense that backed Baez’s gem and clinched a 5-0 victory.

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De Vries Homers Early, but TinCaps Upended Late 5-2
Box Score

With two outs in the third, Kai Roberts walked and Leo De Vries launched a 2-1 fastball over the right-field wall for a 2-0 lead. Southpaw Luis Gutierrez protected it with 4 1⁄3 strong innings, aided by a pickoff and a caught stealing.

A throwing error and double tied the game in the fifth, and the eighth proved decisive: a walk and a single set up Tommy White’s three-run blast off Will Varmette. Brandon Butterworth went 2-for-3 with a walk; De Vries’ homer and Butterworth’s double were the club’s only extra-base hits as the TinCaps fell 5-2.

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Seven-Run Surge, Rojas’ Perfect Day Propel Storm past 66ers 11-7
Box Score

Lake Elsinore broke loose with six straight hits in the fourth, turning a 1-0 edge into a 6-0 cushion. Yendry Rojas (5-for-5, two doubles, three RBI) and Chase Valentine (4-for-5, three doubles, three RBI) drove the inning, while Kavares Tears reached four times, scored twice, and stole two bases.

After Inland Empire crept within 6-4, Rojas doubled and scored on Valentine’s two-bagger in the sixth, and the duo repeated the feat in the eighth. Abraham Parra allowed four runs (three earned) over 4 2⁄3 innings; three relievers covered the final 4 1⁄3. The Storm’s 18-hit barrage sealed an 11-7 win.

Top Prospect Performances

1. Leo De Vries, SS: 1-for-4, 1 K, HR
2. Ethan Salas, C: Did Not Play
3. Kash Mayfield, LHP: Did Not Play
4. Boston Bateman, RHP: Did Not Play
5. Humberto Cruz, RHP: Did Not Play
6. Isaiah Lowe, RHP: Did Not Play
7. Cobb Hightower, 3B: Did Not Play
8. Braden Nett, RHP: Did Not Play
9. Henry Baez, RHP: 5 IP, 6 K, 3 BB
10. Kale Fountain, 1B: Did Not Play
11. Tirso Ornelas, OF: Did Not Play
12. Kavares Tears, OF: 1-for-2, 3 BB, 2 SB
13. Bradgley Rodriguez, RHP: Did Not Play
14. Victor Lizarraga, RHP: Did Not Play
15. Francis Pena, RHP: Did Not Play
16. Ryan Bergert, RHP: 4 2⁄3 IP, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 K, BB
17. Romeo Sanabria, 1B: 2-for-4, HR
18. Omar Cruz, LHP: Did Not Play
19. Tyson Neighbors, RHP: 2 IP, 2 K
20. Jagger Haynes, LHP: Did Not Play

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