Padres Minor League Report: Trade Deadline Losses Fuel Minor-League Blowouts

[Brock Beauchamp]

Luis Campusano set the tone with four times on base, and Nate Mondou’s three-run blast sealed Triple-A El Paso’s 5-2 win; at Double-A, Marcos Castañon hammered two homers and Eric Yost fired 6 1⁄3 sparkling innings for San Antonio. High-A Fort Wayne fell, yet Zach Evans drove in all three runs. Single-A Lake Elsinore rallied late behind Kerrington Cross’ three hits, Alex McCoy’s two-run shot, and Yoiber Ocopio’s double before bowing 14-7 on Saturday night there.

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Mondou’s three-run homer powers Chihuahuas past Express
Box Score

Luis Campusano jump-started the El Paso offense in the opening frame, ripping a two-run double to left that staked the Chihuahuas to an early lead. The designated hitter doubled again in the seventh, finishing 2-for-2 with two walks and scoring once to reach base four times.

After Cory Abbott steadied Round Rock, El Paso broke through again in the fifth. Yonathan Perlaza beat out a force play, Campusano coaxed his second free pass, and Nate Mondou launched a three-run shot to right, his second of the year, giving the Chihuahuas the cushion they needed. Perlaza scored twice, while Mason McCoy and Ripken Reyes each contributed doubles; Reyes also walked to reach safely twice.

Left-hander Miguel Cienfuegos set the tone with three scoreless innings, scattering three hits and striking out three. Omar Cruz surrendered two runs over 2 ⅔ frames but earned the victory, with Raul Brito recording the final out of the sixth. Alek Jacob fanned three across two shutout innings, and Sean Reynolds finished the game for his second save.

Perlaza preserved the advantage with his arm as well, throwing out a runner trying to stretch a single into a double in the fourth. The Chihuahuas’ staff combined for 11 strikeouts and allowed only two walks, securing a 5–2 win at Dell Diamond.

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Castañon’s two blasts, Yost’s six 1/3 strong frames lift Missions
Box Score

Marcos Castañon supplied all the thunder San Antonio needed, homering twice and driving in four as the Missions topped Frisco 4-2 at Riders Field.

The designated hitter broke a scoreless tie in the fourth, rifling a solo shot to left. Two innings later, a wild pitch pushed two runners into scoring position, and Castañon punished another pitch for a three-run blast that created a four-run cushion.

Right-hander Eric Yost protected that lead in his Double-A debut. The 22-year-old scattered two hits over 6 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking two to earn the win. Ryan Och escaped a bases-loaded jam in the seventh by rolling a 4-6-3 double play, and Garrett Hawkins fanned three over the final two frames for his first save.

Wyatt Hoffman doubled and singled, while Romeo Sanabria and Francisco Acuna each singled and scored ahead of Castañon’s second homer. The Missions’ defense contributed as well; left fielder Albert Fabian cut down a runner trying to take third on a fifth-inning double, and the Vilar-Acuna-Sanabria combination turned the twin killing that ended the RoughRiders’ biggest threat.

Hawkins worked a scoreless ninth, striking out three, to lock up the 4-2 victory.

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Evans drives in three as TinCaps are blown out
Box Score

Fort Wayne’s lineup had to chase from behind all night, but second baseman Zach Evans kept the bats engaged with a pair of timely swings that produced all three TinCaps runs.

After the visitors jumped ahead early, the TinCaps answered in the fourth. Ryan Jackson bounced a single through the right side, and Braedon Karpathios followed with his second hit of the evening. Evans then shot a pitch into center, plating both runners and trimming the deficit to 4-2. Karpathios finished 3-for-4, while Jackson scored once.

Fort Wayne threatened again in the seventh when Karpathios sent a sharp grounder to short, but he was doubled off second to end the inning. The offense finally broke through in the ninth. With two aboard, Evans lined a base hit back up the middle to bring Rosman Verdugo home for his third RBI of the game.

On the mound, right-hander Will Varmette struck out five over 3 2/3 innings. Alex Makarewich followed with a scoreless eighth, working around a walk and adding a strikeout. Christian Ruebeck closed the night by fanning one in the ninth and inducing a game-ending double play started by shortstop Jordan Thompson.

Despite the 18-3 final, Fort Wayne’s offense collected six hits, drew a walk, and stole a base courtesy of Lamar King Jr.

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Storm’s late flurry highlights Cross’s three-hit night
Box Score

Lake Elsinore clawed back with a five-run burst in the eighth and ninth innings, but the game was already out of reach as they fell to a 14-7 defeat Saturday at The Diamond.

Kerrington Cross got the Storm started in the third, lining a two-out single to center that brought home Yoiber Ocopio for the club’s first run. One frame later, Alex McCoy demolished a pitch to right-center for his third homer, trimming the gap to 8-2. McCoy finished 2-for-3, walked twice, and scored twice.

The bats kept grinding. In the eighth, Ocopio laced his first Cal League double, driving in Kale Fountain and McCoy. Lake Elsinore loaded the bases again in the ninth when pinch-hitter Colton Vincent and Cross singled. Kavares Tears followed with his 18th double to plate Vincent, Fountain lofted a sacrifice fly, and Yendry Rojas capped the rally with an RBI single. Cross paced the lineup at 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run, while Tears went 2-for-5 and Ocopio delivered a 2-for-5, two-RBI effort.

On the mound, right-hander Bryan Balzer was tagged for four runs over two innings and took the loss. Kannon Kemp and Yovannki Pascual bore the brunt of Inland Empire’s big middle frames. Still, Jordan Valenzuela and Xavier Ruiz combined for 2 2/3 hitless innings to steady things, and Adam Conrad closed with two scoreless frames.

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