Padres Minor League Report: Chihuahuas Rally, Missions Pitch Shutout

[Brock Beauchamp]

El Paso shortstop Mason McCoy belted a ninth-inning homer after Rodolfo Durán’s two-RBI night, sealing a 7-6 comeback. Double-A right-hander Jared Kollar fired 5 2/3 scoreless innings, and Romeo Sanabria added a homer and a sacrifice fly as San Antonio shut out Frisco. High-A Luis Gutierrez struck out seven over six while Ryan Jackson and Kasen Wells drove home four in Fort Wayne’s 5-2 victory. In Lake Elsinore, Kavares Tears' hits weren’t enough in an 8-6 loss.

Padres Transactions

• San Diego Padres activated LHP Nestor Cortes from the 60-day injured list. 
• San Diego Padres optioned RHP Randy Vásquez to El Paso Chihuahuas.

McCoy’s Ninth-Inning Shot Caps Chihuahuas’ Comeback
Box Score

El Paso roared back from an early four-run hole and edged Round Rock, 7–6, when Mason McCoy lifted a ninth-inning homer to left-center. The shortstop finished 1-for-3, walked, stole his 13th base, and scored twice.

The Chihuahuas jumped ahead in the first. Clay Dungan’s ground-rule double opened the game, and consecutive singles from Will Wagner and Yonathan Perlaza plated the night’s first run before a double play made it 2–0. The home side answered with three runs in the bottom half and added a three-run shot in the third to build a 6–2 cushion.

Rodolfo Durán began the rally with a solo blast in the fourth, his sixth, and El Paso struck again in the sixth. Perlaza drew a walk, and Luis Campusano followed with his 16th homer, a two-run drive that narrowed the gap to one. McCoy walked, swiped second, and scored when Durán lined a tying single to center.

After Michael King surrendered six runs in 3 1/3 innings, the bullpen took control. Jason Blanchard recorded the next five outs, and Kyle Hart worked three scoreless frames to pick up the win. Manuel Castro navigated a tense ninth, stranding the tying run at third for his first Triple-A save.

Campusano’s two-run blast highlighted a 1-for-3, two-RBI effort. Durán went 2-for-4 with two RBI, and Perlaza reached three times with a pair of hits and an RBI as the Chihuahuas made their eight knocks count.

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Sanabria Sparks, Kollar Deals as Missions Blank Frisco
Box Score

Jared Kollar delivered a great outing, tossing 5 2/3 scoreless innings while scattering five hits and striking out five as San Antonio rolled to a 4-0 shutout. The right-hander handed a two-run lead to the bullpen, and Austin Krob, Kevin Kopps, and Ethan Routzahn combined for 3 1/3 hitless frames to finish the five-hit masterpiece.

The Missions manufactured the game’s first run in the second. Marcos Castañon opened the frame with a single, advanced on a walk and a wild pitch, then trotted home on another errant offering. One inning later, Romeo Sanabria added breathing room, launching his 10th homer of the season over the right-center fence with two outs.

Castañon kept the pressure on, collecting his second single in the sixth and reaching base three times on the night. San Antonio padded its margin late: Francisco Acuna drew a leadoff walk in the eighth and scored when Moisés Gómez ripped a sharp grounder that skipped into left, and the ninth brought another rally capped by Sanabria’s sacrifice fly.

Acuna finished 2-for-4 with a walk and a run, reaching base three times, while Gómez singled and walked. The Missions offense worked six walks, was hit twice, and left 10 runners aboard, but the pitching staff made the early support stand, recording 11 ground-ball outs.

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Big Second Inning, Gutierrez’s Six Strong Frames Lift TinCaps
Box Score

Fort Wayne erupted for five runs in the second inning and never looked back, riding Luis Gutierrez’s steady work to a 5–2 victory at Parkview Field on Saturday afternoon.

Kasen Wells triggered the decisive rally by drawing a walk, swiping second, and later lining a two-run single to right. Moments earlier, Kai Roberts coaxed a bases-loaded walk to force in the game’s first run, and Ryan Jackson capped the inning with a two-run liner to center. Jackson finished 1-for-4 with two RBI, while Wells went 1-for-3, walked once, scored, and stole his first High-A bag. Roberts reached twice on walks, scored, and drove in his 13th run of the year. Victor Duarte added a single, stole his second base, and crossed the plate during the outburst, and Zach Evans contributed a hit, was hit by a pitch, and scored.

Given the early cushion, Gutierrez carved through the Loons over six innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs while striking out seven for his second win. The left-hander also erased a runner with a pickoff at first. Fernando Sanchez bridged the seventh and eighth with two scoreless frames, and Misael Tamarez punched out two in the ninth for his first save.

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Storm’s four-run sixth washed away by late trouble
Box Score

Lake Elsinore pieced together a spirited comeback but couldn’t hold it, falling 8-6 at The Diamond on Saturday. Right-hander Abraham Parra gave the Storm a chance, limiting Inland Empire to four runs on eight hits over five and two-thirds innings while striking out three and walking one.

The offense cracked the scoreboard in the fourth when Alex McCoy lifted a sacrifice fly that chased home Kerrington Cross. Two innings later, the bats came alive. Kavares Tears opened the sixth with a sharp single, and Cross worked a walk before a wild pitch pushed both runners into scoring position. Kale Fountain punched a run-scoring single to right, and two passed balls plated Cross and Fountain to knot the game at 4-4. After Colton Vincent’s single reloaded the bases, Dylan Grego forced in the go-ahead run with a free pass, capping a four-run frame that put the Storm in front 5-4.

Inland Empire answered in the eighth, loading the bases and seizing the lead on a bases-clearing single against Kleiber Olmedo. Undeterred, McCoy ripped a triple into the right-field corner in the home half and trotted home on B.Y. Choi’s line-drive single, trimming the deficit to two. Tears singled again in the ninth, but the rally stalled.

Cross reached safely twice and swiped his first California League bag, while Tears finished 2-for-5 and scored once. Fountain, Choi, and Grego each drove in a run, and the Storm bullpen of Olmedo (1 2/3 innings) and Igor Gil (1 1/3) combined for three strikeouts, but the late surge by the visitors proved decisive.

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