Padres Minor League Report: Chihuahuas Post Six In Ninth Inning, Still Fall Short

[Brock Beauchamp]

Tim Locastro homered and drove in four as El Paso’s ninth-inning push fell short. For San Antonio, Enmanuel Pinales punched out six over 5 2/3 innings. Jack Costello launched his ninth for Fort Wayne, while Eiker Huizi fired two scoreless with four strikeouts. Lake Elsinore rallied behind Alex McCoy’s three hits and Carlos Rodriguez’s go-ahead single, with Winyer Chourio fanning six and Kleiber Olmedo stabilizing three frames. Ripken Reyes tripled and doubled.

Padres Transactions

• Placed SS Xander Bogaerts on 10-day injured list (left foot fracture). 
• Recalled 2B Mason McCoy from El Paso (AAA).

Crazy Ninth-Inning Surge Not Enough For El Paso
Box Score

El Paso nearly pulled off a wild comeback, but the Chihuahuas fell to Tacoma, 11-9, at Southwest University Park. Tim Locastro set the tone early, launching a three-run homer in the second after a Luis Campusano single and a Trenton Brooks double put two aboard. That blast built a 3-1 El Paso lead, and Clay Dungan kept it there in the fourth with an outfield assist, cutting down a runner at the plate.

Tacoma answered with rallies in the middle frames and added on in the seventh to push the Rainiers ahead, 8-3, through seven. El Paso’s bats saved their biggest swing for late, piling up six runs in the ninth. Dungan singled to start it, Ripken Reyes ripped a run-scoring triple, Tyler Wade followed with an RBI double, and Tirso Ornelas kept the line moving with a single. After Yonathan Perlaza reached on a fielder’s choice and Campusano singled, Nate Mondou punched an RBI hit, Brooks walked to force in a run, and Locastro’s grounder brought home another. The rally ended with the tying run still out there.

Campusano collected three hits, Dungan added two, and Reyes finished with two extra-base knocks, a triple, and a double. Locastro drove in four. On the mound, starter Logan Gillaspie worked 4 2/3 innings, allowing four runs with two walks and one strikeout. Raul Brito followed with 2 1/3 innings of one-run ball, walking one and striking out one.

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Missions Strike Early But Fall In Frisco
Box Score

San Antonio jumped on Frisco in the second when Marcos Castañon singled, then Moisés Gómez split the left-field line for a double to score him. The Missions kept pushing in the third: with two outs, an error opened the door, two walks loaded the bases, a wild pitch brought home Romeo Sanabria, and Devin Ortiz followed with an RBI single to make it 3–0.

Enmanuel Pinales set the tone on the mound. The righty worked 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on two hits, with three walks and six strikeouts. Frisco cut the lead to one in the third, but Pinales settled in and kept the Missions in front through the sixth.

The RoughRiders rallied late in the eighth. After a hit-by-pitch and a single, a walk loaded the bases, then a bases-loaded walk tied the game. A sacrifice fly gave them the lead, and a two-run triple pushed the margin to three. Andrew Moore was tagged with three runs in 2/3 of an inning, and Ethan Routzahn was charged with one in 2/3 of an inning.

Ortiz led San Antonio with a 2-for-4 night, a stolen base, and an RBI. Gómez went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, and an RBI. Castañon reached twice and scored both times. The Missions finished with four hits.

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Costello Homers As TinCaps Fall To Dragons
Box Score

Fort Wayne dropped a 4-2 decision to Dayton at Parkview Field, getting a blast from Jack Costello and a late push that came up short. Maikel Miralles started for the TinCaps and worked six, allowing three runs on eight hits with one walk and five strikeouts. Dayton opened the scoring in the first with a double following a leadoff single, then added two more in the third on a string of hits after an on-field delay.

Costello answered in the bottom of the third, launching his ninth homer to left to cut the deficit to 3-1. The TinCaps had a chance in the fourth when Brendan Durfee singled and advanced to second on a balk, but a strikeout ended the threat. The Dragons tacked on a run in the seventh to make it 4-1.

Fort Wayne rallied in the seventh. Rosman Verdugo singled, Kai Roberts walked, and a passed ball moved both into scoring position. With two outs, Jonathan Vastine lined a bases-loaded single to left to score Verdugo, though Roberts was thrown out at the plate on the play to close the inning.

The TinCaps finished with four hits, all singles besides Costello’s homer. Costello and Vastine drove in the runs, while Verdugo and Durfee also recorded hits. Out of the bullpen, Bodi Rascon handled the seventh with one run allowed, two walks, and one strikeout. Eiker Huizi closed with two scoreless innings, giving up one hit with one walk and four strikeouts.

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McCoy’s Three Hits, Tears’ Triple Lift Lake Elsinore Past Quakes
Box Score

Alex McCoy led the Lake Elsinore offense with three hits, two RBIs, and a stolen base, and the Storm edged Rancho Cucamonga 6-5 at The Diamond. McCoy’s two-out RBI single in the fifth pulled Lake Elsinore within a run, then he tied it in the seventh with a liner to center. Moments later, Carlos Rodriguez knocked a go-ahead single to left for a 6-5 lead the Storm never surrendered.

Kavares Tears sparked the sixth with a triple to center, then came home on a wild pitch to make it 4-4. George Bilecki doubled in a run earlier in the fifth, and Dylan Grego chipped in two hits. Ryan Wideman added a key defensive play, throwing out a runner at second base to end a threat in the seventh.

Starter Winyer Chourio set the tone, working four innings with one run allowed, one walk, and six strikeouts. After a rocky fifth from Landry Jureka, Kleiber Olmedo steadied things, covering three innings with one run, two walks, and five strikeouts to earn the win. Adam Conrad finished the ninth with one scoreless inning, one walk, and two strikeouts for the save.

Rancho Cucamonga briefly surged ahead with a three-run fifth, but Lake Elsinore answered over the middle innings.

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