Padres Minor League Report: Jhony Brito Shines In Final Rehab Outing

[Steve Drumwright]

 

San Diego Padres affiliates went 2-2 Thursday as the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas fell to Sugar Land 4-1, the Double-A San Antonio Missions got five strong innings from a rehabbing Jhony Brito in a 5-1 victory, the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps dropped a 10-4 decision to Lake County and the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm beat the Fresno Grizzlies 10-4.

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Marcos Castanon Goes Deep Off Hunter Brown In Chihuahuas' Loss

Facing one of the top starters in MLB on a rehab assignment, the host Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas did get a run off Houston Astros ace right-hander Hunter Brown, but couldn't dent the rest of the Sugar Land Space Cowboys' staff in a 4-1 loss.

Out since the first week of the season with a Grade 2 right shoulder sprain, Brown threw 57 pitches in his third rehab outing, going 4⅓ innings and giving up four hits with a walk and four strikeouts. The only run came when Marcos Castanon took Brown, who finished third in last year's AL Cy Young Award voting, deep in the fifth inning, his eighth homer of the year.

Castanon and Will Wagner each had two of the Chihuahuas' seven hits. Castanon, who launched his opposite-field homer to right-center, has homered in back-to-back games and three of his last five. Carlos Rodiguez's hitting streak is now at 12 games after a fourth-inning single in a 1-for-4 performance.

Chihuahuas left-handed starter Marco Gonzales struck out eight over 4⅔ innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk, lowering his ERA to 9.16.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Mason McCoy	4	0	0	0	0	2
Carlos Rodriguez	4	0	1	0	0	0
Pablo Reyes	4	0	0	0	0	2
Nick Solak	4	0	1	0	0	1
Will Wagner	4	0	2	0	0	0
Marcos Castanon	4	1	2	1	0	0
Nate Mondou	3	0	0	0	1	1
Blake Hunt	3	0	0	0	0	0
Clay Dungan	3	0	1	0	0	2

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Marco Gonzales	4 2/3	7	3	3	1	8	0
Misael Tamarez	1	2	1	1	1	1	0
Kyle Hart	1 1/3	1	0	0	1	0	0
Ethan Routzahn	2	1	0	0	1	1	0

Jhony Brito Wraps Up Rehab With 5 Strong Innings For Missions

Making his own rehab start, San Diego Padres right-hander Jhony Brito was again sharp over five innings, while Romeo Sanabria and Braedon Karpathios homered as the Double-A San Antonio Missions beat the Wichita Wind Surge 5-1.

Brito, in his fourth outing with the Missions as he comes back from right elbow and flexor tendon surgery in April 2025, allowed just one run on three hits and no walks while fanning two in five innings. He threw 58 pitches, including 42 strikes. Brito made it through six innings on just 52 pitches in his previous start.

This was likely Brito's last rehab start as his assignment began May 7 and lasts 30 days for pitchers. In six starts, Brito has a 3.33 ERA over 24⅓ innings with six walks and 17 strikeouts, including a 1.96 ERA in his four Double-A appearances. Brito does have an option left, so it is possible that he comes off the 60-day injured list and is optioned to the minors if the Padres don't put him on the major-league roster.

Karpathios, Padres Mission's No. 9 prospect, drove in a pair of runs, including a solo homer in the sixth, his fourth homer of the season. Sanabria had gone deep an inning earlier, also a solo shot, for his sixth long ball and second in as many days. Karpathios and Ryan Jackson had back-to-back run-scoring singles in the fourth inning to put the Missions up 3-0.

Right-handers Clark Candiotti (one inning), Josh Mallitz (two innings) and Andrew Moore (one inning) each allowed one hit, with Mallitz and Moore punching out three.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Ethan Salas	4	0	0	0	0	0
Kai Roberts	4	0	0	0	0	1
Romeo Sanabria	4	2	2	1	0	0
Tirso Ornelas	3	2	1	0	1	1
Braedon Karpathios	3	1	2	2	1	1
Ryan Jackson	4	0	1	1	0	0
Francisco Acuna	3	0	0	0	0	2
Luis Verdugo	3	0	1	0	1	0
Kai Murphy	4	0	0	0	0	0

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Jhony Brito	5	3	1	1	0	2	1
Clark Candiotti	1	1	0	0	0	1	0
Josh Mallitz	2	1	0	0	0	3	0
Andrew Moore	1	1	0	0	1	3	0

Kavares Tears' Long Homer Comes Up Short For TinCaps

Kavares Tears hit the longest home run of the season by a TinCaps player, but host High-A Fort Wayne watched the Lake County Captains take the lead with a three-run sixth and pull away for a 10-4 victory.

TinCaps right-handed starter Carson Montgomery threw five solid innings, allowing three runs on two hits but walking five while striking out six. But the Captains scored three runs off Will Varmette, who didn't record an out in the sixth, while left-hander Braian Salazar gave up a pair of runs in 1⅓ innings. After a scoreless inning by right-hander Tucker Musgrove, left-hander Javier Chacon gave up two runs in 1⅔ innings on just one hit and two walks. The TinCaps issued 12 walks. Musgrove is Padres Mission's No. 14 prospect.

Tears hit a 454-foot blast to left-center, a two-run shot to put the TinCaps up 3-2. Tears, who now has five homers, later tripled.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Rosman Verdugo	3	1	0	0	2	2
Carlos Rodriguez	4	0	1	1	1	3
Lamar King Jr.	4	0	1	0	0	0
Alex McCoy	4	0	1	1	0	2
Jake Cunningham	4	0	1	0	0	1
Jack Costello	3	1	0	0	1	2
Kavares Tears	4	1	2	2	0	0
Zach Evans	4	1	1	0	0	2
Jonathan Vastine	3	0	0	0	0	2

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Carson Montgomery	5	2	3	3	5	6	0
Will Varmette	0	1	3	3	2	0	1
Braian Salazar	1 1/3	3	2	2	3	3	0
Tucker Musgrove	1	0	0	0	0	2	0
Javier Chacon	1 2/3	1	2	2	2	2	1

Jose Verdugo, George Bilecki Drive In 3 Each As Storm Prevail

Jose Verdugo and George Bilecki each drove in three runs, while right-handed starter Bryan Balzer turned in a solid 5⅓ innings as the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm cruised to a 10-4 victory over the host Fresno Grizzlies.

The Storm had just six hits, including two by Bilecki, and took advantage of seven walks and five Grizzlies errors. Only three of the Storm's 10 runs were unearned.

Balzer, Padres Mission's No. 19 prospect, allowed two runs on seven hits, walking a pair and striking out five. Right-hander Brandon Langley retired all five batters he faced, right-hander Sean Burnett pitched a scoreless eighth and right-hander Daichi Moriki allowed two ninth-inning runs.

Bilecki had an RBI double in the second and a two-run single in a three-run fifth that put the Storm up 6-2. Verdugo drove in a run in the third on a fielder's choice and a two-run double in a four-run eighth.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Bradley Frye	4	1	1	0	1	2
Kerrington Cross	3	2	0	0	2	1
Jose Verdugo	5	1	1	3	0	0
Yoiber Ocopio	4	2	1	0	1	1
Yimy Tovar	3	0	0	1	0	1
George Bilecki	2	0	2	3	3	0
Qrey Lott	3	1	0	0	0	3
Dylan Grego	5	1	1	0	0	0
Conner Westenburg	3	2	0	1	0	0

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Bryan Balzer	5 1/3	7	2	2	2	5	0
Brandon Langley	1 2/3	0	0	0	0	1	0
Sean Barnett	1	0	0	0	1	2	0
Daichi Moriki	1	1	2	2	2	0	0

Top 20 Prospect Performance

1. Ethan Salas: 0-for-4
2. Kash Mayfield: DNP
3. Miguel Mendez: DNP
4. Kruz Schoolcraft: DNP
5. Ryan Wideman: DNP
6. Jorge Quintana: DNP
7. Ty Harvey: On injured list
8. Kale Fountain: Injured, out for season
9. Braedon Karpathios: 2-for-3, HR, 1 K
10. Lamar King Jr.: 1-for-4
11. Jagger Haynes: DNP
12. Alex McCoy: 1-for-4, 2 K
13. Truitt Madonna: DNP
14. Tucker Musgrove: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K
15. Garrett Hawkins: DNP
16. Michael Salina: DNP
17. Eric Yost: DNP
18. Rosman Verdugo: 0-for-3, 2 K
19. Bryan Balzer: 5⅓ IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K
20. Deivid Coronil: DNP

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