Padres Minor League Report: Jake Cronenworth Goes Deep In First Rehab At-Bat

[Steve Drumwright]

 

The San Diego Padres' top four affiliates went 2-2 Friday as the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas cruised to an 8-1 triumph over Sugar Land, the Double-A San Antonio Missions dropped a 7-4 decision to Arkansas, the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps beat Lake County 8-4 and the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm lost to Fresno 9-4.

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Jake Cronenworth Homers, Has 2 Hits To Spark Chihuahuas

Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth homered in the first plate appearance of his rehab assignment and also doubled, while Blake Hunt also went deep and drove in four runs as the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas rolled past the host Sugar Land Space Cowboys 8-1. Clay Dungan hit a solo homer for the Chihuahuas, with Hunt and Nick Pratto joining Cronenworth with two hits.

Cronenworth, who had four plate appearances and played the field for seven innings, has been on the seven-day concussion list since May 5 following an incident about two weeks prior. This was his first game after facing live pitching at the team's complex in Arizona. After Pablo Reyes drew a leadoff walk in the first inning, Cronenworth cranked a 3-2 changeup 413 feet to right field with a 107.5 mph exit velocity. He homered once in 97 at-bats for the Padres before being sidelined. Cronenworth popped out to second and short in his other two at-bats.

Hunt made it 4-1 in the fourth inning with his second homer of the season, scoring Bryce Johnson, who had walked with one out. Cronenworth triggered a three-run seventh inning with a leadoff walk. After being bunted to third, Marcos Castanon hit a grounder to short and the Space Cowboys got Cronenworth out in a rundown trying to score. With Castanon on second, Nick Pratto walked and Mason McCoy's single plated Castanon. Johnson's infield single to the second baseman loaded the bases, setting up Hunt's two-run double for a 7-1 lead. Dungan, who pinch-hit for Cronenworth, made it 8-1 with his eighth-inning leadoff homer.

Chihuahuas left-handed starter Jackson Wolf struck out eight in five innings, allowing one run on three hits with four walks. Right-hander Ethan Routzahn pitched two scoreless innings, yielding one hit and striking out four, while right-hander Alek Jaconb and struck out four in two innings with a hit and a walk as the Chihuahuas combined for 16 strikeouts.

Chihuahuas center fielder Carlos Rodriguez drew a first-inning walk to extend his on-base streak to 34 games.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Pablo Reyes	4	1	1	0	1	1
Jake Cronenworth	4	1	2	2	0	0
Clay Dungan	1	1	1	1	0	0
Carlos Rodríguez	3	0	0	0	1	1
Marcos Castañon	5	1	0	0	0	0
Nick Pratto	4	1	2	0	1	2
Mason McCoy	3	1	1	1	2	2
Bryce Johnson	4	1	1	0	1	2
Blake Hunt	5	1	2	4	0	1
Nate Mondou	4	0	1	0	0	1

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Jackson Wolf	5	3	1	1	4	8	0
Ethan Routzahn	2	1	0	0	0	4	0
Alek Jacob	2	1	0	0	1	4	0

Plethora Of Early Walks Spell Doom For Missions

Right-handed starter Victor Lizarraga walked seven while getting just four outs as the Double-A San Antonio Missions lost to the host Arkansas Travelers 7-4.

Braedon Karpathios, Padres Mission's No. 9 prospect, homered and Wyatt Hoffman had two hits in his first start of the season for the Missions. Hoffman was just activated Tuesday off the 60-day injured list following a back injury in spring training. The Missions scored in the first inning as Tirso Ornelas walked with two outs and raced home on Jake Cunningham's first Double-A triple. However, Arkansas scored three times in the bottom of the first. The teams traded second-inning runs with Hoffman doubling home Luis Verdugo, who had walked. Arkansas scored another in the third for a 5-2 lead, then added a pair on the sixth. The Missions got one back in the seventh as Hoffman had a two-out single and Chris Sargent Jr. doubled him home. Karpathios hit his sixth homer of the season in the eighth.

Lizarraga gave up four runs on those seven walks, a hit and a hit batter. He struck out two in 1⅓ innings.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Carson Tucker	4	0	1	0	1	2
Ryan Jackson	4	0	1	0	0	2
Tirso Ornelas	3	1	0	0	1	1
Jake Cunningham	4	0	1	1	0	2
Braedon Karpathios	4	1	1	1	0	1
Luis Verdugo	2	1	1	0	2	0
Albert Fabian	4	0	0	0	0	2
Wyatt Hoffman	4	1	2	1	0	2
Chris Sargent	3	0	1	1	1	1

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Victor Lizarraga	1 1/3	1	4	4	7	2	0
Harry Gustin	1 2/3	2	1	1	0	2	1
Josh Mallitz	3	2	2	2	1	5	1
Johan Moreno	2	2	0	0	0	2	0

Justin DeCriscio's Near-Cycle Propels TinCaps' Victory

Justin DeCriscio came a double short of hitting for the cycle, driving in three, while Kerrington Cross and Rosman Verdugo also homered as the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps pulled away from the host Lake County Captains 8-4.

TinCaps left-handed starter Kash Mayfield, Padres Mission's No. 2 prospect, had a second straight abbreviated outing, going 2⅔ innings, allowing two runs on six hits with a walk and two punchouts. Mayfield had his turn skipped two weeks ago and returned last week with two innings as the Padres manage the 2024 first-rounder's workload.

Verdugo, Ryan Wideman (Padres Mission's No. 4 prospect) and Alex McCoy (Padres Mission's No. 14 prospect) each had two hits for the TinCaps, while Cross had two RBIs. DeCriscio singled in the first inning, homered in the third and flew out to right in the fifth, struck out in the seventh and tripled in the ninth. He also scored twice.

After the Captains grabbed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second, the TinCaps tied it in the top of the third on DeCriscio's fifth homer of the season. The TinCaps took control with a three-run sixth inning on Cross' first High-A homer after 11 at Low-A Lake Elsinore and Verdugo's 11th of the year two outs later. The Captains scored one in the bottom of the sixth and the teams exchanged runs in the seventh, with the TinCaps scoring on McCoy's RBI single on which Wideman was thrown out trying to score. In the top of the ninth, the TinCaps put this one away as Wideman drew a two-out walk, DeCriscio had his second triple of the season to make it 7-4 and scored on a wild pitch for 8-4.

Right-hander Abraham Parra picked up the win, following Mayfield with 3⅔ innings, striking out five and giving up two runs on three hits and three walks. Left-handers Braian Salazar and C.J. Widger covered the final 2⅔ scoreless innings.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Ryan Wideman	4	1	2	0	1	1
Justin DeCriscio	5	2	3	3	0	1
Alex McCoy	4	1	2	1	1	0
Kerrington Cross	4	1	1	2	1	0
Zach Evans	4	0	0	0	0	1
Kavares Tears	4	0	0	0	0	2
Rosman Verdugo	4	1	2	1	0	1
Carlos Rodriguez	4	0	0	0	0	1
Kasen Wells	4	2	2	0	0	0

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Kash Mayfield	2 2/3	6	2	2	1	2	0
Abraham Parra	3 2/3	3	2	2	3	5	0
Braian Salazar	1 2/3	1	0	0	0	1	0
C.J. Widger	1	1	0	0	2	2	0

Storm Unable To Erase Early Deficit

A slow start cost host Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm, who fell behind 4-0 and rallied late only to fall short against the Fresno Grizzlies 9-4.

Bradley Frye had two hits, an RBI and a run scored and Yoiber Ocopio drove in a pair of runs for the Storm. Left-handed starter Kruz Schoolcraft, Padres Mission's No. 5 prospect, turned in his fourth straight start of exactly five innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts.

The Storm were down 5-0 when they finally pushed a run across in the bottom of the sixth inning as Frye doubled home Conner Westenburg. But the Grizzlies restored control with a three-run top of the seventh. The Storm did get a pair back in the bottom of the eighth on Ocopio's two-run single. Fresno scored a final run in the top of the ninth, with the Storm mounting a rally in the ninth. Alcides Hernandez singled and scored on Qrey Lott's double, but that would be it as the next three batters were retired.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Bradley Frye	5	1	2	1	0	1
Dylan Grego	3	1	0	0	1	1
Dawson Willis	2	0	0	0	2	0
Yoiber Ocopio	4	0	1	2	0	0
Jose Verdugo	4	0	0	0	0	3
Jorge Quintana	3	0	0	0	0	0
Alcides Hernandez	1	1	1	0	0	0
Qrey Lott	4	0	1	1	0	1
Yimy Tovar	4	0	0	0	0	1
Conner Westenburg	4	1	1	0	0	1

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Kruz Schoolcraft	5	5	4	3	3	4	0
Carson Swilling	1	2	1	1	2	2	0
Daichi Moriki	2/3	2	3	3	1	0	0
Jeferson Villabona	2	3	1	1	2	0	0
George Bilecki	1/3	0	0	0	0	0	0

Padres Mission's Top 20 Prospect Performance

1. Ethan Salas, C: On injured list
2. Kash Mayfield, LHP: 2⅔ IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K
3. Miguel Mendez, RHP: DNP
4. Ryan Wideman, CF: 2-for-4, K
5. Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP: 5 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 4 K
6. Jorge Quintana, SS: 0-for-3
7. Ty Harvey, C: On injured list
8. Kale Fountain, OF: Injured, out for season
9. Braedon Karpathios, OF: 1-for-4, HR, K
10. Jagger Haynes, LHP: DNP
11. Lamar King Jr., C: DNP
12. Tucker Musgrove, RHP: DNP
13. Truitt Madonna, C: DNP
14. Alex McCoy, OF: 2-for-4
15. Jesus Castro, RHP: DNP
16. Rosman Verdugo, SS: 2-for-4, HR, K
17. Garrett Hawkins, RHP: DNP
18. Eric Yost, RHP: DNP
19. Michael Salina, RHP: DNP
20. Winyer Chourio, RHP: DNP

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