Padres Minor League Report: 34-Year-Old Andrew Thurman Has Storybook Outing

[Steve Drumwright]

 

On Friday, the four full-season San Diego Padres affiliates went 3-1. The Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas edged Sacramento 4-2, the Double-A San Antonio Missions blanked Amarillo, the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps prevailed 8-5 and the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm came up short against Stockton 14-10.

Padres Minor-League Transactions

• El Paso Chihuahuas released OF Pablo Reyes.
• San Diego Padres recalled RHP Alek Jacob from El Paso Chihuahuas.
• El Paso Chihuahuas sent RHP José Leclerc on a rehab assignment to ACL Padres.

Evan Fitterer, Backed By 3 Homers, Sends Chihuahuas Past River Cats

Right-handed starter Evan Fitterer went six strong innings, while Nick Solak, Blake Hunt and Luis Rengifo homered as the host Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas turned back the Sacramento River Cats 4-2.

Fitterer allowed two runs on five hits with a walk and two strikeouts in his first start since June 3 and matching his longest outing of the season, also going six on May 16. Right-hander Miguel Cienfuegos went two hitless innings, allowing a walk and a single, while right-hander Ethan Routzahn locked down his seventh save of the year with a walk and a strikeout in the ninth.

Solak homered for the second game in a row when he went deep in the first inning. The River Cats tied it up with runs in the fifth and sixth innings, but Hunt homered in back-to-back games as well, his fourth this year, in the bottom of the sixth to snap the tie and Rengifo went deep in the seventh for the second time in three games since joining the Chihuahuas after being released by the Milwaukee Brewers. Hunt has homered in three of his last five games since coming down from the Padres, where he made his MLB debut.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Luis Rengifo	4	1	1	1	0	1
Carlos Rodríguez	4	0	2	0	0	0
Will Wagner	4	1	0	0	0	3
Nick Solak	4	1	1	2	0	0
Nick Pratto	4	0	1	0	0	2
Romeo Sanabria	4	0	0	0	0	2
Blake Hunt	3	1	1	1	1	1
Nick Schnell	2	0	0	0	1	1
Clay Dungan	3	0	1	0	0	0

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Evan Fitterer	6	5	2	2	1	2	0
Miguel Cienfuegos	2	0	0	0	1	1	0
Ethan Routzahn	1	0	0	0	1	1	0

Andrew Thurman Goes 4 Shutout Innings To Spark Missions' 3-Hitter

Right-hander Andrew Thurman, a 34-year-old who is back in affiliated ball this year for the first time since 2017, pitched a season-high four shutout innings to set the tone in a three-hit shutout by the host Double-A San Antonio Missions, who dispatched the Amarillo Sod Poodles 3-0. Tirso Ornelas was on base three times and drove in a pair of runs for the Missions.

Thurman, making his second start in three appearances and entering the game with a 5.91 ERA in 20 appearances, gave up only a two-out single in the third inning, walked one and struck out four, while also hitting two batters (same player twice). According to the Missions' pregame notes, Thurman stepped away from baseball completely after 2017 in the Los Angeles Dodgers' organization, only to return last year, when he joined the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League, then signing a minor-league deal with the Padres in the offseason. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in the second round in 2013.

Left-hander Harry Gustin pitched two perfect innings and right-hander Bernard Jose went the final three to pick up his first career Double-A save, allowing two hits and striking out one.

The Missions grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Carson Tucker had a leadoff single, advanced to second, went to third on a groundout and scored on Ornelas' sacrifice fly to center. It remained 1-0 until the seventh. Francisco Acuna and Luis Verdugo walked to begin the inning, then pinch-hitter Ethan Salas, Padres Mission's No. 1 prospect, walked in a 10-pitch at-bat to load the bases. After a popout and a strikeout, Ornelas drew the fourth walk of the inning to bring in a run. Following a pitching change, Jake Cunningham lined a single to center to make it 3-0, with Ornelas being thrown out trying to advance to third.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Carson Tucker	3	1	1	0	1	0
Kai Roberts	4	0	0	0	0	2
Tirso Ornelas	2	0	2	2	1	0
Jake Cunningham	4	0	1	1	0	2
Braedon Karpathios	4	0	0	0	0	2
Ryan Jackson	4	0	0	0	0	2
Francisco Acuna	2	1	0	0	2	0
Luis Verdugo	2	1	2	0	1	0
Chris Sargent	1	0	1	0	0	0
Ethan Salas	0	0	0	0	1	0

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Andrew Thurman	4	1	0	0	1	4	0
Harry Gustin	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Bernard Jose	3	2	0	0	0	1	0

Carlos Rodriguez's 3 Hits, 2 RBIs Help TinCaps Stop Losing Streak At 5

Carlos Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Jack Costello and Justin DeCriscio hit solo homers, fueling the host High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps' 8-5 triumph over the Great Lakes Loons, halting a five-game losing skid. TinCaps center fielder Ryan Wideman, Padres Mission's No. 12 prospect and the minors' stolen-base leader, swiped a pair to boost his total to 49, six since coming up to High-A.

Left-handed starter Kash Mayfield, Padres Mission's No. 2 prospect, went four innings and gave up two runs on six hits with no strikeouts and five punchouts. Right-hander Abraham Parra went 2⅔ innings, allowing a run on two hits but he walked five while striking out five. Right-hander Will Varmette got his second save of the season by going the final 2⅓ innings and yielding two runs on two hits with no walks and a pair of strikeouts.

Trailing 2-1 after the top of the fourth, the TinCaps took the lead in the bottom of the half with three runs. Rodriguez had an RBI single and Wideman a two-run single. The Loons made it 4-3 in the top of the sixth, but Costello got that back with his eighth homer of the year in the bottom half. The TinCaps pulled away in the seventh with three more runs on DeCriscio's one-out homer, his seventh, a hit by pitch, a double by Alex McCoy (Padres Mission's No. 14 prospect) and Rodriguez's single that scored two runs, the second one on a throwing error for an 8-3 advantage. This was Rodriguez's second three-hit game of the season.

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

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Kash Mayfield	4	6	2	2	0	5	0
Abraham Parra	2 2/3	2	1	1	5	5	1
Will Varmette	2 1/3	2	2	2	0	2	0

Storm Make Late Comeback, But Can't Overcome Ports

The host Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm put up a furious fight late, scoring seven runs in the seventh inning and bringing up the tying run in the bottom of the ninth, but couldn't overcome giving up 11 combined runs in back-to-back innings in a 14-10 loss to the Stockton Ports. Dylan Grego had two hits and drove in four, while Yimy Tovar also had two hits and a pair of RBIs and Conner Westenburg had two hits, an RBI and a run scored for the Storm.

Storm left-handed starter Kruz Schoolcraft, Padres Mission's No. 5 prospect, was tagged for six runs in 4⅔ innings, with four coming in a six-run fifth inning. He gave up six hits, including a homer, and three walks while striking out four, pushing his ERA to 7.11. Right-hander Carson Swilling had a disastrous outing, giving up seven runs (six earned) on six hits and three walks while getting just two outs. Right-hander Isaiah Lowe was able to finish the game, going 3⅔ innings and striking out six while allowing a run on three hits and two walks.

It was 2-2 after the top of the second and remained tied until the top of the fifth, when the Ports scored six runs and then added five more in the sixth for a sudden 13-2 advantage. But the Storm got one back in the bottom of the sixth, then poured in seven runs in the seventh. A one-out hit by pitch, single and walk loaded the bases when Qrey Lott became the second hit batter of the inning to bring in a run. Westenburg was also hit to force in a run and Grego cleared the bases with a double to pull the Storm within 13-8. Truitt Madonna walked, a wild pitch advanced both runners, then Tovar brought them home with a double to make it 13-10. Tovar made it to third on a wild pitch, but a strikeout ended the inning.

The Storm got a runner to third in the eight, but couldn't score. The Ports tacked on a run in the top of the ninth, but the Storm had one last chance in the bottom half. Westenburg singled to left, the next two batters made outs and Tovar reached when the second baseman booted a grounder. That prompted a pitching change with Jose Verdugo getting hit by a pitch to load the bases, but a strikeout ended the game.

In all, the Storm had six batters hit by a pitch, including Lott twice.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Yimy Tovar	6	1	2	2	0	1
Jose Verdugo	4	1	1	0	0	2
Yoiber Ocopio	4	1	0	0	1	0
Bradley Frye	3	1	1	0	1	1
George Bilecki	4	1	1	1	1	1
Qrey Lott	3	2	0	1	0	2
Conner Westenburg	4	1	2	1	0	0
Dylan Grego	4	1	2	4	0	2
Alcides Hernandez	2	0	0	0	0	0
Truitt Madonna	2	1	0	0	1	1

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Kruz Schoolcraft	4 2/3	6	6	6	3	4	1
Carson Swilling	2/3	6	7	6	3	1	1
Isaiah Lowe	3 2/3	3	1	1	2	6	1

Padres Mission's Top 20 Prospect Performance

1. Ethan Salas: 0-for-0, BB
2. Kash Mayfield: 4 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
3. Miguel Mendez: DNP
4. Ryan Wideman: 1-for-5, 2 RBI, 2 SB, 3 K
5. Kruz Schoolcraft: 4⅔ IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, HR
6. Jorge Quintana: DNP
7. Ty Harvey: On injured list
8. Kale Fountain: Injured, out for season
9. Braedon Karpathios: 0-for-4, 2 K
10. Jagger Haynes: DNP
11. Lamar King Jr.: DNP
12. Tucker Musgrove: DNP
13. Truitt Madonna: 0-for-2, BB, K
14. Alex McCoy: 1-for-4, 2B, K
15. Jesus Castro: DNP
16. Rosman Verdugo: 0-for-2, BB, K
17. Garrett Hawkins: DNP
18. Eric Yost: DNP
19. Michael Salina: DNP
20. Winyer Chourio: DNP

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