Padres Minor League Report: Jesus Castro Dazzles, Allows 1 Hit in Career-High 7 Innings For Storm

[Steve Drumwright]

 

Tuesday began new series for the four full-season San Diego Padres affiliates, who went 2-2. The Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas were stomped by Albuquerque 15-9, the Double-A San Antonio Missions lost a heartbreaker to Amarillo 5-4, the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps flexed their muscles in a 5-2 win over Great Lakes and the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm stifled Stockton 6-1.

Padres Minor-League Transactions

Note: The Padres officially announced the signings of 20 draft choices and nine minor-league free agents as previously reported by Padres Mission. Check out the transactions log here:

• El Paso Chihuahuas placed 1B Nick Pratto on the temporarily inactive list.
• Fort Wayne TinCaps placed OF Kavares Tears on the 7-day injured list.
• San Antonio Missions sent LHP Luis Gutierrez on a rehab assignment to Fort Wayne TinCaps.
• San Antonio Missions sent RHP Miguel Mendez on a rehab assignment to Fort Wayne TinCaps.

Chihuahuas Surrender 7 Homers In Isotopes' Romp

Left-handed starter Jackson Wolf was lit up for eight runs in 1⅔ innings as the host Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas gave up 12 runs in the first four innings in a 15-9 loss to the Albuquerque Isotopes, who hit seven homers.

Dustin Harris had an inside-the-park homer as part of a three-hit, two-RBI game, Romeo Sanabria homered and Bryce Johnson had a pair of hits for the Chihuahuas. Harris, Sanabria and Mason McCoy drove in two.

After allowing a pair hits but escaping the first inning unscathed, Wolf struck out the first two in the second, then gave up five hits, two walks and a hit batter, capped by a grand slam that made it 8-0. The teams traded two-spots in the bottom of the second and top of the third, then the Chihuahuas struck for five in the bottom of the third that included  Harris' two-run inside-the-parker, his first homer since joining El Paso on July 8, and Sanabria's two-run shot. That was Sanabria's first Triple-A homer since his June 23 promotion from Double-A San Antonio, where he had eight. But Albuquerque kept the early onslaught going with another two runs in the fourth for a 12-7 lead.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Bryce Johnson	5	2	2	0	0	0
Dustin Harris	5	2	3	2	0	0
Nick Solak	4	0	1	1	0	0
Marcos Castañon	3	2	1	1	1	0
Will Wagner	4	1	1	0	0	0
Mason McCoy	3	1	1	2	0	2
Romeo Sanabria	4	1	1	2	0	2
Clay Dungan	4	0	1	1	0	1
Anthony Vilar	4	0	0	0	0	1

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Jackson Wolf	1 2/3	7	8	8	2	3	2
Justin Yeager	2	7	4	4	1	4	3
Misael Tamarez	2 1/3	2	0	0	2	1	0
Logan Gillaspie	2	5	3	3	0	0	2
Michael Flynn	1	2	0	0	1	1	0

Francisco Acuna Has Ninth-Inning Go-Ahead Blast, But Missions Fall

Francisco Acuna hit a go-ahead three-run homer with two outs in the top of the ninth, but right-hander Francis Pena gave up a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth as the Double-A San Antonio Missions were walked off by the host Amarillo Sod Poodles 5-4. Druw Jones had the walk-off infield single for Amarillo.

Albert Fabian also homered for the Missions, while Jake Cunningham had two of San Antonio's six hits.

Missions left-handed starter Jamie Hitt, in his third Double-A appearance and second straight start, went six innings, allowing three runs on nine hits, including a homer, with a walk and two punchouts. Left-hander Igor Gill pitched a hitless seventh and right-hander Bernard Jose punched out the side in a perfect eighth before the fateful ninth.

Trailing 3-1 entering the top of the ninth, Cunningham had a leadoff single and went to second on Ryan Jackson's one-out single. Acuna drilled a first-pitch slider for a no-doubter to left, his sixth homer of the year, to put the Missions up 4-3.

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

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Jamie Hitt	6	9	3	3	1	2	1
Igor Gil	1	0	0	0	2	1	0
Bernard Jose	1	0	0	0	0	3	0
Francis Peña	0 1/3	2	2	2	1	0	0

Homers By Alex McCoy, Kerrington Cross Fuel TinCaps

Alex McCoy and Kerrington Cross each hit two-run homers and right-hander Kannon Kemp went five solid innings as the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps won their fourth straight with a 5-2 win over the host Great Lakes Loons.

Right-hander Miguel Mendez, Padres Mission's No. 3 prospect on a rehab assignment from Double-A San Antonio, made his first appearance since June 17 due a shoulder injury. Mendez pitched a perfect first inning, striking out one, throwing 10 pitches, seven for strikes. Kemp, who came off the injured list July 7, followed by going a season-high five innings, giving up a pair of runs on six hits with no walks and three strikeouts and earned his first High-A victory. Left-hander Braian Salazar went two shutout innings and right-hander Will Koger earned his first High-A save following a promotion from Low-A Lake Elsinore, where he had six.

The TinCaps jumped out to a quick lead as Ryan Wideman, Padres Mission's No. 4 prospect, reached on an error by the third baseman, and McCoy, Padres Mission's No. 14 prospect, hit his first home run since June 21 and the 13th of the season. McCoy singled leading off the fourth, his team-leading 24th multihit game this year, then Cross smacked his third homer at High-A and 14th of the season, which started at Lake Elsinore. That shot had an exit velocity of 106 mph. McCoy walked to begin the sixth, Luke Cantwell singled and Carlos Rodriguez had an RBI single with two outs to make it 5-0. The Loons scored both their runs in the bottom of the sixth.

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

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Miguel Mendez	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
Kannon Kemp	5	6	2	2	0	3	1
Braian Salazar	2	2	0	0	2	3	0
Will Koger	1	0	0	0	1	1	0

Storm's Jesus Castro Dominates, Allows 1 Hit In Career-High 7 Innings

Right-hander Jesus Castro turned in a dominant career-high seven-inning start, striking out seven and allowing just one hit as the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm dropped the host Stockton Ports 6-1.

Ty Harvey hit his first home run not on a rehab assignment, Jorge Quintana also homered and Qrey Lott went 3-for-4 for the Storm.

But it was the 19-year-old Castro, Padres Mission's No. 16 prospect, who stole the show. Castro, who didn't walk a batter, retired the first eight batters of the game before a throwing error by third baseman Yimy Tovar gave the Ports their first baserunner. The only hit of the game came two batters later when he gave up a leadoff single in the fourth. Only one other batter reached base, that would be a leadoff hit by pitch in the seventh as Castro retired nine of the last 10. His previous longest outing for the Storm came in back-to-back outings in May, when he went 5⅔ innings. Castro did have a six-inning start last season in the Dominican Summer League.

Harvey, Padres Mission's No. 7 prospect who was in his third game since coming off the 60-day injured list with a fractured left hand, had hit two homers during his rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League, but finally went deep for the first time in full-season ball when he led off the top of the third with a 358-foot opposite field shot to right that had a 100 mph exit velocity. Quintana, Padres Mission's No. 6 prospect, capped off the night with a two-run blast in the ninth inning, his second homer in three games and fifth of th season.  

 

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Conner Westenburg	4	0	1	0	1	0
Ty Harvey	5	1	1	1	0	1
Bradley Frye	4	2	1	0	1	0
Jorge Quintana	5	1	1	3	0	2
Yoiber Ocopio	3	1	1	0	2	1
Yimy Tovar	4	0	0	0	0	1
Truitt Madonna	3	0	1	0	1	2
George Bilecki	4	0	0	0	0	0
Qrey Lott	4	1	3	1	0	0

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Jesus A. Castro	7	1	0	0	0	7	0
Carson Swilling	1	0	0	0	1	1	0
Daichi Moriki	1	2	1	1	0	1	0

Padres Mission's Top 20 Prospect Performance

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

View full article