Padres Minor League Report: Ian Koenig Dominates; 2 More HRs As 3 Draft Picks Debut

[Steve Drumwright]

 

A new week saw the four San Diego Padres affiliates welcome three more draft picks to the fold, with the teams going 2-2. The Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas lost to Salt Lake 4-3 on two ninth-inning runs, the Double-A San Antonio Missions jumped on Frisco for a 7-4 win, the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps fell late 5-4 and the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm rallied for an 11-10 win over Inland Empire.

Padres Minor-League Transactions

• El Paso Chihuahuas released RHP Misael Tamarez.
• C Robbie Lavey assigned to Fort Wayne TinCaps from ACL Padres.
• SS Dylan Grego assigned to Fort Wayne TinCaps from Lake Elsinore Storm.
• 2B Joe Tiroly assigned to Lake Elsinore Storm from ACL Padres.
• 1B Chris McHugh assigned to Lake Elsinore Storm from ACL Padres.

Chihuahuas Fall In Ninth; David Morgan Makes Rehab Appearance

Leadoff hitter Dustin Harris was on base three times, including two hits, but the host Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas gave up a pair of runs in the top of the ninth in a 4-3 loss to the Salt Lake Bees.

Padres right-handed reliever David Morgan (left knee inflammation) moved closer to being activated from the 15-day injured list, making his fourth rehab appearance with the Chihuahuas, facing four batters and allowing a hit in a scoreless inning, striking out two. He threw 16 pitches, nine for strikes.

Eight of the nine Chihuahuas starting position players had hits, but they only had nine as a team. In addition to Harris having a walk, an RBI and a stolen base, Ethan Salas (Padres Mission's No. 1 prospect) and recently acquired Gage Workman, in his first Chihuahuas game after being sent down over the weekend, had RBIs. Bryce Johnson tripled and scored for the Chihuahuas. Former Chihuahuas player Pablo Reyes went 3-for-3 with a walk and a run scored for the Bees.

After Reyes tripled and scored for the Bees in the second, Mason McCoy singled, stole second (his 25th of the season) and came home on Harris' single in the bottom of the third to tie it. The Bees went up 2-1 in the fourth, with the Chihuahuas again tying it up in the sixth on Johnson's leadoff triple and Workman's sacrifice fly. Workman then singled, stole second, went to third on a groundout and scored following a pitching change on Salas' sacrifice fly, his 13th RBI as he begins his third week at Triple-A.

Chihuahuas left-handed starter JP Sears went three innings, only giving up a run on one hit and no walks with five strikeouts. Right-hander Alek Jacob gave up the two ninth-inning runs as Reyes had a leadoff single, then a one-out walk, a single to load the bases, a sacrifice fly, a walk to reload the bases and the third walk of the inning to force in the go-ahead run.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Dustin Harris	4	0	2	1	1	0
Bryce Johnson	5	1	1	0	0	1
Gage Workman	3	1	1	1	1	0
Nick Solak	4	0	1	0	0	0
Carlos Rodríguez	1	0	0	0	0	0
Ethan Salas	4	0	1	1	0	0
Will Wagner	4	0	1	0	0	1
Rodolfo Durán	4	0	1	0	0	3
Nick Pratto	3	0	0	0	1	0
Mason McCoy	3	1	1	0	1	0

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
JP Sears	3	1	1	1	0	5	0
Andrew Thurman	3	2	1	1	1	3	1
David Morgan	1	1	0	0	0	2	0
Hunter Stratton	1	1	0	0	1	3	0
Alek Jacob	1	2	2	2	3	1	0

Ian Koenig Goes 7 Shutout As Missions' Offense Raps 18 Hits

Right-handed starter Ian Koenig tossed seven shutout innings, while Romeo Sanabria and Albert Fabian each had four hits, with Sanabria driving in three and Fabian scoring three times, as the Double-A San Antonio Missions turned back the host Frisco RoughRiders 7-4. The Missions tied their season best with 18 hits, set May 8 vs. Midland.

Koenig matched his season high of seven innings, done twice before, giving up five hits and a walk while fanning four. He had a stretch where he retired 12 straight hitters. It took three Missions relievers to finish the job, though, as right-hander Clay Edmondson ran into trouble in the eighth, allowing three runs (one earned) on a hit and two walks, yielding a solo homer. Left-hander Harry Gustin got the final out, allowing a hit, while right-hander Josh Mallitz surrendered a ninth-inning solo homer.

Carson Tucker added three hits and scored once, while Tirso Ornelas and Jake Cunningham had two. Sanabria had two doubles among his four hits in his return to Double-A after 21 at Triple-A El Paso. The four hits matched his season high set May 23 vs. Frisco. Fabian's four hits are his season best.

Sanabria had a two-run double in the second inning and Luis Verdugo a run-scoring single to make it 3-0. The Missions added single runs in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh to go up 7-0, with Sanabria getting an RBI double in the sixth and Fabian a run-scoring single in the seventh. Cunningham had an RBI single in the fifth.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Carson Tucker	5	1	3	0	0	1
Tirso Ornelas	5	0	2	0	0	0
Jake Cunningham	3	0	2	1	0	0
Kai Roberts	2	0	0	0	0	1
Braedon Karpathios	4	1	1	0	1	2
Ryan Jackson	4	1	1	0	0	1
Albert Fabian	4	3	4	1	1	0
Romeo Sanabria	5	1	4	3	0	0
Luis Verdugo	4	0	1	2	0	2
Anthony Vilar	4	0	0	0	0	1

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Ian Koenig	7	5	0	0	1	4	0
Clay Edmondson	2/3	1	3	1	2	0	1
Harry Gustin	1/3	1	0	0	0	0	0
Josh Mallitz	1	2	1	1	0	1	1

TinCaps shackled By River Bandits; Ryan Wideman Steals 62nd

Three outs away from victory, the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps weren't able to even get one as the host Quad Cities River Bandits scored three times in the ninth for the 5-4 walk-off victory. The winning run scored on a wild pitch.

The TinCaps were held to just three hits, but did draw six walks. Padres fourth-round draft choice Robbie Lavey, a catcher out of George Washington, made his pro debut by going 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout while serving as the designated hitter.

Alex McCoy, Padres Mission's No. 14 prospect, went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, including his Midwest League-leading 27th double. Luke Cantwell followed McCoy's first-inning double with an RBI single, then McCoy followed a Ryan Wideman (Padres Mission's No. 4 prospect) forceout grounder and 62nd stolen base, the second-most in the minors, with a run-scoring single. After McCoy stole his 20th base of the season and Cantwell and Lavey walked to load the bases, Rosman Verdugo hit a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0. The River Bandits scored two in the fifth and then the three in the ninth.

TinCaps left-handed starter Luis Gutierrez, in his third start with Fort Wayne and fifth overall as he comes back from a left shoulder injury, went three shutout innings, allowing just one hit and one walk with four strikeouts. Right-handed Kannon Kemp then gave up two runs over five innings on five hits and three walks while striking out two. Right-hander Will Varmette came in for the save to begin the ninth, but gave up a leadoff homer, a walk, a single and a walk-off wild pitch.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Justin DeCriscio	4	0	0	0	1	2
Ryan Wideman	4	1	0	0	0	1
Alex McCoy	4	2	2	2	0	0
Luke Cantwell	3	0	1	1	1	1
Robbie Lavey	3	0	0	0	1	1
Rosman Verdugo	2	0	0	1	0	1
Carlos Rodriguez	4	0	0	0	0	1
Bradley Frye	2	1	0	0	2	1
Kasen Wells	3	0	0	0	1	2

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Luis Gutierrez	3	1	0	0	1	4	0
Kannon Kemp	5	5	2	2	3	2	0
Will Varmette	0	2	3	1	1	0	1

Joe Tiroly, Chris McHugh Homer In Pro Debuts As Storm Rally

Draft picks Joe Tiroly and Chris McHugh homered in their pro debuts, with McHugh's coming in a three-run eighth inning as the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm erased an 8-2 deficit to notch an 11-10 victory over the host Inland Empire 66ers.

Tiroly, the seventh-round draft choice out of Virginia, went 2-for-5 and scored two runs, hitting a solo homer down the left-field line with two outs in the top of the fifth inning off right-hander Will Armbruester to pull the Storm within 9-7. McHugh, an 11th-round pick out of North Carolina State, went 3-for-4 and scored twice, going deep to center off right-hander Jean Munoz with one out in the top of the eighth to tie the game 9-9. Qrey Lott also homered for the Storm as he went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Nu'u Contrades, a sixth-round selection who made his pro debut last week, went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, an RBI and a run scored.

After going down 9-2 thanks to an eight-run third inning by the 66ers, the Storm scored four runs in the fourth on a two-run double by Truitt Madonna and an RBI single by Contrades that also plated another run thanks to an error by the right fielder. Tiroly's homer in the fifth made it 9-7 and Lott had a sac fly in the sixth to pull the Storm within 9-8. McHugh's one-out homer in the eighth tied it 9-9, Jesmaylin Arias singled and was replaced by pinch-runner Dawson Willis, who stole second and third, then scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. Lott singled and Contrades doubled, then Alex Conover, the fourth-round compensation pick who joined the Storm last week, had an RBI groundout.

Storm right-handed starter Jesus Castro, Padres Mission's No. 16 prospect, lasted just 2⅔ innings, getting tagged for six runs on six hits and a walk while striking out four. Right-hander Brett Langley earned his third save by going the final 1⅓ hitless innings.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Nu'u Contrades	4	1	2	1	1	1
Alex Conover	5	0	0	1	0	0
Ty Harvey	2	0	0	1	2	1
Jorge Quintana	3	1	0	0	1	0
Joe Tiroly	5	2	2	1	0	2
Jose Verdugo	0	0	0	0	0	0
Truitt Madonna	5	1	1	2	0	2
Chris McHugh	4	2	3	1	0	1
Jesmaylin Arias	4	1	1	0	0	1
Dawson Willis	1	1	0	0	0	0
Qrey Lott	3	2	2	2	0	1

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Jesus A. Castro	2 2/3	6	6	6	1	4	0
Ryan Reed	1 1/3	3	3	3	2	1	1
Florangel Vasquez	3 2/3	2	1	1	0	5	1
Brandon Langley	1 1/3	0	0	0	1	1	0

Padres Mission's Top 20 Prospect Performance

1. Ethan Salas: 1-for-4, RBI
2. Kash Mayfield: Traded
3. Miguel Mendez: Traded
4. Ryan Wideman: 0-for-4, R, K
5. Kruz Schoolcraft: DNP
6. Jorge Quintana: 0-for-3, R, BB
7. Ty Harvey: 0-for-2, RBI, 2 BB, 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: 1-for-4, R, BB, 2 K
13. Jagger Haynes: DNP
14. Alex McCoy: 2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI
15. Truitt Madonna: 1-for-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI, 2 K
16. Jesus Castro: 2⅔ IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, BB, 4 K
17. Garrett Hawkins: DNP
18. Elliot Lascelles: In Arizona
19. Winyer Chourio: DNP
20. Rosman Verdugo: 0-for-2, RBI, K

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