Padres Minor League Report: German Marquez Turns In Second Excellent Rehab Start

San Diego Padres affiliates took three of four Sunday, with the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas rolling to an 11-5 win over Sugar Land, the Double-A San Antonio Missions bouncing Wichita 7-4, the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps falling to Lake County 3-2 and the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm prevailing in 11 innings over Fresno 7-5.

Padres Minor-League Transactions

• El Paso Chihuahuas placed LHP Fernando Sanchez on the 7-day injured list.
• Lake Elsinore Storm activated 1B Luke Cantwell from the 7-day injured list.

German Marquez Shines In Rehab Start As Chihuahuas Win

Padres right-handed starter German Marquez was superb in his second rehab start with four scoreless innings and allowing just one hit, while Nick Solak and Nick Schnell each drove in three runs as the host Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas poured it on late for an 11-5 victory over the Sugar Land Space Cowboys. The Chihuahuas (27-36) won the final two of this six-game series.

Marquez, coming back from forearm nerve irritation that landed him on the 15-day injured list May 3, walked one and struck out two while throwing 47 pitches (28 strikes). He has allowed just two hits and no runs in 6⅓ innings. Marquez ran into a little trouble in the third inning. A leadoff walk was erased by a caught stealing, then he hit the next batter, who successfully stole second. A groundout moved the runner to third before Marquez struck out Cavan Biggio.

Solak, who had three hits and scored three times, and Clay Dungan hit homers for the Chihuahuas. Carlos Rodriguez had a fifth-inning single to keep his hitting streak going at 14 games, matching Mason McCoy for the longest on the team this year. El Paso had an early 2-0 lead on sacrifice flies by Carlos Rodriguez and Schnell in the first and fourth innings, then saw Sugar Land go up 3-2 with a three-run fifth. In the bottom of the six, the Chihuahuas started to click with another sac fly, this one from Blake Hunt, before Dungan smacked his six homer of the season, a two-run shot to break the tie for a 5-3 lead.

The Space Cowboys added a run in the top of the seventh, but the Chihuahuas came back with three more in the bottom half on Nate Mondou's RBI single and Schnell's two-run double and an 8-4 advantage. That scenario repeated itself in the eighth as the Space Cowboys got another run to pull within 8-5, then the Chihuahuas clawed back with three more in the bottom half as Solak lined an opposite-field three-run homer, his ninth of the year, that just cleared the wall. Solak has homered in seven of his last 14 games.

Chihuahuas left-hander Jackson Wolf came on after Marquez exited and gave up all five runs in 3⅓ innings on eight hits and a walk while punching out four. Right-hander Alek Jacob earned his third save by striking out three in 1⅔ innings.

Luis Verdugo Homers As Missions Finish Big Series Against Wichita

Luis Verdugo hit his first homer in nearly a month as the Double-A San Antonio Missions scored six runs over the middle three innings for a 7-4 win over the host Wichita Wind Surge. The Missions (25-32) took five of six games in the series, including the final four. They allowed eight runs in the five wins.

Carson Tucker, Ethan Salas, Braedon Karpathios, Kai Murphy and Kai Roberts each had two hits for the Missions, while Albert Fabian drove in two runs without a hit. Verdugo's homer was a two-run shot, his third of the season and first since May 12. He also homered in the April 2 season opener.

Missions right-handed starter Ian Koenig, making his second start of the series, didn't have the same success as he did Tuesday, when he allowed just one hit and an unearned run with seven strikeouts over seven innings. This time, Koenig went four innings and gave up three runs on four hits with five walks and a pair of strikeouts. Left-hander Omar Cruz allowed a run in two innings, right-hander Francisco Pena had a hitless eighth and right-hander Josh Mallitz struck out four over two shutout innings for his second save of the year.

Verdugo went deep in the fourth inning to put the Missions up 2-1, then Roberts, Tucker and Salas opened the fifth with consecutive singles to make it 3-1. A one-out wild pitch brought in another run and Fabian's groundout plated Salas for a 5-1 lead. In the sixth, after Wichita scored twice in the fifth, Verdugo walked, took second on a one-out wild pitch and scored on Murphy's single to right to go up 6-3. Wichita again countered with a run in the sixth. It stayed 6-4 until the ninth, when Salas had a leadoff single, stole second (his 12th of the year) and went to third on a wild pitch. After a popout, Fabian hit a sac fly to bring in Salas.

Jake Cunningham Homers Again, But First-Inning Errors Sink TinCaps

Jake Cunningham hit his fourth homer in three games, but it was a pair of unearned runs in the first inning that paved the way for the host High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps' 3-2 loss to the Lake County Captains. It was the TinCaps' fifth straight loss to conclude the six-game series in which Fort Wayne (24-33) gave up double-digit runs three times.

Coming off a three-homer game Friday, tying a club record, Cunningham smashed a solo shot on the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the first for his team-leading 14th of the season. Cunningham's blast made it a 2-1 game after the Captains scored twice in the top of the first thanks to throwing errors by starting pitcher Jamie Hitt and third baseman Zach Evans on back-to-back bunts.

Lake County added another run in the fourth on a triple and an RBI single. The TinCaps pulled within 3-2 in the sixth inning on consecutive singles by Justin DeCriscio and Rosman Verdugo to open the frame, a Cunningham walk to load the bases and Alex McCoy's sacrifice fly.

Hitt was solid for four innings, allowing all three runs, but only one was earned. He walked two, struck out four and gave up four hits. Left-handers Javier Chacon and Braian Salazar each went two scoreless innings and right-hander Tucker Musgrove, Padres Mission's No. 14 prospect, a perfect ninth. Chacon fanned three and Musgrove two, while that bullpen trio allowed just one hit.

Storm Notch 11-Inning Victory Over Grizzlies

Conner Westenberg scored on a wild pitch and Jose Verdugo singled home another run in the top of the 11th as the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm pulled out a 7-5 victory over the host Fresno Grizzlies. The win in the finale gave the Storm (33-24) a split of the six-game series. The Storm have a two-game lead over Rancho Cucamonga in the California League's South Division.

Ryan Wideman, Padres Mission's No. 5 prospect, homered, scored twice and stole his minors-leading 37th base. Verdugo and Luke Cantwell, just activated off the seven-day injured list, had two hits apiece, while Jorge Quintana, Padres Mission's No. 6 prospect, drove in two runs and Kerrington Cross reached base three times with a hit and two walks.

Storm right-handed starter Carlos Medina went 4⅓ innings, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts. After right-hander Nick Falter gave up a pair of runs on two hits and two walks with a pair of strikeouts in 2⅓ innings, the next four relievers allowed just one unearned run over the final 4⅓ innings.

Fresno scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game 4-4, both teams scored once in the 10th. Cantwell singled in Verdugo, who was the zombie runner and went to third on a passed ball. In the top of the 11th, Westenburg was the zombie runner and went to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch. Cross walked with two outs, stole second and scored on Verdugo's single to left for a 7-5 lead.

Storm right-hander Brandon Langley overcame a two-out walk to earn the save, the first of the year in his debut season.

Padres Mission's Top 20 Prospect Performance

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

Interested in learning more about the San Diego Padres' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!