Padres Minor League Report: Jhony Brito, Chihuahuas Capture Series Finale

On Sunday, San Diego Padres affiliates went 2-2. At Triple-A, the El Paso Chihuahuas rolled to a 7-1 victory over Reno, while the Double-A San Antonio Missions fell to Corpus Christi 5-3, the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps cruised past South Bend 6-2 and the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm were walked off by San Jose 4-3.

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Jhony Brito, Balanced Offense Fuel Chihuahuas In Series Finale

Dylan Grego had three hits and an RBI, Carlos Rodriguez and Nick Pratto drove in a pair of runs and right-handed starter Jhony Brito tossed 4⅔ shutout innings as the host Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas turned it on late for a 7-1 triumph over the Reno Aces. The Aces (35-40) won four of the six games in the series and are in third place in the Pacific Coast League's East Division.

Brito allowed just three hits, but did walk three while striking out five. In three starts for El Paso since being activated from the Padres' 60-man injured list following elbow surgery last season, Brito has allowed two runs in 13⅔ innings. Walks have been an issue with seven against his 13 strikeouts.

But that was enough to put the Chihuahuas in position to win. Pratto and Grego drove in second inning runs for a 2-0 lead. Reno came back with one in the top of the seventh, but then the Chihuahuas went to work. Anthony Vilar reached on an infield single that drove in Grego and came around on a wild pitch in the sixth to boost the lead to 4-1. Pratto drove in Pablo Reyes with a seventh-inning groundout before Rodriguez put this one out of reach with a two-run double in the eighth.

Chihuahuas right-hander Evan Fitterer allowed a run in 3⅓ innings, while right-hander Alek Jakob pitched a perfect ninth.

Walks Haunt Missions, Whose Ninth-Inning Rally Comes Up Short

In a game in which they had one hit through eight innings and issued a season-worst 13 walks, the Double-A San Antonio Missions still had a chance at victory in the ninth inning, but came up short in dropping the first-half finale to the host Corpus Christi Hooks 5-3. The Missions (31-38) won four times in the six-game series to finish in a tie for last in the Texas League's South Division with the Hooks.

The Missions, who went 24-18 in their final 42 games, had a bullpen game and fell behind 2-0 after two innings, 3-0 in the fourth and 5-0 in the seventh. But after being held without a hit following Braedon Karpathios' double leading off the second inning, the Missions made a push in the ninth.

Following a pitching change, Francisco Acuna doubled to right and took third on defensive indifference. After a strikeout, Albert Fabian singled home Acuna to make it 5-1. Karpathios, Padres Mission's No. 9 prospect, delivered his second double of the game, a ground-rule two-bagger that put Fabian on third. Luis Verdugo singled home Fabian for 5-2 and Kai Murphy reached on an error by the second baseman as Karpathios scored to bring it within 5-3. After a strikeout for the second out, Brendan Durfee walked to load the bases, prompting another pitching change. However, the rally died there as Ryan Jackson flew out to center.

Missions right-handed reliever Bernard Jose pitched 2⅔ hitless innings in his Double-A debut, walking one and striking out three.

Homers, Jamie Hitt's Strong Pitching Spark TinCaps

Alex McCoy homered early and Jack Costello capped a late flurry with a two-run blast as the host High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps beat the South Bend Cubs 6-2. The TinCaps (29-40, 2-1 second half) won four of the six games in the series to capture the season series 10-8.

TinCaps left-handed starter Jamie Hitt turned in a nice six innings, allowing a pair of runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Two of Hitt's three quality starts this season have come vs. the Cubs. Left-hander Ryan Och walked two and struck out three in 1⅔ hitless innings, while right-hander Tucker Musgrove, Padres Mission's No. 14 prospect, struck out two of the four batters he faced in a perfect 1⅓ innings. Musgrove was promoted to Double-A San Antonio after the game.

McCoy, Padres Missions No. 12 prospect, went 3-for-4 and scored twice, including belting his 12th homer of the season in the bottom of the second to tie the game 1-1. It was McCoy's second homer of the series, also going deep in Tuesday's opener. South Bend took a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning before the TinCaps took control late. Costello had a leadoff single in the seventh and scored on Zach Evans' double, with Evans taking third on an error. Wyatt Hoffman drove in Evans with a go-ahead single and went to second on Kasen Wells' flyout to center. Justin DeCriscio made it 4-2 with a single that brought in Hoffman.

In the eighth, McCoy had a leadoff single and, one out later, was able to trot home on Costello's seventh homer of the season for a 6-2 advantage.

Early Runs, Strong Bullpen Effort Not Enough In Storm Walk-Off Loss

A very strong outing by the bullpen was foiled by a walk-off homer as the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm dropped a 4-3 decision to the host San Jose Giants. The California League's two first-half champions split the six-game series, with the South-winning Storm (39-30, 0-3 second half) winning the first three games.

The Storm were down 2-0 when they scored three times in the top of the second. Truitt Madonna singled, Bradley Frye doubled him to third and Jorge Quintana, Padres Missions No. 6 prospect, drove both home with a single to right for a 3-2 lead. But the Giants tied it in the bottom of the third and won it in the bottom of the ninth on a leadoff walk-off homer by Jeremiah Jenkins.

Right-hander Carlos Medina started for the Storm and went two innings, giving up three runs. But from there, the bullpen was outstanding. Left-hander Joseph Herrera (one inning, two walks), right-hander Brandon Langley (two innings, one hit, one walk, one strikeout), right-hander Rordy Mejia (one inning, one strikeout), left-hander Cal Riehl (one inning, one hit, one strikeout) and right-hander Sean Barnett (one inning, one hit, one walk, one strikeout) kept the Giants off the board until the ninth.

Padres Mission Top 20 Prospect Performance

1. Ethan Salas: On injured list
2. Kash Mayfield: DNP
3. Miguel Mendez: DNP
4. Kruz Schoolcraft: DNP
5. Ryan Wideman: 0-for-4, 3 K
6. Jorge Quintana: 1-for-3, 2 RBI, BB, 2 SB, K
7. Ty Harvey: On injured list
8. Kale Fountain: Injured, out for season
9. Braedon Karpathios: 2-for-4, 2 K
10. Lamar King Jr.: DNP
11. Jagger Haynes: DNP
12. Alex McCoy: 3-for-4, HR, RBI, K
13. Truitt Madonna: 1-for-4, K
14. Tucker Musgrove: 1⅓ IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, SV
15. Garrett Hawkins: DNP
16. Michael Salina: DNP
17. Eric Yost: DNP
18. Rosman Verdugo: 0-for-3, BB, 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!