Steve Drumwright

The San Diego Padres' four full-season affiliates went 1-3 to wrap up their weeklong series. The Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas dropped a tough 2-1 decision to Oklahoma City, the Double-A San Antonio Missions fell 8-6 to Springfield, the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps prevailed 9-3 over Dayton and the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm were outgunned 16-13 by Rancho Cucamonga. Padres Minor-League Transactions San Diego Padres activated LF Samad Taylor from the 10-day injured list. San Diego Padres sent RHP Nick Pivetta on a rehab assignment to El Paso Chihuahuas. San Diego Padres recalled 2B Sung-Mun Song from El Paso Chihuahuas. Nick Pivetta Fans 7 In Strong Rehab Start; Chihuahuas Lose Rehabbing Padres right-hander Nick Pivetta struck out seven over 4⅓ innings, looking sharp in his second outing of his second rehab stint, but the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas were walked off by the host Oklahoma City Comets 2-1. The Chihuahuas (74-57, 18-39 second half), who were seeking their first series win since the end of June, went 3-4 in the series, which included a doubleheader. Pivetta, whose first outing when his initial rehab assignment more than three weeks ago ended abruptly with him walking off the mound, restarted his assignment Tuesday at Low-A Lake Elsinore and experienced the normal first-start bumps. But jumping up to Triple-A for this start, Pivetta was up to the task. He threw 64 pitches, 44 for strikes. The only question about Pivetta's outing was his velocity. His four-seamer started out in the 94 mph range, which is what he was throwing at the beginning of the season before his flexor injury, but it ticked down slightly with each inning. His fastest pitch was 94.4 mph to rehabbing Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith in the first inning, while dropping down to 91.5 in the top of the fifth. Ethan Salas, Padres Mission's No. 1 prospect, was on base twice and drove in the Chihuahuas' only run, driving in Bryce Johnson on a broken-bat flair single to right to stake Pivetta to a 1-0 lead. It stayed 1-0 until the seventh, when the Comets got a two-out RBI single. With right-hander Alek Jacob on to start the bottom of the ninth, the Comets got a single, a flyout that advanced the runner to second, an intentional walk and an RBI single to right, with the runner scoring well ahead of the throw home. The Chihuahuas were held to four hits, with Nick Solak having two of them. Salas also had his third stolen base at Triple-A, giving him 17 for the season, matching the total he had in his first three pro seasons. Player AB R H RBI BB K Bryce Johnson, CF 2 1 0 0 1 1 Carlos Rodríguez, RF 3 0 0 0 1 0 Nick Solak, LF 4 0 2 0 0 0 Marcos Castañon, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 1 Ethan Salas, C 3 0 1 1 1 0 Mason McCoy, SS 4 0 0 0 0 0 Rodolfo Durán, DH 4 0 1 0 0 1 Nick Pratto, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 1 Gage Workman, 3B 3 0 0 0 0 1 Totals 30 1 4 1 3 5 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Nick Pivetta 4 1/3 2 0 0 1 7 0 Sean Boyle 2 2/3 5 1 1 0 2 0 Ethan Routzahn 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Alek Jacob (L, 6-7) 0 1/3 2 1 1 1 0 0 Totals 8 1/3 9 2 2 2 9 0 Alex McCoy's 3 Hits, 18th HR Not Enough For Missions Alex McCoy went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs, while Justin DeCriscio went 3-for-3, but the Double-A San Antonio Missions were done in by a five-run fifth inning that gave the host Springfield Cardinals an 8-6 victory. The Missions (55-71, 24-33 second half) went 1-5 in the series, while the Cardinals clinched the second-half title in the Texas League's North Division with two weeks left. Missions right-handed starter Eric Yost, Padres Mission's No. 16 prospect, was pounded for eight runs in 4⅓ innings, including three homers, all in the fifth. Braedon Karpathios, Padres Mission's No. 9 prospect, went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI, while McCoy, Padres Mission's No. 8 prospect, also walked once and scored once. The Missions were down 3-0 when they tied the game in the top of the fifth on Kai Roberts' sacrifice fly, Karpathios' RBI single and McCoy's run-scoring single. But the Cardinals then hit three homers in a five-batter span during their five-run rally. McCoy hit his homer, a 435-foot two-run shot, in the seventh. It was his third in 14 games with the Missions and 18th of the season. SA_0830.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Braedon Karpathios, RF 4 2 2 1 1 1 Alex McCoy, LF 4 1 3 3 1 0 Romeo Sanabria, 1B 4 0 0 1 0 0 Albert Fabian, DH 4 0 1 0 1 0 Jack Costello, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 1 Justin DeCriscio, 2B 3 1 3 0 1 0 Luis Verdugo, SS 4 1 1 0 0 2 Anthony Vilar, C 3 1 0 0 1 0 Kai Roberts, CF 3 0 0 1 0 2 Totals 33 6 10 6 5 6 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Eric Yost (L, 7-4) 4 1/3 9 8 8 2 4 3 Harry Gustin 0 2/3 1 0 0 1 0 0 Clay Edmondson 0 1/3 0 0 0 1 0 0 Garrett Hawkins 2 2/3 0 0 0 1 4 0 Totals 8 10 8 8 5 8 3 Lamar King Jr., Robbie Lavey Help TinCaps Win Home Finale Lamar King Jr. and fourth-round draft pick Robbie Lavey each drove in a season-high four runs as the host Fort Wayne TinCaps exploded for eight runs in a two-inning stretch to bounce the Dayton Dragons 9-4 in their home finale. The TinCaps (52-72, 25-33 second half) won twice in the six-game series. King, Padres Mission's No. 10 prospect, had three extra-base hits, two doubles and a triple, while Lavey had two hits and scored twice in his third multihit day in 13 pro games. Kasen Wells also had two hits and scored twice for the TinCaps. TinCaps right-handed starter Winyer Chourio, Padres Mission's No. 17 prospect, was solid over five innings, allowing two runs on four hits and five walks while striking out four. The bullpen was pretty good, with four relievers each going an inning, allowing a solo homer with three hits and no walks. The TinCaps trailed 2-0 entering the bottom of the fourth. Wells had a leadoff double and Rosman Verdugo a one-out walk when Lavey notched his third double of the season to tie the game 2-2. One out later, King doubled Lavey home for a 3-2 TinCaps lead. They broke it open with a five-run fifth. Yimy Tovar, Conner Westenburg and Wells had singles to load the bases. After a pitching change, Ryan Gerety, an undrafted free agent in his fourth inning, drew the first of his two walks to force in a run. After a strikeout, Lavey singled home two more runs to make it 6-2. One out later, King's second double of the game brought in another two runs for an 8-2 cushion. King accounted for the final run when his seventh-inning triple brought in Verdugo, who had singled. FW_0830.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Kasen Wells, CF 5 2 2 0 0 1 Ryan Gerety, LF 3 1 0 1 2 1 Rosman Verdugo, SS 3 2 1 0 1 2 Robbie Lavey, C 4 2 2 4 0 1 Kerrington Cross, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 1 Lamar King Jr., DH 4 0 3 4 0 0 Yoiber Ocopio, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 0 Yimy Tovar, 2B 4 1 1 0 0 2 Conner Westenburg, RF 3 1 1 0 1 2 Totals 33 9 10 9 4 10 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Winyer Chourio (W, 3-4) 5 4 2 2 5 4 1 Isaiah Lowe 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Jack Pineau 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 Sean Barnett 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 Jeferson Villabona 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 9 7 3 3 5 6 2 Joe Tiroly Goes Deep For 4th Time In 3 Games; Storm Drop Slugfest Seventh-round draft choice Joe Tiroly hit his fourth homer in three days and fourth-rounder Alex Conover drove in three, but the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm watched a 7-0 lead disappear with three four-run innings in a 16-13 loss to the host Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Tiroly, who has six homers in 13 pro games, led off the top of the ninth by crushing a 2-1 pitch off the batter's eye in center field to pull the Storm within 16-12. Nu'u Contrades, the Padres' sixth-round pick, added an RBI single with two outs, but the Storm couldn't keep the rally going. Tiroly, Conover, second-round pick Elliot Lescalles (Padres Mission's No. 11 prospect), Jose Verdugo and Ty Harvey (Padres Mission's No. 5 prospect) each had two hits. Tiroly, Verdugo and Qrey Lott each drove in a pair. As you might expect, the pitching was messy as the Storm allowed 16 hits and issued eight walks. LE_0830.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Elliot Lascelles, SS 5 1 2 0 1 1 Jose Verdugo, 2B 4 1 2 2 0 0 Nu'u Contrades, 2B 1 1 1 1 1 0 Alex Conover, CF 6 0 2 3 0 0 Chris McHugh, RF 3 1 0 0 1 2 Ty Harvey, DH 4 2 2 0 1 2 Joe Tiroly, 3B 5 1 2 2 0 2 Truitt Madonna, C 4 1 0 0 1 3 Dawson Willis, 1B 2 1 0 1 1 2 Augie Lopez, 1B 1 1 0 0 1 0 Qrey Lott, CF 3 1 1 2 0 2 Jesmaylin Arias, LF 0 2 0 0 2 0 Totals 38 13 12 11 9 14 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Luis Maracara 1 1 3 3 4 1 0 Rordy Mejia 2 5 4 4 3 1 0 Miguel Alvarez (L, 0-1) 3 5 5 5 1 2 1 Albert Roblez 1 2/3 4 4 4 0 3 0 Florangel Vasquez 0 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 8 16 16 16 8 7 1 Padres Mission's Top 20 Prospect Performance Ethan Salas: 1-for-3, RBI, BB Ryan Wideman: On injured list Coleman Borthwick: In Arizona Kruz Schoolcraft: DNP Ty Harvey: 2-for-4, 3B, BB, 2 K Kale Fountain: Injured, out for season Jorge Quintana: DNP Alex McCoy: 3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, BB Braedon Karpathios: 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, BB, K Lamar King Jr.: 3-for-4, 2 2B, 3B, 4 RBI Elliot Lascelles: 2-for-5, BB, K Tucker Musgrove: On injured list Jagger Haynes: DNP Jake Cunningham: DNP Truitt Madonna: 0-for-4, BB, 3 K Eric Yost: 4⅓ IP, 9 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 3 HR Winyer Chourio: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K, 1 HR Jesus Castro: DNP Michael Salina: DNP Rosman Verdugo: 1-for-3, BB, 2 K

The San Diego Padres encountered their first significant hurdle Saturday as they make a push for the postseason when Luis Rengifo, playing second base, sustained a serious knee injury while making a throw home during a 7-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. Rengifo, normally the Padres’ starting left fielder, was at second as manager Craig Stammen gave starting shortstop Xander Bogaerts the day off, with second baseman Jake Cronenworth sliding over to short. While testing will be done to determine the severity of Rengifo’s injury, it is likely to end his season as non-contact knee injuries often do. Rengifo was taken off the field on a cart following the incident in the seventh inning. With no outs and the bases loaded and the Padres holding a 6-3 lead, Yandy Diaz hit a sharp single over center fielder Jackson Merrill’s head and off the base of the wall. Merrill fielded the ball and threw in to Rengifo, who was covering second. With one run already in, Rengifo saw that Taylor Walls was caught between second and third as Cedric Mullins was still on third. As Rengifo ran toward third base, Mullins took off for home and Rengifo turned to make an off-balance throw, which was off the mark as he crumpled to the ground, allowing Mullins and Walls to score, tying the game 6-6. Rengifo has been a spark plug for the Padres’ offense since signing a minor-league contract after being released by the Milwaukee Brewers and coming up to replace Samad Taylor, who went down with an oblique injury. As it would happen, Taylor is now in line to replace Rengifo on the 26-man roster. The switch-hitter has a .291/.375/.409 slash line with four homers and 17 RBIs in 38 games. He has also scored 19 runs. While he has started 21 games in left field, Rengifo has been versatile since joining the Padres. He has made two starts at third base and Saturday was his first at second base, a position he played plenty during his first seven seasons with the Los Angeles Angels. But now Rengifo is down and the Friars must move forward. Taylor coming back up is the most sensible move. Taylor has spent the last two weeks on a rehab assignment with the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas, posting a .259/.375/.407 slash line in eight games. Taylor would likely have been the extra position player added when MLB rosters expand Tuesday. The good news is that Taylor is a very similar player to Rengifo in that he brings energy to a team. Taylor came up from El Paso on June 3 as the team was struggling offensively and put up a .330/.410/.398 slash line with one homer, 11 RBIs and six steals in 28 games before injuring his oblique. Dustin Harris, the only other left-handed-hitting outfielder besides center fielder Jackson Merrill, has had a nice start to his Padres career, going 5-for-10, including 3-for-4 Saturday. That part of replacing Rengifo is simple. But with the rosters expanding by two on Tuesday, with no more than one pitcher allowed, that creates more options for president of baseball operations A.J. Preller. Eventually, designated hitter-left fielder Miguel Andujar will come back from his fractured right wrist, but that move won’t be happening in the next few days. If sticking to players on the 40-man roster, that could mean that infielder Sung-Mun Song comes back up, but he was sent down to get consistent at-bats and has only been at Triple-A this week. Another option would be infielder Gage Workman, who was acquired along with Casey Mize from the Detroit Tigers at the trade deadline. Workman provides nice defense with the ability to play second, third and short while also able to slide into left field if needed. Calling up a third catcher is also in the cards. Rodolfo Duran and Blake Hunt made their MLB debuts when injuries sidelined Luis Campusano and Freddy Fermin. But like Workman, neither provides much offensively. Of course, there is the fan-favorite option of calling up Padres Mission’s No. 1 prospect, Ethan Salas. The 20-year-old has been having a fantastic season overall and in particular since being promoted to Triple-A El Paso on July 29. Salas entered Saturday with a .325/.402/.554 slash line with three homers and 22 homers in 22 games for the Chihuahuas. Combined with the beginning of his season at Double-A San Antonio, he has a .295/.371/.450 slash line with 10 homers and 59 RBIs in 94 games. He also has 16 steals. One final alternative could be a player who is already with the team on the taxi squad that could fill Rengifo's spot either until Monday, when the Padres begin a series on the road against the Cincinnati Reds, or Tuesday when rosters expand.

As expected, outfileder-infielder Luis Rengifo is headed to the injured list. Only he will have some unexpected company. The San Diego Padres on Sunday placed Rengifo and first baseman Gavin Sheets on the 10-day injured list, with outfielder Samad Taylor and infielder Sung-Mun Song called up from the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas. Rengifo was injured in Saturday's game when he made a sudden pivot to make an off-balance throw during a seventh-inning rundown. His injury caused an errant throw that allowed two more runs to score to tie the game in what would be a 7-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. Rengifo has a .291/.375/.409 slash line with four homers and 17 RBIs in 38 games. The injury is listed as a sprained right knee, but Rengifo was expected to fly back to San Diego to undergo more testing. More than likely, it will be a season-ending injury. Sheets went on the IL with a sprained left foot. Sheets, who went 0-for-4 in Saturday's game, was slashing .211/.313/.388 with 16 homers and 46 RBIs in 123 games. Rengifo's right oblique injury allowed for Taylor to return. Ironically, Taylor's oblique injury opened the door for Rengifo's addition to the Padres' roster July 8. Taylor helped bring energy to the Padres following his June 3 call-up as he had a slash line of .330/.410/.398 with one homer, 11 RBIs and six steals in 26 games. Song was sent down Monday to Triple-A in order to get more consistent at-bats as he was slashing just .202/.305/.263 with one homer and 15 RBIs in 62 games during his rookie season after coming over from the Korea Baseball Organization.

On a day in which one of the San Diego Padres' teams won the Dominican Summer League championship, the four full-season affiliates went 2-2 Saturday. The Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas were edged by Oklahoma City 3-2, the Double-A San Antonio Missions prevailed over Springfield 6-2, the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps fell to Dayton 7-3 and the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm triumphed over Rancho Cucamonga 4-2. But the biggest system news was Padres Gold repeating as DSL champions, winning 4-2 over the Reds. Padres Minor-League Transactions LHP Sean Fitzpatrick assigned to Lake Elsinore Storm from ACL Padres Ethan Salas Ties It Late, But Chihuahuas Tumble Carlos Rodriguez went 3-for-4 and Ethan Salas tied the game with an RBI single in the top of the eighth inning, but the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas gave up a run in the bottom half and dropped a 3-2 decision to the host Oklahoma City Comets. Rehabbing Padres left fielder Samad Taylor went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in perhaps his final rehab game following the injury to the Padres' Luis Rengifo. Former Padres right-hander Brent Honeywell made his return to the mound in nearly two seasons after signing a minor-league contract with the Friars this week. Chihuahuas left-handed starter Jagger Haynes, Padres Mission's No. 13 prospect, struck out five in five shutout innings, allowing just three hits. Right-hander Hans Crouse pitched a perfect sixth inning, then Honeywell made his first appearance since facing the Padres for the Los Angeles Dodgers at the end of the 2024 season. He gave up two unearned runs on a hit and a walk in one inning. Right-hander Logan Gillaspie pitched the eighth, giving up the go-ahead run. Nick Pratto gave the Chihuahuas an early 1-0 lead with a second-inning RBI single. It stayed that way until the bottom of the seventh, when the Comets scored twice. In the top of the eighth, Sung-Mun Song had a leadoff single. Two outs later, Marcos Castanon singled him to second and Salas, Padres Mission's No. 1 prospect, lined an opposite-field single to left-center off rehabbing Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski that tied the game 2-2. Salas has reached base in 21 of his 23 Triple-A games. But Gillaspie gave up a homer to begin the bottom of the eighth. EP_0829.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Sung-Mun Song, SS 5 1 1 0 0 1 Samad Taylor, LF 3 0 0 0 0 2 Kai Murphy, RF 2 0 0 0 0 0 Carlos Rodríguez, CF 4 0 3 0 0 0 Marcos Castañon, DH 4 0 1 0 0 2 Ethan Salas, C 3 0 1 1 1 1 Nick Solak, LF 3 1 0 0 1 2 Gage Workman, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 3 Nick Pratto, 1B 3 0 1 1 1 1 Bryce Johnson, PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 Clay Dungan, 2B 2 0 1 0 1 1 Mason McCoy, PH 0 0 0 0 1 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jagger Haynes 5.0 3 0 0 1 5 0 Hans Crouse 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Brent Honeywell 1.0 1 2 0 1 0 0 Logan Gillaspie 1.0 2 1 1 0 2 1 Missions Strike Early To Snap 7-Game Skid Braedon Karpathios banged the first pitch of the game off the left-field foul pole and Albert Fabian also went deep, while Ryan Jackson and Romeo Sanabria each had three hits as the Double-A San Antonio Missions beat the host Springfield Cardinals. The victory not only snapped a seven-game losing streak, but the Cardinals' 10-game winning streak as well. Missions left-handed starter Fernando Sanchez allowed only one run over a season-best 5⅓ innings, although he did walk six. Right-hander Johan Moreno went 2⅔ scoreless innings and right-hander Josh Mallitz allowed an unearned run in the ninth. Sanabria, who also doubled, had RBI singles in the first and fourth innings. Fabian hit his 11th homer in the third inning, a two-run shot that made it 4-0. Karpathios, Padres Mission's No. 9 prospect, has 15 home runs. SA1_0829.mp4 SA2_0829.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Braedon Karpathios, RF 5 1 2 1 0 1 Ryan Jackson, SS 4 2 3 0 1 0 Tirso Ornelas, LF 3 0 0 0 1 0 Romeo Sanabria, DH 4 1 3 2 1 1 Jack Costello, 3B 5 0 0 0 0 2 Albert Fabian, 1B 5 2 2 2 0 1 Kai Roberts, CF 4 0 1 0 0 1 Wyatt Hoffman, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 2 Brendan Durfee, C 4 0 0 0 1 2 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Fernando Sanchez 5 1/3 4 1 1 6 2 0 Johan Moreno 2 2/3 0 0 0 2 1 0 Josh Mallitz 1.0 1 1 0 0 0 0 Carlos Rodriguez's 3 Hits Not Enough For TinCaps Carlos Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, but the host High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps couldn't slow down the Dayton Dragons, who came out on top 7-3. The Dragons hit four home runs. Rodriguez had half of the TinCaps' six hits, while the Dragons had 12. It was the 13th multihit game for Rodriguez and third with three hits this year. TinCaps right-handed starter Kannon Kemp struck out seven, but gave up six runs on nine hits and two walks in four innings. Right-hander Carlos Medina went three innings, allowing a run and striking out three. Right-hander Bernard Jose pitched two hitless innings. FW_0829.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Ryan Gerety, LF 2 0 0 0 2 1 Kasen Wells, CF 4 0 1 1 0 0 Rosman Verdugo, SS 4 0 0 0 0 2 Luke Cantwell, 1B 3 1 1 0 1 1 Kerrington Cross, 3B 3 1 0 0 1 1 Carlos Rodriguez, C 4 0 3 2 0 0 Yoiber Ocopio, DH 3 0 1 0 1 1 Yimy Tovar, 2B 3 1 0 0 0 2 Robbie Lavey, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 Dylan Grego, RF 4 0 0 0 0 2 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Kannon Kemp 4.0 9 6 6 2 7 3 Carlos Medina 3.0 3 1 1 1 3 1 Bernard Jose 2.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Joe Tirloy Continues Power Surge With First 2-HR Game In Storm Win Seventh-round draft pick Joe Tiroly had the first two-homer game of his pro career and the bullpen pitched 5⅔ scoreless innings as the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm topped the host Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 4-2. Tiroly, who hit 16 home runs this spring at Virginia, hit solo homers in the third inning and fifth innings, one down the line in left and the second to center, to give him five home runs in 12 games with the Storm since his pro debut Aug. 11. He also homered Friday and has gone deep in three of his last five games. He homered in his very first game, too. Tiroly finished with three hits, also driving in a run with a sixth-inning single. Storm right-handed starter Tyler Schmitt gave up two runs in 3⅓ innings. But the Storm bullpen took over from there, allowing just four hits and no runs the rest of the way. Left-hander Andrew Wright, an undrafted free agent, went 1⅔ innings, while another lefty, eighth-rounder Sean Fitzpatrick, made his pro debut with a strikeout in one inning. Right-hander Jordan Valenzuela then struck out four in two innings and Yoesmerli Beltre pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save with the Storm. LE1_0829.mp4 LE2_0829.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Elliot Lascelles, 2B 3 0 0 0 1 0 Jorge Quintana, SS 4 0 0 0 0 0 Alex Conover, LF 4 0 1 0 0 1 Chris McHugh, RF 4 1 2 0 0 0 Ty Harvey, C 4 0 1 0 0 1 Nu'u Contrades, DH 4 1 1 1 0 0 Joe Tiroly, 3B 4 2 3 3 0 1 Dawson Willis, 1B 4 0 2 0 0 1 Qrey Lott, CF 4 0 3 0 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Tyler Schmitt 3 1/3 5 2 2 2 1 0 Andrew Wright 1 2/3 1 0 0 1 0 0 Sean Fitzpatrick 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Jordan Valenzuela 2.0 2 0 0 1 4 0 Yoesmerli Beltre 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 Padres Gold Wins Second Straight DSL Championship Box score Padres Gold capped an incredible season by winning their second Dominican Summer League championship, beating the Reds 4-2 in the decisive Game 3. Padres Gold are the first DSL team to repeat since the Rangers in 2013-14. Padres Gold had the best record in the regular season at 40-16, while Padres Brown had the worst at 11-44. Center fielder Endy Rio went 2-for-4 with a run scored, while catcher Dayquer Alfonzo, left fielder Cristian Benavides and first baseman Jeanfranco Fernandez each drove in runs for Padres Gold. The Reds took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third innings before Padres Gold took the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Third baseman Dawry Guerrero doubled to center and, after a pitching change, Fernandez followed with an RBI double to tie the game 1-1. Right fielder Gabriel Teran reached on a fielder's choice when the pitcher threw out Fernandez at third and moved to second on a wild pitch. Second baseman Yorvin Morla singled to the pitcher, who had a throwing error that allowed Teran to score the go-ahead run. Padres Gold added two runs in the eighth. Teran drew a leadoff walk and went to second on Rios' one-out single. Alfonzo singled to left to bring in Teran and send Rios to third. Alfonzo ended up on second due to an error by the left fielder. Designated hitter Sebastian Nadales walked to load the bases, then Benavides hit a sac fly to put Padres Gold up 4-1. The Reds got a leadoff homer in the top of the ninth, but right-handed closer Albieris Polanco picked up his third postseason save by retiring the final three hitters. Polanco had three saves in 23 regular-season appearances. Padres Gold right-handed starter Josias Figuereo allowed a run on two hits over three innings, while right-hander Wilfred Paca went 2⅓ scoreless. Right-hander Albert Perez, who was credited with the win, struck out three in 1⅔ innings. Left-hander Guillermo Romero got the first two outs of the eighth inning before giving way to Polanco. Padres Mission's Top 20 Prospect Performance Ethan Salas: 1-for-3, RBI, BB, K Ryan Wideman: On injured list Coleman Borthwick: In Arizona Kruz Schoolcraft: DNP Ty Harvey: 1-for-4, K Kale Fountain: Injured, out for season Jorge Quintana: 0-for-4 Alex McCoy: DNP Braedon Karpathios: 2-for-5, HR, RBI, K Lamar King Jr.: DNP Elliot Lascelles: 0-for-3, BB, SB Tucker Musgrove: On injured list Jagger Haynes: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 0 HR Jake Cunningham: DNP Truitt Madonna: DNP Eric Yost: DNP Winyer Chourio: DNP Jesus Castro: DNP Michael Salina: DNP Rosman Verdugo: 0-for-4, 2 K

The four full-season affiliates of the San Diego Padres went 1-3 Friday, while their Dominican Summer League team will play for a championship. The Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas rallied but lost to Oklahoma City 5-4 in 10 innings, while the Double-A San Antonio Missions fell to Springfield 10-6, the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps prevailed over Dayton 9-6 and the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm dropped a 6-1 decision to Rancho Cucamonga. In the DSL championship series, Padres Gold won Game 2 6-4 to force a decisive Game 3. Padres Minor-League Transactions RHP Brent Honeywell assigned to El Paso Chihuahuas from ACL Padres. Lake Elsinore Storm placed LHP Ryan Reed on the 7-day injured list. Chihuahuas' Ninth-Inning Blasts Can't Avoid Loss In 10th Despite back-to-back solo homers by Mason McCoy and Rodolfo Duran in the top of the ninth inning for the lead, the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas fell to the host Oklahoma City Comets 5-4 in 10 innings. Rehabbing Padres left fielder Samad Taylor went 0-for-4 with a walk and three strikeouts. He has a .259/.375/.407 slash line in eight rehab games and is a top candidate to return to the Padres when rosters expand Tuesday. Carlos Rodriguez went 3-for-5, while McCoy, Marcos Castanon and Bryce Johnson each had two hits for the Chihuahuas. Chihuahuas right-handed starter Ian Koenig turned in five solid innings in his Triple-A debut, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk, striking out four. Right-hander Daison Acosta struck out four in two hitless innings. The Chihuahuas were down 2-1 entering the ninth inning when McCoy lined the tying homer, his 10th of the season, out to left, then Duran followed with a no-doubter to left on a 1-2 pitch for a 3-2 lead. The Comets put together a rally in the bottom of the ninth to tie it and send the game to extra innings. The Chihuahuas scored once in the top of the 10th as Rodriguez singled home zombie runner Sung-Mun Song. Despite a Nick Solak walk, the Chihuahuas could push across another run. The Comets walked it off when Hyesong Kim singled home the tying run and Ryan Fitzgerald plated the winning run. EP1_0828.mp4 EP2_0828.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Sung-Mun Song, SS 5 1 0 0 0 1 Samad Taylor, LF 4 0 0 0 1 3 Carlos Rodríguez, RF 5 0 3 1 0 0 Nick Solak, 1B 4 1 1 0 1 1 Nick Pratto, 1B 0 0 0 0 0 0 Marcos Castañon, 2B 5 0 2 0 0 2 Mason McCoy, 3B 5 1 2 2 0 2 Rodolfo Durán, DH 3 1 1 1 1 1 Blake Hunt, C 4 0 0 0 0 3 Bryce Johnson, CF 3 0 2 0 1 0 Totals 38 4 11 4 4 13 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Ian Koenig 5 4 2 2 1 4 0 Daison Acosta 2 0 0 0 1 4 0 Ethan Routzahn 2/3 0 0 0 1 1 0 J.P. France 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 Hunter Stratton 1 1/3 5 3 1 1 2 0 Totals 9 1/3 10 5 3 4 11 0 Missions Dig Early Hole, Can't Escape Against Cardinals Giving up seven runs in the first two innings was too much for the Double-A San Antonio Missions to overcome in a 10-6 loss to the host Springfield Cardinals. The Cardinals have won 10 straight. Kai Roberts and Oswaldo Linares each had two hits and two RBIs, while Jack Costello hit a solo homer as part of a two-hit night for the Missions. Missions right-handed starter Abraham Parra didn't make it out of the first inning in his Double-A debut, only getting two outs while allowing five runs on five hits and two walks. Right-hander Sadrac Franco came on and gave up two runs in 2⅓ innings. The Missions were down 8-0 before they scored four in the fifth inning. SA_0828.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Braedon Karpathios, RF 5 0 1 0 0 2 Alex McCoy, LF 3 0 0 0 2 2 Ryan Jackson, DH 4 0 0 0 0 2 Jack Costello, 1B 4 2 2 1 0 0 Luis Verdugo, 3B 3 1 1 1 1 1 Justin DeCriscio, SS 3 1 1 0 1 0 Wyatt Hoffman, 2B 3 1 0 0 1 2 Oswaldo Linares, C 4 1 2 2 0 0 Kai Roberts, CF 4 0 2 2 0 1 Totals 33 6 9 6 5 10 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Abraham Parra 2/3 5 5 5 2 0 0 Sadrac Franco 2 1/3 2 2 2 2 3 1 Francis Peña 2 1 1 1 0 4 1 Harry Gustin 2 1 0 0 1 4 0 Igor Gil 1 2 2 2 2 3 0 Totals 8 11 10 10 7 14 2 Yimy Tovar's Big Single Helps TinCaps Rally Past Dragons Yimy Tovar capped a four-run seventh inning with a two-run double and Ryan Gerety went 3-for-3 in his first professional start as the host High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps upended the Dayton Dragons 9-6, snapping a seven-game losing streak. Robbie Lavey, the Padres' fourth-round draft pick this year, and Yoiber Ocopio had a pair of hits, with Lavey also driving in two. Leadoff hitter Kasen Wells was on base three times with two walks and a double, scoring three runs. Lamar King Jr., Padres Mission's No. 10 prospect, and Kerrington Cross each scored twice. Gerety, an undrafted free agent out of Northeastern, made his pro debut Thursday as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement in left field, so these were his first plate appearances. In addition to three hits, including a double, Gerety also walked, reaching base in all four plate appearances. His first hit was an RBI single. TinCaps right-handed starter Bryan Balzer went three innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts. He yielded two homers. Right-hander Will Varmette struck out three and allowed just one hit in two scoreless innings, while right-hander Sean Barnett gave up three runs in an inning. Right-hander Brandon Langley struck out three in two perfect innings and right-hander Jeferson Villabona had a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his first High-A save and first of the season in 29 appearances across three levels. The TinCaps trailed 3-2 when they scored twice in the bottom of the fifth on a Dylan Grego RBI double and a Lavey run-scoring single. The Dragons regained the lead with three in the top of the sixth, but the TinCaps rallied in the seventh. Wells reached on an error and, following two outs and a pitching change, Cross had an RBI double and King reached on a throwing error by the third baseman that plated Cross to tie the game 6-6. Ocopio followed with his first High-A double, Gerety walked to load the bases and Tovar hit a two-run go-ahead single for an 8-6 lead. Lavey added a run-scoring single that brought in Wells in the eighth. FW_0828.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Kasen Wells, CF 3 3 1 0 2 1 Dylan Grego, 2B 4 1 1 1 0 1 Robbie Lavey, C 5 0 2 2 0 1 Kerrington Cross, 3B 4 2 1 1 1 0 Lamar King Jr., DH 5 2 1 0 0 1 Yoiber Ocopio, 1B 4 1 2 1 0 1 Ryan Gerety, LF 3 0 3 1 1 0 Yimy Tovar, SS 4 0 1 2 0 2 Conner Westenburg, RF 4 0 0 0 0 1 Totals 36 9 12 8 4 8 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Bryan Balzer 3 5 3 2 2 4 2 Will Varmette 2 1 0 0 1 3 0 Sean Barnett 1 2 3 3 1 0 1 Brandon Langley 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 Jeferson Villabona 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 Totals 9 8 6 5 4 12 3 Storm Offense Silenced In Setback To Quakes; Adler Cecil Fans 8 The Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm had just four hits, two in the first inning, and gave up four early runs en route to a 6-1 loss to the host Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Jose Verdugo had two of the Storm's four hits and scored the lone run on fourth-round draft pick Alex Conover's first-inning single. Verdugo stole his 34th base and Conover his eighth. Storm left-handed starter Kruz Schoolcraft, Padres Mission's No. 4 prospect who only got one out in his start last week, made it through three innings, allowing four runs on six hits and a walk while striking out four. After right-hander Florangel Vasquez gave up two runs in 1⅓ innings, right-hander Adler Cecil struck out eight over the final 3⅔ shutout innings, allowing just one hit while walking three. Cecil has struck out 32 in 17⅔ innings with the Storm and 102 in 59 innings when you include his time in the Arizona Complex League. Player AB R H RBI BB K Elliot Lascelles, DH 4 0 0 0 0 0 Jose Verdugo, 2B 4 1 2 0 0 0 Alex Conover, LF 4 0 1 1 0 1 Jorge Quintana, SS 3 0 0 0 1 1 Nu'u Contrades, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 1 Jesmaylin Arias, RF 3 0 0 0 0 0 Truitt Madonna, C 3 0 0 0 0 0 Augie Lopez, 1B 2 0 0 0 0 0 Dawson Willis, 1B 1 0 0 0 0 1 Qrey Lott, CF 3 0 1 0 0 1 Totals 31 1 4 1 1 5 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Kruz Schoolcraft 3 6 4 4 1 4 1 Florangel Vasquez 1 1/3 2 2 2 2 2 1 Adler Cecil 3 2/3 1 0 0 3 8 0 Totals 8 9 6 6 6 14 2 Padres Mission's Top 20 Prospect Performance Ethan Salas: DNP Ryan Wideman: On injured list Coleman Borthwick: In Arizona Kruz Schoolcraft: 3 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K Ty Harvey: DNP Kale Fountain: Injured, out for season Jorge Quintana: 0-for-3, BB, K Alex McCoy: 0-for-3, 2 BB, 2 K Braedon Karpathios: 1-for-5, 2 K Lamar King Jr.: 1-for-5, 2 R, K Elliot Lascelles: 0-for-4 Tucker Musgrove: On injured list Jagger Haynes: DNP Jake Cunningham: DNP Truitt Madonna: 0-for-3 Eric Yost: DNP Winyer Chourio: DNP Jesus Castro: DNP Michael Salina: DNP Rosman Verdugo: DNP

Plans are great because, generally, they give you an outline of your intentions and how you will carry them out. They don’t always work, with varying degrees of success, but they certainly help when multiple people are involved. For the San Diego Padres, the plan for superstar third baseman Manny Machado, stated in spring training by manager Craig Stammen, was to rest him more through days off and being the designated hitter in order to have him fresher for the stretch drive. Well, that plan never really took shape and the Padres will be left to deal with those consequences. Entering this weekend’s series against the Tampa Bay Rays, there were only three times Stammen, the Padres' first-year manager, has not penciled Machado’s name into the starting lineup. Two of those came in April, the other came in July. Between April 28 and July 8, the last two days Machado sat, he played in 61 straight games. His streak before this weekend was 42. There are certainly at least two things at play here. Machado, who turned 34 in July, has been in a season-long slump, which has likely made him want to stay in the lineup to hit his way out of it. The other was the Padres’ poor play beginning in late May and lasting until they righted the ship two months later. Both are completely reasonable, especially considering Machado’s status as the Friars’ unofficial captain as a Hall of Fame-caliber veteran in his 15th season. But the Padres entered the series vs. the Rays with 28 games remaining. While there have been plenty of important games as the Friars have gone from three games below .500 to currently holding the No. 3 NL Wild Card, keeping Machado's production up by keeping him fresh would have been a nice accomplishment. Production, however, is what the Padres have been missing from Machado. He is going to finish 2026 with the worst slash line of his career, yet he still leads the team in home runs (24) and RBIs (72). His slash line entering the weekend was .214/.301/.402, a far cry from his career mark before this season of .279/.338/.486. Machado has battled various minor injuries this season, the latest being a bruise on his right index figure that flared up in Monday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. His reaction was almost like he had sustained a serious injury, but he remained in the game. Not exactly surprising stuff. While you can’t exactly give Machado the iron man label, you do have to remember that he came up as a can’t-miss shortstop in the Baltimore Orioles’ system following the Cal Ripken Jr. era, moving to third base because the O’s had J.J. Hardy at shortstop. Still, the desire to be in the lineup is admirable. Machado has played in more games than any other MLB player since the start of the 2015 season and is one of only two to appear in more than 1,700 games in that span. Prying him from the starting lineup is tough to do. But as Stammen continues to establish his management presence as opposed to his prior relationship with Machado as a teammate, he is going to have to force his third baseman to take more time off. In May, for instance, Machado put up a .127/.202/.324 slash line. A day or two off may have been beneficial. But there hasn’t been a terrific backup at third base, which also complicates the matter. Miguel Andujar is really more of a left fielder or designated hitter and has been out since July 20, while Sung-Mun Song is good defensively, but was just optioned because he hasn’t been able to put together consistent at-bats to get his offense going. The metrics show what Machado isn’t doing when compared to 2025, when he had a .275/.335/.460 slash line with 27 homers and 95 RBIs, as well as 14 steals (he has three this year). Machado’s numbers are down notably from 2025 in several categories: exit velocity from 92.9 mph (93 percentile) to 90.5 mph (73rd), barrel rate from 12.9% (80th) to 9.7% (72nd), hard-hit percentage 51.5% (92nd) to 44.7% (72nd) and bat speed 74.5 mph (84th) to 74.8% (80th). How has that manifested besides the career-worst slash line? One major way is Machado is tied for second in MLB in grounding into double plays with 19 (tied with Kansas City’s Salvador Perez and behind Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero’s 23). Machado had 16 last year and an MLB-worst 25 in 2024. His strikeout rate has also climbed to a career-worst 21.6% after sitting at 19.3% the previous two seasons. Alas, Machado’s reputation is built on two things: Posting every day and producing. “Yeah, he’s good at portraying the tough man,” Stammen said this spring. “That’s who he is. It’s a badge of honor for him. But we’ve also got to get the best out of him for a full season, not just in April and May.” Said Machado: “I’ll rest when I’m in the ground.”

As the San Diego Padres enter the final weekend of August, there is a really good argument that they have endured the toughest part of their schedule. Sure, there are four series remaining that will certainly test the Friars, but there will be plenty of chances to improve their standing so the games at the end of the season don't really matter that much. With four weeks and this weekend remaining, here is a look at what remains for the Padres in their pursuit of a spot in the postseason: Remaining Padres Schedule At A Glance Games remaining: 28 Home and road: 12, 16 Games vs. teams above .500: 15 Strength of schedule: 16th-toughest (.497 winning percentage) Padres Storylines in the Final Weeks What's At Stake? The Padres hold the third and final NL wild-card spot, trailing the No. 2 Philadelphia Phillies by two games and ahead by a game of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are sitting on the outside of the postseason picture entering the weekend. Realistically, three three teams are battling for two NL wild-card spots, although another team could get hot and enter the equation. It would also take a good slump by the Chicago Cubs to fall from the No. 1 wild-card perch. Rough Stretches Are Over After having 17 straight games without a day off before the All-Star break, 10 consecutive games after and then 16 in a row after their only day off besides the four from the break, the Padres are currently in a stretch of having five straight Thursdays off, including the next two. They will have one more day off the Monday of the final week of the regular season following 10 games in a row. Facing Contenders Of the nine remaining series, four are against definite contenders, with a fifth on the borderline at the moment. This weekend, the Padres hit the road for three games against the Tampa Bay Rays, who have the best record in the AL and are trying to stave off the New York Yankees for AL East supremacy. The second comes next weekend (Sept. 4-6) at home vs. the Yankees, who in addition to trying to chase down the Rays are looking to fend off the rival Boston Red Sox for the better AL wild-card seed. The Yankees currently hold the No. 1 AL wild card. The other two series you probably know about. Those would both come in the final week with a three-game trip up the 5 Freeway to face the rival Los Angeles Dodgers (Sept. 22-24), who comfortably lead the NL West over the Friars, for three games before concluding the regular season against the Diamondbacks (Sept. 25-27). The one series that comes against a questionable contender is Sept. 18-20 vs. the Miami Marlins. The Marlins enter the weekend just behind the D-Backs, but face a very loaded September schedule and could be out of the picture by the time they arrive at Petco Park. Close To Home (Mostly) The six-game road trip that starts this weekend is the last against teams not in the NL West. After the Rays, the Padres travel to the Cincinnati Reds (Monday-Wednesday), who have not truly been in the postseason picture for quite some time this year, although they do hang out on the periphery. Their final three road opponents are the San Francisco Giants (Sept. 11-13), the Colorado Rockies (Sept. 14-17) and the Dodgers. The Rockies series is a four-gamer before returning home to face the Marlins. The Padres, who are 31-34 away from Petco Park, do play on the road more than at home, which is the biggest downside to the remaining schedule. There is only one true homestand. That will be the six games against the Yankees and Washington Nationals (Sept. 7-9). The other two home series are separate three-game sets. When September Ends Baseball just works out this way. Facing the Dodgers and the D-Backs to end the regular season has always felt like impact games. Even with a rather favorable schedule before then and the opportunity for the Friars to minimize the importance, those final six games are going to come into play somehow. Perhaps it will be the Padres and Phillies battling for the No. 2 wild card, or maybe the Padres and D-Backs will be engaged in a sudden-death clash for the final playoff spot in the National League.

Thursday saw the San Diego Padres' four full-season affiliates go 1-3 and one of their Dominican Summer League teams lost the opener of the championship series. The Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas posted the only win, beating Oklahoma City 5-4, while the Double-A San Antonio Missions dropped a 7-2 decision to Springfield, the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps losing 9-3 in 10 innings and the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm falling 3-2. In Game 1 of the Dominican Summer League championship series, Padres Gold lost to the Reds 9-5. Padres Minor-League Transactions RHP Ian Koenig assigned to El Paso Chihuahuas from San Antonio Missions. El Paso Chihuahuas placed DH Will Wagner on the temporarily inactive list. El Paso Chihuahuas activated OF Kai Murphy from the Development List. RHP Abraham Parra assigned to San Antonio Missions from Fort Wayne TinCaps. Fort Wayne TinCaps placed OF Ryan Wideman on the 7-day injured list. OF Ryan Gerety assigned to Fort Wayne TinCaps from ACL Padres. Joe Musgrove Shines In Final Rehab Game; Chihuahuas Win It looked like Joe Musgrove was motivated to return to the Padres. The right-handed starter was extremely efficient in what is expected to be his final rehab start, pitching five-plus innings, while Ethan Salas went 3-for-4 with a triple in the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas' 5-4 victory over the host Oklahoma City Comets. Marcos Castanon homered as part of a 3-for-4, two-RBI day, also scoring three runs, for the Chihuahuas. Musgrove, coming back from Tommy John surgery and a spring training setback that will end up costing him five months of the regular season, threw all six of his pitches and consistently sat at 94 mph and reached 95 mph twice. He faced two batters in the sixth, yet only needed 60 pitches, 42 of which were strikes. As long as everything remains good, Musgrove is likely to return to the Padres' rotation either Wednesday in the series finale against the Cincinnati Reds or, more likely, back at Petco Park to open the New York Yankees series. This start was pushed back after he had a slight back injury while weightlifting last week. After needing just eight pitches to complete the first inning, it took him just 10 to finish the second, 12 in the third, nine in the fourth and 15 in the fifth. He only threw six pitches to the two batters he faced in the sixth, giving up a single and RBI double to Alex Freeland. He finished allowing five hits and no walks while striking out three. His max velocity was down from the 96.8 mph he had in his previous start Aug. 14. He topped out at 95.5 mph on a fourth-inning sinker and hit 95 once with his four-seamer, while regularly being at 94 mph. In the third inning, Castanon had an RBI double and Salas, Padres Mission's No. 1 prospect, brought in another on a chopper back to the mound that was booted by left-hander Cole Irvin to make it 3-0. Castanon then went deep to center, his team-leading 16th homer of the season, to put the Chihuahuas up 4-0. After the Comets scored off Musgrove in the sixth, Salas lined an opposite-field RBI triple to left-center to score Castanon. The Chihuahuas hung on as the Comets got a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth against right-hander Hans Crouse, but right-hander Alek Jacob came on to retire two of the three hitters he faced for his team-high ninth save. EP1_0827.mp4 EP2_0827.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Sung-Mun Song 4 0 0 0 1 0 Mason McCoy 5 0 1 0 0 1 Nick Solak 4 1 0 0 1 0 Marcos Castañon 4 3 3 2 1 0 Ethan Salas 4 1 3 1 1 0 Gage Workman 5 0 0 0 0 3 Rodolfo Durán 4 0 1 0 0 2 Clay Dungan 4 0 0 1 0 2 Bryce Johnson 3 0 1 0 1 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Joe Musgrove 5 5 1 1 0 3 0 JP Sears 3 1 0 0 0 2 0 Hans Crouse 1/3 1 3 3 2 1 1 Alek Jacob 2/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 Slow Starts Costs Missions In Setback To Cardinals Tirso Ornelas was on base three times and Romeo Sanabria had two hits, but the Double-A San Antonio Missions fell behind early in a 7-2 loss to the host Springfield Cardinals. The Missions struck out 18 times, including four each by Alex McCoy, Padres Mission's No. 8 prospect, and Braedon Karpathios, Padres Mission's No. 9 prospect. Ornelas had a double among his two hits and also had a walk, an RBI and a run scored. Ornelas doubled with two outs and scored on Sanabria's single in the top of the first. Ornelas then singled home Anthony Vilar, who had a leadoff walk, with two outs. Missions right-handed starter Victor Lizarraga gave up two runs in each of the first two innings en route to allowing five runs in 3⅓ innings on seven hits and two walks. He did strike out five. SA_0827.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Braedon Karpathios 4 0 0 0 0 4 Alex McCoy 4 0 0 0 0 4 Tirso Ornelas 3 1 2 1 1 0 Romeo Sanabria 4 0 2 1 0 1 Albert Fabian 4 0 1 0 0 2 Jack Costello 3 0 1 0 1 2 Justin DeCriscio 4 0 1 0 0 2 Wyatt Hoffman 4 0 0 0 0 2 Anthony Vilar 3 1 0 0 1 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Victor Lizarraga 3 1/3 7 5 5 2 5 1 Josh Mallitz 1 2/3 2 1 1 1 3 0 Garrett Hawkins 2 2 1 1 0 3 1 Johan Moreno 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 TinCaps Rally, But Fall After Another Big Inning In Extras Lamar King Jr. tied the game with an eighth-inning single, but the host High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps yielded another big inning in extra innings, falling to the Dayton Dragons 9-3 in 10. It was the third extra-innings loss in nine games so far on this homestand. One of those came Friday, when Great Lakes scored five runs in a 13-8 win in 10 innings. Kerrington Cross had two hits, including a homer, and scored twice, while King (Padres Mission's No. 10 prospect) also had two hits and drove in a pair. King had an RBI double in the second to pull the TinCaps within 3-1, then Cross hit his 16th homer of the season, fifth with the TinCaps, in the sixth inning, a two-run shot that tied it 3-3. In the eighth, Luke Cantwell singled, went to second on a grounder, then scored on King's single to left. A grand slam off right-hander Will Koger in the six-run 10th foiled what had been a good game by the bullpen. Left-hander Javier Chacon allowed one hit in three shutout innings, striking out four, while right-hander Jack Pineau, an undrafted free agent, went two hitless innings in his second pro game and first since being promoted Tuesday from Low-A Lake Elsinore. FW1_0827.mp4 FW2_0827.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Kasen Wells 4 0 0 0 1 1 Bradley Frye 4 0 0 0 1 2 Ryan Gerety 0 0 0 0 0 0 Rosman Verdugo 4 0 1 0 1 1 Luke Cantwell 5 1 1 0 0 2 Kerrington Cross 5 2 2 1 0 0 Lamar King Jr. 3 0 2 2 1 0 Yoiber Ocopio 4 0 1 0 0 1 Dylan Grego 4 0 1 0 0 0 Conner Westenburg 4 0 0 0 0 3 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Matthew Watson 3 5 3 3 3 4 1 Javier Chacon 3 1 0 0 1 4 0 Jack Pineau 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 Will Koger 1 1/3 5 6 5 1 2 1 Nick Falter 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 Lan-Hong Su Fans 7, Joe Tiroly Hits Third HR, But Storm Fall Seventh-round draft pick Joe Tiroly hit his third home run and right-handed starter Lan-Hong Su struck out a season-high seven over three shutout innings, but the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm gave up three late runs in a 3-2 loss to the host Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Su allowed just two hits and a walk while surpassing his previous best total in his debut season of five, which he tied last week in a four-inning outing. This was by far the best of the 19-year-old's 10 games with the Storm and rivals his best in 16 games this year. Right-hander Albert Roblez, the Padres' 16th-round draft pick and former Valley View High School (Moreno Valley) athlete, went two scoreless with three strikeouts in his second pro appearance, while right-hander Jordan Valenzuela pitched a scoreless sixth inning. But left-hander Zack Qin gave up three runs (two earned) in 1⅔ innings. Tiroly hit his second homer in four games and third in 11 pro games when he went deep to left field in the top of the fourth. Qrey Lott tripled and scored on Jose Verdugo's sacrifice fly in the fifth. LE_0827.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Jose Verdugo 3 0 1 1 0 0 Joe Tiroly 4 1 1 1 0 0 Chris McHugh 4 0 0 0 0 2 Ty Harvey 4 0 0 0 0 2 Jorge Quintana 3 0 0 0 1 3 Truitt Madonna 2 0 0 0 1 0 Elliot Lascelles 1 0 1 0 0 0 Jesmaylin Arias 4 0 1 0 0 1 Dawson Willis 3 0 1 0 1 2 Qrey Lott 4 1 2 0 0 2 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Lan-Hong Su 3 2 0 0 1 7 0 Albert Roblez 2 0 0 0 3 3 0 Jordan Valenzuela 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 Zack Qin 1 2/3 4 3 2 1 2 0 Andrew Wright 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 Padres Gold Drop Game 1 Of DSL Championship Series Box score Dayquer Alfonzo drove in four runs and Sebastian Nadales hit just his second homer of the season, but Padres Gold dropped the opener of the Dominican Summer League championship series 9-5. Game 2 of the best-of-three series is Friday. Alfonzo ranked ninth in the DSL regular season with 49 RBIs and had three more in five postseason games before his four in Game 1. Padres Mission's Top 20 Prospects Performance Ethan Salas, C: 3-for-4, 3B, RBI, BB Ryan Wideman, CF: On injured list Coleman Borthwick, RHP: In Arizona Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP: DNP Ty Harvey, C: 0-for-4, 2 K Kale Fountain, OF: Injured, out for season Jorge Quintana, SS: 0-for-3, BB, 3 K Alex McCoy, LF: 0-for-4, 4 K Braedon Karpathios, RF: 0-for-4, 4 K Lamar King Jr., C: 2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB Elliot Lascelles, SS: 1-for-1 Tucker Musgrove, RHP: On injured list Jagger Haynes, LHP: DNP Jake Cunningham, OF: DNP Truitt Madonna, C: 0-for-2, BB Eric Yost, RHP: DNP Winyer Chourio, RHP: DNP Jesus Castro, RHP: DNP Michael Salina, RHP: DNP Rosman Verdugo, SS: 1-for-4, BB, K

Wednesday saw the San Diego Padres' four full-season affiliates go 1-4 with the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas splitting a doubleheader with Oklahoma City, winning 5-4 in eight innings and losing 6-0, the Double-A San Antonio Missions getting crushed by Springfield 14-4, the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps falling 2-1 to Dayton and the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm were scorched by the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 14-1. Padres Minor-League Transactions San Diego Padres placed RHP Jeremiah Estrada on the 15-day injured list retroactive to August 25, 2026. Right shoulder impingement. San Diego Padres recalled RHP David Morgan from El Paso Chihuahuas. Samad Taylor Comes Through Late As Chihuahuas Settle For Split Rehabbing Padres left fielder Samad Taylor went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, including a go-ahead double in the top of the eighth inning as the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas won the first game of a doubleheader against the host Oklahoma City Comets 5-4. The second game did not need an extra inning as the Comets blanked the Chihuahuas 6-0. The doubleheader was the makeup of a July 11 rainout. The Chihuahuas trailed the opener 2-0 entering the top of the sixth, when Taylor, Carlos Rodriguez and Ethan Salas, Padres Mission's No. 1 prospect, each had run-scoring singles, with Salas' coming with two outs. The Comets tied it in the bottom of the sixth. Taylor opened the eighth with a double off the wall in right-center to bring in zombie runner Bryce Johnson. Salas also stole a base and has reached base in 19 of 21 games at Triple-A with hits in 15 of those. Taylor didn't play in the nightcap and has a .304/.407/.478 slash line in seven rehab games. Chihuahuas right-handed starter Jhony Brito gave up two runs in five innings, while right-hander Ethan Routzahn pitched the final two hitless innings, allowing an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth. The Chihuahuas were held to six hits in the second game, with Rodriguez getting two. He was 4-for-7 in the two games. Right-handed starter Evan Fitterer allowed four runs (one earned) in 2⅓ innings, while right-hander Logan Gillaspie surrendered two runs in 2⅔ innings. Right-hander Jose Leclerc pitched a scoreless sixth. Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove is scheduled to make what should be his final rehab start Thursday. First pitch is 4:35 p.m. PT. EP1_0826.mp4 EP2_0826.mp4 FIRST GAME Player AB R H RBI BB K Samad Taylor, CF 4 2 2 2 0 2 Gage Workman, 2B 3 0 1 0 0 0 Carlos Rodríguez, LF 4 1 2 1 0 1 Marcos Castañon, DH 4 0 0 0 0 1 Ethan Salas, C 3 0 1 1 0 0 Mason McCoy, SS 3 0 0 0 0 1 Nick Pratto, 1B 2 0 0 0 0 1 Clay Dungan, 3B 3 0 0 0 0 3 Bryce Johnson, RF 2 2 0 0 1 1 Totals 28 5 6 4 1 10 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jhony Brito 5 7 2 2 0 2 0 Hunter Stratton 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 Ethan Routzahn 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 SECOND GAME Player AB R H RBI BB K Will Wagner, 3B 3 0 1 0 0 0 Carlos Rodríguez, RF 3 0 2 0 0 0 Nick Solak, LF 3 0 0 0 0 1 Gage Workman, SS 3 0 1 0 0 2 Marcos Castañon, 2B 3 0 1 0 0 0 Mason McCoy, CF 2 0 1 0 0 0 Nick Pratto, 1B 2 0 0 0 1 1 Blake Hunt, C 3 0 0 0 0 1 Rodolfo Durán, DH 2 0 0 0 0 1 Totals 24 0 6 0 1 6 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Evan Fitterer 2 1/3 3 4 1 2 2 0 Logan Gillaspie 2 2/3 5 2 2 0 2 1 José Leclerc 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 Missions Can't Handle Cardinals' Power Tirso Ornelas homered and Alex McCoy had two hits and an RBI, but the Double-A San Antonio Missions were hammered by the host Springfield Cardinals 14-4. The Cardinals hit four homers. Missions left-handed starter Luis Gutierrez only made it through 1⅔ innings, giving up two runs on 52 pitches. The Missions were down 6-1 after four innings, with the Cardinals adding three in the six, three in the seventh and two in the eighth. McCoy, Padres Mission's No. 8 prospect, had an RBI single in the fifth to pull the Missions within 6-2, while Ornelas hit a solo homer in the eighth, his 14th of the season. SA_0826.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Albert Fabian, LF 3 0 1 0 0 1 Alex McCoy, RF 4 0 2 1 0 0 Tirso Ornelas, DH 4 1 1 1 0 0 Romeo Sanabria, 1B 4 1 1 0 0 0 Ryan Jackson, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 1 Justin DeCriscio, SS 3 0 1 0 1 0 Luis Verdugo, 3B 2 1 0 0 1 1 Oswaldo Linares, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 Brendan Durfee, C 3 0 0 1 0 1 Kai Roberts, CF 3 1 0 0 1 2 Totals 31 4 7 3 3 6 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Luis Gutierrez 1 2/3 4 2 2 2 2 0 Igor Gil 1 1/3 0 0 0 1 1 0 Jamie Hitt 2 1/3 5 6 6 3 1 2 Clay Edmondson 1 2/3 2 4 4 2 0 2 Wyatt Hoffman 1 2 2 2 2 1 0 Carson Montgomery Fans 6, But TinCaps Edged By Dragons Right-handed starter Carson Montgomery struck out six over four innings, but only got one run of support as the host High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps fell to the Dayton Dragons 2-1. Yoiber Ocopio and Conner Westenburg each had two hits as the TinCaps outhit the Dragons 9-5. Westenburg accounted for the TinCaps' lone run in the third inning when he tripled to the gap in left-center and scored when the shortstop's relay throw skipped past the third baseman. Westenburg has four extra-base hits, including two triples, in 15 games since being promoted from Low-A Lake Elsinore. Montgomery allowed single runs in the second and third innings, giving up three hits and two walks to go along with the six strikeouts. Right-handers Isaiah Lowe (two innings), Bernard Jose (two innings) and Jefferson Villabona (one inning) combined to allow two hits and no runs while each striking out a pair. FW_0826.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Kasen Wells, LF 3 0 1 0 1 1 Bradley Frye, SS 4 0 1 0 0 1 Robbie Lavey, C 4 0 0 0 0 1 Kerrington Cross, 3B 3 0 0 0 1 1 Carlos Rodriguez, DH 4 0 0 0 0 4 Yoiber Ocopio, 1B 4 0 2 0 0 1 Yimy Tovar, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 2 Dylan Grego, RF 4 0 1 0 0 2 Conner Westenburg, CF 4 1 2 0 0 1 Totals 34 1 8 0 2 14 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Carson Montgomery 4 3 2 2 2 6 1 Isaiah Lowe 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 Bernard Jose 2 1 0 0 1 2 0 Jeferson Villabona 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 Early Homers Knock Out Storm The Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm were held to just two hits as the host Rancho Cucamonga Quakes cruised to a 14-1 victory. Ty Harvey had a one-out single in the second inning and 10th-round draft pick Augie Lopez hit his first pro homer, a solo shot in the eighth. Storm right-handed starter Cameron Nohos had his second rough start in a row, giving up three homers while allowing eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits and no walks with a strikeout in 1⅓ innings. LE_0826.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Elliot Lascelles, SS 4 0 0 0 0 0 Alex Conover, LF 3 0 0 0 0 1 Joe Tiroly, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 1 Chris McHugh, RF 4 0 0 0 0 2 Nu'u Contrades, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 2 Ty Harvey, DH 4 0 1 0 0 0 Augie Lopez, 1B 3 1 1 1 0 0 Truitt Madonna, C 2 0 0 0 1 1 Dawson Willis, CF 1 0 0 0 1 0 Totals 29 1 2 1 2 7 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Cameron Nohos 1 1/3 8 8 7 0 1 3 Yoesmerli Beltre 1 2/3 2 0 0 0 2 0 Michael Salina 2 3 1 1 0 1 0 Ryan Reed 1 4 4 4 2 1 0 Miguel Alvarez 2 3 1 1 1 2 0 Padres Mission's Top 20 Prospect Performance Ethan Salas, C: 1-for-3, RBI (Game 1), DNP (Game 2) Ryan Wideman, CF: DNP Coleman Borthwick, RHP: In Arizona Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP: DNP Ty Harvey, C: 1-for-4 Kale Fountain, OF: Injured, out for season Jorge Quintana, SS: DNP Alex McCoy, LF: 2-for-4, RBI Braedon Karpathios, RF: DNP Lamar King Jr., C: DNP Elliot Lascelles, SS: 0-for-4 Tucker Musgrove, RHP: On injured list Jagger Haynes, LHP: DNP Jake Cunningham, OF: DNP Truitt Madonna, C: 0-for-2, BB Eric Yost, RHP: DNP Winyer Chourio, RHP: DNP Jesus Castro, RHP: DNP Michael Salina, RHP: two innings, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K Rosman Verdugo, SS: DNP

The San Diego Padres' vaunted bullpen has taken a hit. Right-handed reliever Jeremiah Estrada was placed on the 15- day injured list by the Padres on Wednesday due to a right shoulder impingement. Right-handed reliever David Morgan was called up from the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas. Estrada last pitched in Monday's 3-2 loss in 12 innings to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He handled the 12th inning and gave up the go-ahead run on a leadoff single. For the season, Estrada has a 3.02 FIP (3.48 ERA) with a 12.7% walk rate and 30.2% strikeout rate over 31 innings and 33 games. This is Estrada's third trip to the IL this year. In April, he had right elbow tendinitis that kept him out three weeks, then Estrada missed nearly two months (June 5-July 29) due to right knee inflammation. Morgan is back with the Padres for the third time this season. He was optioned to Triple-A on April 30 following early struggles, then came back up June 5, replacing Estrada at that time, too. But he then landed on the 15-day IL on June 29 with inflammation in his left knee. Once healthy, he came off the IL and optioned to El Paso. He has a 4.08 FIP (4.50 ERA) and a walk rate of 12.4% and a strikeout rate of 24.8%.

While there is a lot to determine about his future, Yu Darvish is giving himself a chance to make a decision about returning to the San Diego Padres. Darvish threw a second bullpen session before Wednesday's Padres-Pittsburgh Pirates game at Petco Park, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. Darvish, who turned 40 on Aug. 16, had internal brace surgery on his right elbow in October. He is currently on the Padres' restricted list (an agreed-upon move), which means he is not receiving his $16 million salary for 2026. Darvish is under contract for $15 million for each of the 2027 and 2028 seasons. Regardless of the business side of things, the popular Padres pitcher being back on a mound even in a light bullpen session is a positive step in his recovery from elbow surgery. Darvish indicated to MLB.com that he doesn't know if he intends to be part of the Padres in 2027, but this does allow him the opportunity to keep that a possibility. Darvish made 15 starts in 2025 with a 4.82 FIP (5.38 ERA).

With just a few weeks left in the minor-league season, the San Diego Padres' four full-season affiliates went 1-3, while a short-season one will be playing for a championship. The Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas hung on for a 4-3 win over Oklahoma City, the Double-A San Antonio Missions were dumped by Springfield 8-0, the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps fell to Dayton 9-6 and the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm dropped a 5-3 decision to Rancho Cucamong. In the Dominican Summer League, Padres Gold swept its semifinal series with an 8-3 win over Giants Black. Padres Minor-League Transactions San Diego Padres sent RHP Nick Pivetta on a rehab assignment to Lake Elsinore Storm. San Diego Padres optioned 2B Sung-Mun Song to El Paso Chihuahuas. San Diego Padres selected the contract of LF Dustin Harris from El Paso Chihuahuas. San Antonio Missions placed RHP Tucker Musgrove on the 7-day injured list. San Antonio Missions activated C Oswaldo Linares from the Development List. RHP Jack Pineau assigned to Fort Wayne TinCaps from Lake Elsinore Storm. RHP Miguel Alvarez assigned to Lake Elsinore Storm from ACL Padres. Gage Workman, Sean Boyle Spearhead Chihuahuas' Victory Gage Workman went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and right-handed starter Sean Boyle went six solid innings as the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas turned back the host Oklahoma City Comets 4-3. Rehabbing Padres left fielder Samad Taylor went 0-for-2 with a walk and two strikeouts, while Mason McCoy had two hits and an RBI and Blake Hunt had a triple, an RBI and two walks for the Chihuahuas. For Workman, it was his third straight multihit game. Rehabbing Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith hit a two-run homer for the Comets. Boyle earned his ninth win by allow two runs on six hits and three walks while striking out three. He did give up Smith's homer in the fifth inning. Right-hander J.P. France allowed a run in 1⅓ innings, while right-hander Alek Jacob went the final 1⅔ innings without allowing a hit. The Chihuahuas scored two in the third and two in the fifth. Hunt had a leadoff triple to center in the third inning and scored after two walks on an RBI single by Carlos Rodriguez. After a flyout, Workman singled home Ethan Salas, Padres Mission's No. 1 prospect who had walked. In the fifth, Nick Solak had a one-out single, Workman doubled him to third, Will Wagner walked to load the bases and McCoy singled home Solak. After a popout, Hunt drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 4-0. Smith homered in the bottom of the inning and the Comets pulled within 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth. EP_0825.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Samad Taylor 2 0 0 0 1 2 Ethan Salas 4 1 0 0 1 1 Carlos Rodríguez 4 0 1 1 1 1 Nick Solak 5 1 1 0 0 0 Gage Workman 5 1 3 1 0 1 Will Wagner 2 0 0 0 3 1 Mason McCoy 4 0 2 1 0 1 Nick Pratto 4 0 0 0 0 1 Blake Hunt 2 1 1 1 2 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Sean Boyle 6 6 2 2 3 3 1 J.P. France 1 1/3 2 1 1 1 1 0 Alek Jacob 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 Missions Shut Out, Give Up Four Homers Right-handed starter Eric Yost was tagged for doube-digit hits and three homers as the Double-A San Antonio Missions were blanked by the host Springfield Cardinals. Springfield had four homers overall. Yost, Padres Mission's No. 16 prospect, gave up 11 of the Cardinals 15 hits over five innings, allowing six runs. He surrendered a pair of solo homers in the first inning. Left-hander Harry Gustin allowed two runs in two innings, while right-hander Francisco Pena pitched a scoreless eighth. Luis Verdugo had two of the Missions' seven hits. Player AB R H RBI BB K Braedon Karpathios 4 0 0 0 0 3 Alex McCoy 4 0 1 0 0 3 Tirso Ornelas 3 0 1 0 1 0 Romeo Sanabria 3 0 1 0 1 2 Ryan Jackson 4 0 0 0 0 2 Albert Fabian 4 0 0 0 0 1 Luis Verdugo 4 0 2 0 0 0 Justin DeCriscio 3 0 1 0 0 1 Anthony Vilar 3 0 1 0 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Eric Yost 5 11 6 6 1 4 3 Harry Gustin 2 2 2 2 0 3 1 Francis Peña 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 TinCaps Can't Keep Up With Dragons Kasen Wells hit a two-run homer and Luke Cantwell also drove in a pair, but the host High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps were toppled by the Dayton Dragons 9-6. Fourth-round draft pick Robbie Lavey went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, while Kerrington Cross also had two hits for the TinCaps. TinCaps right-handed starter Winyer Chourio, Padres Mission's No. 17 prospect, struck out seven in 2⅔ innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on four hits and no walks. The TinCaps had two nice relief outings. Right-hander Nick Falter went 1⅔ hitless innings, while right-hander Will Varmette struck out five in the final 2⅓ innings. Lavey had an RBI single and Cantwell a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first for a 2-0 TinCaps lead. The Dragons tied it in the top of the second, with the TinCaps getting two more in the bottom half on Wells' second homer of the year. Wells' other homer was an inside-the-parker June 19. It was more back-and-forth in the third as the Dragons got another two, but the TinCaps only got one back on Cantwell's RBI single that put Fort Wayne up 5-4. The Dragons took the lead with a two-run fifth and tacked on three more in the seventh. FW_0825.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Kasen Wells 5 2 2 2 0 0 Bradley Frye 5 1 1 0 0 3 Rosman Verdugo 4 0 0 0 0 1 Robbie Lavey 4 1 2 1 0 2 Lamar King Jr. 4 0 0 0 0 1 Luke Cantwell 2 1 1 2 1 0 Kerrington Cross 4 0 2 0 0 1 Dylan Grego 4 1 1 1 0 0 Conner Westenburg 2 0 1 0 1 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Winyer Chourio 2 2/3 4 4 2 0 7 1 Carlos Medina 1 2/3 3 2 2 0 1 0 Nick Falter 1 2/3 0 0 0 1 2 0 Sean Barnett 2/3 3 3 3 1 1 0 Will Varmette 2 1/3 1 0 0 1 5 0 Nick Pivetta Returns To Mound, Turns In 3 Innings In Storm Loss Nick Pivetta's second attempt at a rehab outing went much better than the first. The Padres' right-handed starter went three innings in the Low-A Lake Elisnore Storm's 5-3 loss to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. The Storm have lost eight straight. Pivetta was three weeks removed from walking off the mound during his first rehab outing with right elbow discomfort. It turned out to be more of a scare than a setback, although it was that, too. Pivetta went 48 pitches (35 strikes), allowing three runs on four hits and a walk with four strikeouts. He was taken deep twice by third-round Los Angeles Angels draft pick Gavin Grahovac. Otherwise, Pivetta looked decent for a first rehab outing. He struggled a bit in the first inning, throwing 28 pitches and giving up a pair of runs on two three hits. He was very sharp in his second inning, throwing eight pitches, all strikes, and covering first base on an inning-ending grounder to the first baseman. He had a pitch-clock violation in the third inning and also yielded Grahovac's second homer of the day. Grahovac entered with three homers in his first 16 pro games. Sixth-round draft pick Nu'u Contrades hit his third pro homer, while Jose Verdugo and Dawson Willis each went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored for the Storm. After Pivetta left, right-hander Rordy Mejia pitched a scoreless fourth and right-hander Jesus Castro, normally a starter, pitched the final four innings in relief, striking out seven while allowing two runs on four hits and no walks. The game was tied 3-3 going into the sixth, where the Quakes scored twice. LE2_0825.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Elliot Lascelles 4 0 0 0 0 3 Jose Verdugo 3 1 2 0 1 0 Alex Conover 2 0 1 0 2 0 Ty Harvey 4 0 0 1 0 1 Jorge Quintana 4 0 0 0 0 2 Nu'u Contrades 3 1 1 1 1 1 Jesmaylin Arias 4 0 1 0 0 2 Qrey Lott 4 0 0 0 0 4 Dawson Willis 3 1 2 0 1 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Nick Pivetta 3 4 3 3 1 4 2 Rordy Mejia 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 Jesus A. Castro 4 4 2 2 0 7 0 Padres Gold Advance To DSL Championship Series Box score Padres Gold scored all eight runs in the final four innings, including a four-run eighth inning, to beat Giants Black 8-3 and sweep the best-of-three Dominican Summer League semifinal series. Padres Gold advances to face the Reds, who swept Royals Fortuna in the other semifinal. The championship series is also a best-of-three. While being outhit 9-6, Padres Gold drew 11 walks, while their pitchers only issued four. Second baseman Yorvin Morla capped the four-run top of the eighth with a two-run double. Catcher Dayquer Alfonzo had a double and a triple, scoring twice. Former Padres prospect Joniel Hernandez, traded to the San Francisco Giants in the Robbie Ray deal, had an RBI single in the third inning. Padres Mission's Top 20 Prospect Performance Ethan Salas: 0-for-4, BB, K Ryan Wideman: DNP Coleman Borthwick: In Arizona Kruz Schoolcraft: DNP Ty Harvey: 0-for-4, RBI, K Kale Fountain: Injured, out for season Jorge Quintana: 0-for-4, 2 K Alex McCoy: 1-for-4, 3 K Braedon Karpathios: 0-for-4, 3 K Lamar King Jr.: 0-for-4, K Elliot Lascelles: 0-for-4, 3 K Tucker Musgrove: On injured list Jagger Haynes: DNP Jake Cunningham: DNP Truitt Madonna: DNP Eric Yost: 5 IP, 11 H, 6 R, 6 ER, BB, 4 K, 3 HR Winyer Chourio: 2⅔ IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, HR Jesus Castro: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K Michael Salina: DNP Rosman Verdugo: 0-for-4, HBP, K

Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones had about 50 minutes on Monday to give a first impression of themselves to San Diego Padres fans during their introductory press conference. And the new owners of San Diego’s largest professional sports team appeared to hit a home run. Now, the hard work begins and making sure that first swing wasn’t their best swing. From all impressions, it won’t be. Feliciano and Jones felt genuine and relatable, not typical traits for a billionaire couple. Feliciano and Jones, who purchased the Padres for an MLB-record $3.9 billion, emphasized family and community, two things that were important to former owner Peter Seidler, who died in November 2024, leading to the sale of the team. But as successful business owners, they also know that while those endeavors are important, so is winning. “We understand that the Padres, this organization, is nothing without the fans,” Feliciano said. “And we're here for you, we're here as part of this community and we cannot promise that we're going to win, we hope that we're going to win. But we can promise that you're going to have our full dedication, engagement to try to make that happen.” What Monday’s press conference really did was give an initial glimpse for fans to see the types of people Feliciano and Jones are and how they intend to treat the team. While their personalities are strikingly different—Feliciano, a Puerto Rico native, comes off as more reserved, but that is an easy assumption due to Jones, born in Los Angeles and raised in Washington, D.C, being much more fiery (in a good way)—their vision is unified and the Padres are a personal mission for the couple. Padres CEO Erik Greupner, under his fourth ownership group, said Feliciano and Jones have a “competitive fire” and are coming along at the right time to take the Padres on the next step of the franchise’s evolution. That means a mix of not only on-field success and being able to sustain that—the Padres are on the verge of making the postseason for the third year in a row, which would be the first time in franchise history they've accomplished that feat—but maintaining the connection with the community and investing in the region. When talking about San Diego, they also made sure to mention “the Baja communities,” not just the city, showing their initial knowledge of the region. Here are some other takeaways from the press conference: This Isn’t About Them A lot of ownership introductions, regardless of sport, end up being a lot of talk about the individual or, in this case, couple. That certainly was not the case Monday. In fact, there was little talk about Feliciano and Jones as individuals. Instead, their words about how they are approaching ownership of the Padres said as much about them as anything else. “I think we want to continue that legacy that honestly Peter led, to dream big, to do the impossible, right? ... The impossible becomes possible when somebody does it. So let's do it.” Said Jones: “When we do something, we are committed. We're all in. ... We are so much more than lip service—because some people are only that. We are about living it. So (buying the Padres) was a natural extension (of what we do).” New Minority Owners In MLB This was not addressed during the press conference, but Feliciano and Jones give MLB another ownership that is not a white man. Feliciano grew up in Puerto Rico as a fan of the legendary Roberto Clemente, while Jones becomes the first Black person to be a majority MLB owner. There have been a number of women who have been majority owners. In a part of California that has a minority majority, that will certainly help them relate to Padres fans from the region and beyond, as well as vice versa. Perhaps because Feliciano is the control person, not enough attention has been given to Jones’ presence as a woman, much less a Black woman. But again, because they didn’t make it about themselves, this wasn’t brought up in the main part of Monday’s festivities. (There were side sessions with assembled media.) How Will They Approach The Team's Payroll And Finances? There was an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune that came out the morning of the press conference where Feliciano said of the spending plan: “We’re going to be ambitious with our spending. We are also going to be judicious and disciplined.” A reporter used a slightly different phrasing, which prompted this response from Jones: “You said aggressively, but intelligently,” Jones said. “I wish we had said that. That's beautiful. We said ambitiously and judiciously, but we will take aggressively and intelligently because I do think it is synonymous with how we are thinking of continuing to grow and build and be competitive.” Added Feliciano: “I don't want to sound like the baseball executive here. You know, we'll work with A.J. (Preller, the Padres' president of baseball operations), we'll work with Erik. We have been blessed with a team in a city that is supporting us in a way that is allowing us to invest back in that team, in that stadium and that city and we're committed to doing that. We are going to live within our means and that could mean different things in different years. But again, we want to win and we're going to continue supporting that goal in many different ways and that means that at some moments, to use your phrase, we're going to be aggressive. Some people might look at that that way, but we're always going to do it. You know, kind of with keeping the long-term health of the team in mind and I think those are things that we're going to balance. We're thinking about it in not only next week or next series. We're thinking about this in seasons, decades and I think our commitment to this city and to this team is that we're going to continue to do that and again hopefully win along the way.” Jones finished: “The key thing to understand is that, and Erik, you said it: We are competitive. You don't get to do what we do unless you are competitive and it's important for all of you all to understand that. We want to win. What does that look like? It may take a lot of different pictures, scenarios of what it could be and we will see. But please understand how competitive we are.” In other words, there aren’t likely to be some of the financial restrictions on Preller like there have been the past two offseasons, but he also isn’t getting a blank checkbook to bring in all of the players he wants. Beliefs Aligned With San Diego San Diego, the city, gets overlooked a lot on the national stage because of its television market, which is ranked 30th among all cities, not just MLB cities. Only Kansas City (No. 32) and Milwaukee (No. 38) are smaller. But also being locked to the north by Los Angeles and to the south by Mexico, with not much to the east keeps San Diego from having much reach. And that’s okay. “When you think of San Diego, the Baja community, first of all, we're small and mighty,” Feliciano said. “But more importantly, that story, that idea resonates with us. The idea that maybe people underestimate us, people don't think that we're capable of doing what we have done, including winning the bid for the Padres. That motivates us and I see that same grit, that same resilience, that same will to kind of overcome or to you know kind of surprise people that underestimate us. You see that as recently as Saturday, that comeback win. How amazing is that? This team doesn't give up and this city doesn't give up and we won't give up either.” Use that chip on the shoulder in whatever way helps you. Ownership Experience, But Learning About San Diego Feliciano is the co-founder and managing partner of Clearlake Capital, a very large private-equity firm based in Santa Monica. In 2022, Clearlake became a majority owner of Chelsea in the English Premier League, one of the most valuable men’s soccer teams in the world. So he has knowledge of a major pro sports franchise. But this is a different investment. This is a personal one with Feliciano and Jones owning about 45% of the Padres from their personal fortune. Nothing to do with Clearlake, although his co-founder, Behdad Eghbali, is part of the group of minority owners. They are looking for a place to live in San Diego and will be involved in the community with both the team foundation and their own foundation. “We have already experienced the ownership of teams and some pretty significant leagues around the world, so we're not rookies from that perspective. We understand that. I think our first job is to learn. To learn a lot about the league, about the Padres, about the people in the organization—and I should say to learn and listen—and then over time, I think will formulate kind of obviously strong opinions about some things and we'll defer to the experts and others. I think, like any owner in any business, you must at some point, hopefully early on, establish clear direction, clear goals. And then when we're deviating from that direction or goals, and at times life happens, you have to do that, we'll we'll chime in. We'll provide additional direction and objectives. There'll be some decisions that we'll be intimately involved in the nitty gritty and others that perhaps we'll delegate or be a little bit kind of less intimately involved. But at the end of the day, kind of our job is to be good stewards of this team for this city and for the Baja communities and to do that with that long-term perspective that owners, multi-generational owners, need to have.” Added Jones: “We all have to serve somebody and we know we're serving the fans. We want to win.”