Steve Drumwright

Wednesday saw the four full-season affiliates of the San Diego Padres go 2-2 with the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas getting outslugged by Las Vegas 14-12, the Double-A San Antonio Missions cruised past Midland 13-5, the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps fell 10-1 and the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm hung on against Inland Empire 12-11. Padres Minor-League Transactions None. Chihuahuas Hit Back-To-Back-To-Back HRs, But Lose; Solak Has 4 Hits Nick Solak went 4-for-5 with four RBIs and hit one of host Triple-A El Paso's three consecutive homers in the first inning, but the Chihuahuas allowed 11 runs over the middle three innings in a 14-12 loss to the Las Vegas Aviators. Devin Taylor, the A's second-round draft pick in 2025 who made his Triple-A debut Tuesday, went 4-for-6 with two homers and seven RBIs for the Aviators. Marcos Castanon, Nick Pratto and Blake Hunt also homered for the Chihuahuas, who scored five runs in the bottom of the first. Solak had two doubles and a walk in addition to his 15th homer of the season. Hunt went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored, while Mason McCoy went 3-for-5 with a walk and scored three times. Castanon and Gage Workman each had two hits, with Castanon driving in two and scoring twice. Chihuahuas left-handed starter JP Sears allowed four runs in 3⅓ innings on six hits, including a homer, and a walk with three strikeouts. Right-hander Ethan Routzahn was tagged for six runs in 1⅔ innings. Solak hit a two-run homer three batters into the bottom of the first on a 1-0 pitch, then Castanon followed with his team-high 17th on an 0-1 pitch and Pratto his 11th (sixth with El Paso) on an 0-1 pitch. Hunt would add an RBI single to make it 5-0. Hunter drilled his 11th homer with two outs in the third to make it 6-1, but the Aviators scored five in the fourth, four in the fifth and two in the sixth. EP_0902.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Mason McCoy, SS 5 3 3 0 1 1 Carlos Rodríguez, CF 3 1 1 0 2 0 Nick Solak, RF 5 1 4 4 1 0 Marcos Castañon, 2B 6 2 2 2 0 0 Nick Pratto, 1B 4 2 1 1 2 1 Rodolfo Durán, DH 5 1 1 1 1 1 Gage Workman, 3B 5 0 2 0 1 1 Blake Hunt, C 5 2 3 3 1 1 Kai Murphy, LF 4 0 0 0 1 2 Totals 42 12 17 11 10 7 Player IP H R ER BB K HR JP Sears 3 1/3 6 4 4 1 3 1 Daison Acosta 0 2/3 1 2 2 3 0 1 Ethan Routzahn 1 2/3 5 6 6 2 2 1 Brent Honeywell 2 2 1 1 0 2 0 Alek Jacob 1 1/3 2 1 1 1 2 0 Totals 9 16 14 14 7 9 3 Braedon Karpathios Pounds Out 5 Hits, Including HR, In Missions' Win Braedon Karpathios homered for the second night in a row as part of a career-high five hits while driving in four runs as the host Double-A San Antonio Missions jumped out to an 8-0 lead en route to a 13-5 victory over the Midland RockHounds. Karpathios, Padres Mission's No. 9 prospect, had four singles plus the homer and has now driven in nine runs the past two days after his grand slam, five-RBI game Tuesday. Tirso Orneals and Anthony Vilar also homered, with Vilar going 3-for-5 with two homers and two runs scored. Romeo Sanabria had three hits, while Ornelas had two hits, three RBIs and a run scored. Wyatt Hoffman went 2-for-4 with an RBI and scored once. Missions left-handed starter Luis Gutierrez threw three shutout innings, allowing three hits and striking out four. After right-hander Victor Lizarraga gave up five runs in 3⅔ innings, right-handers Sadrac Franco and Johan Moreno pitched 2⅓ scoreless innings.Karpathios and Alex McCoy, Padres Mission's No. 8 prospect, opened the bottom of the first with singles, Ornelas belted his 15th homer of the season out to right field for a 3-0 lead. Vilar singled home a run to make it 4-0. Karpathios led off the second with his team-high 17th homer, then Vilar hit his first of the year with two outs in the third. Hoffman singled and scored on Kai Roberts' triple, with Karpathios driving in Roberts with a single and an 8-0 cushion. After the RockHounds pulled within 8-5 in the top of the seventh, the Missions put the game away with sacrifice flies by Roberts and McCoy in the seventh, then Hoffman's run-scoring single and Karpathios' two-run single to cap his five-hit day. SA_0902.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Braedon Karpathios, RF 6 2 5 4 0 1 Alex McCoy, LF 5 1 1 1 0 1 Tirso Ornelas, DH 5 1 2 3 0 1 Romeo Sanabria, 1B 4 2 3 0 1 0 Justin DeCriscio, SS 5 0 1 0 0 2 Luis Verdugo, 3B 4 2 1 0 1 1 Anthony Vilar, C 5 2 3 2 0 2 Wyatt Hoffman, 2B 4 2 2 1 1 0 Kai Roberts, CF 3 1 1 2 1 1 Totals 41 13 19 13 4 9 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Luis Gutierrez 3 3 0 0 0 4 0 Victor Lizarraga 3 2/3 9 5 5 1 3 1 Sadrac Franco 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 Johan Moreno 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 Totals 9 14 5 5 2 10 1 TinCaps Yield 8-Run Fourth In Rout By Lugnuts It was another tough night for the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps, who had just six hits and gave up an eight-run fourth inning in a 10-1 loss to the Lansing Lugnuts. Kerrington Cross had two of the TinCaps' hits, including a double. TinCaps right-handed starter Matthew Watson allowed two runs on four hits and three walks with no strikeouts over three innings. Right-hander Brandon Langley, coming off three straight scoreless outings including his first two with the TinCaps, was pounded for seven runs in two-thirds of an inning. Player AB R H RBI BB K Kasen Wells, LF 4 0 1 0 0 1 Ryan Gerety, RF 3 0 0 0 1 1 Rosman Verdugo, SS 4 0 1 0 0 2 Kerrington Cross, 3B 4 1 2 0 0 0 Luke Cantwell, 1B 4 0 1 0 0 1 Lamar King Jr., C 3 0 0 0 0 1 Carlos Rodriguez, DH 3 0 0 0 1 1 Yimy Tovar, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 0 Conner Westenburg, CF 2 0 1 0 0 0 Totals 31 1 6 0 2 7 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Matthew Watson 3 4 2 2 3 0 0 Brandon Langley 0 2/3 4 7 7 2 2 0 Florangel Vasquez 2 1/3 4 1 1 1 1 0 Jack Pineau 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 Totals 8 14 10 10 6 5 0 Trio of 3-Hit Games Power Storm Victory Second-round pick Elliot Lascelles, seventh-rounder Joe Tiroly and Jorge Quintana each had three hits with Tiroly driving in three as the host Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm jumped out to an 8-2 lead in a 12-11 victory over the Inland Empire 66ers. Lascelles, Padres Mission's No. 11 prospect, drove in two and scored three times, while sixth-round selection Nu'u Contrades went 2-for-4 with three stolen bases, two RBIs and two runs scored. Lascelles, Contrades and Tiroly, who had two doubles, went a combined 8-for-13 from the top three spots in the order with seven RBIs and five runs scored. Storm right-hander Zack Qin, in his first Low-A start after 10 relief appearances, was knocked around for five runs in 3⅓ innings on six hits and two walks with two strikeouts. Right-hander Michael Salina, Padres Mission's No. 19 prospect, pitched a scoreless 1⅓ innings, while right-hander James Guyette, the Padres' fifth-round draft pick, made his pro debut with 1⅔ innings, allowing a run on one hit with no walks and no strikeouts. The Storm used their vaunted running game to score twice in the bottom of the first. Contrades and Lascelles pulled a double steal, with Lascelles swiping home, then Contrades scored as Tiroly was thrown out stealing second. Contrades doubled home a pair of runs in the second, then scored on Tiroly's first double of the game to make it 5-1. Truit Madonna and Qrey Lott had sac flies and Lascelles an RBI double in the third for an 8-2 advantage. After the 66ers scored four in the fourth, 11th-round draft pick Chris McHugh had an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth, then the Storm added three in the fifth on Lascelles' infield RBI single and Tiroly's two-run double to make it 12-6. LE1_0902.mp4 LE2_0902.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Elliot Lascelles, SS 5 3 3 2 0 1 Nu'u Contrades, 2B 4 2 2 2 1 1 Joe Tiroly, 1B 4 0 3 3 1 1 Ty Harvey, C 5 0 0 0 0 1 Jorge Quintana, 3B 5 2 3 0 0 1 Chris McHugh, RF 4 1 1 1 1 0 Jesmaylin Arias, LF 3 1 0 0 1 1 Truitt Madonna, DH 2 1 1 1 1 1 Qrey Lott, CF 2 2 1 1 1 1 Totals 34 12 14 10 6 8 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Zack Qin 3 1/3 6 5 5 2 2 1 Rordy Mejia 0 2/3 3 1 1 0 0 0 Michael Salina 1 1/3 1 0 0 2 1 0 Jordan Valenzuela 1 0 3 3 4 2 0 James Guyette 1 2/3 1 1 1 0 0 0 Tyler Pitzer 1 1 1 1 2 2 0 Totals 9 12 11 11 10 7 1 Padres Mission's Top 20 Prospect Performance Ethan Salas: 0-for-4, 2 K Ryan Wideman: On injured list Coleman Borthwick: In Arizona Kruz Schoolcraft: DNP Ty Harvey: 0-for-5, K Kale Fountain: Injured, out for season Jorge Quintana: 3-for-5, 2B, 2 R, K Alex McCoy: 1-for-5, RBI, R, K Braedon Karpathios: 5-for-6, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, K Lamar King Jr.: 0-for-3, K Elliot Lascelles: 3-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R, K Tucker Musgrove: On injured list Jagger Haynes: DNP Jake Cunningham: DNP Truitt Madonna: 1-for-2, RBI, BB, R, K Eric Yost: DNP Winyer Chourio: DNP Jesus Castro: DNP Michael Salina: 1⅓ IP, H, 0 R, 2 BB, K, W Rosman Verdugo: 1-for-4, 2 K View full article

Beginning the final week of all four San Diego Padres full-season affiliates being in action, the system posted a 3-1 record. The Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas suffered the only loss, falling to Las Vegas 6-0, with the Double-A San Antonio Missions needing 11 innings to beat Lansing 6-4 and the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm won 11-7 over Inland Empire. The TinCaps and Storm are playing their final series in the regular season, while the Missions have two weeks left in their season and the Chihuahuas three weeks. Padres Minor-League Transactions San Diego Padres selected the contract of C Ethan Salas from El Paso Chihuahuas. San Diego Padres recalled RHP Jhony Brito from El Paso Chihuahuas. 2B Victor Duarte assigned to El Paso Chihuahuas from ACL Padres. El Paso Chihuahuas activated RHP Ty Adcock from the 7-day injured list. San Antonio Missions placed RHP Clay Edmondson on the 7-day injured list. San Antonio Missions transferred C Oswaldo Linares to the Development List. RHP Bernard Jose assigned to San Antonio Missions from Fort Wayne TinCaps. Fort Wayne TinCaps placed 3B Bradley Frye on the 7-day injured list. RHP Florangel Vasquez assigned to Fort Wayne TinCaps from Lake Elsinore Storm. RHP Miguel Alvarez assigned to Fort Wayne TinCaps from Lake Elsinore Storm. RHP James Guyette assigned to Lake Elsinore Storm from ACL Padres. LHP Rob Evans assigned to Lake Elsinore Storm from ACL Padres. RHP Tyler Pitzer assigned to Lake Elsinore Storm from ACL Padres. Lake Elsinore Storm placed RHP Cameron Nohos on the 7-day injured list. Chihuahuas Can't Get Going Offensively, Blanked By Aviators Despite a really good bullpen effort, the host Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas couldn't overcome a rough first inning in a 6-0 loss to the Las Vegas Aviators. Nick Pratto had three of the Chihuahuas' six hits. This was the sixth time the Chihuahuas have been shut out this year. Chihuahuas right-handed starter Evan Fitterer allowed four runs in the first inning and made it through three innings. Right-hander Jose Leclerc allowed one hit in two scoreless innings, then right-hander J.P. France allowed two unearned runs in the sixth inning, with right-handers Hans Crouse (two innings) and Ty Adcock (one inning) not allowing a run to finish it off. Player AB R H RBI BB K Bryce Johnson, RF 4 0 0 0 0 1 Mason McCoy, CF 3 0 1 0 1 1 Carlos Rodríguez, LF 4 0 0 0 0 1 Marcos Castañon, 2B 3 0 0 0 1 1 Nick Solak, DH 4 0 1 0 0 1 Gage Workman, SS 2 0 1 0 1 1 Nick Pratto, 1B 3 0 3 0 0 0 Blake Hunt, C 3 0 0 0 0 1 Clay Dungan, 3B 2 0 0 0 1 1 Totals 28 0 6 0 4 8 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Evan Fitterer (L) 3 4 4 4 1 3 0 José Leclerc 2 1 0 0 2 2 0 J.P. France 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 Hans Crouse 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 Ty Adcock 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 Totals 9 9 6 4 3 8 0 Braedon Karpathios' Early Slam Gives Missions Grand Victory Braedon Karpathios hit a grand slam and Albert Fabian also went deep as the host Double-A San Antonio Missions opened their final home series with a 7-1 triumph over the Midland RockHounds. Karpathios (Padres Mission's No. 9 prospect) had two hits and drove in five runs, Fabian also doubled as he went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Tirso Ornelas, Romeo Sanabria and Luis Verdugo each had two hits for the Missions. Verdugo, who also walked, also scored twice. Missions left-handed starter Jamie Hitt went three shutout innings, allowing three hits and three walks with four strikeouts. Right-hander Francisco Pena pitched a hitless fourth inning, while right-hander Bernard Jose allowed a run over two innings in his return to the Missions, left-hander Igor Gil had two scoreless innings and right-hander Josh Mallitz pitched a perfect ninth. Karpathios got the Missions off to a grand start in the second inning. Fabian had a leadoff double, Verdugo singled with one out and Brendan Durfee walked to load the bases. Karpathios then launched his slam on the first pitch he saw to right-center, his 16th homer of the season. The next inning, Karpathios singled home Verdugo, who had walked, for a 5-0 lead. In the fourth, Ornelas laced his 30th double of the season and trotted home on Fabian's 12th homer of the season, which banged off the right-field scoreboard for a 7-0 advantage. SA_0901.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Braedon Karpathios, CF 5 1 2 5 0 1 Alex McCoy, RF 5 0 1 0 0 1 Tirso Ornelas, LF 5 1 2 0 0 1 Romeo Sanabria, DH 5 0 2 0 0 2 Ryan Jackson, 2B 5 0 1 0 0 1 Albert Fabian, 1B 4 2 3 2 0 0 Justin DeCriscio, SS 3 0 0 0 1 1 Luis Verdugo, 3B 3 2 2 0 1 1 Brendan Durfee, C 3 1 1 0 1 0 Totals 38 7 14 7 3 8 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jamie Hitt 3 3 0 0 3 4 0 Francis Peña (W) 1 0 0 0 2 3 0 Bernard Jose 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 Igor Gil 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 Josh Mallitz 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 Totals 9 6 1 1 7 11 0 Robbie Lavey Delivers In 11th To Lift TinCaps Fourth-round draft pick Robbie Lavey hit a go-ahead two-run with two outs in the top of the 11th inning as the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps pulled out a 6-4 victory over the host Lansing Lugnuts in the opener of their final series of the season. Kerrington Cross hit an early three-run homer, Rosman Verdugo went 3-for-4 with two walks and two runs scored, while Kasen Wells and Lamar King Jr. each had two hits for the TinCaps. Wells also had two steals, giving him 25 this year. TinCaps right-handed starter Carson Montgomery allowed a run in four inings with two walks and three strikeouts, finishing the season with a 4.70 ERA. After right-hander Isiah Lowe gave up a pair of runs in two-thirds of an inning, left-hander Javier Chacon went 2⅓ hitless innings. Right-hander Will Koger gave up a run in two innings and right-hander Will Varmette continued his good stretch with his fourth straight game not allowing an earned run with two hitless innings. Cross struck for his sixth homer with the TinCaps and 17th of the season, a three-run blast in the top of the first inning, his second homer in five games. Wells singled, went to second on a hit batter, then stole third and scored on a bad throw by the catcher in the second to make it 4-0. The Lugnuts got one back in the third and two in the fifth to make it 4-3, then tied it in the eighth. After a scoreless 10th, Conner Westenburg was the zombie runner and went to third on Wells' bunt single. However, Westenburg was out at home on an attempted double steal, with Wells safe at second. After a strikeout, an intentional walk to Verdugo put runners on first and second. Both would come home when Lavey, coming off a four-RBI game Sunday, crushed the first pitch he saw into the right-center gap, his fourth double in 14 pro games. FW_0901.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Kasen Wells, CF 6 2 2 0 0 2 Ryan Gerety, LF 3 1 0 0 2 2 Rosman Verdugo, SS 4 2 3 0 2 0 Robbie Lavey, C 6 0 1 2 0 1 Kerrington Cross, 3B 5 1 1 3 1 4 Lamar King Jr., DH 5 0 2 0 0 0 Yoiber Ocopio, 1B 4 0 0 0 1 1 Dylan Grego, 2B 5 0 1 0 0 2 Conner Westenburg, RF 4 0 0 0 0 1 Totals 42 6 10 5 6 13 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Carson Montgomery 4 2 1 1 2 3 0 Isaiah Lowe 2/3 3 2 2 1 2 1 Javier Chacon (H) 2 1/3 0 0 0 2 2 0 Will Koger (BS) 2 2 1 1 0 2 1 Will Varmette (W) 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 Totals 11 7 4 4 6 10 2 2 Homers, Elliot Lascelles' 4 Hits Carry Storm To Win Second-round draft pick Elliot Lascelles had his first career four-hit game, while Qrey Lott and Ty Harvey each homered as the host Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm rode a six-run third inning to an 11-7 victory over the Inland Empire 66ers to open their final regular-season series. The Storm will play in the California League semifinals next week after winning the first-half title in the South Division. They will face the Ontario Tower Buzzers in the best-of-three series beginning Tuesday on the road. Lascelles (Padres Mission's No. 11 prospect), drove in two and scored twice and Lott went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored, while fourth-round draft pick Alex Conover and Jorge Quintana (Padres Mission's No. 7 prospect) each went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Right-hander Jesus Castro went five innings and gave up just one run on four hits and no walks, striking out three. Left-hander Andrew Wright, an undrafted free agent, allowed a run in two innings with three strikeouts before eighth-round draft pick Sean Fitzpatrick, in his second pro game, was tagged for five runs while getting just four outs. Right-hander Yoesmerli Beltre finished the final two-thirds of an inning, striking out two. Lott opened the scoring with a two-run homer to left in the third, his eight of the year, then Conover and Quintana had RBI singles and Jesmaylin Arias a two-run double for a 6-0 lead. Lascelles made it 7-0 with an RBI double in the fourth, then scored on Harvey's third homer of the year for a 9-0 cushion. Jose Verdugo plated a run in the sixth as he grounded into a double play and Lascelles capped the Storm scoring with a run-scoring single to center. LE1_0901.mp4 LE2_0901.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Elliot Lascelles, DH 5 2 4 2 0 1 Jose Verdugo, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 0 Alex Conover, LF 4 1 2 1 0 1 Ty Harvey, C 4 1 1 2 0 2 Jorge Quintana, SS 4 1 2 1 0 0 Nu'u Contrades, 3B 3 1 0 0 1 0 Jesmaylin Arias, RF 4 0 1 2 0 2 Dawson Willis, 1B 3 1 0 0 0 1 Qrey Lott, CF 3 4 3 2 0 0 Totals 34 11 14 10 1 7 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jesus A. Castro (W) 5 4 1 1 0 3 0 Andrew Wright 2 4 1 1 1 3 0 Sean Fitzpatrick 1 1/3 5 5 5 0 3 1 Yoesmerli Beltre 2/3 1 0 0 0 2 0 Totals 9 14 7 7 1 11 1 Padres Mission's Top 20 Prospect Performance Ethan Salas: DNP Ryan Wideman: On injured list Coleman Borthwick: In Arizona Kruz Schoolcraft: DNP Ty Harvey: 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 K Kale Fountain: Injured, out for season Jorge Quintana: 2-for-4, RBI Alex McCoy: 1-for-5, K Braedon Karpathios: 2-for-5, HR, 5 RBI, K Lamar King Jr.: 2-for-5 Elliot Lascelles: 4-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI, K Tucker Musgrove: On injured list Jagger Haynes: DNP Jake Cunningham: DNP Truitt Madonna: DNP Eric Yost: DNP Winyer Chourio: DNP Jesus Castro: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, W Michael Salina: DNP Rosman Verdugo: 3-for-4, 2B, 2 BB View full article

Let's check in on the San Diego Padres prospects who made a mark in the last week (check out Padres Mission's latest Top 20 rankings as well!). Joe Tiroly, 2B-3B, Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm Season stats: .308/.357/.673, 13 games, 7 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 6 HR, 3 BB, 12 K, 0 SB, 1 CS The Padres' seventh-round draft pick this year made a splash by homering in his first pro game about three weeks ago. He definitely one-upped himself with what he did this past weekend. The 21-year-old infielder, drafted out of Virginia, hit four homers in his last three games and has five in his last six games, giving him six in 13 pro games. It was part of a nice week for Tiroly, whose display of power helped him put up a .353/.353/1.059 (6-for-17) slash line with six RBIs in four games against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Four of his six hits last week went out of the ballpark. Tiroly hit 16 homers and had 66 RBIs, both team highs, this spring at Virginia. He played two seasons at Rider, where he hit 18 homers and was Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2025. In addition to three games at designated hitter for the Storm, Tiroly has split his 10 games in the field evenly between second and third base. His range has been questioned at second, while having enough of an arm to play third. Carlos Rodriguez, OF, Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas Season stats: .313/.373/.430, 108 games, 55 R, 17 2B, 7 3B, 6 HR, 69 RBI, 44 BB, 48 K, 18 SB, 5 CS One of the most consistent hitters in the Padres' system this year, the 25-year-old outfielder had another terrific week, producing a .478/.520/.609 slash line with a double, a triple and three RBIs. Rodriguez had back-to-back three-hit games after having back-to-back two-hit games in the series against the Oklahoma City Comets. Rodriguez ranks fifth in the Pacific Coast League. He doesn't bring much power to the plate, with just six homers this year, but he is a left-handed bat, which is always coveted. Those six long balls are the second-most of his eight minor-league seasons, two shy of his 2025 total. His big week boosted his August slash line to .341/.358/.516. Lamar King Jr., C, High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps Season stats: .232/.328/.328, 89 games, 33 R, 14 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 38 RBI, 36 BB, 88 K, 16 SB, 4 CS In one game, you could see the offensive potential the Padres see in the 22-year-old. That game came Sunday when Padres Mission's No. 10 prospect had two doubles and a triple with four RBIs in a 9-3 win over the Dayton Dragons. Sunday capped a week in which he had a slash line of .375/.412/.688 (6-for-16) with a third double mixed in to go along with six RBIs. The 2022 fourth-round draft choice hasn't had the offensive season he has had the last three seasons. He had a .271/.379/.421 slash line in 2024 in the Arizona Complex League and Low-A Lake Elsinore and .274/.353/.384 in 2025 at Lake Elsinore and Fort Wayne. He has spent the entire season with the TinCaps, playing in 89 games. Adler Cecil, LHP, Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm Season stats: 2-3, 4.12, 18 games (11 starts), 59 IP, 38 H, 36 R, 27 ER, 36 BB, 102 K, .182 opponent average Sure, the Padres' system isn't very deep in legit prospects. But the 6-foot-4 21-year-old wants to make sure you know who he is. The left-handed starter has been a strikeout machine in a limited number of innings. In his latest start, he fanned eight in a 6-1 loss to Rancho Cucamonga on Friday. He did that in 3⅔ innings. It was his fourth start this month in which he didn't go more than four innings and struck out at least six each time. His strikeout numbers are amazing. In 18 games and 59 innings, he has struck out 102, which is tied for third-most in the Padres' system. The only two higher totals are Winyer Chourio's 116 and Jagger Haynes' 110, and they have pitched 87⅔ and 123⅔ innings, respectively. Not a bad comeback after Tommy John surgery sidelined Cecil throughout all of 2025. Will Varmette, RHP, High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps Season stats: 3-2, 7.14 ERA, 40 games (all relief), 4 saves (6 chances), 51⅔ IP, 61 H, 44 R, 41 ER, 33 BB, 55 K, .292 opponent average The 23-year-old right-handed reliever might be finally figuring some things out as he nears the end of his third full season and fourth overall since signing as an undrafted free agent in 2023. In two appearances last week against Dayton, Varmette struck out eight over 4⅓ innings while allowing just two hits and two walks. That continued a strong August in which he had a 2.61 ERA over eight appearances and 10⅓ innings. He has allowed three earned runs in his last 10 outings after giving up a seven-spot July 23 against Lake County. This has been his first season sticking at one level. Even in a partial 2023 debut season, he was at three levels, including one game at Fort Wayne, yet he has a 7.14 ERA. The last two seasons have been split between Fort Wayne and Low-A Lake Elsinore. View full article

After the news broke of Ethan Salas' promotion Monday, the move became official Tuesday as the calendar flipped to September. Salas, Padres Mission's No. 1 prospect, officially had his contract selected by the San Diego Padres from Triple-A El Paso on Tuesday and is likely to make his MLB debut on the road against the Cincinnati Reds. Salas is the youngest player in the majors this year at 20 years, 92 days. Joining Salas on the Padres as rosters expand by two slots is right-hander Jhony Brito, who also comes up from the Chihuahuas. To make room on the 40-man roster for Salas, outfielder-infielder Luis Rengifo was transferred from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL. Brito made three relief appearances for the Padres in July. That capped a comeback from internal brace surgery and right flexor tendon surgery in May 2025. View full rumor

The time has come. Ethan Salas, the 20-year-old catcher who is Padres Mission’s No. 1 prospect, will be called up Tuesday as the San Diego Padres continue to make a push for the postseason, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune reported Monday. Salas will have his contract selected Tuesday from the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas as major-league rosters expand from 26 to 28. The Padres will have to make room on the 26- and 40-man rosters for Salas, who will become the youngest player in the majors when he debuts. Salas has been having the best of his four pro seasons this year, posting a slash line of .296/.374/.448 in 96 games, with career highs in homers (10), runs (54), RBIs (61) and stolen bases (17). That includes a .326/.410/.539 slash line with three homers and 24 RBIs at El Paso in 24 games. He joins Luis Campusano and Freddy Fermin on the Padres’ roster, both of whom are right-handed hitters. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Salas will not be the youngest player to make his MLB debut for the Padres, although not by much. Fernando Tatis Jr. was 20 years, 85 days old when he played his first MLB game on Opening Day in 2019. Salas will be 20 years, 92 days old Tuesday when he joins the Padres for the second game of a three-game road series against the Cincinnati Reds. Salas will become the youngest catcher to appear in an MLB game since Ivan Rodriguez on Oct. 22, 1991, when he was 19 years, 309 days. A left-handed hitter who plays excellent defense, Salas signed with the Padres for a $5.6 million bonus in January 2023 as a 16-year-old as the international signing period opened. At the time, it was the largest signing bonus for an international player under the current capped system. Salas was born in Kissimmee, Fla., but his father, Jose Sr., is from Venezuela. He made a splashy debut, appearing in his first pro game that year, just two days before turning 17 on June 1. Salas went 2-for-3 with a walk in his first game for the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm, then 2-for-2 with two walks in his second game. Salas would go on to put up a .267/.350/.487 slash line with nine homers, 35 RBIs and five stolen bases in 47 games at Lake Elsinore. He was promoted to the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps and played in nine games, producing a .200/.243/.229 (7-for-37) slash line with three RBIs, then was aggressively moved up to the Double-A San Antonio Missions, who had won the first-half Texas League South Division championship and were playing in the postseason. He played in another nine games with a slash line of .179/.303/.214 (5-for-28). In 2024 as a 17-year-old, Salas played the entire season at Fort Wayne, where he struggled offensively. He had a slash line of .206/.288/.311 with four homers, 53 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 111 games. Salas was selected by the Padres to play in the Arizona Fall League, a prospect showcase, and had a .228/.327/.424 slash line in 23 games, hitting four homers and driving in 21 with four steals. That set him up for a promotion to Double-A San Antonio as an 18-year-old to begin 2025. But Salas developed a stress reaction in his lower back that limited him to just 10 games to begin the season. That lost season and his struggles in the previous season saw his prospect status among various publications plummet, with some not including him in their Top 100 after reaching as high as No. 8 in all of baseball by Baseball America and MLB Pipeline before the 2024 season. Salas, however, did a lot of work while sidelined and also gave him a chance to breathe following a whirlwind beginning to his pro career. That time off would be very beneficial to Salas, who has regained the luster on his star status this season. Salas started the season back at Double-A San Antonio and got off to a strong start to the season, posting a .286/.361/.417 slash line with seven homers, 37 RBIs and 14 steals in 72 games, including a .311/.359/.503 mark in his first two months. That earned him a second trip to the Futures Games during All-Star weekend. The Padres promoted Salas to Triple-A on July 29 and started off with two big games. In his Chihuahuas debut, Salas went 3-for-4 with a walk, a double, a triple, a run scored and two RBIs. The next day, he had two more hits, both doubles, a walk and two RBIs. Salas has two brothers also in affiliated ball. Jose Salas Jr., 23, is currently an infielder at High-A in the Minnesota Twins’ organization, while 18-year-old Andrew Salas is a shortstop in the Miami Marlins’ chain who played the first half of the season at Low-A and then went to the Florida Complex League. View full article

San Diego Padres Weekly Snapshot Record last week: 1-5 Runs scored last week: 19 Runs allowed last week: 25 (season run differential: plus-10) Game 2: Any loss is costly during this portion of the season, but some hurt more than others. This one had more than an impact on the standings. Rengifo sustained what could be a season-ending right knee injury on a play that led to two additional runs to score to tie the game in what would be a 7-6 loss to the Rays. The loss, combined with a Phillies win and a D'backs doubleheader split, left the Padres four games behind Philadelphia for the No. 2 NL wild-card spot and tied with Arizona for the No. 3 position. Rengifo was injured in the middle of what was essentially the game-deciding sequence. Rodriguez came on to start the seventh and issued a walk and two singles to load the bases. Diaz then hit a rocket over Merrill's head that bounced off the center-field wall. Merrill grabbed it on one hop and fired to Rengifo, who was making his first start at second with the Padres and was covering second on this play. Rengifo noticed a runner caught between second and third and chased him toward third base. Then the runner on third took off for home and Rengifo pivoted, with his right knee crumbling as he made a wide throw to the plate. All three runners who were on base scored, two as a result of Rengifo's throw. Morejon would replace Rodriguez with the game tied, no outs and a runner on third. After a groundout and intentional walk, Morejon got a strikeout before Simpson slapped an opposite-field single to left to drive in the go-ahead run in a four-run seventh. That outburst came after the Padres scored three runs in the top of the seventh. Rengifo, as he has done since coming up July 8, started things with a leadoff walk, then Harris, who had three hits in his first four Padres games, twice failed to put down a bunt before getting his third single of the day and Tatis put down a rare bunt single to load the bases. After Cronenworth struck out, Machado came through with a tiebreaking two-run single two-run single to put the Friars up 5-3. Machado and Tatis then pulled a double steal, with Tatis taking home for a 6-3 cushion. But the Rays showed, in part, why they are the best team in the AL by taking advantage of the Padres in the bottom of the seventh. Game 3: After an emotional loss the day before, this was perhaps the Padres' most frustrating loss of the season. After all, they had the game-ending out in their glove. Then it wasn't. In a game packed with storylines, the Padres were unable to execute in the late going, which resulted in a 5-4 walk-off loss in 11 innings. The three-game sweep dropped the Padres out of an NL wild-card spot for the first time since Aug. 10, a half-game behind the idle D'backs for the No. 3 position. The most talked-about play of the game will be the catch that was not a catch by left fielder Samad Taylor, who was back with the Padres following Rengifo's injury. With two outs, a runner on and Miller in to protect a 3-1 lead, Jonny DeLuca launched an 0-1 pitch down the left-field line. Taylor tracked it down in the corner and initially made the catch, but the ball came out of his glove as he banged into the wall at the foul pole and went over the fence for a tying two-run homer. Initially, Miller reacted as if Taylor had caught it, but when Taylor bent over in disappointment, Miller walked nearly all the way to the Padres' dugout, thinking it had been a walk-off loss. He recovered to strike out the next batter. In the 10th, the Padres had a failed bunt by Cronenworth and a caught stealing by Bowen, who was in the game after Tatis and Stammen were ejected after the top of the seventh. Matsui escaped damage in the bottom of the 10th, then the Padres took the lead in the top of the 11th as Machado, the zombie runner, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on France's sac fly to deep right-center. Right-hander David Morgan came on for the bottom of the 11th and struck out Junior Caminero before Liam Hicks singled zombie runner Richie Palacios to third. Pinch-runner Kenny Piper stole second, leading to an intentional walk of the speedy Simpson to load the bases. DeLuca hit a one-out chopper to a drawn-in Bogaerts, who charged the ball but bobbled in a moment of indecision when he should have been coming home to nail the tying run. With the bases still loaded and one out, the defense all around was playing in when former Padre Jorge Mateo lined the walk-off single over a leaping Taylor. Tatis and Stammen were ejected after Tatis put down a two-out bunt for a base hit in the top of the seventh. Tatis did initially run just barely on the grass in fair territory as he raced to first base, with the throw from the pitcher going down in the bullpen in right-field foul territory and Tatis ending up on second. But the umpires ruled that because Tatis had been running on the grass, however slightly, he was out. That led to a demonstrative protest by Tatis and Stammen, who were both run. Ray had turned in a nice start for the Padres, going six innings and allowing a run on three hits and three walks with four strikeouts. The only run he gave up was Caminero's 37th homer of the year, his second in as many days. Marvelous Mason Miller Some of the amazing stats for the Padres' closer: Season stats: 4-2, 1.26 ERA, 55 games, 32 saves (34 chances), 57⅓ IP, 28 H, 10 R, 8 ER, 20 BB, 104 K, .143 opponent average The home run to Oneil Cruz was the first allowed since Aug. 5, 2025, Mason Miller's second game with the Padres. He allowed four homers with the A's last year before the trade. That was also just the second run given up in Miller's last 20 appearances. Was handed his second blown save Sunday on the ninth-inning homer that Samad Taylor had fall out of his glove. Was also the second homer allowed in as many outings after not giving one up since last season. Random Stats Fernando Tatis Jr. was named the NL Player of the Week after hitting .480 with four homers with six runs scored and 11 RBIs. Monday's 12-inning loss to the Pirates snapped an eight-game home winning streak. Ty France hit his 100th career homer Saturday, 19 coming this season. He has 26 career homers with the Padres. France has reached base in 24 of his last 25 games at Petco Park. Randy Vasquez retired the first nine batters Wednesday for the second start in a row, the first Padres pitch to do that since Chris Paddack in 2019. Manny Machado's two-hit game Saturday was his 308th career multihit game, tying him for second in Padres history with Dave Winfield. Tony Gwynn has the club record with 951. The sweep by the Rays was the first against the Padres since the June 29-July 1 series against the Chicago Cubs. Entering the weekend, their three times being swept was tied for the second-fewest in MLB. This makes four times. The Padres are 11-22 (.333) vs. the Rays all time, their worst record against any team. Transactions Monday: Optioned 2B Sung-Mun Song to Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas. Monday: Selected the contract of LF Dustin Harris from Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas. Monday: Transferred RHP Lucas Giolito (right elbow inflammation) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. Sunday: Placed LF Luis Rengifo on the 10-day injured list with sprained right knee. Sunday: Placed 1B Gavin Sheets on the 10-day injured list with sprained left foot. Sunday: Activated LF Samad Taylor (strained left oblique) from the 10-day injured list. Sunday: Recalled 2B Sung-Mun Song from Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas. Sunday: Sent RHP Nick Pivetta on a rehab assignment to El Paso Chihuahuas. Website Highlights Padres' admirable plan to rest Machado never materialized — Steve Drumwright Has France established himself as Padres' long-term first baseman? — Randy Holt Rengifo's injury creates new options for Padres when rosters expand — Steve Drumwright Impending Taylor, Andujar returns further cloud Padres' convoluted bench — Randy Holt Miller is nearing a career-high workload. How should Padres use their bullpen down the stretch? — Yirsandy Rodriguez Breaking down the Padres' remaining schedule as September approaches — Steve Drumwright Song's demotion has wide-ranging impact on Padres' bench — Randy Holt Salas is giving Padres plenty to think about ahead of September — Sam Caulder New Padres owners introduce themselves with passionate, personal touch — Steve Drumwright Looking Ahead Monday: Padres (Michael King) at Reds (Brady Singer), 3:40 p.m. Tuesday: Padres (Randy Vasquez) at Reds (Nick Lodolo), 3:40 p.m. Wednesday: Padres (Casey Mize) at Reds (Rhett Lowder), 9:40 a.m. Thursday: Off Friday: Yankees at Padres (Walker Buehler), 6:40 p.m. Saturday: Yankees at Padres (Robbie Ray), 4:15 p.m. Sunday: Yankees at Padres (Michael King), 1:10 p.m. View full article

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 View full article

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. View full article

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. View full rumor

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 View full article

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 View full article

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.” View full article

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. View full article