Credit: EVT Sports (Farm Report)
With the eventful nature of the day for the Padres, one might forget there was still a full slate of minor league games. Padres’ affiliates went 2-4 in six games on Thursday.
Here is our daily recap of games played.
El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 6-4 vs Round Rock) (55-49 on the season)
Nate Mondou – 3-for-4, RBI Single
Luis Campusano – 1-for-4, Two-RBI Single
Wes Benjamin – 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 6 K (92 pitches – 55 strikes)
Wes Benjamin threw his best start of the season, striking out six batters in seven innings. The southpaw was efficient and effective, recording eight of 21 outs on the ground. The left-hander did his job, exiting the game with a 2-1 lead after seven innings. Right-hander Harold Chirino was tagged with the loss, allowing five runs in 0.2 innings of relief.
The lineup scored early, getting two runs off Express reliever Aidan Anderson. Yonathan Perlaza drove in the team’s first run on a groundout in the fifth inning. Nate Mondou had his second consecutive three-hit game, as he went on to drive in a run on an RBI single later in the fifth. Rodolfo Duran was 2-for-4 out of the nine hole, scoring two runs. Luis Campusano drove in two runs in the ninth, as with two on and two out, he sent an up-and-away fastball from Craig Kimbrel to right field for a two-run single.
San Antonio Missions (Lost 12-3 vs Frisco) (52-47 on the season)
Francisco Acuna – 1-for-3, Double
Marcos Castanon – 1-for-3, Double, Two Runs Scored
Victor Lizarraga – 2 IP, 10 H, 10 R, 0 BB, 2 K (51 pitches – 35 strikes)
Right-hander Victor Lizarraga allowed a season-high ten runs in two-plus innings of work. Lizarraga only struck out two batters, but allowed four extra-base hits, including a three-run homer. Stephen Jones came on in the third inning, allowing two runs of his own. Kevin Kopps struck out two batters in two scoreless innings, and Andrew Moore struck out four in 1.2 innings. Ryan Och struck out one in 1.1 innings of scoreless baseball.
Francisco Acuna and Marcos Castanon had the Missions’ two extra-base hits of the game, each hitting a double. Castanon scored two runs in the game, reaching on a double and walk. Wyatt Hoffman was involved in two run-scoring plays, hitting into a double play to score a run in the fifth and reaching on a hit-by-pitch in the seventh to drive in a run. Devin Ortiz drove in a run on a forceout as well.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 2-0 vs Great Lakes) (48-50 on the season)
Rosman Verdugo – 1-for-2, Single, Walk
Jack Costello – 1-for-4, Single
Miguel Mendez – 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 7 K (89 pitches – 54 strikes)
Miguel Mendez did his part to keep a depleted TinCaps lineup in the game, but the TinCaps’ struggles against Loons starter Wyatt Crowell sank any chances of winning. Mendez threw six innings and allowed only one run (unearned). Mendez struck out seven while walking three, and his fastball continues to impress with velocity and swings-and-misses. Mendez has not allowed an earned run all month, pitching 24 innings with two unearned runs allowed. Fernando Sanchez allowed one run in two innings, and Ruben Galindo struck out one in a scoreless ninth. The lineup, gutted prior to the game due to their parent club’s trades, mustered only two hits all game. Rosman Verdugo reached base twice on a single and a walk, and Kai Roberts drew the team’s only other walk of the game. Jack Costello had the team’s only other base hit with a single, with the team going 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position.
Not a lot of positives today for @TinCaps, but at least they’ve still got Miguel Mendez. Now the @Padres no. 4⃣ prospect, he dropped his ERA to 1.32 w/ 6 IP, 0 ER, and 7 K’s tonight vs. Loons. @EVT_News @billcenter @madfriars @PadresProspects pic.twitter.com/X22NQAs5Wv
— Glenn Marini (@GlennMariniWANE) August 1, 2025
Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 3-1 vs Inland Empire) (46-53 on the season)
Kale Fountain – 1-for-2, Single, Two Runs Scored
B.Y. Choi – 1-for-3, RBI Single
Braian Salazar – 3.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K (58 pitches – 36 strikes)
Starting on under two hours’ notice, left-hander Braian Salazar delivered his longest outing of the season. Salazar fired off 3.1 innings of one-run baseball on 58 pitches, striking out four batters. The left-hander was effective and efficient, and could be in line for another start, barring a roster move. The same could be said for Bernard Jose, who threw 3.2 perfect innings with five strikeouts. Vicarte Domingo tossed two scoreless innings with one strikeout to close out the win.
Braian Salazar held it down on short notice tonight!
3.1 IP
3 H
1 ER
4 SO pic.twitter.com/tbFvjim4tB
— Lake Elsinore Storm (@Storm_Baseball) August 1, 2025
The Storm lineup, without some of its more productive bats, put up three runs. Kale Fountain reached base three times in the game and scored the tying run on a base hit by Alex McCoy in the second inning. Fountain would score once more in the seventh inning, when B.Y. Choi singled to score a run. Kasen Wells reached base once in the game, scoring on an eighth-inning wild pitch.
B.Y. Choi brings Kale Fountain home and gives us our first lead of the night!#EmbraceTheStorm?️ pic.twitter.com/mlLY3xDNCj
— Lake Elsinore Storm (@Storm_Baseball) August 1, 2025
DSL Padres Gold (Won 9-5 vs DSL Athletics) (27-14 on the season)
Moises Valdez – 1-for-4, Two RBI
Isaac Ponce – 2-for-3, Two RBI Singles
Jesus Castro – 4.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R (4 ER), 2 BB, 6 K
Death by singles it was! The Padres Gold won 9-5 over the DSL Athletics, tallying nine runs on ten singles. Moises Valdez had two RBI in the game, with an RBI single and an RBI groundout. Isaac Ponce had two singles and two RBI in the game, and Deivid Coronil finished 2-for-4 with two RBI as well. On the mound, Jesus Castro struck out six batters in 4.2 innings, but was tagged for five runs (four earned) in his outing. Despite this, he still has a tidy 2.60 ERA in 34.2 innings this season. Edwyn Hernandez struck out one in 2.1 scoreless innings, and Florangel Vasquez earned his third win of the season with a scoreless inning of relief.
DSL Padres Brown (Lost 5-4 vs DSL Reds) (17-24 on the season)
Sebastian Pena – 1-for-3, Two-RBI Double
Cristian Benavides – 2-for-3, RBI Single
Ariel Dilone – 4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K
The Padres Brown took a 4-0 lead into the seventh, only to allow five runs in the bottom of the inning, ultimately losing 5-4. Wilfred Paca put two runners on base with one out, and Ariel Dilone came on, stranding the runners. Dilone would throw 4.2 scoreless innings, striking out three batters. Cristian Navarro tossed a scoreless sixth but allowed five runs in the seventh inning, taking the loss. The Padres’ Brown scored first, as Cristian Benavides scored on a fifth-inning wild pitch. Sebastian Pena had the biggest knock of the day, with his two-run double giving the Padres Brown a 3-0 lead. Benavides would single to the right side, allowing Abraham Bastidas to score from third. Juan Martinez had two hits out of the nine spot in the lineup in the loss.
A born and raised San Diegan, Diego Garcia is a lifetime Padres fan and self-proclaimed baseball nerd. Diego wrote about baseball on his own site between 2021-22 before joining the East Village Times team in 2024. He also posts baseball content on his YouTube channel “Stat Nerd Baseball”, creating content around trades, hypotheticals, player analyses, the San Diego Padres, and MLB as a whole.
A 2024 graduate of San Diego State, Diego aims to grow as a writer and content creator in the baseball community.
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