Credit: Lake Elsinore Storm

Padres affiliate teams wrapped up the week with a 1-3 showing on Sunday. 

Here is a recap of the day’s events. 

 

El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 14-4 vs Las Vegas) (22-23 on the season)

Trenton Brooks – 1-for-2, Double, Two Walks

Yonathan Perlaza – 2-for-4, RBI Single

Jared Kollar – 2.1 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 1 BB, 2 K (61 pitches – 40 strikes)

It was something of a bizarre outing for right-hander Jared Kollar, as the right-hander allowed eight runs on nine hits over 2.1 innings of work. Kollar allowed a mixture of hard-hit and not-so-hard base hits in that span, with the Las Vegas offense not chasing his cutter out of the zone. A three-run homer by Daniel Susac gave Las Vegas a 3-0 lead, and a weakly hit double to right field by Susac in the third was the real knockout blow. Kollar had pitched efficiently for PCL standards in his last past four starts, but this start marked a step back for the former Rutgers and Seton Hill hurler. Austin Krob tossed three innings of relief, allowing two runs and striking out one batter. Krob has seen more time in relief with Ryan Bergert’s return to the Chihuahuas rotation, and while nothing is confirmed, it is likely he remains in a long relief role to allow his stuff to play up once through a lineup. 

DANIEL. SUSAC. TANK. ?

A 3-run shot puts us on top early!#AviatorsUp pic.twitter.com/wE9uXoQ64Q

— Las Vegas Aviators (@AviatorsLV) May 18, 2025

At the plate, Tirso Ornelas and Yonathan Perlaza finished with two hits on the day. Perlaza drove in a run with a single in the eighth inning. Mike Brosseau had an RBI double in the eighth as well. Tim Locastro and Clay Dungan had run-scoring groundouts in the seventh inning to put the team on the board. Still, the deficit was far too significant to overcome, and a 2-for-14 mark with runners in scoring position did not help either. 

 

San Antonio Missions (Lost 10-1 vs Midland) (19-20 on the season)

Joshua Mears – 1-for-3, Home Run

Francisco Acuna – 2-for-4, Double

Enmanuel Pinales – 3 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 5 K (70 pitches – 48 strikes)

San Antonio’s offense went cold in their series finale against the Midland RockHounds. Right-hander Enmanuel Pinales tossed a strong outing despite the final line, striking out five batters in three innings of work. A one-out rally in the second inning saw the RockHounds score four runs against Pinales. The right-hander has not seen the same level of success as he had during his five starts at High-A earlier this season, but there are signs of growth for Pinales that indicate he could be settling into his new environment. Stephen Jones tossed a clean inning of relief, and Sam Whiting threw 3.1 innings of long relief, allowing three runs. Whiting and Pinales have been used in a piggyback tandem in recent weeks, which could be the case going forward as well. 

The Missions’ offense was quiet for most of the game, but the most noise they made in the game was very, very loud. Joshua Mears launched a home run in the third inning against Midland right-hander Chen Zhong-Au Zhuang, and the Missions announced that the home run traveled 504 feet. Francisco Acuna had two hits, including a double. It was a second multi-hit game in four games for the Missions shortstop, who has hit .167 in May. The team had very few opportunities to score with runners on, going 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position. 

Joshua Mears sent a ball 504 feet today, which would tie for the second farthest home run ever in the Statcast era if it were at the major league level. That certainly qualifies him as today’s @FrostBank Player of the Game! pic.twitter.com/REWNedH4YB

— San Antonio Missions Baseball (@missionsmilb) May 18, 2025

In other Missions news, it was reported after the game that utilityman Nerwilian Cedeno is set to join the Missions for their next series. 

The San Diego Padres are promoting INF Nerwilian Cedeño to San Antonio (Double-A).

Cedeño had a .273 batting average with 7 extra-base hits and 18 RBI for the Fort Wayne TinCaps.#Padres

— Chase Ford (@_chaseford) May 18, 2025

 

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 3-2 vs West Michigan) (20-19 on the season)

Nerwillian Cedeno – 2-for-5, RBI Single

Braedon Karpathios – 1-for-3, RBI Single, Walk

Eric Yost – 5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 5 K (86 pitches – 53 strikes)

When a player continues to perform well, it gets hard to discover new words to describe such performances. Eric Yost has continued to pitch like an ace for Fort Wayne, as he allowed one earned run over 5.2 innings on Sunday. Facing a potent West Michigan lineup, Yost struck out five batters while holding them to four hits. Yost’s sweeper continues to be impressive, flashing up to 20 inches of horizontal break, which tunnels well compared to his relatively dead-zone fastball. While the sweeper has been used for soft contact, the Padres organization sees a market inefficiency in swing-and-miss from the sweeper, and with Yost being a supinator, the swing-and-miss sweeper plays well out of his release point. Garrett Hawkins struck out four in two innings of work. Hawkins has one of the highest strikeout rates in the Midwest League and looks to be fully back in his return season from Tommy John surgery. 

The TinCaps offense made a push to tie the game late in the game, but it was ultimately too late. Braedon Karpathios plated the team’s first run of the ballgame with a first-inning RBI single. Karpathios has seen some ups and downs in the power department throughout the season, but his steady eye at the plate has him reaching base at a .400 clip this month. Speaking of strong performers, Nerwilian Cedeno has played his way into a promotion. The TinCaps utilityman went 2-for-5 in the game with a ninth-inning RBI single. Cedeno isn’t going to rack up the highest slugging percentage ever, but he continually provides quality at-bats, which has helped him reach Double-A. Jacob Campbell had a double in the game, and Addison Kopack came around to score a run in the ninth inning. 

 

Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 12-3 vs Fresno) (17-22 on the season)

Zach Evans – 4-for-4, Three RBI

Kaden Hollow – 1-for-5, Bases-Clearing Double

Boston Bateman – 2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K (49 pitches – 33 strikes)

Luis Gutierrez – 6 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 8 K (83 pitches – 57 strikes)

Lake Elsinore’s pitching staff delivered a strong performance, with Boston Bateman striking out five batters in two innings. His two innings were full of the left-hander navigating base traffic, but he managed to hold the damage to two runs. Bateman has struck out 25.7% of opposing batters faced this season, while walking just 8.3%. The rates are strong for the young 19-year-old southpaw in his first professional season, and while it remains to be seen how many innings he will be allowed to throw this season. Fellow southpaw Luis Gutierrez threw six dominant innings, striking out eight batters while holding the Grizzlies to one lone hit. Gutierrez has been dominant in May, tossing to the tune of a 1.72 ERA in three games, striking out 14 in 15.2 innings. 

The offense for the Storm certainly brewed up a performance, scoring 12 runs in the game. Zach Evans had a perfect day at the plate, reaching base in all five of his plate appearances, which included him hitting four singles. Evans also drove in three runs, and he wasn’t the only one with a three-RBI day. Kaden Hollow had one hit in five at-bats, but the Dixie State alum delivered a three-RBI double in the late innings to clear the bases.

A Par 2 for Zach Evans ties the game!#EmbraceTheStorm?️ pic.twitter.com/I8Z7RjrKRP

— Lake Elsinore Storm (@Storm_Baseball) May 18, 2025

RUN. IT. UP.

Kaden Hollow clears the bases and puts a dozen on the scoreboard!!! pic.twitter.com/Swkya8SAM1

— Lake Elsinore Storm (@Storm_Baseball) May 18, 2025

Kavares Tears posted an RBI double, and Cobb Hightower scored twice in the game out of the leadoff spot. Chase Valentine went 2-for-5 with two singles, and B.Y. Choi had one hit in the game. Choi has seen a downtick in playing time since Cobb Hightower was assigned to Lake Elsinore, and has spent more time at first base in recent weeks.

Kavares Tears extends his hitting streak in a big way!! He now has 12 hits in his last 7 games!#EmbraceTheStorm?️ pic.twitter.com/NSW7nohpPV

— Lake Elsinore Storm (@Storm_Baseball) May 18, 2025

 

ACL Padres – Off-day

Diego Garcia

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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