PADRES ON DECK: CF Homer Bush Jr., LF Tirso Ornelas Have 2 Hits; Pitching Prospects Lesko, Lizarraga Struggle

By Bill Center

FriarWire
3 min readMay 5, 2024
Homer Bush Jr. during an at-bat for Fort Wayne.

Two of the Padres’ leading right-handed starting pitching prospects struggled Saturday.

Victor Lizarraga, the Padres’ №12 prospect, gave up four runs on six hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings for Double-A San Antonio. Lizarraga (0–1) took the loss and has a 3.00 earned run average on the season. Catcher Brandon Valenzuela (.264), the Padres’ №13 prospect, hit safely for the fifth time in the last six games, going 1-for-4.

And Dylan Lesko (0–2, 9.49 ERA), the Padres’ №4 prospect, gave up six runs on two hits and four walks in two-thirds of an inning to take the loss for High Single-A Fort Wayne. Center fielder Homer Bush Jr. (.224), the Padres’ №9 prospect, was 2-for-4 for the TinCaps. Catcher Ethan Salas (.200), the Padres’ №1 prospect, was 1-for-3.

Left fielder Tirso Ornelas (.275), the Padres’ №28 prospect, was 2-for-4 for Triple-A El Paso with a RBI and a run scored.

The rookie-level Padres opened the Arizona Complex Season with a 10–6 win over the Royals.

AROUND THE FARM:

TRIPLE-A EL PASO (14–18) — CHIHUAHUAS 6, Sugar Land 4: CF Bryce Johnson (.235) was 2-for-4 with a double, 2 RBIs and 2 runs behind Ornelas. DH Donovan Solano (.318) was 2-for-3 with a walk. SS Mason McCoy (.222) was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and a run. RF Oscar Mercado (.196) was 1-for-3 with 2 RBIs. C Brett Sullivan (.316) was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run. 1B-2B Nate Mondou (.293) was 1-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and a run. Starting LH Ryan Carpenter (1–2, 9.00 ERA) gave up 3 runs on 3 hits and 4 walks with 6 strikeouts in 5 innings to earn the win. RH Sean Reynolds (7.07) gave up 2 hits with 2 Ks in 2 scoreless IPs. RH Lake Bachar (1.62) gave up a run on a hit with 2 Ks in an IP. LH Austin Davis (4.91) allowed a hit in a scoreless IP to earn his third save.

DOUBLE-A SAN ANTONIO (13–13) — ARKANSAS 6, Missions 0: SS Ray-Patrick Didder (.236) and 3B Jarryd Dale (.083) were each 1-for-3 behind Valenzuela. 1B Cole Cummings (.267) and RF Robert Perez Jr. (220) were each 1-for-4. RH Jared Kollar (2.78) followed Lizarraga and gave up 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and a walk with 5 strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.

HIGH SINGLE-A FORT WAYNE (10–16) — LAKE COUNTY 10, TinCaps 1: RF Kai Murphy (.288) had a RBI double in 3 at-bats behind Bush and Salas. C Anthony Vilar (.212) was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. LF-RF Tyler Robertson (.208) was 1-for-4 with a stolen base. DH Griffin Doersching (.216) was 1-for-4. RH Jose Geraldo (6.52 ERA) followed Lesko and gave up 4 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks with a strikeout in an inning. RH Bradgley rodriguez (9.64) gave up a hit with 3 Ks in 2 1/3 scoreless IPs. RH Will Geerdes (4.00) allowed a hit and a BB with a K in 2 scoreless IPs. LH Ryan Och (4.09) gave up 2 hits with a BB with 4 Ks in 2 scoreless IPs.

SINGLE-A LAKE ELSINORE (9–14) — Storm at San Jose postponed by rain. Game will be made up as part of a doubleheader Sunday (May 5).

ARIZONA COMPLEX PADRES (1–0) — Padres 10, ROYALS 6: 1B Ethan Long was 3-for-4 with 2 doubles, 4 RBIs and 2 runs scored. C Kaden Hollow was 3-for-4 with 2 doubles, 2 RBIs and a run. 3B Alain Camou was 2-for-4 with a double, 3 RBIs and a run. Starting RH Yerry Landinez gave up 2 runs on 2 hits and a walk with 4 strikeouts in an inning.

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