Newcomers Jared Kollar, Kervin Pichardo carry Missions past RoughRiders

Kervin Pichardo put the Missions in front 3-0 with his second home run of the season. The San Antonio Missions beat the Frisco RoughRiders 10-3 on Friday, July 30, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Kervin Pichardo put the Missions in front 3-0 with his second home run of the season.
Jared Kollar pitched in his very first game in a San Antonio Missions uniform on Friday night at Wolff Stadium.

Outfielder Kervin Pichardo was a much more experienced member of the team, playing in his ninth game with the Missions.

The young twosome helped the Missions build an early 4-0 lead on the way to beating the Frisco RoughRiders 10-3.

Pichardo hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the second inning and the Missions led the rest of the way.

Kollar held Frisco scoreless the first four innings. He was one out away from being in a position to get a win before giving up two runs in the top of the fifth and being replaced.

Pichardo finished the game with three hits including a double and had six RBIs and one run.

Juan Fernandez had three hits including a double, one walk and scored twice. Michael De La Cruz and Brandon Valenzuela both had two hits. Valenzuela was in only his third game since being promoted to Double-A and those were his first two hits with the Missions.

Relief pitcher Justin Lopez took over for Kollar and went 2 1/3 innings. He earned the win and allowed one run, two hits and one walk with one strikeout. James Bourque pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Jason Blanchard a scoreless ninth to finish off the game.

Jared Kollar held Frisco scoreless through the first four innings. The San Antonio Missions beat the Frisco RoughRiders 10-3 on Friday, July 30, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Jared Kollar held Frisco scoreless through the first four innings.

Missions roster gets makeover as baseball draft looms

Chandler Seagle. The Midland RockHounds beat the San Antonio Missions 10-8 on Thursday, June 22, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
San Antonio Missions catcher Chandler Seagle.
The San Antonio Missions lost four players over the weekend – at least temporarily – and added reinforcements as the San Diego Padres rebalance their minor league rosters with the baseball draft now less than two weeks away.

On Sunday, the Missions placed pitchers Brian Gonzalez and Michel Baez on the 7-day injured list, pitcher Jose Espada on the temporarily inactive list and catcher Chandler Seagle on the 7-day injured list.

Michel Baez. The San Antonio Missions beat the Corpus Christi Hooks 4-3 in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday, May 13, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Michel Baez – Missions
– Baez had a 3-0 record and 6.28 ERA in 12 relief appearances with the Missions. Earlier in the season he made seven relief appearances with the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas.


Brian Gonzalez of the San Antonio Missions and San Diego Padres organization pitching against Monclova of the Mexican league in an exhibition game on Saturday, May 1, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Brian Gonzalez – Missions
– Gonzalez appeared in six games with the Missions and made three starts. He had a 6.14 ERA and 2-0 record.


San Antonio reliever Jose Espada pitched four innings and held Frisco hitless and scoreless over that stretch in the RockHounds' 8-1 victory over the Missions on Thursday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Jose Espada – Missions
– Espada pitched in 19 games for the Missions and made five starts. He had a 0-2 record with a 3.27 ERA.

– Seagle went on the injured list retroactive to June 24. He was in his third season with the Missions. He was batting .206 this season with one home run and 13 RBIs in 40 games.

The Missions added five players who should be with them for their six-game series against the Frisco RoughRiders, which opens Wednesday night at Wolff Stadium.

Pitchers Raul Brito, Jared Kollar, catcher Brandon Valenzuela and outfielder Justin Farmer were promoted from the High Class A Fort Wayne TinCaps. Pitcher Blake Cederlind moved up from the Arizona Complex league. All of the new Missions pitchers are right-handers.

– Cederlind had a 1-1 record and a 13.50 ERA in seven relief appearances this summer in Arizona.

– Brito had a 2-0 record with one save and 2.45 ERA in 10 relief appearances at Fort Wayne.

– Kollar had a 5-0 record and one save with a 1.67 ERA in nine appearances including seven starts at Fort Wayne.

– Valenzuela batted .279 with four home runs and 15 RBIs in 39 games for Fort Wayne. He is listed as the No. 29 prospect in the Padres organization (via MLB.com).

– Farmer batted .233 with three home runs and 28 RBIs in 64 games for Fort Wayne.

The baseball draft is Sunday, July 9 – Tuesday, July 11. The first round will be televised on ESPN and MLB Network at 6 p.m. (Central time) on July 9. The remaining rounds will be on MLB Network.