Missions coach Chris Tremie talks with outfielder Braedon Karpathios at third base during the Missions baseball home opener against the Corpus Christi Hooks at Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in San Antonio.
Andrew J. Whitaker/San Antonio Express-News
All Braedon Karpathios needed was a single.
While it could have been more under other circumstances, the Missions outfielder walked off the Hooks in the tenth inning on Saturday for San Antonio’s first win of the season, 4-3, when he launched a line drive to left field. The hit scored outfielder Kai Roberts from third base.
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San Antonio trailed 3-1 entering the bottom of the ninth, but the Missions continued to fight. Shortstop Carson Tucker scored off of a wild pitch to tie the game in the ninth inning, and Roberts stole third base in the tenth inning to get himself in position to score off Karpathios’ hit.
“Early in the week was a little rough for various reasons, and they were able to stay the course and really kind of lock in over the weekend,” Missions manager Chris Tremie said.
Although the first four games of the Missions’ first homestand in the 2026 season did not go their way, San Antonio ended the six-game series against Corpus Christi with two gritty wins. San Antonio is now 3-6 overall and sits in fourth place in the Texas League South.
Pitching staff rebounds
Sunday’s win over Corpus Christi was a 1-0 contest held together by San Antonio’s pitching staff. Left-handed pitcher Luis Gutierrez, the No. 20 prospect in the San Diego Padres’ farm system, threw five scoreless innings with six strikeouts, two walks and one hit.
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Gutierrez spent most of last season with High-A Fort Wayne before making one appearance each with Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A El Paso. The Venezuela native has been with San Antonio since the season started and holds a 1.00 ERA with a 0.56 WHIP and 11 strikeouts in nine innings pitched.
Missions pitcher Luis Gutierrez pitches during the Missions baseball home opener against the Corpus Christi Hooks at Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in San Antonio.
Andrew J. Whitaker/San Antonio Express-News
“I think our pitching just kind of took over the weekend and showed what we’re going to be,” Tremie said.
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The manager also mentioned Eric Yost and Miguel Mendez as other pitchers that threw the ball well against the Hooks. Yost threw 5 ⅔ innings against Corpus Christi in a 2-1 loss Friday. He struck out seven batters with five hits, one earned run and two walks. Mendez, the No. 3 prospect in the Padres’ system, tossed four innings on Friday with six strikeouts, three hits, zero earned runs and two walks.
While the Missions ended the weekend on a high note, they ran into some trouble early in the week. San Antonio was forced to turn to its bullpen sooner than expected after starting pitchers Jagger Haynes and Victor Lizarraga had rough starts. Haynes threw 1 ⅔ innings last Wednesday and allowed three earned runs in a 9-6 loss. Lizarraga allowed seven unearned runs in ⅓ innings before he was pulled in a 10-3 loss.
“We had to use a lot of arms out of the bullpen the first couple of nights,” Tremie said. “I think overall, they did a good job of covering those games but it kind of set us up for a situation where we had to spend a lot of innings out of the bullpen on Wednesday and Thursday.”
Tremie is also not overly concerned with Haynes and Lizarraga, who were starters for the Missions last year.
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“They’re going to go out and do their thing and we should be in a good spot,” Tremie said of the two, who are expected to throw again this week.
Missions catcher Ethan Salas rounds the bases during the Missions baseball home opener against the Corpus Christi Hooks at Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in San Antonio.
Andrew J. Whitaker/San Antonio Express-News
Missions outfielder Albert Fabian is high five after scoring a run during the Missions baseball home opener against the Corpus Christi Hooks at Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in San Antonio.
Andrew J. Whitaker/San Antonio Express-News
Missions first baseman Romeo Sanabria reaches for the ball during the Missions baseball home opener against the Corpus Christi Hooks at Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in San Antonio.
Andrew J. Whitaker/San Antonio Express-News
Up next
The Missions travel to face the Midland RockHounds in a six-game series that begins Tuesday night. The RockHounds are the Double-A affiliate of the Athletics and feature shortstop Leo De Vries, the No. 1 prospect in the organization. De Vries, along with former Missions pitchers Braden Nett, Henry Baez and Eduarniel Núñez, was traded by the Padres to the Athletics last July for Major League pitchers Mason Miller and JP Sears.
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The Missions will aim to continue their two-game win streak as San Antonio faces the current Texas League South division leader this week.
“We had a tough loss on Friday and then came back Saturday and Sunday and played really well,” Tremie said. “Hopefully we can just parlay that into the next series and go into Midland and keep doing what we do.”