Gutierrez Dazzles in Debut as Missions Quiet Cardinals 

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (Sept. 11, 2025) – Luis Gutierrez didn’t allow a hit until there were two outs in the fifth inning, and he picked up the win in his Double-A debut as the San Antonio Missions (26-39, 65-69) defeated the Springfield Cardinals (42-24, 85-50) by a score of 5-1. Albert Fabian and Braedon Karpathios each drove in two runs, providing most of the offense the Missions needed to support the solid performances they got on the mound.

For the second straight night, San Antonio scored in the first inning, this time off Springfield starter Ixan Henderson. Tonight, a pair of singles by Devin Ortiz and Eguy Rosario preceded a walk by Romeo Sanabria, loading the bases for Karpathios. The lefty grounded a ball up the middle that found the outfield grass, scoring Ortiz and Rosario and placing San Antonio ahead 2-0.

Gutierrez took that lead and ran with it. He retired the first six men he faced, and despite issuing a walk to begin the third, he erased it quickly with a double play to keep the Cardinals at the minimum. That remained the case as he held Springfield hitless until there were two outs in the fifth, when Ramon Mendoza singled to break the no-hitter. Jeremy Rivas followed with a single ahead of a walk by Trey Paige to fill the bags, but Gutierrez stayed on. He forced Miguel Ugueto to groundout, maintaining San Antonio’s 2-0 edge.

Johan Moreno took the baton from Gutierrez and made his own Double-A debut. His evening began with a single from Jon Jon Gazdar, but Moreno then fooled Nolan Arenado with a nasty slider to strike him out. With two away in the sixth, Chase Davis singled to center, but a heads-up play by Ortiz at third cut the throw to the infield off as he relayed it to second, where he threw out a greedy Davis to end the inning.

The Missions had no one on with two away in the seventh against Edwin Nùñez, but things escalated quickly. Damon Dues and Wyatt Hoffman singled, setting Fabian up for his two-run two-bagger that doubled the Missions’ lead to 4-0.

Moreno kept pitching into the seventh and allowed a base hit to Mendoza. Moreno left the game with just one out to get, but as Jose Geraldo took over, a Trey Paige double scored Mendoza and charged the run to Moreno. Geraldo limited the damage to just the one run, however, so San Antonio still led 4-1.

San Antonio retrieved that run right back in the eighth as Randal Clemente simply couldn’t find the strike zone. He walked the bases loaded and uncorked two wild pitches, one of which scored Sanabria to give San Antonio a 5-1 advantage.

Geraldo held that advantage through his scoreless eighth, but he walked into trouble trying to close the game in the ninth. He gave up two free passes to begin the frame, so Harry Gustin had to come in. Like he has since joining the Missions three weeks ago, Gustin took care of business. He extended his scoreless streak to 17.1 innings and wrapped up San Antonio’s 5-1 win over the Cardinals.

UP NEXT:

The Missions and Cardinals continue their six-games series on Friday at 7:05 p.m. Righty Miguel Mendez (8-6, 3.01) starts for the Missions while lefty Brycen Mautz (7-3, 3.04) goes for the Cardinals. Catch all the action on Country Legends KKYX, 680 AM, 104.9 FM and kkyx.com. Tickets are available at samissions.com or by calling 210-675-7275.

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The San Antonio Missions are the Double-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres. The Missions were established in 1888 and have brought affordable family fun to the Alamo City for 123 seasons. The 13-time Texas League champions play their home games at Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium. For more information and tickets, call 210-675-7275 or visit samissions.com.