The San Diego Padres dropped their second game of Spring Training action in a 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday. There were positives to be sure. Fernando Tatis Jr. recorded his first two hits of the spring and Randy Vasquez allowed just one hit and one walk over two scoreless innings. On the other side, Triston Mackenzie did not look good in his first appearance for San Diego. He allowed four runs in 2/3 of an inning although his velocity was up. The Padres will have the chance to continue to prepare for the regular season with a contest against the Milwaukee Brewers today.
Padres News:
- The Padres had a busy week that saw new addition, Nick Castellanos, make his first appearance in the brown and gold. He also made his first appearance at first base and finished the day with a couple solid defensive plays. Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball provides information about Castellanos and other news and notes that came from the Padres over the past week.
- Lincoln Zdunich of Gaslamp Ball dived into Matt Waldron’s first start of the spring and what this Spring Training means for him and his career moving forward.
- AJ Cassavell of Padres.com identifies six takeaways from what he has seen in the first three Spring Training games for the Padres. The first takeaway for Cassavell is the overall usage of the players who will be participating in the World Baseball Classic. One of the WBC players who was scheduled to join his fellow countrymen, Yuki Matsui, will not take part to allow him time to recover from injury.
- Sung-Mun Song made his first appearance for the Padres in their loss to the Dodgers and appeared healthy taking swings at the plate after suffering an injury earlier in the offseason.
- Mason Miller seems to make news every time he steps on the mound. His first spring appearance was no different. Miller threw multiple pitches at or above 100 mph, which did not go unnoticed by the Padres.
Baseball News:
- Free agent first baseman Rhys Hoskins and the Cleveland Guardians agreed to a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training.
- Shohei Ohtani is not scheduled to pitch in the WBC.
- Players around MLB commented about their thoughts on the USA men’s hockey win over Canada in the gold medal game. Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes said he has been inspired by the hockey team to help the US win gold in the WBC. Toronto Blue Jays star George Springer was showed his support, donning a USA hockey jersey during his batting practice session.
- The San Francisco Giants turned a rare triple play against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.
- A T206 Honus Wagner baseball card that was pulled 117 years ago sold at auction for more than $5 million.
- The sluggers have been slugging around MLB this spring. Pete Alonso of the Baltimore Orioles hit his second home run in as many games, and Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber connected on a longball of his own in his first at-bat of the spring.
- The New York Yankees had to overcome more than just their on-field opponent on Sunday. A sewage leak interrupted their preparations for the game.
- A day after being scratched from his start, Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Ryan received good news following an MRI and remains on track for Opening Day.