The opening game of the three-game set between the San Diego Padres and the Chicago Cubs was filled with twists and turns and ups and downs. Some — perhaps not former Padres manager Mike Shildt — would describe it as a rollercoaster. San Diego walked off the field with a 9-7 win over Chicago when Mason Miller closed the game with a strikeout of Alex Bregman. It was not the best outing for the most dominant closer in baseball, after all he allowed two runs to score and one of those came on a wild
pitch, but as Miller stated after the game, the Padres got the win and that was really all that mattered. San Diego got the win, but it did not come without a cost — or so we thought. Manny Machado finished the game 3-for-4 and appeared to be heating up offensively, but he left the game early with a left leg injury. Cameras caught Machado sitting on the bench after being taken out of the game with a member of the San Diego training staff working on his left calf. Machado could be seen flexing his foot up and down, which seemed to indicate that was the issue after legging out his second double of the game. Padres manager Craig Stammen stopped short of saying Machado would be in the lineup today but said his star third baseman was fine. The Friar Faithful will have to wait and see if Machado is penciled into the lineup for the second game against the Cubs tonight, but it would not be surprised if he also gets a “rest day” to err on the side of caution for the 33-year-old.
Padres News:
- Fernando Tatis Jr. did it again last night, hitting a line drive through the middle of the infield at 112.5 mph. The single was an illustration of what Thomas Conroy of Gaslamp Ball discussed in his piece about Tatis Jr. The Platinum Glove-winning right fielder is hitting the ball extremely hard, but he is doing so without any lift. The result is Tatis Jr. still has yet to hit a home run. It seems to be a matter of when not if it happens, but fans and the player himself are a bit confused as to why it has not happened already.
- Jose E. Feliciano ad his wife Kwanza Jones have not officially been announced as the new owners of the Padres, but speculation about what they could do for the team has already begun. Lincoln Zdunich of Gaslamp Ball looks at the potential of San Diego jumping into the upcoming bidding war for soon-to-be prized free agent left-hander Tarik Skubal. A move like that, if the Padres were able to land him, would certainly go a long way in showing the fanbase how committed the new owners are to bringing the City of San Diego its first World Series title.
- The Padres needed to make a roster move before the start of the game against the Cubs due to the additional of the 27th player for the Mexico City Series. There was some speculation as to whether or not a player would be released to keep Sung-Mun Song on the roster, but in the end, the San Diego brain trust decided to send Song back to Triple-A El Paso.
- Jeremiah Estrada is gearing up and working to get back to the MLB roster after his IL stint. Reports are that his velocity has improved, which should make him more effective when he finally makes it back.
Baseball News:
- The Cleveland Guardians are calling up their top draft pick from the 2024 draft in Travis Bazzana, which is just the latest promotion of a young player with star potential forcing his way onto a roster.
- Aaron Judge and Ben Rice homered to help the red-hot New York Yankees get a 4-2 win over the Texas Rangers.
- Ranger Suarez had a 10-striekout performance and helped the Boston Red Sox shutout the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-0.
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed four walks and gave up four runs, but the Los Angeles Dodgers were able to walk-off the Miami Marlins, 5-4.
