The Padres notch their twelfth win of Spring Training

The San Diego Padres were up against a familiar opponent in NL West mates, the San Francisco Giants.

The Padres’ defense and pitching were the story in the 3-1 win in Peoria, extending their record to 12-11-2.

Buehler and the defense were brilliant in the win

In a day that started with bad news, with Joe Musgrove starting the season on the injured list. Walker Buehler gave the team a spark in a dandy of a day on the mound. Five innings, three hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts will do for this Padres squad that needs starting pitching depth.

His change-up, slider, and knuckle curve were on point today, doing a good job of keeping hitters off balance, being able to finish them off, and pinpointing his pitches to generate swing and miss. In both the top of the 2nd and the bottom of the fourth, he struck out the side. Buehler’s stats for the spring now stand at 3.09 ERA with 13 strikeouts in three starts.

No days off. pic.twitter.com/6AKfmVlO1i

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 16, 2026

But Buehler’s wasn’t the only one making plays today; the Padres’ defense had a couple of great plays to help their case for a win today. In the top of the third, Bryce Johnson made an outstanding diving grab going to his left in right field, which ended up closing the inning and saved a run with a guy on third.

The Bryce Is Right pic.twitter.com/A1cyL7C6fy

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 16, 2026

The Padres’ defense added on to that at the top of the fifth. Luis Campusano, with runners on first and second, two outs, helped his battery mate out. Giants send a double steal, and Campusano was ready, gunning Will Brennan out at second to get out of another inning with a zero on the board. A good sign in the closing games of Spring Training from who will probably be the Padres’ backup catcher.

Offense blows it open in the sixth

The Padres’ offense was quiet all day as the Giants’ pitching had struck them out seven times and allowed one hit on a Campusano double heading into the sixth. But the Padres got rolling in the sixth with three runs.

Nick Solak started it off with a line drive single to right field. He ended up advancing on a passed ball in Jackson Merrill‘s at-bat. Merrill ended up grounding out to second, which advanced Solak to third with only one out. Xander Bogaerts walked, then was replaced by Francisco Acuna as a pinch runner. Miguel Andujar, with runners on the corners, one out, did his job putting a fly ball into center, getting a sac-fly, and the Padres’ first run of the game. Ramon Laureano was then hit by a pitch, followed by back-to-back singles. Bryce Johnson hit a line drive to right, and Ty France hit a grounder to center to push two more runs across. The Padres closed the inning with a 3-0 lead, which would hold the rest of the way.

Holding on for the win

The San Francisco Giants were able to get a run in the top of the seventh on a sac-fly off of Jackson Wolf. But the Giants tried to keep the game alive in the ninth.

For the Padres, Ty Adcock was the man for the job to get the save. He gave up a lead-off triple to Osleivis Basabe. But Basabe made a huge blunder when Jesus Rodriguez flew out in foul territory. San Diego’s Qrey Lott made a jumping catch along the right field wall in foul territory and nearly flipped over it into the stands. But Basabe wasn’t even tagging or near the bag, so the Giants missed out getting the game to 3-2. Adcock made sure to take advantage of that mistake, striking out Luis Matos and getting Will Brennan to ground out to short to close it out.

Up next, as the closing games of Spring are upon us

Things are starting to ramp up, starting pitchers are going deeper, starters are playing more innings, and high-end relievers are getting more action. The next time the San Diego Padres take the field, they face off against the Seattle Mariners, who share the same spring training complex, but San Diego will be the away team. German Marquez will be on the bump againist the Mariners. Seattle is still TBD on a starter for the game. San Diego vs Seattle 1:10 Pacific standard time on Tuesday, March 17.

Wyatt Dearen

Hi Padres fans, I’m Wyatt Dearen. I am from Farmington, New Mexico, which is home to one of the most prestigious high school baseball tournaments in America, the Connie Mack World Series. When it comes around, I do color and statistics for the radio. I am currently pursuing a degree in Sports Administration at the University of Houston #GoCoogs. I have been a sports fan my whole life, following all the major sports leagues since I could walk, and it has been my dream my whole life to work in sports. Thankful to write about the team and for the East VillageTimes.