Hosmer Makes His Debut as Bats Stay Hot for Padres
Credit: AP Photo
Peoria, Arizona
The Eric Hosmer era began today.
As expected, the first baseman was in the lineup on Tuesday afternoon against the Mariners.
His first at-bat wasn’t exactly newsworthy, as he hit a soft liner to shortstop off of Mariners’ LHP James Paxton. There will be better days for the Padres’ brand new addition as he gets his feet wet in the National League.
Clayton Richard was on the mound for the Friars, and his afternoon didn’t start well at all. The left-handed hurler gave up a two-run homer to Jean Segura in the first inning, before recording an out. Richard went two innings, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out a batter. He did settle down after the two-run bomb, and that was nice to see.
The Mariners scrapped together another run in the top of the fourth to make it 3-0 off of Eric Lauer, who was battling a little bit of a control issue.
Freddy Galvis got the action started for the Friars in the fourth, as he led off the inning with a base hit. Wil Myers followed with a single of his own and Eric Hosmer drove in Galvis for his first RBI of the spring. Jose Pirela doubled in another run to make it 3-2 Mariners at this point. The bats were waking up.
The swoon master then stood at the plate and let loose once again. Austin Hedges swatted a mammoth blow just to the left of the batter’s eye in center, his second homer of the spring, which put the Padres on top 5-3. Andy Green after the game said “Good early returns on Hedges. I like where he is with his swing right now.” The backstop has made some minor mechanical changes in the winter as he looks to find a consistent stroke.
Beautiful day. Beautiful swing. Gaze upon @austinhedges18‘s 3-run blast. ? #PadresST pic.twitter.com/UsUPQSoaeg
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) February 27, 2018
Rafael Lopez took over for Hedges behind the dish and showed some excellent power himself. He hit his first homer of the spring and also lined a double to right. Lopez is battling A.J. Ellis for the team’s backup catcher job presently, and has put in quite an effort so far. The left-handed catcher could be a great option for the Padres as Hedges’ understudy.
After eight complete innings, the score was 8-4 Padres as they went after their second win of the spring season. The wheels started to fall off the bus slightly, as Brett Kennedy was knocked around a bit. He left with two outs in the eighth, having allowed two runs to score, cutting the lead to 8-6.
11-6 ended up being the final score as the Mariners finished off the game in a sloppy manner. Franmil Reyes slugged his second homer of the spring as the mammoth outfielder smashed a ball deep into right field. He has shown quite the lively bat so far this spring.
The Padres take on the Dodgers Wednesday in Peoria. Game time is at 1:10 PM.
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.