Padres hit their way to 13-6 victory over White Sox
Credit: Joseph Ray
The Chicago White Sox made the drive from Glendale to Peoria for their date with the Padres on Thursday night.
Thursday marks one week until the Padres open up their season at home against the Detroit Tigers.
Manny and Tatis Jr. return
Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. are back in the San Diego lineup after representing the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. Jake Cronenworth is batting leadoff, a place that he could be seeing some time at, against righties.
Thursday night in Peoria. pic.twitter.com/cqwgMJ5E5T
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 19, 2026
King labors through five
Michael King, in contention for the Opening Day nod, did not have his best stuff Thursday versus the Southside. King let up nine hits, for six earned runs, and struck out just three batters. Particularly, King struggled in the first, allowing a two-run homer to LaMonte Wade Jr. and needing 26 pitches to escape the inning, where three White Sox crossed the plate.
The second through fourth innings were much smoother for the right-hander, only letting up a run over that three-inning stretch. His fifth inning appeared to be a clean one at first, striking out Everson Pereira swinging and inducing a flyout to Miguel Vargas. Then, Curtis Mead and LaMonte Wade Jr. hit back-to-back home runs to tie the game at six, at the time. On the next batter, Derek Hill singled, then got caught stealing by Freddy Fermin to end the top of the fifth. King finished his five innings, throwing 91 pitches, with 53 of them being strikes.
Offensive bright spots early.
Cronenworth and Tatis Jr., both at the top of the lineup, drew great at-bats all game long. For Cronenworth, he went 1-2, while showing good plate discipline with two base on balls. Tatis Jr. hit an RBI double with an exit velocity of 104 mph in the first inning off of Chicago starter Adisyn Coffey.
Gavin Sheets capped tied the game at three in the first, with a two-run homer to right field. This home run made it back-to-back games with home runs for Sheets.
Better than the cool side of the pillow. pic.twitter.com/Q3KQrlg7e9
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 20, 2026
In the fourth inning, the Padres put up another three-run inning thanks to RBIs from Miguel Andujar, Freddy Fermin, and Fernando Tatis Jr. San Diego sent all nine men to the plate, recording five hits. Sheets, Xander Bogaerts, Andujar, and Fermin chalked up four consecutive singles to immediately greet new Chicago pitcher Ben Peoples.
Breaking through in the eighth
New White Sox arm, Eric Adler, had trouble finding the zone in his eighth inning. Adler walked Jose Miranda, Fermi,n and Ramon Laureano to start his outing. Cronenworth finished his nice day at the fish, breaking the 6-6 tie with a bases-clearing double down the right field line.
Jackson Merrill recorded his first hit of the game, with a double to right field, plating Cronenworth to make the score 10-6, Padres.
Ty France joined in on the fun with a 106.5 mph, three-run rocket to left field to make the score now, 13-6 San Diego. France’s second home run of the spring pushes him closer to cracking the initial 26-man roster.
Bullpen sharp once again
Kyle Hart and Bradgley Rodriguez are both names that are being thrown around as “bubble” guys to make the Opening Day roster out of Spring Training. Both made key relief appearances on Thursday.
Hart looked sharp once again, allowing two hits and striking out a man in his 1 1/3 innings pitched. Perhaps an important point of note, Hart only threw 18 pitches before getting relieved, maybe solidifying his role as a bullpen piece as opposed to a starter.
As for Rodriguez, he seemed to struggle with his command in his 2/3 inning of work. He walked two men, while also striking out Curtis Mead and Derek Hill with his electric, high-90s fastball. The Venezuelan threw 23 pitches, with only 10 of them being for strikes.
Wandy Peralta appeared in his first outing after coming back from playing for Team Dominican Republic in the WBC. Peralta walked a few men in his eighth inning of work, striking out one.
In the ninth, it was Jeremiah Estrada closing it out. He struck out the side, all swinging. Estrada got one strikeout with the elevated fastball and two with his “chitter” below the zone.
Split squad action on Friday
The Padres will have their split squads going on Friday night, one going to Glendale to take on the Dodgers, and one will stay in Peoria to face the Rockies. Marco Gonzales is going to start for San Diego versus Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Dodgers, with the first pitch set for 6:05 PT/MT.
Nick Pivetta will start for the Padres versus the Rockies at Peoria Stadium. This game will start at 6:10 PT/MT. The Padres will only provide video and audio for the game in Peoria versus Colorado. It will be available to watch on Padres.TV and for listeners on 97.3 The Fan.
Angel grew up a San Diego sports fan, following the Padres, SDSU athletics, San Diego FC, as well as the Chargers. He is currently a third year community college student, and will transfer to SDSU to pursue a career in Journalism.