The Padres’ Spring Training gauntlet continued against the National League Central champion Brewers to open the week. 

Shaken-Up Sears

Starting pitcher JP Sears entered camp with a true shot at the No. 5 spot in the team’s rotation. Then the Padres added a true handful’s worth of contestants for that spot. Now, Sears’ chances are falling behind after his outing against Milwaukee. Sears did not escape the first inning, allowing four runs on four hits. The Brewers bats tagged him for two extra-base hits, whiffing only twice in 13 swings. Andrew Vaughn tattooed a two-run home run to left field; yes, an 103.5 mph exit velocity definitely qualifies as tattooed. The Brewers added on with a two-run triple from Jett Williams, which chased Sears from the game. Carter Loewen, who ended the 2025 season with Triple-A El Paso, made his first spring outing to end the inning. He struck out Luis Lara to close the frame. 

King Vaughn would like you to know he’s back ? pic.twitter.com/fjLLnmI1GO

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) February 23, 2026

Andujar Very Far

Miguel Andujar was signed to provide power and slugging out of the DH spot while also playing some first and third base. Well, he lived up to the rationale behind the signing in this game, as he launched his first spring home run, a 103.1 mph drive to left field. Andujar finished the game 1-for-2 with the home run, and held down the fort at third base. While he is not too likely to see extended action there, seeing his ability to play third in a pinch adds another level of versatility to this team. After all, he did come up as a third baseman… and made an All-Star team that way. 

Specifically why we like Miguel Andujar ? pic.twitter.com/6sPfkw8R0T

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) February 23, 2026

A Game of Inches

The Padres’ catching staff continued their strong run of form when using the ABS system. Freddy Fermin once again had two successful challenges, one of which turned a Wandy Peralta walk to a Wandy Peralta strikeout. Ethan Salas saw his first game action of the spring behind the plate, and he was also successful on the ABS challenges, going 1-for-1 on challenges. Granted, the missed call on his challenge was right down the middle, but still, 1-for-1 ain’t half bad!

Arms-A-Plenty

Given the short nature of JP Sears’ start, the Padres would ride the bullpen through 8.1 innings. David Morgan threw a scoreless second inning, with his sinker leading the way in pitch usage. Morgan’s sinker became a legit weapon in his arsenal, and with its 17 inches of vertical break, will be a pitch he uses for big outs this season. Wandy Peralta and Mason Miller, both bound for the World Baseball Classic, threw scoreless innings. Jeremiah Estrada made his spring debut, working around three walks for a scoreless inning. DJ Snelten made his Padres debut, and while he allowed a solo homer to former Padre Brandon Lockridge, he was averaging 96.0 mph on the fastball with a gnawing slider at 82 mph. Manuel Castro rebounded from a tough outing over the weekend, throwing a scoreless eighth inning. 

Brandon Lockridge has two homers in two Cactus League games… pic.twitter.com/bst5J5PpH0

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) February 23, 2026

The Rally Pads Strike

Trailing 5-1 in the eighth, the Padres rallied for a six-run frame. Pablo Lopez led off the inning with a walk against Brewers reliever Bjorn Johnson. After a pop-out from Marcos Castanon, Luis Campusano singled to left field on a line, allowing Lopez to move to third base. Jose Miranda drew a walk to load the bases for Romeo Sanabria. Sanabria took a low-and-inside slider inside out to left-center, and his 105 mph double cleared the bases to make it a one-run game. Ethan Salas drew a walk on four non-competitive pitches, which brought up Samad Taylor. Taylor lined a game-tying single to left center, scoring Sanabria and moving Salas to third. Salas would score on a balk from new Brewers pitcher Joshua Quezada, and Taylor came in to score on a single by Francisco Acuna. The last five batted balls off Padres bats in the eighth all came in over 95 mph, so they were finding barrels on the bat and holes on the field. 

Romeo Sanabria clears the bases! pic.twitter.com/FfcBuiDTtG

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) February 23, 2026

Soaring Hawk…ins

The Padres’ first save of the Spring season came courtesy of Padres No. 9 prospect Garrett Hawkins. It wasn’t as easy as his last outing, as Hawkins allowed a single and walk, with both runners moving into scoring position. Despite this, Hawkins was able to get two ground ball outs and the coup de grace on a strikeout, thanks to his high-rising fastball. His fastball averaged 19 inches of iVB against Milwaukee, and the secondary offering of the day was his high-spin cutter, which posted a 107 Stuff+, per TJStats. 

Elsewhere at Home…

Griffin Canning threw a bullpen for the Padres today, per 97.3 The Fan’s media coverage. No numbers were publicly available on metrics, but the right-hander looks ahead of schedule in recovery from his mid-season Achilles tear. Elsewhere in camp, outfielder Tirso Ornelas cleared waivers and remains in big league camp after being designated for assignment. 

Griffin Canning in the bullpen, working closely with Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla. pic.twitter.com/lPb39Q9B4R

— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) February 23, 2026

Coming Up Next

The Padres get set to take the 101 down to Mesa to play the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday afternoon. Marco Gonzales makes his Padres debut as the starter, facing off against Shota Imanaga, whom the Padres last saw in October. First pitch is at 12:05 pm Pacific, with the only live feed coming from the MLB App.

Diego Garcia

A born and raised San Diegan, Diego Garcia is a lifetime Padres fan and self-proclaimed baseball nerd. Diego wrote about baseball on his own site between 2021-22 before joining the East Village Times team in 2024. He also posts baseball content on his YouTube channel “Stat Nerd Baseball”, creating content around trades, hypotheticals, player analyses, the San Diego Padres, and MLB as a whole.

A 2024 graduate of San Diego State, Diego aims to grow as a writer and content creator in the baseball community.