The San Diego Padres came out victorious in a trip to Camelback Ranch versus the Chicago White Sox, 4-3.

The bullpen and the offense did enough to get the job done as they look ahead against an unfamiliar opponent.

Nick Pivetta was roughed up in the start

 

Padres starters are still getting into a groove in spring training. Michael King was tattooed yesterday, and Pivetta was today too. Nick Pivetta’s day finished at 3.0 innings pitched, six hits, two earned runs, one strikeout, and one walk. Out of the gate, he got into some trouble with leadoff man Chase Meidroth, singling on the first pitch. Then, three of the next four hitters ended up singling off first pitches. Austin Hays was rewarded with an RBI single to center. The White Sox’s game plan against Pivetta was to be aggressive early in the count; they executed that at a high level. Next inning, Derek Hill got a triple on a first pitch from Pivetta as well.

Furthermore, the damage was done in Pivetta’s last inning, where Miguel Vargas tied the game 2-2 with a solo shot to left center, 406ft, 104.8 mph off the bat. Ultimately, for Pivetta, his command was not sharp today. Three hits were on elevated off-speed pitches, and the other three were on variations of his fastball. It’s not a time to panic. It’s early in spring training, pitchers are trying stuff and finding their groove before the season.

 

Important free agent acquisitions answer the bell on offense

With a good number of the Padres gone for WBC play, this was a time for some guys to step up. Starting with Miguel Andujar, who is proving to be a tough out in the line-up for the Padres. In Andujar’s first at-bat, he had a six-pitch walk, followed that up with a single in a 1-2 pitch count, and ended with a single on a blistering line drive to left. He ended the day 2-for-2 with a pair of singles and a walk. Very good numbers early on in the spring; .294 batting average and .400 on-base percentage.

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On the other hand, the big highlight today for the offense was the extra-base hit potential of Nick Castellanos. In the first inning, he started with a double roped to center, 99.9 off the bat. But he didn’t stop there, leaving his mark in the third inning with a 425-foot two-run blast to left on a low and inside cutter. Castellanos could be a major factor in raising the Padres’ ceiling this season. Overall, Tuesday was a good sign of things to come with Nick Castellanos on the squad.

Along with the shaky start from Pivetta, the bullpen had some intense moments. First, Kyle Hart, who relieved Pivetta, ran into trouble in his second inning of work. After two walks, Hart balked and had to dig deep to keep the game tied. A fielder’s choice leading to an out at the plate, followed by a strikeout and ground out to second, was the recipe for success to keep Hart’s line clean. Second was the Padres’ go-to reliever Adrian Morejon in the 6th. He got into trouble, giving up two doubles, one from former Giant Lamonte Wade Jr. and one from Derek Hill. Morejon surrendered one run but finished with two strikeouts. Lastly, Jeremiah Estrada had guys on second and third with two outs in the 7th. But Estrada kept his composure, striking out Jeral Perez to close out the inning.

The offense tied it up in the 7th, taking advantage of White Sox pitching woes with a bases-loaded walk from Pablo Reyes. Ultimately, the offense got it done in the 8th. Rodolfo Duran walked against Alexander Alberto, which set up Francisco Alvarez to knock in the go-ahead run on a double down the left field line, giving the Padres a 4-3 lead. Francis Pena closed it out with a 1-2-3 ninth inning to secure the Padres’ 5th win of spring training.

Next up for the Padres is a date with Team Great Britain in an exhibition for the squad before the WBC on Wednesday, March 4.

Joe Musgrove will make his first start back from Tommy John surgery since the 2024 playoffs. First pitch is at 12:10 pm P.T.