The Padres dropped the final game of their three-game set with the Cubs Thursday ahead of a short, but notable trip to Mexico City to face the San Francisco Giants.
The Friars lost 5-2 despite Manny Machado’s second home run of the season as their offense as yet to catch fire, especially with their third baseman and left fielder plodding – Juan Soto, particularly so, with a .183 average.
“It’s a little frustrating that we’ve had a lot of these spots here and haven’t been able to come through with the type of hitters that we have,” manager Bob Melvin told MLB.com of his team’s woeful performance with runners in scoring position.
The team, at 13-14, hasn’t exactly met expectations in the National League West so far, but fortunately for them no other divisional rival is flying high. The Diamondbacks lead the NL West even though Arizona is just two games over .500.
The Padres, with a rare Friday off day, will look to shake off the doldrums south of the border with two games at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú, home to the Diablos Rojos of the Mexican League. The four-year-old ballpark is named after Helú, a Padres minority owner.
The Padres were last in Mexico City for the 2019 opening of the stadium, where they met the Diablos in an exhibition game.
This time though it’s a milestone game– the first time a Major League contest that counts will be played in Mexico’s largest city and the first time Giants will play abroad.
The Padres are veterans, however – they have played regular-season series in Mexico three times, all in Monterrey.
Joe Musgrove will take the mound for the 3:05 start Saturday – against former Padre Sean Manaea – while Yu Darvish gets the start at 1:05 p.m. Sunday. And though the Padres are most decidedly not home for the series, they nonetheless will serve as the home team in Mexico City.
