You still may be in a spring frame of mind, but early – oh, so early Wednesday – the Padres begin their season, 6,000 miles away. Alarm clock or DVR? You decide.
Yes, their games in South Korea, against the Dodgers and their big addition, Shohei Ohtani, count as part of the regular season, though the Padres will technically resume exhibition play upon their return to the U.S. The season begins in earnest on March 28, with the Padres’ home opener at Petco Park.
The team departed for Seoul five days ago for the series (and two exhibition games that precede it) at Gocheok Sky Dome, which also hosted a leg in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
The games will air nationally on ESPN and MLB.TV, with Game 1 starting at 3:05 a.m. (yes, A.M.) Wednesday and Game 2 at the same time the next day. They’ll also stream on Padres.TV.
Yu Darvish will take on another Dodger newcomer, Tyler Glasnow, in the first game while Joe Musgrove takes the mound in the second game, against yet another L.A. newbie, Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
One big change for the Padres heading into the season involves one of South Korea’s biggest baseball exports. Ha-Seong Kim broke out last year, winning a Gold Glove for his play as a utility man. This year though, he’ll be penciled in shortstop, meaning Xander Bogaerts has to shift to second base.
This trip is also more than just a return home for Kim. The Korea Baseball Organization’s Kiwoom Heroes play at the Gocheok Sky Dome home and he is a former Hero.
In the second of two Sunday exhibition games for the Padres, Kim had a banner day, with two homers against the KBO’s LG Twins in. a5-4 win. New acquisition Dylan Cease also made his debut in the Twins game. The Friars also defeated Team Korea earlier in the day, 1-0.
The team also was part of a community baseball clinic at Yongsan Children’s Park in Seoul that included local youngsters and the children of U.S. service members stationed in South Korea.
Fun fact: this isn’t the first time the Padres have started the regular season abroad, but it’s been awhile. In 1999, they traveled to Monterrey to face the Rockies.
In other international matchups set for baseball this year, Mexico City will host the Astros and Rockies on April 27-28 and London, the Mets and Phillies on June 8-9.
