The San Diego Padres faced their Triple-A affiliate, the El Paso Chihuahuas, in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,222 winning the game with a 13-9 score.
Home team gets ahead early
The Chihuahuas got on the board quickly as they attacked in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run home run from Right Fielder Hunter Renfroe. Then, back-to-back hits from Ryan Schimpf and Yeison Asencio that gave the hometown team an early 3-0 lead. Padres' coaches visited the mound to calm down his starter Robbie Erlin and quickly stopped the damage. Erlin had been the Padres' most reliable start this spring, posting a 2.25 ERA but this night just wasn't his.
Padres strike back quickly
Jabari Blash quickly gave the Major Leaguers the lead in the top of the second inning, thanks to three-run homer that followed back-to-back singles from Yangervis Solarte and Alexei Ramirez. Following Blash's first home run, Travis Jankowski walked and advanced to second after a throwing error which eventually helped him score, off of a single from Cory Spangenberg that helped the Padres gain a 4-3 lead.
The Chihuahuas tied the game in the bottom half of the second by having Rocky Gale, Alberth Martinez and Carlos Asuaje hit three back-to-back singles. Martinez scored after a groundout from Nick Noonan and Asuaje after a sac fly from Renfroe. Padres' starter Erlin, had given up nine hits at this point.
Ramirez opened the top half of the fourth by hitting a single off Chihuahuas' pitcher Carlos Pimentel. Blash, who already homered earlier in the game, continued to be a hero for his team by smashing a two-run home run to deep center field to give the Padres a 6-5 lead. San Diego scored again in the same inning thanks to singles from Christian Bethancourt and Spangenberg, and ended up with two-run lead,
El Paso continued with a back-and-forth dynamic of tying the game or regaining the lead in the fourth inning, by having Renfroe hit his second two-run home run of the night. Erlin didn't come out to pitch the fifth inning, leaving the game after allowing seven runs and 12 hits over four innings of work.
San Diego takes lead for good
The score remained the same until the top half of the sixth when the Padres scored three runs. After that point, the Chihuahuas were unable to tie the game as they only scored twice more over the next four innings. San Diego finished the game on a high note by hitting three home runs in the top of the ninth, finishing the game with a 13-9 score.
This was the first encounter between the Padres and the Chihuahuas since they affiliate with each other in 2014. "The fans were into the game, our guys had a good time, " Green said after the game. "Right now they are all our players, which was fun to watch."
The Padres won this game partially thanks to Blash, who was traded to the team last year. Even though he is new withing the Padres' organization, this wasn't Blash's first night in El Paso. In June 3rd, 2014 while Blash was playing for Tacoma, Oakland's Triple-A affiliate, he hit three home runs and lead his team to a 13-4 win.
There are rumors going around of Blash making the Major League team and he credits his recent success to Padres' bench coach, Mark McGwire. "He helped me to stay on top and inside the ball," Blash said when asked about McGwire's influence. "I am definitely glad to have someone like him around."
The Padres have until Saturday at 9 a.m. to set the 25-man roster, but both the Chihuahuas and San Diego now have a clear idea of who's making the Major League team.