Spring training update: Luis Arraez Jackson Merrill shine as Padres beat A’s..
PEORIA, Ariz. — The Padres beat the A’s 10-3 on Saturday at Peoria Stadium.
Batter’s box: The Padres sent 10 batters to the plate and scored five runs on a walk and five singles in the second inning. … Lead-off batter Luis Arraez lined two singles in his two at-bats. … Jackson Merrill was 1-for-2. His hit was a two-out, two-run single lined the other way in the second inning. … Oscar Gonzalez, an outfielder in camp on a minor-league deal, doubled for the second straight day and is 3-for-5 in two games. All three of his hits have come against pitchers with major league experience. … Yuli Gurriel, who will be 41 in June and is in camp on a minor-league deal, lined a single to center field on the first pitch he saw. Gurriel, serving as the designated hitter, struck out his second time up. … Jake Cronenworth was 1-for-2 with an RBI single. … Tirso Ornelas, a 24-year-old outfielder who has been in the Padres’ system since 2017 and has yet to make his MLB debut, worked a 12-pitch walk and doubled.
Balls and strikes: Matt Waldron allowed a first-inning run on two hits, both against his knuckleball. Throwing the pitch more is an emphasis this spring, and he used it on 10 of 14 pitches in the first inning and 10 of 18 in the second. … Left-hander Adrián Morejón allowed a hit and struck out one in an eight-pitch third inning. … Jhony Brito, who is vying for the lone available rotation spot along with Waldron and three others, worked a scoreless fourth inning. … Lefty Yuki Matsui surrendered a home run to the first batter he faced before retiring the next three batters.
Extra bases: Right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. was not in camp for a second straight day while battling the flu. He is expected to be back in the next couple days and perhaps make his Cactus League debut Monday. … Padres catchers Martín Maldonado and Rodolfo Durán successfully challenged ball calls. Maldonado’s challenge was on a knuckleball from Waldron that barely nicked the bottom of the zone.
