The team with the majors’ best record had fielded a patchwork lineup by the end of Tuesday night’s 10-4 loss to the Athletics in West Sacramento, Calif.
And there’s not much recovery time for a growing list of walking wounded for the San Diego Padres (9-3) as they try to secure a series win against the Athletics on Wednesday afternoon.
After center fielder Jackson Merrill (hamstring) hit the 10-day injured list earlier Tuesday, San Diego saw second baseman Jake Cronenworth and right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. leave the game in the third and fifth inning, respectively.
Cronenworth injured himself while grounding out to second base, and Tatis appeared to hurt his left shoulder while swinging the bat in the second inning. Their availability for Wednesday’s series finale wasn’t immediately known.
What is known is that Merrill is out until at least April 18. Padres manager Mike Shildt said it was a decision borne out of caution.
“It doesn’t appear to be anything overly serious,” he said. “There wasn’t a traumatic event that caused it. We just felt like it was going to be close to the 10 days — right at that mark. Instead of playing (one player) short … just go ahead and get it done.”
Merrill was off to a fast start, hitting .378 with three homers and seven RBIs. Without him and Tatis in the lineup, the Padres’ outfield by the fifth inning Tuesday night consisted of Triple-A call-up Oscar Gonzalez, rookie Brandon Lockridge and veteran Jason Heyward.
With a potentially diminished lineup on Wednesday, San Diego will need more from starter Randy Vasquez (0-1, 1.69 ERA) than it received on Friday in a 3-1 loss at the Chicago Cubs. The right-hander walked five in 4 2/3 innings and was tagged with the loss. He gave up three runs (two earned) and two hits.
Vasquez allowed one run on seven hits in five innings of a no-decision last June in his lone career encounter with the A’s.
The Athletics won in their new home at Sutter Health Park on Tuesday for the first time in five games. They did so with a 13-hit attack that included a whopping 11 hits from the Nos. 5-9 batters in the lineup.
Their hottest bat over the first two weeks belongs to first baseman Tyler Soderstrom, who was relatively quiet with a hit and a walk in four plate appearances on Tuesday. But he’ll enter Wednesday with six homers, tied with Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees as the MLB leader.
A’s manager Mark Kotsay said Soderstrom is controlling the strike zone better than he once did, earning him the hitters’ counts that often result in homers.
“Past seasons, he expanded and swung at some bad pitches,” Kotsay said. “I think he’s really found some zone discipline and is swinging at the right pitches. We all know the power he has. It’s not a surprise he’s driving the baseball.”
Soderstrom has fueled a power display that’s seen the Athletics homer in the season’s first 12 games for the first time in franchise history.
They’ll aim for a series win behind right-hander Osvaldo Bido (1-0, 2.70 ERA), who’s coming off a no-decision Friday in the team’s 6-3, 11-inning win in Colorado. Bido lasted five innings, giving up six hits and two runs with two walks and five strikeouts.
Bido has yet to face the Padres in his career.
–Field Level Media
