Spring training recap: Top prospect Jackson Merrill gets three hits in Padres’ loss to Mariners
Jackson Merrill #JacksonMerrill
The Mariners beat the Padres 3-1 on Friday at Peoria Stadium in the spring training opener for both teams.
Batter’s box: Manny Machado was 2-for-2 with a pair of singles. … Jackson Merrill, the Padres’ top prospect, had a single in each of his three at-bats. The 19-year-old shortstop scored from first base on Matthew Batten’s double in the eighth inning. … Nelson Cruz was 0-for-2 with a walk. … Xander Bogaerts was 0-for-2 but drove a ball to the wall in center field in his first at-bat. … Juan Soto was 1-for-2.
Balls and strikes: Nick Martinez scattered three hits and struck out four in two scoreless innings. It was the first of what is expected to be three starts for Martinez before he joins Team USA for the World Baseball Classic. Martinez is scheduled to start March 12 against Mexico in the WBC. … Ryan Weathers worked a scoreless third and despite allowing two singles was almost out of the fourth inning without any damage. But Soto dropped what would have been the third out, which allowed a run to score. Weathers then yielded a two-run double before getting out of the inning. … Jay Groome, who along with Weathers is among a group of would-be starters competing for a possible long relief spot, allowed two hits in 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Extra bases: José Azocar fielded Mike Ford’s drive that bounced off the wall in center field and turned and threw to second baseman Ha-Seong Kim, who spun and fired a one-hopper to catcher Luis Campusano, who was waiting to tag J.P. Crawford for the final out of the second inning. … The Padres started at least four regulars in Bogaerts, Kim, Machado and Soto. Cruz, expected to be in a platoon at designated hitter, also started. All four are participating in the World Baseball Classic and will depart spring training by March 6. … The Mariners started seven of their regulars, including last year’s American League Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez and San Diego State alumnus Ty France. … Friday’s attendance was 9,887.
On deck: The Padres play the White Sox, 12:05 p.m. PT Saturday. Right-hander Seth Lugo, expected to be one of two new members of the rotation, starts for the Padres.
This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.