The San Diego Padres are going long in spring training, literally. On Thursday, they trounced the Seattle Mariners in a spring training game, 27-6. In the second inning, they notched 12 runs in the top of the second inning.
Furthermore, the Padres put up eight home runs from eight different players, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. Those eight players include Jake Cronenworth, Jackson Merrill, Miguel Andujar, Freddy Fermin, Bryce Johnson, Tirso Ornelas, Sung-Mun Song, and Nick Schnell.
It surpassed the Padres' regular-season home run record with seven against the Toronto Blue Jays in 2019.
This comes at a time when San Diego experienced some bright spots this week. Pitcher Walker Buehler is healing nicely from Tommy John surgery.
San Diego will complete Spring Training on March 23 against the Mariners. Their season opener is scheduled against the Detroit Tigers on March 26.
San Diego is coming off a season in which they finished 90-72, second in the National League West. Ultimately, they found themselves playing in the NL Wild Card series before losing to the Chicago Cubs.
Last year, Manny Machado led the team in home runs with 27, along with leading the way in RBIs with 95. Meanwhile, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, and Miguel Andujar are expected to be the home run leaders going into 2026.
Last year, Tatis finished with 25 home runs. Andujar finished with 10 home runs. Merrill came away with 16 home runs.
On Friday, the Padres will play against the Cubs. Then, on Saturday, they will face off against the Cleveland Guardians and close out the week by playing the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.
