San Diego Padres fall victim to Giancarlo “Cruz” Stanton

The San Diego Padres had no answers for Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton in their 8-6 loss in the series opener of players weekend on Friday night.

It is an entertaining weekend for fans, as each of their favorite athletes gets to wear special jerseys with their nicknames on the back in honor of players weekend. As fun as it is, it’s a bit difficult without a doubt. For everyone but Giancarlo Stanton anyway.

Stanton acted as if nothing about Friday night was special, belting out home runs number 48 and 49 of his career 2017 season.

The first was  two-run shot well over the left field wall to open the scoring on Friday night. In the second, he showed off his opposite field power to extend the Marlins’ lead to 3-0. Both homers came off of San Diego starter Travis Wood, who surrendered five runs in the 8-6 defeat.

San Diego didn’t have a poor night offensively themselves, as they were led by Manuel Margot’s three hits, and Carlos Asuaje’s two RBIs. Outfielder Jabari Blash also turned in a productive evening, homering and driving in three runs himself.

More from Friars on Base

• Jurickson Profar free agency update likely rules out Padres reunion
• Fernando Tatis Jr. may not take to outfield move after Xander Bogaerts addition
• Padres News: Fernando Tatis Jr. trade rumors, Seth Lugo chase, Manny Machado
• Padres barely missed out on high-end veteran starting pitcher
• This veteran DH target seems ideal for contending Padres roster

It is always difficult dealing with one of the games superstars at the plate. Stanton leads all of baseball in home runs, and has hit some of the longest and most intimidating of blasts this season, especially at Marlins Park. But the San Diego pitching staff still must come up with a plan to combat Stanton’s power, or else he may not be done hammering baseballs this weekend.

As for fans, the challenge isn’t so much slowing down Stanton as it is making sense of some of these nicknames being displayed on players’ weekend. Where “Big Daddy” or “Cruz” comes from is the intriguing yet somewhat confusing part of this special weekend series. The specialized uniforms are something else as well.

Next: Good news along with the bad

The Padres will look to even the series on Saturday afternoon as Dinelson Lamet will take the mound against the Marlins for the second of three this weekend. First pitch is set for 4:10 PM.