San Diego Padres: Carlos Asuaje Shines As Bright As The Arizona Sun

After a rocky start by Jordan Lyles, the San Diego Padres settled in and defeated the Chicago Cubs in Cactus League action on Tuesday, 7-5.

The San Diego Padres are entering their first off-day of spring training on a high note. The Friars’ offense and bullpen shined in a 7-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs, overcoming a disappointing outing by Jordan Lyles.

Lyles went three innings, giving up four earned runs, five hits, and two walks. After beginning the game by giving up a leadoff single to Albert Almora, Lyles issued a four-pitch walk to Kris Bryant. A double play and soft line-out ended the inning, however, Lyles looked rough. For a 10-pitch stretch in the first he had just one strike thrown, including a wild pitch. In all, Lyles saw four pitches either hit the dirt or find the backstop behind Austin Hedges.

Immediately after the game, AJ Cassavell released this tweet concerning Lyles and his role with the team.

Does this clear the way for Tyson Ross and Chris Young to join the rotation? Both have been solid this spring and may find themselves in the starting rotation after recent speculation of Luis Perdomo beginning the year in El Paso.

Kaz Makita, Phil Maton, and Carter Capps combined for three perfect innings, with four strikeouts, to save the outing.

Also, Matt Strahm put in his best performance of the spring. Strahm went 1 1/3 innings, giving up just one hit. He looked much more relaxed on the mound and gave an encouraging interview after he was pulled from the game.

He mentioned that he is “willing to do anything the team asks.” I tweeted out immediately after that every baseball player/athlete says that, but do they really mean it? I think Strahm does. He seems genuinely excited to be back on the field and eager to prove himself, whether it’s as a Padres’ bullpen piece or a starter for AAA El Paso.

Carlos Asuaje Continues To Impress The San Diego Padres.

Carlos Asuaje upped his spring average to .400 after a 3-3 day at the plate, including this opposite-field solo shot in the third inning.

https://twitter.com/Padres/status/973669988006596609

Has he done enough to separate himself for Cory Spangenberg in the battle for second base? On top of the outstanding day at the plate, he flashed the glove a few times, making tough plays to his right side. One of those plays did result in Asuaje throwing the ball into the Padres’ dugout, but overall, a solid boost for Asuaje’s chances at being the Opening Day starting second baseman.

With the re-assignment of Fernando Tatis and Luis Urias to minor league camp, I’ll leave you all with this highlight of Franchy Cordero. Don’t blink or you’ll miss him.

Next: Will The Padres Target Yusei Kikuchi Next Offseason?

Enjoy the off-day Padres’ fans. Go get some actual work done this afternoon. The Friars return on Thursday with a 6:40 pm PT game against the San Francisco Giants.