Padres: Eric Hosmer is playing like a man on a mission
By Jake Misener
![(Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images) (Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Ffriarsonbase-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fgetty-images-2F2017-2F07-2F1232078926-850x560-66cd0ce9efd146b36e5dfdae73a17f32.jpg)
It’s safe to say Eric Hosmer is locked in at the dish right now.
Through the first two games of the season, the San Diego Padres first baseman has popped a pair of home runs, driven in six runs and carries a ludicrous (and wholly unsustainable) .857/.875/1.857. A pair of three-hit efforts will certainly go a long way toward getting a guy rolling early on, that’s for sure.
"“It starts with: Eric wants to be up there in those moments,” Padres manager Jayce Tingler told MLB.com. “He does a good job of being aggressive on the pitches that he can get the barrel to.”"
According to MLB.com, Hosmer’s 13 total bases through San Diego’s first two games are a franchise record. If the Padres slugger can keep this up and build off his 2020 performance, this lineup will be, hands-down, the deepest in all of baseball.
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During the offseason, I talked about how Hosmer re-worked his swing last year. I also opined San Diego should look at platooning him at first this year, given his historical struggles against left-handed pitching. But three of his hits in this opening series have come against, you guessed it, left-handers.
Padres offense, as a whole, is strong
Heading into Saturday’s action, the team boasts the second-highest OPS and slugging percentage in the National League, trailing only the division-rival Dodgers. Hosmer, obviously, has been a huge part of that.
Here’s why Hosmer’s success has been so critical for the Friars. So far, the team’s other big names have been ice-cold. Now, that likely won’t last too long – simply because these guys are too good to be kept down for long. But right now, Manny Machado is 0-for-7 and Fernando Tatis Jr. is 1-for-8.
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Despite that, San Diego is 2-0 to open the year for the third consecutive season. Hosmer has put the offense on his shoulders and carried the load. Two games represent just a minuscule fraction of a length regular season. But a hot Eric Hosmer is nothing but good news for Tingler and his ball club.