SAN DIEGO -- The Padres brought
“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel different without fans,” Hosmer said. “But at the same time, we realize all of our fans are watching, they’re all supporting us back home. And whenever you look in the dugout and see your teammates fired up for you, it’s hard not to get fired up.”\n\nHosmer’s six RBIs set a franchise record for Opening Day, and he became the first Major League player since Placido Polanco in 2010 to drive in six runs in his team’s first game. On top of six scoreless frames from Chris Paddack, Hosmer’s 3-for-4 night gave manager Jayce Tingler his first victory as Padres manager.\n\nHosmer put the Padres on the board with a booming bases-clearing double in the bottom of the sixth inning against Madison Bumgarner. Then with two outs and the bases loaded in the seventh, he sent an opposite-field liner to left -- also clearing the bases.\n\nJust how rare is a feat like that? Consider this: \n\n• As a team, the Padres had never cleared the bases with a double twice in the same game. Hosmer did it by himself.\n\n• In the entire 2019 season, the Padres cleared the bases with a double only once. Hosmer did it twice in two innings.
Perhaps even more noteworthy than the rarity of Hosmer’s feat was the way he accomplished it. Since Hosmer signed his then-franchise-record contract, he has had difficulty lifting the baseball. On Friday night, Hosmer hit four balls in play -- all hard and all in the air.\n\nTo be more specific, Statcast measured Hosmer’s exit velocity on all four higher than 95 mph, and his launch angle was higher than 22 degrees on all four. Generally speaking, those numbers lead to success, and they certainly did on Friday night.\n\n“All I know is: I can’t tell you how hard this guy’s been working, whether it’s on the field or in the cage,” Tingler said. “He’s a hungry guy right now.”\n\nAs if Hosmer’s performance weren’t already impressive enough, his first three plate appearances came against Bumgarner -- a nightmare on all left-handed hitters and Hosmer in particular. Hosmer had never recorded a regular-season hit against Bumgarner, and he mustered just a single across Bumgarner’s three outings in the 2014 World Series. Overall, he was 1-for-24 vs. Bumgarner entering Friday.\n\n“I know I had a tough time with all lefties last year, and especially Madison over the course of my career,” Hosmer said. “But I’m just really happy about the win, really happy I got to cash in on some of those opportunities.”
Plenty has been made about Hosmer’s performance since he arrived in San Diego in February 2018. But the reality of that contract was always this: The Padres knew they were likely to struggle as a team during the first couple seasons of that deal.\n\nOf course, they didn’t expect Hosmer would join them. But if he authors a turnaround in 2020, just as the team opens its supposed window for contention, those early struggles will be quickly forgotten.\n\nHosmer is off to a nice start.
**Paddack debuts in style** \n
**In the win column** \nNo question, Tingler’s first victory as skipper would have been special no matter how it happened. But bonus points to Tingler for pulling all the right strings on Friday night.\n\nIn a surprise move, Tingler batted second baseman