SAN FRANCISCO -- The Padres’ offense has been waiting for a night like this one.
They beat the Giants, 10-5, on a Tuesday night when their stars mashed, their role players mashed and their newest callup mashed. Everybody mashed.
Here are some takeaways from Oracle Park:
Lineup shakeup pays off
It wasn’t merely Fernando Tatis Jr. who switched spots -- though Tatis’ demotion to No. 5 in the order was certainly the most notable move. Jackson Merrill led off for just the second time this season. Miguel Andujar moved up to third. Gavin Sheets batted cleanup. Sung-Mun Song got his first career start.
Asked about Tatis’ move in the lineup, manager Craig Stammen immediately widened his focus.
“Just trying to switch it up a little bit,” he said before the game. “The entire lineup in general.”
Clearly, Stammen was onto something. The Padres broke out for 10 runs -- two more than they’d scored in their last four games combined. Their 14 hits were tied for their most this season.
Andujar asserts himself
A week before Spring Training, the Padres quietly signed Andujar to a one-year deal worth about $4 million -- and what a deal that’s turning out to be.
Andujar went 3-for-5 on Tuesday night, finishing a homer shy of the cycle. He’s now hitting .322 with an .869 OPS.
The Padres signed Andujar to start against left-handed pitching and to serve as a valuable option off their bench. He’s become much more than that. At this point, Andujar has essentially become the Padres’ regular DH, no matter what pitcher they’re facing.
“We feel really good with him at the plate,” Stammen said over the weekend. “And we’re really starting to feel really good with him against right-handed pitching, too. The way he’s hit the ball this season thus far, the at-bats that he’s taken -- we’re feeling pretty confident when he’s in the box.”
Song starts strong
Earlier Tuesday, Jake Cronenworth landed on the 7-day concussion IL. He’s been dealing with concussion symptoms since taking a fastball to the chin in Anaheim last month.
With Cronenworth sidelined, Song is going to get plenty of opportunity at second base -- and probably starts here and there at short and third. He seems ready to make the most of it.
Song went 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base in his first career start. The Padres fell behind early, but had rallied to cut the deficit to one when Song came to the plate in the top of the fourth. He got a hanging cutter from Giants starter Logan Webb and split the gap in left-center field for a two-run double.
Song signed a four-year deal with the Padres in December after years starring in the Korea Baseball Organization. He began the season on the IL with an oblique strain and was subsequently optioned to Triple-A El Paso. But in reality, the Padres always envisioned Song as an integral part of their big league roster. He might now be here to stay.