Short hops

• Pitcher Joe Wieland, who had minor surgery on his right elbow on March 25, has already started his range-of-motion exercises. Wieland, who said his goal is to pitch in a game in the first half of the season, said the surgery went well. During the procedure, Dr. Heinz Hoenecke removed scar tissue in the elbow, likely from his July 2012 Tommy John surgery. He could begin throwing again in a month.

• Seth Smith's pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning on Sunday made him the fourth Padres player since Aug. 12 of last season to hit a home run for his first hit with the Padres, joining Chris Robinson (Sept. 25, 2013), Medica (Sept. 11, 1013) and Jaff Decker (Aug. 12, 2013). Since the data began being tracked in 1974, Smith is the 40th player in franchise history to hit a home run as his first hit with the club and the first since Eddy Rodriguez on Aug. 12, 2012, to do so in his first plate appearance.