Brewers 11, Padres 7: A day to remember for A Star in Milwaukee’s Cactus League opener

PEORIA, Arizona Pat Murphy will never forget that day.

He got to spend some quality time with his son in addition to watching his Milwaukee Brewers pound the ball around Peoria Stadium in an 11-7 victory over the San Diego Padres in their Cactus League opener.

In his second season with the Padres organization, minor leaguer Kai Murphy accomplished a hat trick: before the game, he suited up, traded lineup cards with his father at home plate, and in the seventh inning, he hit a two-run double to right-center.

Murphy responded, “Yeah, I can’t lie about that,” when asked if he felt like a proud father today. “Just incredibly happy. He fell in love with the Padres, and they’ve helped him realize many of his amazing potential. He continues to bite and scratch, seizing every chance he gets.

“It still has that ‘Whoa’ feeling. I was being joked by the guys sitting on the bench. They said, “Feel free to clap.” You may applaud (after Kai’s double).”

The Murphys have played each other in a spring training game before; it took place at American Family Fields in Phoenix for the first time in March of last year.

However, this time around, things are very different as Pat Murphy, who took over for Craig Counsell in the summer, is now leading the Brewers and Kai is working his way up the Padres organization’s ladder.

“It was cool,” Kai Murphy remarked. “It was my first at-bat during spring training. Though it’s fantastic to be doing it against him, all I really wanted to do was get those men in and execute. It’s made better by the presence of my two younger brothers. It’s unique. You may now be thankful and have some perspective, even if I was competing and trying to help the Padres win.

“Very few people get to spend a moment like this with their dad, brothers, and relatives. We can now just relax and grinned about it.”

Pat Murphy, manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, watches before Saturday’s spring training game at Peoria Sports Complex against the San Diego Padres.
Brewers-Padres Sal Frelick made three observations about his afternoon.

In addition to reaching base all four times at the plate via single-walk-double-hit by pitch, he made his first-ever professional start in the infield and handled both of his opportunities without incident, even saving the ball from his first opportunity, a 5-3 putout of Fernando Tatis Jr. to start the bottom of the first.

“Felt good,” reported Frelick. It’s humorous. We were playing jokes, and I had a sneaking suspicion that I would win the first ball. That is the nature of baseball. Fortunately, there’s a huge, good hop for me to get my feet wet. However, it was enjoyable.

On Saturday, in the second inning, Sal Frelick takes the bat against the San Diego Padres.
Playing seven innings, Frelick’s sole blemish of the day came when he misplayed his leadoff single on the first pitch and was tagged out for failing to return to first base in time.

Not a big issue in the grand scheme of things, even nonetheless.

“It was good to see some different guys today — some lefties, high velo, good off-speed throwers,” he stated. “It was good to get in there, be on time and square some balls up.”

The Brewers selected Wes Clarke in the tenth round of the 2021 draft out of the University of South Carolina. He had a fantastic debut, hitting a two-run home run in his first at-bat in the second inning and a solo shot in the fourth.

Brewers’ assigned hitter In the second inning on Saturday, Wes Clarke hits a home run against the San Diego Padres and advances to base.
Not bad for a designated hitter who can bat No. 9.

Actually, Milwaukee is quite impressed with Clarke’s potential. He spent roughly equal time playing DH, first base, and catcher with the Shuckers last season, hitting 26 home runs and driving in 80 runs in 118 games in Class AA Biloxi. This spring, he is participating in his first major-league camp as a catcher.

He looked fantastic, Murphy remarked. That’s his behavior. He has to work on his catching a little bit. That might be his ticket. Although he might still arrive, he might need a ticket.”

On Saturday, fans of the Milwaukee Brewers prospects saw a lot of action, with six of the team’s top 10 prospects, Jackson Chourio, Jeferson Quero, Tyler Black, Brock Wilken, and Luis Lara, standing out.

In his first at-bat in the Cactus League with two outs in the ninth, Wilken—Milwaukee’s first-round selection from July of last year—pulled a bases-clearing double down the third-base line, giving the winning margin as the Padres closed the game to within one run, 8-3.

“We’re getting started and you’re going to see a lot of different things,” Murphy stated. “Had a wonderful presence today, and their attitude about how they want to approach things is crucial. I’m observing the third and fourth at-bats. How they grow with their at-bats and how they focus is the kind of thing that matters to me.

“This is your first spring training game; everyone is excited. Many wonderful things.

Citable
Pat Murphy quipped later, “A step closer to the Cactus League championship.” “Do we get medallions?”

Jackson Chourio watch Following a run scored in the first inning of the Brewers’ game against the San Diego Padres, centerfielder Jackson Chourio gives a high five to teammates.
Batting second and initially positioned in center field, Chourio reached first base on an infield single, but was stranded in the second, hit an RBI single to center in the third, and was again struck out in the sixth. In addition, he scored two runs.

On defense, he looked a little hesitant in the first as San Diego dropped a couple doubles close to the center wall, though it was difficult to determine if they were balls that could actually be caught.