Padres 6, Guardians 4
Batter’s box: Jose Azocar hit his first home run in a major league uniform after coming close a few times this spring as the Padres won at the Guardians’ Goodyear Ballpark. He also had two singles to up his spring batting average to .333 (8-for-24). Azocar is battling for a bench spot. … David Dahl, a nonroster invitee also in contention for an extra outfielder spot, was 2-for-3 and is batting .310 (9-for-29) on the spring. … Catcher Austin Nola continued a strong spring at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a walk. He is batting .353 (6-for-17) with a .476 on-base percentage. … Matt Carpenter hit his first double of the spring. After getting one hit in his first 13 at-bats, Carpenter is 2-for-5 with a walk over the past two games. … Fernando Tatis Jr. reached base for the first time in four games but was 0-for-3 for the fourth straight game. Tatis, who did not play last season because of injury and suspension, is 0-for-16 on the spring. … Infielder Tim Lopes was 3-for-4 with a double. He is batting .440 with a team-high 11 hits in 25 at-bats.
Balls and strikes: Michael Wacha allowed two unearned runs in three innings in his first start of the spring. The runs Wacha yielded in the second inning were a product of his dropping a ball while covering first base. … Closer Josh Hader, who threw twice as many sliders in his second spring appearance as he had in his first in an effort to work on the pitch, loaded the bases with two outs before ending his inning on a wild pitch. Nola blocked a slider in the dirt and chased down the ball along the first base line and threw to Hader, who tagged out Josh Naylor trying to score. Hader has thrown a scoreless inning in both of his appearances. … Robert Suarez allowed one hit in his third scoreless inning of the spring.
Extra bases: Naylor and Gabriel Arias, two of the six players the Padres sent to Cleveland to acquire Mike Clevinger in 2020, batted back-to-back for the Guardians. … Carpenter made a diving stop on a ground ball and scooped a bounced throw at first base. … Luis Liberato made a sliding catch in left field to prevent a hit.
On deck: Left-hander Jay Groome starts against the Royals, 12:05 p.m. PT in Surprise, Ariz. Groome, competing for a spot on the roster as a long reliever and/or spot starter, has not allowed a run in three games this spring (62⁄3 innings).