This is what the Padres had in mind when they dealt with Luis Arráez.
Less than 24 hours after joining the Padres in a trade from the Miami Marlins, Arráez made his debut for San Diego on Saturday night. He went 4-for-6 with two runs scored and an RBI in a 13-1 win over the reigning NL champion Arizona Diamondbacks.
Arráez joined his new team Saturday and was immediately slotted into the leadoff spot as designated hitter. In his first at-bat, he roped a 1-0 Brandon Pfaadt fastball into right field for a leadoff double.
He came around to score on a Manny Machado single to give the Padres a 1-0 lead.
In his second at-bat, Arráez logged a leadoff hit again, this time with a single to left field off Pfaadt. When he came up to the plate for a third time, the Padres had runners on the corners. Arráez slapped Pfaadt changeup down the left-field line to score Xander Bogaerts from third base to extend San Diego’s lead to 3-0.
Arráez then scored his fourth hit in four at-bats with another leadoff single in the seventh inning. He came around to score on a Machado double, sparking an eight-run inning that chased Pfaadt from the mound.
The Diamondbacks finally got him out later in the inning with a line-out off a fastball from reliever Bryce Jarvis. It didn’t matter. By that time, the Padres were cruising with an 11-0 lead.
The Padres parted with a haul of prospects to acquire Arráez, hoping the two-time batting champion could boost an already strong offense that entered Saturday ranked in MLB’s top 10 in batting average (6th), hits (2nd), runs (2nd) and RBI (2nd). So far, so good.
A two-time All-Star, Arráez won the NL title battling the Marlins last season (.354) and the AL batting title with the Twins in 2022 (.316). He upped his 2024 average from .299 to .315 with Saturday’s outburst against Arizona.
He’s now one more bat for opposing pitchers to worry about in a loaded Padres lineup as San Diego improved to 17-18 in its quest to reach the postseason for the third time in five seasons.
