Fill-ins come up big in Padres' 5-3 win over Cardinals

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A COVID-19 outbreak that sidelined star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. and three other key position players hasn't slowed the San Diego Padres in the slightest.

On Sunday, it was a cast of call-ups that came up big for the Padres. Among them: Rookie Ivan Castillo, who had a pinch RBI single for his first big league hit to cap a go-ahead, four-run rally in the fourth inning of a 5-3 victory against the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals that completed a three-game sweep.

“We’re just a big group of men coming together and pulling for one another,” manager Jayce Tingler said.

The Padres are 5-1 since Tuesday, when Tatis tested positive for the coronavirus before a game at Colorado and right fielder Wil Myers and first baseman Eric Hosmer were pulled from the game. A positive test was returned for Myers while Hosmer was put in the contact tracing protocol. Also Tuesday, infielder/outfielder Jurickson Profar and utilityman Jorge Mateo were sidelined because of contact tracing.

The Padres have made their newcomers feel welcome.

“I think it’s our environment in the clubhouse, just how welcoming we are with our guys," Tingler said. “Our leadership team, our veteran players, do a tremendous job of bringing people in whether it’s your first game in the big leagues or you’ve been maybe a journeyman and bounced around. You’re a Padre and you’re a part of the family. It’s a great environment in that clubhouse.

“We're having a blast right now," the manager added.

It was the first meeting between the teams since the Padres took two of three from the Cardinals to win a wild-card playoff series last season.

The Padres had to bring up several minor leaguers, and three of them had a hand in the rally in the fourth, when the Padres scored four runs with the benefit of...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Fill-ins-come-up-big-in-Padres-5-3-win-over-16181555.php