PEORIA, Ariz. — The Padres and Great Britain tied 2-2 in an exhibition on Wednesday at Peoria Stadium.
Batter’s box: Samad Taylor, one of two players in the starting lineup with more than 16 big-league plate appearances, was 1-for-3 with a bunt single. He stole second base after that hit and later scored on a groundout. If Taylor is to make the team, it will be because of that skillset and his ability to play all three outfield spots. … Romeo Sanabria was 2-for-2. The 23-year-old first baseman, who spent last season in Double-A, is 4-for-13 with two doubles and a home run in Cactus League play, which does not include Wednesday’s game … Catcher Ethan Salas, the Padres’ top position prospect, started for the first time this spring. He went 0-for-2.
Balls and strikes: Joe Musgrove struggled with command his first time pitching in a stadium this spring. Musgrove, who missed 2025 following Tommy John surgery, threw 60 pitches — 36 for strikes — as he worked into the third inning. He allowed one run on five hits and a walk and retired just six of the 12 batters he faced. … Randy Vásquez’s strong spring continued. He entered the game in the fourth and allowed one hit over four innings while striking out three and getting five groundouts and two pop-fly outs. His fastball velocity also continued to hover around 96 mph, a marked increase from past seasons.
Extra bases: The starting pitcher for Great Britain was Padres’ minor leaguer Sean Boyle. He is not on the British team, but the Brits’ pitching plans leading up to the WBC did not allow for them to cover enough innings with their pitching staff on Wednesday. Boyle wore a Padres’ uniform and yielded two hits over three scoreless innings. … Great Britain’s best player is Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., who was born in the Bahamas, a British Commonwealth territory. Chisholm homered off minor leaguer Eli Villalobos in the eighth inning.
On deck: Right-hander Walker Buehler will make his first Cactus League start against the Mariners at 12:10 p.m. PT Thursday in Peoria, Ariz.. The 31-year-old Buehler, who has made 146 major league starts for the Dodgers, Red Sox and Phillies, is in camp on a minor-league deal. He will be followed in Thursday’s game by left-hander JP Sears and righty Triston McKenzie, who are also competing for the final spot in the rotation.