Tirso Ornelas smiled wide at first base in the fifth inning Friday night, grabbed the baseball as it headed in from center field and pressed it to his lips before tossing it toward the home dugout.
Hours later, the 25-year-old outfielder was still not sure where the ball ended up. Shenanigans often ensue after a player collects his first hit, but that ball, Ornelas said, would end up with his mother.
It was she who had been with him through every single one of his 3,200 plate appearances over eight long years in the minors.
The ball belonged to her as much as Ornelas.
“The first thing I want to do is just recover it,” Ornelas said with a smile through interpreter Jorge Merlos. “It seems like those guys threw it out to the stands, but first thing I do once I recover it, I’m giving it to my mom. She’s been there with me for forever.”
Ornelas added: “Obviously it’s my first hit. It’s a moment that I will never forget and it’s something … we’ll all treasure.”
It was especially poignant that the moment came at Petco Park, with the Padres, with dozens of family and friends among a sellout crowd to watch the Tijuana native.
Ornelas is ranked No. 11 among Padres prospects by MLB.com, easily the oldest high-ceiling player in the system after his contract was purchased from Mexico City Red Devils as part of San Diego’s vaunted 2016-17 international class.
A number of injuries derailed Ornelas at different points in his career, so much so that he reached minor league free agency after 2023 without a call-up. He quickly re-signed a new minor league deal before 2024, was added to the 40-man roster last summer and finally debuted last week in Houston after a rash of injuries at the big-league level opened up a spot.
Ornelas was 0-for-6 with an RBI, a walk and a strikeout through four games before lining a 2-2 change-up off Shane Baz into center field in the fifth inning in a 1-0 loss to the Rays.
“It means so much,” Ornelas said. “You’re playing in front of the Petco fans and being that there’s so many Mexican fans out here. My family’s out here. To be able to do that in front of them, doing it with the Padres as well, just because I’ve been in this organization so long and they’ve been able to give me that opportunity to be out here and play with them, just means so much to me.”
Lining up behind Cease. pic.twitter.com/LP5Xg96jbq
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 26, 2025
With another right-hander on the mound (see below) and his first hit under his belt, is back up to fifth in the Padres’ injury-depleted lineup. Gavin Sheets is back in the two-hole as the designated hitter, Xander Bogaerts will hit cleanup and Yuli Gurriel will get a start at first base and bat seventh, his first start against a right-hander this season.
Gurriel is hitting .143/.333/.143 in nine plate appearances against righties and .120/.185/.160 in 27 plate appearances against lefties.
Despite losing five of their last seven games, the Padres (17-9) enter Saturday with a half-game lead on the Giants in the NL West.
Here is how the Rays (12-14)—who signed former Padres outfielder Travis Jankowski to the active roster on Saturday — will line up for Game 2:
#Rays lineup vs. #Padres, RH Cease: pic.twitter.com/IuRhd4k6l5
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) April 26, 2025
Arraez progressing
Luis Arraez took grounders at first base Saturday afternoon in his most active day since entering concussion protocol following Sunday’s collision in Houston. Saturday’s pregame activity included running and hitting in the cage, all free of the symptoms that had slowed him since returning to San Diego while the team finished the road trip in Detroit.
“A lot of headaches, a lot of headaches,” Arraez said. “I just want to sleep. I don’t want to see people around me, but the doctor says its normal. Now I feel good. I’m excited to be here. I can’t wait to get back.”
Arraez will need a doctor’s clearance before returning when eligible on Tuesday after the off-day on Monday.
Notable
- INF Mason McCoy dislocated his lefty pinky when he dove back into the base in the ninth inning on Friday. It was swollen significantly on Saturday, but McCoy is aiming to avoid the injured list. He took grounders on the field after undergoing treatment upon arriving at the park and was aiming to test the finger in the cage. “We’ll tape these two (fingers) together and see what happens,” he said.
- OF Jason Heyward (knee) hit on the field for the first time on Friday and was hopeful of shagging in the outfield on Saturday before rain canceled on-field batting practice. He ran the bases and did some agility drills during early work. Heyward can return from the injured list as soon as the start of the Giants series on Tuesday. “I haven’t had any stops; I haven’t had anything set me back,” Heyward said.
Saturday’s pitching matchup
Rays RHP Ryan Pepiot (1-3, 4.82 ERA)
The former Dodgers pitching prospect has a 3.82 ERA in one-plus season since he was traded to the Rays in the Tyler Glasnow deal. Pepiot’s eight home runs allowed in 28 innings are tied for the most in the majors. Two of his five starts this year have been quality starts. Pepiot allowed three runs in three innings in a start last year against the Padres. He has a 5.73 ERA in 11 innings against the Padres since making his debut in 2022 with the Dodgers.
Here is how Pepiot has fared against the Padres:
Padres RHP Dylan Cease (1-1, 6.04 ERA)
He was better in his last start (5 IP, 2 ER) but still has a 7.98 ERA in three starts since his lone quality start of the season on April 2 against the Guardians (6⅓ IP, 1 ER). His hit rate (10.7 per nine innings) is well above his career rate (7.5 per nine innings). Cease has a 5.40 ERA in six career starts against the Rays, which includes three runs in five innings in a no-decision last year.
Here is how Cease has fared against current Rays:
