MEXICO CITY — The Padres and Giants are bringing massive league baseball to the Mexican capital this weekend.
The two National League West rivals sq. off on this 12 months’s Mexico Series with video games on Saturday and Sunday at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú. Major League Baseball has visited Mexico on quite a few events up to now, however this weekend will see the primary regular-season video games to be performed in Mexico City.
“It’s going to be fun, going out there and experiencing that in a different country is going to be huge,” Padres third baseman Manny Machado mentioned. “I know it’s going to be big for Mexico City, for the whole country as well. We’re definitely looking forward to it.”
The video games will likely be performed amid fairly a backdrop for Mexican baseball. Team Mexico is coming off an inconceivable run to the World Baseball Classic semifinals, and its world baseball rating has risen to No. 3. The Padres, the house group for the two-game sequence, have an enormous following in Baja California, simply south of San Diego.
“It’s going to be an awesome opportunity,” mentioned Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski. “Obviously, it’s going to be a different atmosphere. I think that’ll be really fun to experience, maybe get a little bit of a winter ball feel without playing winter ball. … It’s a great opportunity for the game to keep growing.”
What is the Mexico Series?
Part of the “MLB World Tour,” the Mexico Series is the newest installment of the league’s initiative to convey worldwide video games to main baseball markets. (The Cubs and Cardinals will present an encore later this summer season with their London Series.) This weekend’s video games mark the twelfth and thirteenth regular-season video games to be performed in Mexico — however the first to be performed exterior of Monterrey.
“Promoting baseball around the world is a good thing,” mentioned Padres supervisor Bob Melvin. “I’ve been to Japan a couple times and had great times both times I was there. Looking forward to going to another country and promoting our game again.”
Said Giants supervisor Gabe Kapler: “We just want as much expansion as possible and grow the fanbase, get fans in cities like Mexico City and in countries like Mexico excited about Major League Baseball. Mexico has great talent and has a great professional baseball league. I think there’s obviously room for fans in Mexico to enjoy local professional baseball and also be a fan of Major League Baseball, so it’s very exciting.”
When are the video games and the way can I watch them?
Saturday’s recreation is slated for a 6:05 p.m. ET/3:05 p.m. PT begin, adopted by a 4:05 p.m. ET/1:05 p.m. PT begin on Sunday. You can watch each video games stay on MLB.TV. NBC Sports Bay Area and Bally Sports will present protection for the Giants and Padres, respectively. MLB Network will broadcast each video games to out-of-market areas. ESPN Mexico and Star+ will function the native broadcasters for each video games.
The Giants will even host two free Bay Area watch events with stay broadcasts of the sport, with doorways opening at 1 p.m. PT on Saturday at San Pedro Market in San Jose and at 11 a.m. PT on Sunday at Mission Food Hub in San Francisco.
What’s the historical past of Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium?
Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium is the house ballpark of the Red Devils of Mexico, who play within the Mexican League. Located in Mexico City’s Magdalena Mixhuca Sports City park — dwelling of the 1968 Summer Olympics — it was opened in 2019 and has a capability of 20,576. The stadium was set to host the Padres and D-backs for a Major League sequence in April 2020, however it was canceled as a result of COVID-19 pandemic. It is called after businessman Alfredo Harp Helú, the proprietor of the Red Devils and, as of 2012, a minority proprietor of the Padres.
What ought to I learn about Mexico City?
The capital and largest metropolis within the nation, Mexico City is likely one of the world’s largest and most vibrant cities, with a inhabitants nearing 22 million within the metro space. Located in Mexico’s highlands central plateau, it sits at an altitude of seven,350 toes. Mind you, that’s notably larger than hitter-friendly Coors Field in Colorado. We may very well be in for some offense.
What’s the historical past of MLB video games in Mexico?
MLB has performed 5 regular-season sequence in Mexico, relationship again to the Padres-Mets sequence in August 1996 in Monterrey. The Padres and Rockies met for a single recreation in Monterrey in 1999, and the Padres and Dodgers confronted off there once more for a three-game set in 2018. In 2019, the Cardinals performed the Reds and the Astros confronted the Angels for 2 video games every in Monterrey.
Have the Giants and/or Padres participated in another worldwide video games?
The Padres have performed extra video games in Mexico than another franchise. They performed in Monterrey on three separate events in 1996, ‘99 and 2018, totaling seven video games. The Giants, in the meantime, have by no means performed video games exterior of the United States and Canada.
What neighborhood occasions are deliberate along side the journey?
On Friday, the Padres visited the Liga Olmeca Little League, the place they hosted a clinic for over 200 youngsters, that includes numerous gamers, together with Xander Bogaerts, Nelson Cruz and Matt Carpenter. On Saturday morning, previous to the primary recreation, the Giants will take part in a Play Ball occasion on the youth diamond exterior Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium with youngsters from the John Langdon Down basis. Joc Pederson will likely be available, amongst others.
Who are the doubtless starters for each video games?
The Padres are working out their two greatest starters, with Joe Musgrove slated to take the ball on Saturday and Yu Darvish set to comply with on Sunday. Darvish exited his final outing with a proper hamstring cramp however says he’ll be OK and capable of make his subsequent begin.
Former Padre Sean Manaea will get the ball for the Giants on Saturday, adopted by Alex Cobb on Sunday.
Is there anything followers ought to know?
Content Source: www.mlb.com