Padres Dominate Giants in MLB’s Mexico City Series
MEXICO CITY — A day before Major League Baseball played regular-season games here for the first time, Nick Martinez, a pitcher for the San Diego Padres, had an idea. Accompanied by a few teammates, he visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Friday, which was a day off for both the San Francisco Giants and the Padres.
On the way to the church, Martinez noticed several shops selling piñatas. He bought a few, hoping they could be smashed by the player of the game after each of the contests.
“Being in San Diego, Mexican culture is very much a part of our culture,” Martinez said. “And being here in Mexico for this series, the piñatas were an opportunity to keep that Mexican culture in our clubhouse.”
So after the Padres defeated the Giants, 16-11, on Saturday, in a slugfest made possible by the conditions of Mexico City, Padres designated hitter Nelson Cruz donned a sombrero in the colors of the Mexican flag as he struggled to break open a Buzz Lightyear piñata. His teammates cheered him on while wearing Mexican lucha libre wrestling masks. And after a 6-4 Padres win on Sunday, first baseman Matt Carpenter sent candy flying onto the clubhouse floor when he busted open a piñata in the shape of a star.
Source: The New York Times
