The San Diego Padres will be playing at 7,300 feet altitude in Mexico City, which could lead to another slugfest.
The San Diego Padres will be taking a bit of a tour from their normal road itinerary this weekend as they meet the Arizona Diamondbacks south of the border in the MLB World Tour: Mexico City Series 2026, with the two game set to be played at Estadio Alfredo Harp Hello, according to a piece written by AJ Cassavell and Steve Gilbert of MLB.com.
Both managers talked about the baseball culture in Mexico City, which is both significant and festive. The Padres spent their off day in Mexico yesterday being a part of several events associated with the games, and Padres manager Craig Stammen summed up the experience.
“Baseball is supposed to be enjoyable,” said Stammen. “So it’s easy to marry those two things. We’ll enjoy the trip, enjoy playing in a different city. … Get a chance to go down to Mexico City, do a couple fun things, then play two games against the Diamondbacks and then head back home. Should be a fun trip. We’re looking forward to it. Fun atmosphere for us all to be playing in.”
Arizona manager Torey Lovullo has some more direct experience with this sort of thing, and he talked about that in is comments.
"There's a great baseball culture down there,” said D-backs manager Torey Lovullo. “I played winter ball in Mexico a couple times, and I just have nothing but great memories about going down there and playing in front of passionate fans. So I'm eager for us to do it.”
Both teams are off top strong starts, and the Padres are currently leading the NL West by a half game. One thing to note about this one is that they’ll be played at an elevation of approximately 7,300 feet, so the home runs could be flying for both teams. The Padres played the first regular-season games at this particular stadium in Mexico back in 2023, and they won the opener, 16-11, in a game that featured 11 home runs.
You’d think that would scare off a closer a little, but Paul Sewald of Arizona had a different take on it, and it will be especially interesting if Mason Miller has to try to extend his record-setting scoreless streak in this kind of environment.
"It's going to be a great experience," Diamondbacks closer Paul Sewald said. "It's part of [Major League Baseball] trying to expand the game.
“I did the Little League World Series game in 2018, and it's totally different than your normal experience. But it's what makes this game so great. That place is going to be totally packed I'm sure. It'll be neutral fans that are cheering for just good baseball. And I think it's gonna be a fun experience.”