Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú, host venue for this year's Mexico City Series between the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants, figured to be a hitter's paradise, what with its lofty elevation and somewhat cramped dimensions. On Saturday, it certainly lived up to advance billing as the Padres took the opener of the series and first MLB regular-season game played in Mexico City by a score of 16-11.
Playing a leading role in those 27 total runs is that the two teams combined for 11 home runs on Saturday, six by the Padres and five by the Giants. That's two shy of the MLB record of 13 home runs in a game set by the Diamondbacks and Phillies in 2019. As well, the first game of the 2023 Mexico Series saw 10 different players hit home runs, and that ties an MLB record set in that D-Backs-Phils game and by the Mets and Phillies in a 2015 contest.
The 10 players going deep at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú include Nelson Cruz, Juan Soto, Manny Machado (2), Fernando Tatis Jr., Xander Bogaerts, Brandon Crawford, LaMonte Wade Jr., Mitch Haniger, Blake Sabol, and David Villar. The 42-year-old Cruz went 5 for 5 and also had a double. Crawford had a home run overturned on replay review for being just barely on the wrong side of the right-field foul pole, but after being summoned back to the plate he crushed a Joe Musgrove curveball 482 feet to left center. No replay needed, except for this one:
Speaking of that Crawbomb, it provides an object lesson on what an elevation significantly greater than that of Coors Field Denver can do to balls in flight:
Those 11 home runs hit by the Giants and Padres accounted for a total of 4,858 feet of distance, or 0.92 miles of homer.
Adding 455 feet to that tally was Bogaerts in the fourth inning:
That one's significant because it means Bogaerts has now homered in four different countries – the U.S., of course; Canada when visiting the Rogers Centre, the U.K. as a member of the Red Sox during the London Series in 2019; and now Mexico. Fitting stuff for a player who's also fluent in four languages.
On the other side of things, pity the starting pitchers in this one, Musgrove and Sean Manea, who combined to allow 12 runs in 5 ⅓ innings.
The second and final game of the Mexico Series between these two teams is Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET. Bold assumption: Runs will be scored.
