A couple of ex-Yankees ruined Opening Day for the Padres.
Relievers Wandy Peralta and Jhony Brito combined to allow three runs in the eighth inning to squander a one-run lead in the Padres 5-2 loss to the Dodgers in the MLB season opener in Seoul, South Korea.
Brito received the loss and a blown save after yielding two runs (one earned) while recording one out.
This year’s Padres roster has a heavy Yankees influence following the blockbuster trade that sent Juan Soto and Trent Grisham to the Yankees for five players, including four pitchers in Brito, Michael King, Randy Vasquez and prospect Drew Thorpe — since sent to the White Sox — along with catcher Kyle Higashioka.
San Diego also signed Peralta, a southpaw, to a four-year deal in free agency.
Adding former Yankees relievers is a solid strategy since the team has great success in churning out valuable arms, but Peralta and Brito did not pass their first auditions Wednesday.
Though Peralta navigated a clean seventh inning with a 2-1 lead, the eighth inning began with him walking Max Muncy on a 3-2 pitch.
And as the old baseball saying goes, it’s those leadoff walks that always haunt you.
Brito, who impressed last year while going 9-7 with a 4.28 ERA, allowed a single to Teoscar Hernandez and then walked James Outman to put himself in a jam.
The righty induced a sacrifice fly from Enrique Hernandez that tied the game and ended his day, but Padres lefty Adrian Morejon allowed both inherited runners to score due to a bad break.
A potential inning-ending double play grounder from Gavin Lux went right through the webbing of first baseman Jake Cronenworth’s glove, allowing the Dodgers to take a 3-2 lead.
Brito and Peralta combined for 1 ⅓ innings while allowing one hit, three runs (two earned) and walking three batters. Peralta also notched a strikeout.
The Padres also started another former Yankee in Tyler Wade, who manned third base and went 1-for-2 with a walk and run scored, though he committed an error.
