Updated: Mexico City Series: Astros Vs. Padres

Updated: 3/28/2016

This past week Major League Baseball traveled to Cuba as the Tampa Bay Rays took on the Cuban National Team, and this weekend the focus on international play will now head  south of the border to Mexico City.

The matchup between the Houston Astros and San Diego Padres will be a weekend exhibition of split squad teams that will play two games at the Estadio Fray Nano, the first on Saturday evening at 9pm and the second on Sunday afternoon at 3pm (both in Eastern Standard Time).

But, this weekend isn’t the only connection that Major League Baseball will have to Mexico. It was announced on Thursday that MLB Mexico will now be based out of Mexico City in hopes of broadening the viewership and growing the fan base outside the United States.

Also part of this extension with MLB Mexico, fans in the country will also get a live streaming game each week throughout the season.

This isn’t the first time that Major League Baseball has extended their offices internationally. There are also five other headquarters in Tokyo, Sydney, London, Beijing and Santo Domingo.

The following are the pitching matchups for Saturday and Sunday’s games between the Padres and Astros.

Saturday:

LHP Robbie Erlin (Padres) vs.  RHP Chris Devenski (Astros)

Results: The Astros defeated the Padres 11-1 in the first game of the two day series. Carlos Correa and Tyler White each shining with consecutive homers. Starter Chris Devenski worked 4 1/3 shutout innings; allowing just three hits and striking out seven; while earning the win.

Sunday:

RHP Brady Rodgers (Astros) vs. RHP Cesar Vargas (Padres)

Results:

The Mexico City offensive surge continued on Sunday afternoon as but this time it was the Padres that took control early on for the 21-6 win. San Diego was able to score nine runs in the bottom of the first, chasing Houston’s starter Brady Rodgers after just two-thirds of an inning. Vargas pitched three innings of shutout ball, allowing two hits and striking out five.