The Tucson Padres gave the fans everything that they could ask for except a victory in their home opener at Kino Stadium, Friday April 15.

The clear, eighty-degree sky and revamped field set the stage for the first of a four-game series between the Tucson Padres and the Salt Lake City Bees.

The Los Angeles Angel’s triple-A affiliate sent Eric Junge to the mound to face the Padre’s 23-year-old prospect Simon Castro.

Castro lowered his ERA from 18.00 to 9.90, while striking out five and walking three in his six innings of work. Castro allowed three earned runs that came on a two-run homerun to right center field and a solo shot to right, where the wind was carrying fly balls.

Junge, whose age matches his number 34, walked onto the mound in the sixth inning but would not record out as he was relieved by Anthony Ortega after hitting center fielder, Cedric Hunter with a wild pitch then allowing back to back singles by designated hitter Matt Clark and catcher Guillermo Quiroz, who received the only RBI of the inning.

First basemen Anthony Rizzo filled up the box score with three hits, two runs, two RBI and a stolen base on the night. His night was highlighted by a two-run homerun hit off of Ortega in the seventh inning.

Rizzo’s homerun gave the Padres a 6-4 lead going into the eighth inning. The two-run lead was short lived as Randy Flores gave up two singles to start off the eighth inning which erupted after Everth Cabrera made a costly error on a force out attempt. The Bees scored three runs in the eighth inning and won the game 7-6.

The crowd of over 6,400 people saw three home runs and six lead changes in the game.

If the opening game of the season is a sign of things to come we are in for an exciting summer of baseball from the Tucson Padres.