With one giant swing, Hunter Renfroe announced his return to the majors in a big way.
In his first plate appearance in his initial game back with the Padres, Renfroe went yard.
His towering three-run homer to centerfield off of Patrick Corbin was a no-doubter and gave the Friars all the offense they would need in a 4-2 win over visiting Arizona.
Renfroe was sent down to the minors in mid-August to work on his plate discipline and try and decrease his alarming number of strikeouts.
Shortly after the El Paso Chihuahuas postseason run ended with a second place finish, Renfroe was one of five players promoted Monday to the Padres along with fellow outfielder and fan favorite Travis Jankowski, catcher Rocky Gale, and pitcher Tim Melville and Christian Villanueva.
All season, Padres manager Andy Green has praised Renfroe for his ability to smash homers out of the ballpark but he has also stressed how important it is for a young player like him to be more consistent at the plate.
Renfroe is viewed as one of the cornerstones of the franchise and that’s why Green believes his .231 MLB batting average this year is the more important statistic compared to his 21 homers.
Local
Austin Hedges crushed a solo shot in the second inning Monday to give the Padres some extra cushion.
Luis Perdomo improved to 8-10 after pitching into the sixth inning and Brad Hand was credited with his 19th save after he wiggled out of a jam in the ninth.
Travis Wood takes the mound Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. against Arizona’s Zack Godley.
