Giants, Padres to play Mexico City Series in 2023
AJ Cassavell
@AJCassavellSAN FRANCISCO -- The Padres and Giants will play a two-game series in Mexico City in April, marking Major League Baseball's first regular-season trip to the Mexican capital.
The National League West rivals will square off at Estadio Alfredo Harp Hel¨² on April 29 and 30, the league announced Wednesday.
The games will take place at the home of the Diablos Rojos, with a capacity of more than 20,000. Opened in 2019, the ballpark was built by and is named after Padres minority owner Alfredo Harp Hel¨². The team had previously traveled there for the stadium¡¯s opening with a spring exhibition game against the Diablos Rojos in March 2019.
The two games will serve as Padres home games, marking the fourth time the team has played regular-season games in Mexico. The first three came in Monterrey, most recently in 2018.
The Giants, meanwhile, are entering uncharted territory. The two games vs. the Padres will mark the first international contests in the franchise's storied history (though the team played a three-game series against the Expos in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 2004).
The Padres had been slated to make MLB's Mexico City debut in 2020, with a series scheduled against the D-backs, but that was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The Padres are excited to return to Mexico and play in the first regular-season series in Mexico City in MLB history," Padres CEO Erik Greupner said in a statement. "We are fortunate to have a loyal and passionate fan base in Mexico, and it will be an honor to showcase our team in Mexico¡¯s capital city."
"It will be an honor to represent Major League Baseball, as well as San Francisco, at historic Mexico City for the first time ever," said Giants president and CEO Larry Baer. "We look forward to bringing the Giants and Padres rivalry to a passionate sports fanbase, and it will be a great opportunity to introduce the Giants to an international audience to further develop new fans across all of Mexico."