Luis Arraez keeps it real about chasing home runs after sensational dinger in Padres vs. Guardians

Luis Arraez finally broke out of his early-season slump as the San Diego Padres batter hit a home run against the Cleveland Guardians in their 5-2 win.

Before his fourth at-bat in the series opener against the Guardians, where he recorded his first single, Arraez went 0-for-16. As per insider Sarah Langs, that was the second-worst start to a season for a defending champion. In fact, Arraez also started last season with an 0-for-13 count.

The Venezuelan recorded another single on Monday. Thus, heading into Tuesday's game, he had a bit of confidence to ride on, especially as his team had gone 6-0 to start the campaign. Arraez hit a two-outs single in the third and then stole second base in tandem with Fernando Tatis Jr. stealing home. He then completed a run on a wild throw.

Two at-bats later, he gave extra cushion to the Padres lead, hitting a solo home run against Tim Herrin to lead off the seventh inning. After the game, he spoke about his performance and desire to keep hitting home runs.

"I mean, everybody knows I can hit homers, but that’s not my game. I just try to hit the ball the other way. But he threw me that pitch, and I hit a homer," Arraez said. [2:37 onwards]

"I mean, I feel good. I feel good, especially from the first day. I’m making contact, so I just need to continue doing that, and I’ll be fine."

Luis Arraez would hope to get back to his Spring Training shape that saw him hit .349 with an .889 OPS in 18 games. If he is able to lock in his power game, it will immensely benefit a Padres lineup already looking like one of the best in the MLB.

Luis Arraez says Padres will take an off day even though they don't need one

The Padres' 7-0 shows that they wouldn't want to let off easily. Their streak is a testament to their ability to win back-to-back games. However, before their series against the Chicago Cubs, they have an off day.

Luis Arraez made his feelings known about the gap between games, saying:

"The way we’re playing right now, we don’t need an off day. But if they schedule an off day, we have to take it. You know, we need it—we’re human. We’re not perfect, so we need that off day. Let’s see what happens in the next game."

Despite a 1.000 PCT, the Padres aren't the only team to do it, as the LA Dodgers also started with a perfect record, winning their first eight games. It could be a race to the wire for the NL West this season.