PEORIA, Ariz. — In his second spring training as manager of the Cubs, Craig Counsell has a pretty good grasp of Sloan Park.

Despite being over 1,700 miles apart, the Cubs’ spring training home captures the essence of the Friendly Confines.

“I think our spring training venue is as good as it gets,” Counsell said on Monday morning. “And it almost recreates Wrigley like in this mini version, which is so cool and really rare, I think, in Major League Baseball.”

Sunday was a pretty good example of that.

Making his debut as a member of the Cubs in Cactus League play, Kyle Tucker stepped up to the plate and received a hearty ovation during the exhibition game.

“There were so many Cubs fans that they kind of gave Kyle welcome number one,” Counsell said. “I’m sure we’ll get another one in Wrigley, but that was fun to see.”

Turner’s debut

Speaking of firsts, Justin Turner, who signed last week on a 1-year deal, made his first appearance as a Cub against the Padres at the Peoria Sports Complex where they beat the Padres 10-5.

Turner finished 2-for-2 with a pair of singles, a walk and a run scored.

Many of the veterans who made the trek to the northwest part of the Phoenix Metro area had big days at the plate. Michael Busch crushed a 3-run, 6th inning home run and Miguel Amaya finished 3-for-4 with a double.

Non-roster invitees Nicky Lopez, Greg Allen and Travis Jankowski all had 2 hits in the contest as well.

Valuable knowledge

Left-handed pitcher Jordan Wicks had a between-outing side session on the 12-pack bullpen behind the Cubs’ batting cage area at the Nike Performance Center.

After he wrapped that up, the lefty caught up with a pair of onlookers to pick their brain: Hall of Fame pitcher Fergie Jenkins and Cubs Hall of Famer Rick Sutcliffe.

Next up

The Cubs return to Sloan Park on Tuesday to take on the Diamondbacks. Jameson Taillon will make his Cactus League debut at 2:05 p.m. on Marquee Sports Network.