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The San Diego Padres are continuing to try and mend severely damaged fences after Saturday's embarrassing incident involving the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus. On Sunday night, the Padres released a statement saying that they had found "no evidence of malicious intent," though they have fired the third-party contractor they say was responsible for the error. They are also disciplining the employee who was responsible for Saturday's game production. The full statement from the Padres is below. "After a thorough examination of the events that occurred during last night's National Anthem, we have concluded our internal investigation and have found no evidence of malicious intent on the part of any individuals involved. Based on both the unintentional mistake that was made, as well as the failure to immediately intervene and correct the situation by those who had oversight, we have terminated our relationship with the third-party contractor who was responsible for the error, and taken disciplinary action against our employee who was responsible for the game production on Saturday. We once again sincerely apologize to members of the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus, their families and those who came out to support their Pride Night performance. The Padres organization is proud of our longstanding commitment to inclusion -- within both our sport and our community. We deeply regret that a mistake on our part has called this into question, but accept full responsibility." This is the second statement the Padres have issued since the incident took place on Saturday. The chorus had been on the field and ready to sing the national anthem, but a recording of a woman singing played instead. The recording wasn't stopped, and when it was over, the chorus wasn't allowed to sing the anthem and they were escorted from the field to the sound of boos and homophobic taunts. [ Padres under fire after humiliating gay men's chorus during anthem ] The Padres released a brief statement shortly after the incident (while the game was still going on), and it was heavily criticized by the director of the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus, Bob Lehman. You can read his full response to the Padres here. According to the Padres official twitter account, the chorus has been invited back.  @BeakiesGrandpa the invitation has been extended. — San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 23, 2016 But as of now, there are no additional details on the invitation itself, and whether the chorus has accepted.  Inviting them back is a step in the right direction, but it certainly doesn't heal the damage that was done. That is going to take more time, and more than apologies and an invitation to return.  More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:   The StewPod: A baseball podcast by Yahoo Sports Subscribe via iTunes or via RSS feed - - - - - - Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher Continue to Article

May 23, 2016 11:12:am EST

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig is one of baseball's most polarizing players. While his talent on the field is immense, Puig's detractors often point to his mental errors as a major flaw in his game. [ Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now ] The 25-year-old outfielder showed off both sides of that coin during Sunday's game against the San Diego Padres.  With things tied up 5-5 in the top of the ninth, Puig led things off with a single against Fernando Rodney. A.J. Ellis came up looking to bunt Puig over, but Rodney threw a pitch that got away from catcher Christian Bethancourt. Though the pitch didn't get far from Bethancourt, Puig wisely took advantage, motoring to second and beating the throw. It was the type of play Puig's critics would have grudgingly appreciated. That good will was quickly erased, however. Ellis was able to get a bunt down near third. Yangervis Solarte ran in to field the ball, leaving the ball totally preoccupied. It was perfect bunt for that situation. Problem was, Puig didn't go. He inexplicably remained at second even though third base was wide open. Ellis couldn't help but express his frustration as he was running down the first base line.  Aj Ellis lays down a bunt, Puig doesn't move, and Ellis is v confused. pic.twitter.com/xJLi9NpZcb — Matt Clapp (@TheBlogfines) May 22, 2016 After he was called out, Ellis put both his hands on his head in frustration. Puig seemed to notice his mistake shortly after the play. He just stood out near second staring in disbelief. Matters were almost made worse when Puig was nearly picked off the base when the Padres realized he wasn't fully paying attention.  Puig managed to get back to the base, but his error loomed large. He failed to score, and the game went into extras. Had Puig advanced on the bunt, it's possible he would have scored on Carl Crawford's sac fly during the frame. Obviously, there was no opportunity for that to happen. Puig would make up for the gaffe eventually. In the top of the 17th, Puig hit a two-run single with the bases loaded to put the Dodgers ahead 7-5. He managed to do this after the Padres intentionally walked Joc Pederson to load the bases in order to face Puig.  The Dodgers would go on to win the contest 9-5. Puig's big hit was a major factor, finally putting the team ahead for good. [Elsewhere: Kevin Pillar needs a cape after laying out for another spectacular catch ] The game was just another example of Puig's polarizing nature. Sometimes, he frustrates the hell out of his teammates with mental errors. The next moment, he's got them jumping in the dugout cheering him on after a big hit.  (BLS H/N: FTW ) More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports: The StewPod: A baseball podcast by Yahoo Sports Subscribe via iTunes or via RSS feed - - - - - - - Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik Continue to Article

May 22, 2016 10:26:pm EST

The San Diego Gay Men's Chorus is criticizing the San Diego Padres for mishandling the group's scheduled performance of the national anthem. The chorus said on its Facebook page that 100 of its members gathered to perform the song before the game Saturday against the Los Angeles Dodgers when the Padres instead played the recorded voice of a woman singing the anthem. Continue to Article

May 22, 2016 10:11:pm EST