A day after the San Diego Padres scored 12 runs on 14 hits against the Minnesota Twins, they escaped a shutout with two runs in the top of the ninth in a 7-2 loss at Target Field, Sunday.
Minnesota starting pitcher Joe Ryan controlled the San Diego offense and scattered five hits over seven complete innings with a walk and eight strikeouts. The Padres had opportunities with runners in scoring position throughout the day, but they were unable to push a run across the plate until the final inning. San Diego finished
the day 3-for-14 with RISP.
Luis Arraez (1), Gavin Sheets (2), Ryan O’Hearn (4), Ramón Laureano (6) and Jake Cronenworth (7) each recorded a hit off Ryan. None of the hits came in the same inning, and Sheets and Cronenworth had the only extra-base hits with both being doubles. Manny Machado drew the only walk allowed by the Twins starter.
San Diego started reliever David Morgan on the mound and he completed two scoreless innings. Kyle Hart followed and pitched 1 1/3 innings and allowed three runs on one hit, which was a two-run home run to Byron Buxton to give Minnesota a 2-0 lead.
Jeremiah Estrada pitched 2/3 of an inning to get out of the fourth and Wandy Peralta followed in the fifth. Peralta, like Hart, ran into trouble and allowed three runs on three hits in an inning of work and Minnesota extended the lead to 6-0 after five.
The Twins added on with a run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Royce Lewis blooped a single into shallow right field between Fernando Tatis Jr. and Cronenworth, which allowed the seventh Minnesota run to cross the plate to make the score, 7-0. Tatis Jr. appeared to have felt something in his left hamstring and was taken out of the game in the bottom half of the eighth inning.
Sheets recorded his second hit of the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. Mason McCoy pinch-hit for Cronenworth and was hit by a pitch. Jose Iglesias then grounded a ball to third. Lewis fielded the ball and stepped on third for and out and threw to first for the double play.
Freddy Fermin delivered an RBI-double to left to score McCoy and prevent the shutout, making the score 7-1. Bryce Johnson, who was in the game for Tatis Jr., followed with an RBI-single to right to score Fermin to make the score, 7-2. Arraez flied out to left for the final out of the inning and the game.
San Diego returns home to take on the Baltimore Orioles, Monday at 3:40 p.m.
