DBACKS 4, PADRES 12: KISS TODAY GOODBYE
Well, my beloved baseball fiends, we made it to Game 162 through a helluva roller coaster ride of a season. There were Tommy Johns by the barrelful; there was a fire sale at the trade deadline, and there was a scintillating rally in August and September that brought us oh, so close yet left us oh, so far. And yet, with Geraldo Perdomo’s final at-bat 100th RBI, we got something of a storybook ending.
Not, of course, that the rest of the game was a picnic. I said
to Dano at one point that I wished I had a less sucky final game to recap. It started with a bang with a Ketel Marte homer. That was nice. Then Brandon Pfaadt, taking the mound in the bottom of the first, promptly gave up five runs. That was not so nice. Pfaadt definitely seems to drop the ball (here all week, folks) when not playing at Chase, and perhaps, as Gonzo pointed out, it has to do with sleeping in an unfamiliar bed and eating different food. Makes a least a particle of sense despite its simplisticness. At any rate, the end of the first saw us down 5-1 PADRES
Pfaadt settled down somewhat in the second, and although the Dbacks did not manage to put up any more runs in their half, we prevented the Padres from scoring further, even knocking in one of our own in the top of the third (5-2 PADRES). But those pesky Friars said, hold our beer, and Manny Machado proceeded to knock one out of the park, bringing the score to 6-2 PADRES. Fortunately, Jackson Merrill grounded out, Xander Bogaerts struck out, and Gavin Sheets flied out sharply to center.
Will Wagner and Mason McCoy came in at the top of the fourth for Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts, respectively, but that was pretty much the only action we saw from either side that inning. We continued to flail about in the proverbial pool in the fifth, but the Mad Monks managed to drive in two more runs courtesy of a Jackson Merrill double that brought home Bryce Johnson and Ryan O’Hearn, who I keep wanting to call George because of the actor George Hearn, who replaced Len Cariou in Sweeney Todd on Broadway. Anyway, the Pads weren’t done beating up on us yet, as Gavin Sheets grounded into a forceout that brought home Will Wagner, bringing the score to 9-2 PADRES.
The Dbacks continued to put up nada, and I, at any rate, was beginning to despair that our beloved Gerry would fulfill his season’s dream. John Curtiss, in for Brandon Pfaadt, managed to keep the Pads from scoring; unfortunately, when Brandyn Garcia took the mound, he gave up two runs, one off a Jake Cronenworth line drive single to center that brought home Jackson Merrill and a two-out Jose Iglesias double that brought Gavin Sheets and Cronenworth home and the score to 12-2 PADRES.
Alek Thomas, whose hitting has been for ca-ca this season, did manage an eighth-inning two-out double. Alas, his one flash of brilliance was obliterated by a James McCann strikeout, an Ildemaro Vargas groundout, and another strikeout from Jake McCarthy. The bottom of the eighth saw one single from George, er, um, Ryan O’Hearn and a walk for Jackson Merrill that were fortunately surrounded by a Bryce Johnson lineout, a Will Wagner groundout, and a Mason McCoy strikeout.
And then, the top of the ninth was upon us, as was the moment we had all been waiting for. Could Geraldo Perdomo do it? Why, yes, ye of little faith, he could and did. Jorge Barrosa singled, Jordan Lawlar managed a ground ball double, and Geraldo Perdomo reached on a fielding error that brought home both Barrosa and Lawlar. Nonetheless, Gerry was granted his 100th RBI, and was promptly met with a big hug from skipper Torey Lovullo, and I believe someone may have been cutting onions in our living room. The game, and the 2025 season, ended with James McCann grounding into a double play that knocked Tim Tawa out at second and McCann out at first.
12-4 PADRES FINAL
BELLS AND WHISTLES, COURTESY OF JIM:
Click here for details, at Fangraphs.com
Sweeney Todd: Geraldo Perdomo, +4.0%
Cats: Brandon Pfaadt, -44.7%
A Chorus Line: Tim Tawa, -10.4%
The Gameday Thread took a while to pick up some steam today, but we topped out at 250 comments, plenty of which went Sedona Canteloupe. CotG ended in a draw today, with comments from Diamondhacks and ercil that summed up the two most joyful moments on this strange and mournful day.
And that, my beloveds, is a wrap. It has been a pleasure hanging out with all of you this wild and crazy season, and writing the occasional guest recap as well. I’d normally say, tune in tomorrow at 6:40 pm for first pitch, but, well, we shall have to console ourselves with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman over on ABC. Shudder. We’ll see what wacky hijinks unfold during the MLB postseason! If you must bet, bet responsibly.
As always, thanks for reading/watching, and, as always, Go, Dbacks!
