It was the San Diego Padres’ game to lose. The Friars took the lead in extra innings before Kyle Hart gave up fours runs (three earned) to the Kansas City Royals in the bottom of the 10th. It’s just the second time this season that the Padres have been walked off.
In reality, it never should have gone that far. Several pitching decisions by manager Craig Stammen fell short of success, actively losing the game for San Diego. With Adrian Morejon ahead of Salvador Perez in the eighth, Stammen issued
an intentional walk that turned into the go-ahead run. That was erased by a Ty France homer in the ninth, but that should have been the go-ahead run for the Friars, not a game-tying one.
After Mason Miller pitched a thrilling ninth inning, it was surprising to not see him in the 10th. Sure, he’d worked to get out of the previous frame, but he was at just 16 pitches. It was even more surprising that Hart wasn’t taken out with the game-winning run aboard. Instead, Stammen’s poor decision-making ended in heartbreak for San Diego. Now, they’ll need to win tonight to force the rubber match.
Taking the mound
Randy Dobnak (KC) v. Griffin Canning (SD)
Former Padre Stephen Kolek will be missing his scheduled start after returning from the family medical leave list just before the All-Star break. Kolek showed signs of rust and the Royals sent him to Triple-A to make a minor league rehab start.
In his place, Dobnak will pitch his third game for Kansas City since being traded from the Seattle Mariners a month ago. He’s been used primarily as a bulk reliever and has been successful (1.86 ERA, 9.2 IP). Whether or not that success can continue when the sample size increases remains to be seen.
Canning has bounced back considerably in his last few starts. Despite a ballooned 6.47 ERA this season, the right hander has given up two runs or less in each of his last three starts. That’s good for a 3.46 ERA across Canning’s last 13 innings pitched. It’s a small sample size, but it has been inspiring.
The San Diego right-hander doesn’t have much experience against the Kansas City lineup. Salvador Perez has the most at-bats (11) with a career .273 batting average and .878 OPS. If Canning can make it through five quality innings, it’ll be the first time he’s done so since June 12.
Batter up!
The lineup looked pretty healthy Friday night. The offense put up six runs on eight hits including three from Fernando Tatis Jr. and a Ty France homer. Miguel Andujar had his second game in as many weeks where he slugged three doubles. It was a solid outing for the Friars, one that they’ll need to continue if they hope to contend.
- Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
- Jackson Merrill, CF
- Xander Bogaerts, SS
- Manny Machado, 3B
- Gavin Sheets, LF
- Ty France, 1B
- Miguel Andujar, DH
- Jake Cronenworth, 2B
- Freddy Fermin, C
Luis Campusano winced after swinging at a pitch last night. Fermin will likely take his place to give Campusano a rest day. The series opening loss was more due to some costly defensive errors from the San Diego infield. Those miscues halted the Friars’ momentum, leading to the unfortunate events of the 1oth inning. They’ll need to be better.
Relief corps
For the most part, the relievers nailed it down. Bradgley Rodriguez and Morejon each gave up a run over three innings after Michael King went just five innings. It’s impossible to overstate just how incredible Miller’s performance was. After loading the bases with no outs, Miller struck out the next three Royals batters to push the Padres into extra innings.
Hart imploded from there, but that shouldn’t take away from Miller’s incredible appearance. It was an unfortunate ending to an otherwise stellar performance for the Friars. If they can rebound with a win tonight, it will make all the difference for San Diego. The club will have Jhony Brito, Ron Marinaccio, Yuki Matsui, Miller and Matt Waldron available in today’s contest.
