It did not look like it was going to be a good day for the San Diego Padres when their starting pitcher, Walker Buehler, allowed two runs in the first inning. It did not look much better when he allowed the visiting Athletics to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the fourth inning. But in the end, the Padres were able to tie the game in the fifth, take the lead in the seventh and add three insurance runs in the eighth inning to give San Diego a 7-3 win at Petco Park on Friday night.
The Padres displayed
their power in the early innings of the game – although none of that came from Fernando Tatis Jr. – when Manny Machado hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, Nick Castellanos hit a game-tying solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning and Ramon Laureano put the home team in front with a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Jason Adam came out of the bullpen with San Diego leading 4-3 and allowed what looked like a leadoff double on a ball hit to left-center field. Bryce Johnson, who got the start in place of the injured Jackson Merrill, raced into the gap, made a backhand play on the ball and threw a one-hop strike to Sung-Mun Song at second base to throw out Tyler Soderstrom for the first out of the inning. Adam then got a groundout and flyout from the next two batters to send the Padres to the plate in the bottom half of the inning.
Rodolfo Duran opened the bottom of the eighth inning with a single. He was followed by Tatis who also singled, to put runners at first and second. Miguel Andujar followed with a single to load the bases and Gavin Sheets stepped into the batter’s box with the bases loaded and no outs. Sheets delivered with a ground ball into left center that scored two runs and pushed Andujar to third base to give San Diego a 6-3 lead. Machado struck out for the first out, but Xander Bogaerts picked him up with a sacrifice fly to center field, which allowed Andujar to score to put the Padres ahead, 7-3. Laureano was then hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second with two outs before Song popped out to end the inning.
Mason Miller who was preparing to face his old team prior to the bottom of the three-run eighth inning, was able to sit back down and watch Jeremiah Estrada come in for the ninth inning. The right-hander faced the minimum and got three outs to secure the win for San Diego.
The Padres face the A’s for Game 2 of the series today at Petco Park at 6:40 p.m.
Padres News:
- The Padres have struggled to find consistent offense and Steven Souza Jr. is leading the effort to change that.
- Machado, Tatis and Merrill have all struggled at the plate this season, but in the case of Machado specifically, Jim Bowden of The Athletic believes that is a direct result of the pitching he has faced over the first quarter of the season.
- Kash Mayfield, San Diego’s first-round draft pick in 2024, is having an impressive season in High-A with the Fort Wayne TinCaps. The Padres minor league affiliates had a good day all-around.
Baseball News:
- Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Christopher Sanchez extended his scoreless innings streak to 37 2/3 innings, but the Phillies took a 1-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians, which was their seventh consecutive win.
- The Tampa Bay Rays used the strength of an eighth-inning rally to get their fifth consecutive win.
- Gerritt Cole returned to the mound for the New York Yankees and threw six scoreless innings in his first start in 569 days.
- William Contreras hit a three-run home run and helped the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-1.
- The New York Mets recalled pitcher Jonah Tong and designated long-time reliever Craig Kimbrel for assignment.
- The Chicago White Sox used a nine-run inning to beat the San Francisco Giants.
- The Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals in 11 innings.
- Mitch Garver hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning to help the Seattle Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals.
- Jackson Holliday recently came off the injured list and is already making an impact for the Baltimore Orioles with a home run in a 7-4 win over the Detroit Tigers.
- The Houston Astros got their first win at Wrigley Field in 13 years, beating the Chicago Cubs, 4-2.
- The Colorado Rockies edged out the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-2.
