Hosmer’s Blast, Lauer’s solid outing help Padres down the Yankees 5-4 in the Rain
Credit: USA Today Sports
Yankee Stadium, New York-
The San Diego Padres beat the New York Yankees in a downpour 5-4 behind a four run first inning, and a solid outing by Eric Lauer and Kirby Yates on the mound to improve to 29-26 on the season.
The Padres jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead when Manny Machado sent a bloop single down the left field line, scoring Greg Garcia from second. With Machado on first and Franmil Reyes on second, Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka gave a three run blast to Eric Hosmer, a towering shot that landed in monument park in centerfield, over 430 feet away.
In play, run(s) ?
Eric Hosmer RIPS a three-run ?? to dead center!#FriarFaithful | @Padres | @TheRealHos305 pic.twitter.com/A1Gkqfedxc
— FOX Sports San Diego (@FOXSportsSD) May 28, 2019
That blast raised Hosmer’s average to .298, highest on the team. He would go on to go 2-5 in the game, raising his average to .298 after it had been as low as .184 as of April 20th. The three-run home run was also the farthest of the nine home runs he has hit this season.
Due to the hitter-friendly confines of Yankee stadium, Eric Lauer’s fly balls were hit almost consistently to the warning track in the first few innings of the game. Throughout Lauer’s outing, fly balls had one of Hunter Renfroe, Wil Myers, or Josh Naylor back-pedaling to the warning track to catch the flyouts off the Yankees bats.
Lauer had the curveball painting throughout his start. Through the first three innings, seven of the nine outs recorded came via his curveball, and 11 of the 14 curveballs he threw in those innings were for strikes.
At the end of the third inning with Lauer cruising Manny Machado, who is making an early argument that he could deserve a gold glove at either third or shortstop made a spectacular leaping grab to end the inning.
Your silence is my favorite sound.#FriarFaithful pic.twitter.com/VtlNZL3hoT
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 28, 2019
Lauer would give up a run in the fourth, a solo shot to Gary Sanchez, cutting into the Padres lead 4-1. But that would be the only run he would give up, as the Padres offense came back to life in the sixth, proving small-ball isn’t completely dead in Major League Baseball.
After Naylor grounded out, Ty France singled to center, and on the very first pitch to Austin hedges manager Andy Green put on a hit-and-run. Hedges, who is on a seven-game hitting streak, poked the ball into left field, and France who was running on the pitch sprinted to third. Greg Garcia then pulled off a squeeze bunt, getting the ball down past Tanaka on the mound, allowing France to score from third, and giving the Padres a 5-1 lead.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Yankees would threaten as the rain started to pour down. Brad Weick started the inning for the Padres, walking a batter and recording an out, Phil Maton then relieved him and gave up a walk. Robbie Erlin then entered and got a ground ball, which Hosmer couldn’t handle cleanly, allowing the bases to become loaded for D.J. Lemahieu with one out. Andy Green made his fourth pitching change of the inning, having Craig Stammen take the mound. He gave up a two-run single, and the Yankees cut into the lead 5-3.
The Yankees loaded the bases again when Luke Voit sent a dribbler down the third baseline. Aaron Hicks then grounded into a fielder’s choice, which scored Brett Gardner from third, making it a 5-4 ballgame before Sanchez flew out to end the inning.
The Friars threatened with the bases loaded in the eighth but couldn’t cash in. In the bottom half of the inning, Stammen returned to the hill and had a 1-2-3 inning, getting a pop out, groundout, and a strikeout in the frame.
Kirby Yates entered in another close situation after the Padres went down quietly in the top of the ninth. The former Yankee gave up a leadoff single to Gio Urshela, retired the side quietly earning his 21st save of the year.
Michael is currently a junior at the University of Oregon. Passionate about all things MLB, especially the Padres. USMNT and Leicester City supporter. Just trying to have hair like Travis Jankowski. Follow me on twitter: @_Michael_Abbott
Also, Manny says he gets booed by Yankee fans because he is a great ball player. I may be old school, but I thought great players hit better than 260.
I know we won today but for some reason I don’t feel good because we almost gave the game away. Between Green decisions on the usage of our bullpen and sloppy defense on several occasions, not to mention all the hangers our hitters missed. How long is Green going to keep Myers in when he continues to watch strikes go by for caught looking?
Yes, this is one of those games where it can feel kind of like a loss. The Padres, in general, play passively (although the hit and run was great). Perhaps most of us had that sinking feeling when the starter could not go further, thus forcing the dreaded “Middle Relief” into the fray.
Has anyone discussed Machado’s refusal to run down the line a couple of games ago? He hit a slow ground ball to 2nd base, who then booted the ball a couple of times. 98% of players would have made it safely to first (or 99.7% of players would have hustled), but Manny didn’t even bother to jog, and was thrown out by about 15 feet. The bigger concern is that there was no leadership (that I am aware of) that let him know in no uncertain terms how unacceptable that is. What kind of leadership is there? Hosmer? Machado himself? How sad.