Lamet Shines Before Bullpen Falters in Ugly Loss to Arizona 10-3
Peoria, Arizona
The San Diego Padres battled the Arizona Diamondbacks Monday night under the bright lights of Peoria. It was the first of five night games on their spring training schedule.
The team came into the game on a roll offensively, swinging the bats very well with a .381 team OBP, first among all teams in Arizona. They also had recorded a .545 SLG percentage, ranked second in all of baseball. Tonight was the Padres’ ugliest game so far this early season. It was a bumpy ride from start to finish.
Dinelson Lamet pitched three innings of one-run ball with two strikeouts, two hits, and two walks, looking comfortable on the mound. Andy Green said, “His fastball and slider were dominant, like usual. As he continues to grow comfortable with the curveball, it’s going to be a very effective pitch for him.”
Michael Kach started for the Snakes and threw two scoreless innings, walking one, and earning the win. Raymond Fuentes opened up the scoring for Arizona in the second, hitting an RBI triple to right-center field off Dinelson Lamet, putting the D-backs up 1-0. Michael Mariot pitched a scoreless fourth inning before the Padres’ bullpen collapsed.
Freddy Galvis drove in the Padres’ first run of the game on a single through the infield that made it 3-1 Arizona. He ended the night going 2-3 with one RBI, and more solid defense over at shortstop.
After the sixth, it was all Arizona Diamondbacks as they added six runs in the seventh, including a Jack Reinheimer two-run triple. Trey Wingenter threw three wild pitches and had a balk that scored Christian Walker. Trevor McGill, who had zero Major League experience prior to tonight’s game, replaced Wingenter to complete the seventh, looking very tense on the mound. He gave up two wild pitches and recorded a balk as well. The Padres dug themselves quite the hole, falling behind 9-1.
“Wingenter was coming off a 14-pitch inning two days ago and really lost his command tonight,” and about McGill, “He came here as a non-invite player, and sometimes those guys just take a while to get comfortable in this setting,” Green said.
Apart from Freddy Galvis and Wil Myers (2-3 with two singles), the team was very quiet at the plate as wild pitches, balks, and mistakes from the bullpen devastated San Diego tonight.
Brad Hand made his spring debut in the 9th, surrendering a lead-off homer to Socrates Brito that made it 10-1 Arizona. Hand settled down, getting the next three batters on two strikeouts and a groundout.
Raffy Lopez hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth off Kris Medlen to cut the D-backs lead to 10-3. It was all D-backs tonight as the Padres never had much of a chance after the seventh. Arizona ended up beating San Diego by a final score of 10-3.
The miserable night from the Padres’ pitching staff can be overlooked as Andy Green wants these young guys to see what it’s like at the big league level.
The Padres fell to (6-5) in spring training and will be on the road tomorrow evening against the Kansas City Royals (6-2) at Surprise Stadium.
A native of Newport Beach, California, Brett has a passion for San Diego sports and America’s Finest City. He graduated from Drew University in Madison, NJ in 2020 where he majored in Computer Science and minored in Business Studies. Brett is patiently waiting on the Padres first World Series championship and will be bringing you insight and knowledge on the Padres, Aztecs and Toreros.