Padres’ bats bail out reeling bullpen and beat Giants in extras
Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports
San Francisco, California
The Padres (5-2) suffered a gut-wrenching loss on Wednesday night after mounting a 6-2 lead. The Friars saw that lead disappear with poor execution from the heralded bullpen, which eventually led to a walk-off win for the Giants (3-4).
In Thursday’s series finale, the Padres were on a mission to right the wrong from the previous night. However, this game was a wild roller coaster ride that had just about everything in it.
It started with Dinelson Lamet on the mound setting the tone. He struck out two and stranded a double in the first inning. Though he ran into trouble in several innings, he tight-roped out of it while striking out seven in five innings, using his nasty slider. He left with a 3-1 lead, having pitched well enough to give the Friars a chance to win.
The Friars got the scoring started with Ty France doing all the work, with a leadoff double. He came around to score on a wild pitch by Giants starter Kevin Gausman, giving San Diego a 1-0 lead. France replaced Eric Hosmer in the lineup at first base, who is still battling stomach issues.
Trent Grisham had a big night, and it started with a leadoff triple in the fourth inning. He scored on a Tommy Pham single. The Padres extended to lead to three when Profar lined a run-scoring single into right-center later in the inning.
Lamet loaded the bases in the fifth but escaped with just one run on a sacrifice fly by Evan Longoria, who was making his 2020 debut.
TURN ON THAT!
Jurickson Profar drops the barrel on that one for his first @Padres HR!#FriarFaithful | @JURICKSONPROFAR pic.twitter.com/L0dvQMeRaE
— Bally Sports San Diego (@BallySportsSD) July 31, 2020
Two players who have struggled out of the gate are Tommy Pham and Jurickson Profar. Both of them seemed to shake off the rust on Thursday night. Pham led off the sixth with a double ahead of Profar’s first home run as a Friar, a two-run shot that gave the Padres a 5-1 lead.
Fernando Tatis Jr. did what he does best in the seventh, leading off with a walk and then became a menace on the base paths. He stole his second bag of the year and scored on Grisham’s double, extending the lead to 6-1.
In the bottom of the seventh, things got uncomfortable for Padres fans once again as Luis Perdomo came out after a quick sixth to try and secure a second inning of work. Instead, the Giants scored two runs on three hits and two walks as Drew Pomeranz came in to end the seventh before it got worse.
The nightmare recurred for the Friars in the eighth inning when Emilio Pagan entered the game. Steven Duggar led off ahead of new Padres-killer Mike Yastrzemski triple, who came across to score the tying run on a sacrifice fly by Donovan Solano.
For the second night in a row, the Padres bullpen blew a four-plus run lead. The game remained tied after nine and went into extra innings, giving the Padres a first look at the new extra-inning rule with a runner starting at second base.
It’s safe to say the Friars took full advantage of the rule.
Manny Machado led off with a walk, putting runners on first and second for Tommy Pham. Pham lined a single up the middle, scoring the go-ahead run in the 10th inning, but the Friars were just getting started. Greg Garcia singled with the bases loaded, scoring two more runs. Ty France lined a single, scoring yet another run. Austin Hedges laid a bunt down, and Garcia beat the tag to extend the lead to 11-6. The Friars tacked on one more thanks to a Tatis single up the middle, giving the Padres a 12-6 advantage heading into the bottom of the 10th.
You love to Garci it.#FriarFaithful pic.twitter.com/CJ5cOzyhrh
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 31, 2020
With how the bullpen has performed, even with a significant lead, it was anything but comfortable. David Bednar came out to try and finally close it down. He allowed the second base runner to score and stranded a double to close the game out and secure the game and series victory for the Padres by the score of 12-7. Manager Jayce Tingler will need to answer for a bullpen that’s been in a tailspin for the two nights.
All told, the series finale was an exhausting and thrilling ride that saw yet another significant comeback by the Giants and extra innings, with the Friars coming out on top and moving to 5-2. The team now heads to Denver for a weekend bout with the Rockies.
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.