Padres comeback 11-9, Tatis and Myers homer twice
Credit: USA Today Sports
The San Diego Padres stay alive with five home runs against the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen, winning 11-9.
Thursday’s win is the Padres’ first playoff win since 2006, their first playoff victory in Petco Park history, and their first postseason win in San Diego since Game 3 of the 1998 NLCS against Greg Maddux and the Atlanta Braves.
Fernando Tatis Jr. started the party in the sixth inning with a three-run home run off Giovanny Gallegos.
“I feel like we’re back to Slam Diego,” Tatis Jr. said after the victory.
In game one, Gallegos struck out Tatis Jr. with two runners on base. In his two at-bats on Thursday before hitting the home run, Tatis Jr. struck out twice, stranding five baserunners.
Manny Machado tied the game up the next at-bat with a home run of his own.
That ball went miles. pic.twitter.com/51LdN1X081
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) October 2, 2020
In the seventh inning, Wil Myers led off the inning with a home run to take the lead that just stayed fair down the line in left field.
First the go-ahead, then the stay-ahead. pic.twitter.com/Rf8ewY49PH
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) October 2, 2020
“It was only a matter of time before we got the bats going,” Myers said. “Tonight, we finally turned the corner and got some big hits when we needed them.”
With two outs, Tatis Jr. homered again, this time to right field. He capped off his two-run shot with an emphatic bat flip.
Not gonna lie, @tatis_jr: We're flipping out a little. pic.twitter.com/8ryd3QQMKP
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) October 2, 2020
That’s how the Padres claimed the lead, but the road to get there was rocky.
For the second straight game, the Cardinals jumped out to a 4-0 lead.
Similar to Chris Paddack, Zach Davies had never started a postseason game before. Both received a rude welcome.
After Davies only pitched two innings, Jayce Tingler turned the ball over to his bullpen. As much as Tingler needed the bullpen for game three, he needed to get there first.
Pierce Johnson relieved first, throwing a scoreless inning. Adrian Morejon followed with four outs, before Tingler turned to Austin Adams.
Adams finished the inning that Morejon started, but allowed a leadoff walk to Paul DeJong. Matt Strahm relieved Adams and allowed two runs, one of which belongs to Adams.
Garrett Richards, Emilio Pagan, and Drew Pomeranz all followed without allowing earned runs. Two runs scored while Pomeranz pitched, but they were ruled “unearned” after a throwing error from Tatis Jr.
Trevor Rosenthal, who allowed a run in game one after not allowing a run as a Padre in the regular season, surrendered a home run off the bat of Paul Goldschmidt to lead off the inning.
Paul Goldschmidt – St. Louis Cardinals (2)*
pic.twitter.com/Scz2zxrEnt— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) October 2, 2020
The next two batters reached, and things seemed gloomy. Then, Paul DeJong popped out, Matt Carpenter chased strike three on a changeup, and Dexter Fowler grounded out to end the game.
Earlier in the game, before the Padres made you forget about it with all of their home runs, San Diego hitters stranded several baserunners and squandered multiple great scoring opportunities.
Mentioned earlier, Tatis Jr. struck out with multiple runners on base in back-to-back innings. He certainly redeemed himself later.
Machado struck out after Tatis Jr. did in the third inning.
In the fifth inning, Myers struck out looking with two runners on to end the inning as well, making it three straight innings ending in with a strikeout and multiple runners stranded.
In the eighth inning, things got scary when Tatis Jr. attempted to make an unbelievable diving play, but threw the ball into right field. Two runs scored, and the Cardinals came back from the body blows to make it a one-run game.
If you're gonna throw the ball away atleast make sure you get some cool freeze frames while doing it pic.twitter.com/RRz6euDZ56
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) October 2, 2020
In the bottom half, Wil Myers added on two ultimately necessary insurance runs with his second home run of the night.
This is the 2nd time in postseason history a team has had 2 players with a multi-HR game in the same game.
1932 Yankees vs Cubs in World Series Game 3: Babe Ruth & Lou Gehrig each hit 2 HR.
Tonight, it's Wil Myers and Fernando Tatis Jr.
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) October 2, 2020
When Myers found out about the history, he gave the cool “Wil Myers” response. “Yeah, that’s pretty cool. It’s pretty cool to be in a category with those names, even Tatis.”
The Padres will play the Cardinals in a winner-take-all game three of the Wild Card Round. In the words of Tingler, “I have no idea” who is starting tomorrow.
Luis Patiño, Craig Stammen, Dan Altavilla, and Tim Hill did not pitch in game two, so they will all likely be used in game three. Garrett Richards only faced one batter, so he will likely be available as well.
Jack Flaherty will toe the rubber for the Cardinals in game three. He owns a 4.91 ERA in 2020, but it’s heavily inflated from a nine-run outing. He finished fourth in the National League Cy Young race in 2019.
The game is currently scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The first pitch may get moved if the Dodgers win and wrap up their series.
Dominic is a graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Journalism. He also is the producer and co-host of the “Padres EVT Podcast.”
I had chalked this game and series to our pitching injuries and quiet bats. I thought the pressure was too much for the Padres. They proved me wrong in a big way.
Tomorrow’s game will be an interesting one considering we have only a few unused arms. I’m thinking Hill and then Richards for the first 4-5 innings so as to mix things up. Let’s hope we get a lead early this game and hang on.
Winning this series without our #1 and #2 starters will be equivalent to pulling a rabbit out of our hats! Go Pads!!!