Three home runs power Padres to 5-2 victory over Marlins
Credit: AP Photo
Petco Park- San Diego, California
The Padres looked beautiful in brown as they took an early lead and never looked back in the first game of a three-game set against the Miami Marlins, as three solo home runs put the Padres ahead for a good while Joey Lucchesi continued to have a strong May.
San Diego jumped on Caleb Smith immediately in the first inning as Franmil Reyes ambushed a slider and sent it screaming 111.7 MPH into the left-field seats. It was his team-leading 16th home run of the season in just his 55th game this season, and it gave the Padres an early lead.
Miami had no answers for Lucchesi, who had another fine start for himself as his ERA dropped below 4.00 for the first time since April 3rd. Miami didn’t get their first hit until the third inning on the double off the bat by Miguel Rojas. Joey Fuego relied more on contact than strikeouts, as he fetched eight groundballs and five flyouts. However, he still got five strikeouts in the game.
Quick maths:
In 2018, @La_Mole_13 hit his 16th home run in 77 games and 238 PA.
In 2019, @La_Mole_13 hit his 16th home run in 55 games and 191 PA.That's what we call "getting even better." #FriarFaithful pic.twitter.com/oMDgR8pf0n
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 1, 2019
However, Smith also had a good outing. After the home run to Reyes, Smith settled in to strike out five Friars in the second and third inning. Smith worked around a “double” from Reyes that was just a pop up that dropped in between three Marlins by getting Manny Machado to hit a harmless fly ball. There was nothing harmless about the fly ball walloped by Hunter Renfroe in the fourth inning, as a Smith change up was redirected into the Western Metal Building for his 15th home run of the year. With their solo jacks, Renfroe and Reyes have now combined for nearly 40 percent of the total offense for the Padres as they’ve smacked 31 home runs in 338 at-bats.
Miami finally got on the board in the sixth inning as Rosell Herrera, pinch-hitting for the starter Smith, hit a solo home run to left-center field for their first run of the game and just their second of the game off of Lucchesi. The right-hander was eventually pulled in the seventh inning, ending his day with 86 pitches in total.
With Smith gone, the Padres were now going up against the Marlins bullpen, who has the second highest ERA in the game behind the Washington Nationals. Ian Kinsler got the scoring started in the seventh inning with his seventh home run on the season. In a display of good baserunning, Manny Margot stole a base, advanced to third when the ball skipped away from second base and scored on a deflected base hit from Wil Myers.
San Diego tacked on one more run in the eighth to take a 5-1 lead. Phil Maton allowed two batters on base via singles in just three pitches before Kirby Yates was brought in to give the Marlins a one-way ticket to Dreamland, slamming the door for his 22nd save (he now has more saves than the Marlins have wins) and the Padres 30th win on the season.
I am currently attending San Diego State University while working on achieving a major in journalism. At SDSU, I write for The Daily Aztec while also hosting the sports radio show “Picked Off”, for KCR Radio. A loyal fan of San Diego sports, I hope to bring content that you will enjoy reading.