Amarista’s Slam Caps Off Epic Comeback For The Padres

Thursday night’s game was one of the weirdest Padres game I can remember. A near no-hitter, a devastating collapse, followed by one of the great comebacks in recent Padres history. Alexi Amarista hit his first Major League homer — a grand slam, and the Padres came back to beat Houston 7-3.

The Padres took an early 1-0, when Chase Headley homered to left, his eighth homer of the year. Headley also had three hits in the game, to raise his average to .273.

Andrew Cashner was the story early on in this game. Cashner was recalled from AA San Antonio, where he was making his transition to the starting rotation. Cashner was filthy in his second start as a Friar. Cashner held the Astros hitless for 6.1 innings, with nine strikeouts and just one walk. However, Carlos Lee decided to play the role of party-pooper, and smashed a single to left. The hit broke up the no-hitter, and dashed the dreams of Padres history.

While the single broke the hearts of Padres fans everywhere, Brian Bogusevic took that broken heart, and smashed it into pieces. Bogusevic drove a pitch into the right field stands, and the Padres near no-no turned into a 2-1 deficit.

The Astros added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, and the Padres went into the final frame trailing 3-1. Then the drama began.

John Baker led off the top of the ninth with a double, and went to third on a Mark Kotsay single. The Padres got a run on a fielding error, to cut the lead to 3-2. Chase Headley then singled, and Carlos Quentin was hit by a pitch. The Padres had the bases loaded, with only one out.

After Jesus Guzman struck out, Amarista lined a pitch over the right field wall for a grand slam. The smallest Padre, had perhaps the biggest hit of the season. The Padres scored six runs in the ninth, and escaped Houston with a series split.

NOTES: In order to make room for Cashner on the roster, the Padres sent down RHP Brad Brach to make room on the 25-man roster. Nick Vincent was the winning pitcher in the game, his first as a Major-Leaguer