Padres Recap: Friars Fall to Reds 7-3 in Series Finale

After the Reds got off to a 3-0 start, the San Diego Padres came roaring back with a Matt Kemp 3-run homer in the bottom half and it looked like the game was going to be a high scoring affair Wednesday afternoon at Petco Park. Unfortunately the Reds would be the only ones doing the rest of the scoring the rest of the afternoon and won the game 7-3.

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Recently waiver-wired James Shields didn’t do a lot to help his own trade value for the future, allowing 5 runs in 6 1/3 innings and also made a mental mistake that led to a run. In the third inning with runners on first and third he faked a throw to third base, one of the oldest Little League pick-off plays in the book. Unfortunately, he must have forgotten that prior to the 2013 season that move was changed to a balk. The Reds base runners advanced for the go-ahead run and didn’t look back. He was able to retire 10 straight batters after that and then Frank Garces allowed 2 more insurance runs for the Reds in the 9th. Shields also did strike out 7 on the afternoon.

The Padres only mustered 5 hits on the day against Reds starter Raisel Iglesias, who went 6 innings before three relievers pitched scoreless relief including Aroldis Chapman, who is always entertaining to watch.

Besides the Matt Kemp home run, the Padres never really threatened in this one. Iglesias struck out 8 of his own, and while each reliever for the Reds allowed one base runner per inning, that won’t be enough to even warrant a rally.

The Padres played good baseball in this series though, and hope to continue the momentum on the road against Colorado this weekend. No hits for lead-off hitter Yangervis Solarte today, but he did get hit by a pitch and scored on the Kemp home run. Craig Biggio would be proud and Solarte’s average of .268 is now close to taking over Yonder Alonso for the team lead(minimum 300 AB). Could he be a capable everyday third baseman for the team in 2016?

All told it would’ve been nice to sweep the Reds and Shields hung in there after a rough start, but the Padres were unable to get the sweep.

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