May 2, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres third baseman
Jace Peterson(3) after he is unable to make the play on an infield single by Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman
Aaron Hill(not pictured) during the ninth inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
It is fast becoming a trend for the San Diego Padres this season to wait until the latter part of games for the offense to wake up. However, the problem with this approach is that they normally come up short of the win. It was not any different Saturday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks as the Padres rally fell short 4-3.
The Padres’ rally began with a one out single by Seth Smith off Diamondbacks reliever J.J. Putz. Smth scored when Yasmandi Grandal doubled into the right field gap . After Closer Addison Reed was brought in to finish out the game, Jedd Gyorko crushed his second homerun of the season to close the Diamondback lead to one. Two batters later, Cameron Maybin doubled but was stranded when Xavier Nady flied out to end the game.
While some Padres’ fans can see this a step in the right direction, it continues to show the inconsistencies of the Padres offense. The club was 1-9 with men-in-scoring position and they once again let opposing starters settle in and dictate the game. Diamondbacks starter Brandon McCarthy came into Saturday’s game winless with an ERA over five. However, McCarthy shutdown Padre batters allowing three hits and striking out six in 7 innings.
Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson stated,”I think the story of the night was McCarthy’s performance, seven great innings for us of shutout ball. He’s thrown the ball very well for us and that kind of set the tone for us,”
On the other side, Padres’ starter Ian Kennedy was shaky giving up three runs and eleven hits over five innings to his former club. Kennedy was victimized by catcher Miguel Montero who smacked his fourth homerun over the centerfield wall.
Padres will look to carry this ninth inning momentum into the final game of the three game series with hopes of not getting swept. Tyson Ross (3-3, 3.68) takes the mound Sunday afternoon at 1.10 pm Pst against D-Back lefty Wade Miley (2-3, 5.36). Last year, Ross was 1-1 with a 1.96 ERA and 20 strikeouts in three starts.