San Diego Padres Series Recap vs. Philadelphia Phillies

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This series had a little bit of everything. It had a pitcher’s duel, an offensive shootout, a homecoming for a San Diegan and most importantly, a series win for the San Diego Padres (71-81). They beat the Phillies (70-83) three games to one. Both teams had its share of stellar pitching and clutch hitting.

As a team, the Padres hit .274 in the 4-game series. They reached double-digits in hits twice. The offensive player of the series is Alexi Amarista. He came a triple shy of the cycle in Game 2. He had 6 hits, 4 RBI and 2 runs scored, including a pair of home runs. He has performed very well in the absence of Everth Cabrera. He is hitting .343 in his last 10 games and has hit safely in 7 of his last 9 games.

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Monday night was a pitcher’s duel to say the least. Andrew Cashner was absolutely dealing all night. This start was very encouraging to Padres fans everywhere, as he showed signs of his pre-disabled list self. This start had nearly the same feeling of his one-hitter against the Tigers in April. He pitched a two-hitter this time, not allowing a single run and he added 7 strikeouts. He also only issued one walk. He kept the Phillies hitters off-balance all day. The lone run of the game scored was an unearned run when Cody Asche had an errant throw, which led to Rene Rivera coming around to score. That would be the final result, 1-0.

Philadelphia starter Jerome Williams was not bad either. He pitched into the 8^th inning, only allowing 3 hits, on 6 strikeouts. It seemed both pitchers had everything working. Cashner once again flirted with history, but his bid ended in the 5^th with a Dominic Brown single. Cashner finished the complete game shutout with 92 pitches. The Padres only managed 3 hits in the game, but that was enough for Cashner to seal the deal.

Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Tuesday’s game featured a lot more offense, mostly by the bat of Alexi Amarista. He finished a triple shy of the cycle. He had 3 hits, 2 RBI and his 4^th home run of the season, which he snuck just over the porch in right. He was not the only Padre pulling the weight, as Rymer Liriano also had 3 hits. The rookie outfielder also added his 4^th stolen base of his major league career. The Phillies swung the bats well also. Dominic Brown hit his 10^th home run of the season in the 2^nd inning. Freddy Galvis actually gave the Phillies the lead in the 5^th with his 3^rd homer of the year. The lead only lasted an inning before Amarista did more damage. The Padres would come out victorious, 5-4.

Ian Kennedy did not have the sharpest outing, walking 4 and allowing 3 runs. He did, however, strikeout 7 and only allowed 3 hits. He earned his 11^th win of the year. The Padres tagged the veteran A.J. Burnett with his 17^th loss of the year. He also walked 4 batters and surrendered 4 runs in 5.2 innings. Kevin Quackenbush earned his 4^th career save, but not before Darin Ruf singled home Galvis to make the score 5-4.

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The San Diego native Cole Hamels dominated the Padres once again on Wednesday. The Rancho Bernardo High grad threw 7 innings, struck out 9 and only allowed one run. He was stifling. He was not the lone reason the Phillies came out victorious. The Phils were also 4-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Three Phillies had multi-hit nights. Cameron Maybin was the only Padre that figured out Hamels. He was 2-for-3 with an RBI, run scored and a walk.

Eric Stults had a rough outing as he was unable to get out of the 5^th inning. He allowed 4 runs on 6 hits and striking out 2. The bullpen pitched well, as they were put to work early. In 4.2 innings, they only allowed 3 hits and a run. This loss mathematically ended the Padres’ hopes of a playoff berth. The Padres have been without October baseball since their last berth in 2006. The loss was Stults’ 17^th of the year. The start went south in the 5^th inning, when the wheels just fell off. Each team had 9 hits, but the Padres were only able to muster 2 runs and fell 5-2.

Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres were able to bounce back Thursday night. Thanks to a pair of home runs by Amarista and Will Venable, the Padres put 7 runs on the board. As we have seen all year, if the Padres offense can muster that many runs, it is pretty much a done deal with the stellar pitching staff. The series finale was no different. Venable had 3 RBI and 4 Padres had multi-hit games. Robbie Erlin got his first win since May, pitching 6 strong innings and striking out 4. The Padres took advantage of 5 walks by Kyle Kendrick, who didn’t get past the 5th inning.