Padres Analysis: The Top 10 Padres Games of 2014

Aug 29, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher

reacts during the eighth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

5. March 30th, Padres Come Back to Bite Wilson, Los Angeles Dodgers

The stage was set for a great Opening Night game on ESPN, Dodgers vs. Padres. The Padres were showcasing their spiffy, classy camo uniforms.

Many tuned in probably to watch the Dodgers showcase their new phenom Yasiel Puig and an easy win against a mediocre team. For most of the game, that is how it looked (besides the Puig part, who was 0 for 3 with a strikeout).

It was a pitchers duel for 4 full innings until the Dodgers broke the scoreless tie with a Carl Crawford RBI single. With the way Hyun-jin Ryu was pitching, that may have seemed to be enough. He was relieved by the unkempt and wild Brian Wilson. He had done a solid job as a reliever the past few years and nothing less was expected this time out.

Wilson fell behind to the new Padre Seth Smith 2-0, who was pinch-hitting and making his first at-bat as a Padre. The next pitch got lost in the lights and in the stands for a game-tying 8th inning home run on national television.

That is not all. He then walks Grandal, Everth Cabrera reaches on Wilson’s throwing error and then Grandal steals third. Cabrera stole second and Chris Denorfia puts the Padres on top with a two-run single up the middle, giving the Padres a 3-1 lead. Huston Street then came in to close things down in the 9th and did so with a 1-2-3 inning to cap a dramatic victory on Opening Night.