Padres starter Chris Paddack shines in win over Giants

San Diego Padres pitcher Chris Paddack carried the team to victory against the San Francisco Giants on Thursday, handing the Friars the series opener.

The San Diego Padres needed someone to step up, and Chris Paddack answered the call.

Rebounding from a shockingly bad last start, Paddack did a complete 180 and reclaimed his status as the Padres’ ace in Thursday’s game at Oracle Park. His performance snapped San Diego’s latest losing streak, leading to a 5-3 victory.

Paddack was near perfect against the San Francisco Giants. His seven-inning start included just one run surrendered, and that was on a solo home run to Brandon Belt in the fourth.

Other than that, the Giants only had four other hits while Paddack struck out eight San Francisco batters. The win also put him back over .500, as Paddack had taken the loss in his last two starts at Philadelphia and against Boston.

Offensively, San Diego scored all of their five runs against San Francisco starter Dereck Rodriguez (now 5-7). They plated three runs in the third, and another two in the fourth.

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Leadoff hitter Manuel Margot scored two runs batted in, while Austin Hedges had two and Eric Hosmer was credited with one. Though he didn’t register an RBI, Josh Naylor went 2-for-3, and even Paddack chipped in a hit.

And not to be overlooked, the Padres defense didn’t commit an error Thursday—the first time in three games that they haven’t made a mistake. It all added up to a much-needed win and further proof that this team has potential if they can find consistency.

San Diego is now 62-71, while San Francisco dropped to 65-68. The two teams meet again on Friday and Saturday, with the Friars now three games behind the Giants in the National League West standings.

The question is, will the Padres be able to have that consistency in order to pick up two games on the Giants before they leave Oracle Park?

For complete coverage of the San Diego Padres’ 2019 season, continue following Friars on Base all season long.