Craig Stammen savored the Padres flipping the revenge script vs. Brewers

Padres fans have seen this film plenty of times. A former Padre strolls into town and turns into Babe Ruth for a series. It happens often enough that the Padres apparently talk about it internally. At least that’s what Craig Stammen says. After Tuesday’s 11-2 beatdown of the Brewers, Stammen admitted that they finally got to enjoy the joke.

“There’s always a lot of revenge against the Padres,” Stammen said. “Sometimes it’s nice to have somebody that was from another team inflict that same kind of damage on somebody else.”

That somebody he was talking about was Luis Rengifo, and Milwaukee could only watch him administer the payback. Rengifo launched a grand slam in the second inning, blowing open a game that quickly became a Padres party. It was a moment the Brewers had never received  before releasing Rengifo in June. The Brewers were stuck watching him hit .205 without a home run across 57 games.

Luis Rengifo flipped the Padres’ familiar revenge narrative

Then he joined San Diego and made a point to punish the team that gave up on him.

“He’s come up with a few big hits,” Stammen said, “and that was one of the biggest that he’s had.”

Yeah, you can’t argue with him there. The Padres are fighting for their postseason lives, tied with the Phillies and Diamondbacks in a crowded NL wild-card race. Grand slams against a former employer are entertaining at any time during the season. In August though, they carry even more weight.

Rengifo has given San Diego more than just the grand slam. His versatility and timely hitting arrived when the Padres needed a spark. Stammen said he came along at “the right time,” and that’s putting it mildly. San Diego has won four straight and 14 of 18 after surviving a miserable stretch of 26 games in 27 days.

The Padres are finally playing like a team capable of taking a playoff spot. Walker Buehler strengthened that argument by working six innings and allowing just three hits against Milwaukee. With Rengifo supplying the early cushion, Buehler could comfortably attack the zone, lean on his two-seamer and deliver one of his sharpest starts of the season.

But Tuesday belonged to Rengifo and the awesome reversal he provided. San Diego has spent years watching former Padres return with suspiciously perfect timing. Stammen even cracked that there happen to be plenty of ex-Padres scattered across the majors, which helps explain the phenomenon. Against Milwaukee, the Padres finally got to send one back.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow