D-backs use six-run third inning to beat Padres in San Diego
Jul 27, 2018, 9:49 PM | Updated: Jul 28, 2018, 10:31 am
The Arizona Diamondbacks' Jeff Mathis, right, scores from second base off an RBI-single by Jon Jay as San Diego Padres catcher Austin Hedges, left, is late with the tag during the third inning of a baseball game Friday, July 27, 2018, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
(AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
The Arizona Diamondbacks’ problem all season has been consistency. When one player gets hot, another gets cold. When the team goes 18-7 in April, they follow it by going 8-19 in May. There is a lack of cohesion to the team’s level of play, a team sorely in need of syncing up at some point in the season.
That still isn’t happening yet during the season or even the whole game on Friday in San Diego, but it at least did in the third inning against the Padres.
The D-backs scored six runs in the inning, punishing Padres starter Luis Perdomo for giving Arizona chances in the heart of their order, and using that explosion to cruise to a 6-2 win.
After going down 1-0 the inning prior, Jeff Mathis started off the top of the third for Arizona with a double. Starter Zack Greinke popped out attempting a sacrifice bunt, but that wouldn’t matter, as the D-backs would reach base on the next seven at-bats.
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Jon Jay’s single brought home Mathis to tie the game up. From there, Paul Goldschmidt walked and A.J. Pollock’s double to deep left scored Jay and gave Arizona the lead.
Steven Souza Jr. continued his strong hitting performance in the month of July, hitting a two-RBI ground-rule double to make it 4-1 D-backs. Perdomo couldn’t find solid ground, walking Daniel Descalso and then giving up an RBI double to Ketel Marte and an RBI single to Nick Ahmed.
Pedromo was pulled, and despite Robbie Erlin forcing Mathis to ground into a double play, the damage had been done.
It was 6-1 Arizona, and most importantly, Greinke was rolling.
After giving up his first baserunner of the night in the second, a solo home run to Manuel Margot, Greinke got the next eight Padres hitters out through to the fifth inning.
Back-to-back singles by San Diego in the fifth had the Padres threatening, but part of the value in an ace like Greinke is his ability to not overreact and calmly get out of dangerous situations. Greinke recorded three outs on the next two at-bats, a groundout fielder’s choice to Christian Villanueva and a double play to Austin Hedges to end the inning with no damage done.
Greinke pitched seven full innings, giving up six hits, one earned run and no walks while striking out six.
Matt Andriese, the right-hander the D-backs acquired from Tampa earlier in the week, made his D-backs debut in the eighth. It didn’t go well in his first at-bat. Hedges hit a solo home run off Andriese, but the 28-year-old settled in and got the next three hitters out.
Andriese closed out the ninth, giving the D-backs a win that put them 0.5 games ahead of the Colorado Rockies and Atlanta Braves for the final National League Wild Card spot.
