Sedona Red Recap: D-backs fall to Padres on Fernando Rodney’s blown save

PHOENIX — Perfect no more.

Called upon to preserve a 5-3 lead, Arizona Diamondbacks closer Fernando Rodney imploded.

Ryan Schimpf hit a three-run home run and Yangervis Solarte added a two-run double in a five-run ninth inning to lead the San Diego Padres to an 8-5 win in front of 12,215 at Chase Field on Wednesday.

It was the Padres’ first victory in the four-game series and snapped a four-game losing streak overall.

Rodney had been 6-of-6 in save chances.

“They got me tonight,” he said.

Five runs appeared to be more than enough for the D-backs, who were within three outs of their fourth straight home series win to open the season.

All five runs were scored off Trevor Cahill, the one-time D-back.

Paul Goldschmidt had three hits and 3 RBI.

Jake Lamb and Chris Owings also drove in runs in support of starter Zack Godley.

Inserted into the rotation due to the injury to Shelby Miller, Godley, who was optioned back to Triple-A Reno following the game, pitched five innings, allowing two runs on four hits, including a home run, with three walks and six strikeouts.

He left with a 5-2 lead.

Archie Bradley entered in the sixth, and after surrendering a leadoff home run, he struck out five of the last seven batters faced.

Despite the loss, the D-backs’ 10-3 home mark is tied for the best 13-game start in franchise history.

THE GOOD

OK, so the D-backs didn’t homer in the first inning — they had in a team-record five consecutive games — but they did score. And it was Goldschmidt who delivered. He grounded a 1-2 slider up the middle into center field to plate A.J. Pollock from second base for a 1-0 D-backs lead. It was Pollock’s 17th run scored in 21 games this season.

Make that 18 runs scored in 21 games as Pollock touched home plate for a second time two innings later in the third. And once again it was Goldschmidt who drove him home. He grounded a 3-2 slider up the middle off Cahill’s right foot, letting Pollock score easily from third base for a 2-0 D-backs lead. Pollock’s 18 runs is a team-high.

For the third time in the series, Owings found himself batting in different spot in the lineup. And for the third time in the series, Owings found himself driving in at least one run. With one out in the third inning, Owings plated Goldschmidt on a fielder’s choice. It was Owings’ eighth RBI of the series, 11th of the homestand and 17th of the month.

Remember that talk of Goldschmidt and a slow start? Yeah, that’s done. Following his RBI double in the fourth inning, which made the score 5-2 in favor of the D-backs, Goldschmidt’s batting average (.325) was nearly 100 points higher than where it read on April 19 (.236). In the seven games since, he’s 12-for-23 (.522) with two home runs and 12 RBI.

THE BAD

Bases loaded with one out in the second inning. Runners on first and second with one out in the third inning. Godley put himself in trouble in back-to-back frames after a 1-2-3 first inning. Fortunately for him, he escaped with zero runs as the Padres went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position.

One inning later, Godley was not as fortunate. After two quick outs to begin the fourth, Erick Aybar smashed a first-pitch 93-mph sinker into the seats in right field. Then after a walk to Jabari Blash, Cahill doubled home the Padres’ second run of the inning, recording his first RBI of the season.

Bradley has allowed two runs in 14.1 innings of relief this season. Both were home runs. The second came on the second pitch he threw in the Wednesday game, an 82-mph knuckle curve that Hunter Renfroe deposited into the seats in center field, just to the left of the batter’s eye, to lead off the sixth inning.

Since a three-hit performance on Opening Day, Jeff Mathis is batting .050 (2-for-40) with 17 strikeouts in his last 13 games. He struck out, grounded out and flied out twice in four at-bats on Wednesday. That’s nine straight games without a hit. Mathis last recorded a hit, a double, on April 10 at San Francisco.

STAT OF THE GAME, part I

12: The number of Padres hits, half of which were recorded in the ninth inning. It’s the first time in the series the Padres out-hit the D-backs.

STAT OF THE GAME, part II

The D-backs’ first three batters accounted for eight of the team’s 11 hits, all five runs and three RBI.

HE SAID IT

“Definitely a frustrating ending to a pretty well-pitched night,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “You watch a couple of the guys execute on the mound and then, unfortunately, we made a couple of mistakes late in the game and they took advantage of it. They’re a free-swinging team, they jump on mistakes.”

NOTED

– Goldschmidt recorded his fifth consecutive multi-RBI performance, establishing a new franchise record.

– Goldschmidt matched a franchise record by reaching base safely in nine consecutive plate appearances.

– Pollock recorded his second consecutive multi-hit performance and seventh in nine games since April 17.

– Pollock went 3-for-5, and he has now reached base safely in 12 consecutive games against the Padres.

– Brandon Drury was removed from the game because of a jammed right knee at the end of the fifth inning.

– Attendance was not only a season-low but a franchise-low (the previous record: 14,110 against the Padres on June 5, 2016).

– With a first-pitch temperature of 87 degrees, the game was played with the roof open but panels closed.

UP NEXT

The series finale pits dueling right-handers on the mound in Taijuan Walker and Jered Weaver on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 40 minutes earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

Walker (2-1) did not factor into the decision in his last outing on April 21 against the Dodgers, when he allowed four runs on seven hits in 5.2 innings.

He’s pitched at least five innings in each of his four starts this season, but none longer than six innings.

Walker is 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA and 13 strikeouts against one walk in two career outings versus the Padres.

Now in his 12th season, his first with San Diego and in the National League, Weaver (0-1) is in the midst of a three-start no decision streak, and in each of those appearances, he’s allowed no more than two earned runs.

This will be just Weaver’s third-ever start against the D-backs. He’s 1-1 with a 4.85 ERA.

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