WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Padres managed to secure victory despite playing short-handed that afternoon.
Despite having three of their six key offensive players sidelined, the Padres managed to get at least one runner into scoring position during seven out of nine innings. They scored twice in those innings and secured a 2-1 win against the Athletics thanks to Randy Vásquez and the strong performance from the latter part of their relief pitching corps on Wednesday.
Xander Bogaerts scored twice during this event — first in the third inning when Oscar Gonzalez hit a single, and later in the fifth inning thanks to a sacrifice fly by Gavin Sheets.
These were the Padres' cleanup hitter and fifth batter, respectively, since second baseman Jake Cronenworth, center fielder Jackson Merrill, and right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. were all out due to injuries.
Trouble arose for Vázquez only when he issued free bases and completed five innings, permitting one run on one hit prior to being substituted. He had thrown merely 61 pitches and gone through the Athletics' lineup two times.
Given that his high-impact relief pitchers were well-rested and considering they had a break on Thursday, Padres manager Mike Shildtm opted to utilize his bullpen for safeguarding the narrow advantage across the last four frames of the game.
That’s exactly what they’ve been doing all year long.
Adrián Morejón pitched a scoreless sixth inning, followed by Jeremiah Estrada who threw a flawless seventh. Jason Adam maintained the shutout with a clean eighth, and Robert Suárez secured a scoreless ninth for his league-best sixth save. This marked his sixth consecutive hitless frame to begin the season, an unprecedented feat among San Diego Padres pitchers.
These four relief pitchers have been part of San Diego Padres wins exclusively this season. Not once has a Padres reliever allowed their team to lose a lead all season.
It marked the Padres' fourth come-from-behind win, and they extended their record to 5-0 in one-run contests.
Despite this, their MLB-leading 10th win in 13 games stood out from the rest due to those who were absent and those who stepped up.
Merrill, who was positioned fourth or fifth in the batting order for the initial 10 games of the season and tops the Padres in nearly all offensive statistics, sat out the third game of a minimum nine-game absence due to a strained right hamstring.
Tatis, who bats at the top of the lineup but trails Merrill in nearly all offensive statistics, was benched following his exit from Tuesday’s contest due to discomfort in his left shoulder that he initially felt during a swing.
Cronenworth, primarily batting fifth or seventh with an on-base percentage of .409, was also absent from the lineup. After swinging exacerbated the injured region on his right side—where he had been struck by a pitch two days prior—he left Tuesday’s game.
It was mentioned that both Tatis and Cronenworth had reached a stage where their return could realistically be anticipated for Friday’s game against the Rockies at Petco Park. Shildt stated that although Tatis was available as a substitute, they decided to give him the day off.
When they were not present, Gonzalez took over in right field, Jose Iglesias played at second base, and Lockridge was positioned in center field.
The Athletics jumped ahead 1-0 in the second inning when Vásquez's control wavered, just as it had at times during his previous three outings.
The right-handed pitcher required only six pitches to complete the first inning before walking Shea Langeliers with four pitches at the beginning of the second, followed by BBJJ Bleday who took eight pitches. (Note: It seems like "BBJJ" might be an error or specific notation; I've kept it as-is.)
These were his 10th and 11th walks of the season, and they proved to be quite damaging.
Jacob Wilson’s hit to right field marked the first time a right-handed batter had gotten a hit off Vasquez in 16 at-bats this season. Following him up, Luis Urias smacked a fly ball to center field, and Langeliers narrowly made it to home plate before center fielder Brandon Lockridge could relay the throw.
Vásquez (1-1, 1.72) would also retire the subsequent eight hitters consecutively until walking Urias with two outs in the fifth inning.
The Padres' rally began thanks to three key players—Sheets, Gonzalez, and Iglesias—who were part of the starting lineup and signed minor league deals when they joined the team during spring training.
Following Sheets' strikeout and Gonzalez hitting a fly ball which was caught near the warning track in right field when Bogaerts and Manny Machado were on base during the first inning, Gonzalez equalized the game at 1-1 with his two-out single in the third inning.
Bogaerts started the fifth inning with his third hit, a double along the left-field line. He advanced to third base due to a flyout by Machado and came home to score on Sheets' fly ball to center field.
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