WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Padres managed to secure victory despite playing under challenging conditions where they lacked several key elements.
With three of their six key offensive players spectating, the Padres managed to get at least one runner into scoring position during seven out of nine innings and scored runs in two of those innings before securing a 2-1 win with Randy Vásquez and the backend of their bullpen closing things out against the Athletics on Wednesday.
Xander Bogaerts crossed home plate both instances — first during the third inning when Oscar Gonzalez hit a single, and again in the fifth inning due 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 went through the Athletics' lineup twice during this stint.
Given that his high-impact relief pitchers were well-rested and they had a break on Thursday, Padres manager Mike Shildtm opted to utilize his bullpen for securing the one-run advantage through the last four innings.
That’s exactly what they’ve been doing all season long.
Adrián Morejón pitched a flawless sixth inning, followed by Jeremiah Estrada throwing a perfect seventh. Jason Adam then maintained the shutout with a quiet eighth, and Robert Suárez secured a clean 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 only appeared in games won by the Padres this season. Notably, no reliever for the Padres has allowed a lead to be overturned so far this season.
This 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 occupied the fourth or fifth batting position during the initial 10 games of the season and currently tops the Padres in nearly all offensive statistics, sat out the third game of what will amount to at least nine games sidelined due to a strained right hamstring.
Tatis, who bats at the top of the order but ranks second to Merrill in nearly all offensive stats, was benched following his exit from Tuesday’s contest due to discomfort in his left shoulder that he initially felt during a swing.
Cronenworth, who has primarily batted fifth or seventh with an on-base percentage of .409, was also sidelined. 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 they might realistically be ready to come back on Friday for the game against the Rockies at Petco Park. According to Shildt, although Tatis was an option as a pinch hitter, they decided to let him rest for the day.
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 with a score of 1-0 in the second inning when Vásquez's control wavered, just as it had at times throughout his three appearances this season.
The right-handed pitcher required only six pitches to complete the first inning before walking Shea Langeliers with just four pitches at the beginning of the second inning, followed by JJ Bleday who was issued a walk after eight pitches.
These two walks were his tenth and eleventh of the season, and they proved to be quite detrimental.
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 beat out center fielder Brandon Lockridge’s throw to home plate.
Vásquez (1-1, 1.72) would also retire the next eight batters in a row before issuing a walk to Urias with two outs in the fifth inning.
The Padres' rally began with three key players (Sheets, Gonzalez, and Iglesias), positioned centrally in their batting order, joining the squad during spring training on minor league deals.
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 managed to tie 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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