Gore debuts, Lamet solid in Padres victory over Mariners 3-0
Credit: Padres
Peoria Sports Complex- Peoria, Arizona
Greg Garcia‘s two-run home run was enough for the San Diego Padres as they improved to 10-2 in the Cactus League standings after their 3-0 victory. The Padres dominated as a team on the mound but only tallied three hits in the win.
Dinelson Lamet was on the mound for the Friars and pitched three shutout innings to start the game. Emilio Pagán, Cal Quantrill, Mackenzie Gore, Reggie Lawson, and Andrés Muñoz followed in that order.
Lamet retired his first eight batters, giving up only one hit off the double to left-fielder Sam Haggerty. The right-hander looked electric out there as he struck out five batters and forced three groundouts.
Yusei Kikuchi pitched 3.0 innings for Seattle, striking out five and walking two, while not allowing a hit.
San Diego didn’t get their first knock of the game until the fourth inning as Yohan Ramirez came in for Seattle, replacing Kikuchi. Eric Hosmer singled to right, and Brian Dozier followed with a walk. Hosmer would then score off the throwing error by Mallex Smith when Garcia flew out to center field. The Padres took a 1-0 lead going into the bottom half of the fourth inning.
Pagán replaced Lamet in the fourth, and after an infield single by Kyle Seager, Pagán snuck out of the inning quickly off the 5-4-3 double play.
Five Ks. Three shutout innings. @LametRHP = filthy. ?#PadresST pic.twitter.com/ScblMw1JXc
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 5, 2020
That would be the lone inning for Pagán as Cal Quantrill replaced him in the fifth. Quantrill had his stuff going as he went hitless in 2.0 innings, walking only one and striking out two for the Padres.
The top of the sixth inning is when the runs started to register for San Diego. Garcia hit a two-run bomb to right to extend the Padres lead to 3-0, scoring Gordon Beckham (who replaced Dozier at second).
What happened next was what Padres fans have been waiting for, and that is to see top prospect Mackenzie Gore pitch in a San Diego uniform for the first time. The left-hander had a smooth debut for the Friars as he went hitless and faced three major league hitters in the seventh inning. Gore forced two groundouts and a foul-out in just eight pitches. It was a short stint for the 21-year old and Padres’ fans will have to wait for a few more games to see him in action again.
1-2-3 inning for @Mgore181 in his #PadresST debut ? pic.twitter.com/TKh3EVQiip
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 5, 2020
Muñoz came in to close things out for the Padres, and after a leadoff double by Dylan Moore, he struck out two of the final three batters of the game to secure the 3-0 win.
Hosmer went 1-2 with a single and a walk. Manny Machado had a quiet day at the plate going 0-3. Garcia went 1-3 with his homer being the difference-maker.
The Padres will face the Texas Rangers next on Friday at 5:40 p.m.
Chris is a graduate of the University of San Diego. He is the former Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris has covered the San Diego Loyal, and now covers San Diego State Men’s Basketball. He also contributes regularly about the Padres. Chris is an athlete and is a huge fan of San Diego sports.
Loving this pitching staff but the hitting by the so called regulars at this time is awful. Glad it’s early in Spring training.
Padres are 19th in Hitting this spring. Their pitching is #1 out of 30 teams. Both stats are better than last year’s regular season. It’s still early.