Davies goes seven strong, but Padres’ bats silent in 6-0 loss
Credit: AP Photo
Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
A game where no one knew what to expect from either starter turned into quite the pitcher’s duel through the first seven and a half innings in LA.
Zach Davies threw the longest start for a Padre this season (a spectacular seven innings), albeit while receiving some help from home plate umpire Lance Barrett like the video below:
Umpire Lance Barrett is now the league leader for the biggest miss of the season!
This pitch to @Edwin_Rios30 missed low by 6.21 inches.#Dodgers v #Padres pic.twitter.com/9RsNCXtuAE
— Umpire Auditor (@UmpireAuditor) August 13, 2020
Davies managed four scoreless innings before giving up two runs in the fifth after a single to Edwin Ríos – scoring AJ Pollock and sending Chris Taylor to third – and a squeeze bunt by Austin Barnes, scoring Taylor. Davies allowed six hard-hit balls (classified as any ball hit 95+ MPH) on the night, getting lucky outs on line drives off the bats of Joc Pederson and Max Muncy, both of which had exected batting averages of .500 and .520, respectively.
Despite only throwing 87 pitches, manager Jace Tingler went to Craig Stammen in the eighth inning, which did not go as planned as Stammen allowed 4ER on four hits and a walk, including a three-run home run to Justin Turner.
On the flip side of the rubber, Tony Gonsolin shut down Padre hitters for 4.2 innings, allowing only three hits and one walk while striking out a career-high eight batters.
The Padres had only three innings in which a runner was in scoring position and failed to capitalize in all three. However, they did manage to make the game exciting, loading the bases with no outs in the ninth inning before Kenley Jansen closed the door with two strikeouts and a groundout, ending the rally just as it was getting started.
On the plus side, Trent Grisham stayed hot, going 2-for-4 with a double while Fernando Tatis Jr. had three more hard-hit balls, though none of them went for a hit.
The Padres will look to take the series tomorrow at 6:40 PT with Chris Paddack slated to match up against Julio Urías.
Aaron is a college student who loves baseball, writing, and learning. The game has been with him ever since he first threw a ball at the age of three, and his love for it has only evolved since. He is married to his beautiful wife, Jessalyn, and they share their home with their cat, Louise, and their dog, Lexi.