Lamet dominates, Mejias-Brean homers in Padres 2-1 victory

Miller Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The third game of a four-game series between the San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers included a pitching matchup between Dinelson Lamet (4.06 ERA) and Adrian Houser (3.84 ERA) as San Diego looked to snap a six-game losing streak.

After two hitless innings from both sides, the Padres would get their offense rolling in the third.

El Cajon native Greg Garcia would lead off the inning with a single back up the middle. Batting in the 8th spot and playing short would be September call-up Seth Mejias-Brean. Before tonight’s game, Mejias-Brean had only ten at-bats, with just two hits. On an 0-2 pitch, he would leave the yard to right-center field as his first-career home run gave the Padres an early 2-0 lead

Dinelson Lamet was extremely effective tonight. Lamet is known around the league for his hard fastball and heart-breaking slider. He tends to rack up strikeouts in bunches, and that is exactly what he did. Lamet struck out multiple batters in all six innings, including striking out the sides in the 1st and 6th inning. He tallied an astonishing 14 strikeouts in only six innings and is only the 13th pitcher in MLB history to accomplish that.

RHP Dinelson Lamet finishes with 14 strikeouts. Last time a #Padres pitcher had 14 or more strikeouts in a game was Jake Peavy with 16 on April 25, 2007. Lamet is has the eighth game of 14 or more strikes in #Padres history.

— Bill Center (@PadresCentral) September 19, 2019

Lamet would surrender a run in the 6th. Slugging rookie Keston Hiura would take Lamet deep with a monstrous 421 foot home run in what became the only Milwaukee run of the game.

Trey Wingenter (4.93 ERA) would be the first reliever Andy Green would call upon tonight. Walks continue to haunt Wingenter as he walked former Padre Cory Spangenberg to lead off the inning. Spangenberg reached third with two outs and a sac bunt and a groundout. Leadoff hitter Trent Grisham came to the plate looking to tie up the game in what would be a very controversial at-bat. The 1-0 pitch appeared to be below the strike zone but was called a strike after a great frame from catcher Francisco Mejia. Grisham chased a 1-2 slider in the dirt, but it got away from Mejia. The catcher’s throw was not caught by Hosmer, and it appeared that the game would be tied.

However, manager Andy Green asked the home plate umpire to discuss with his crew about a possible runners lane violation. After a group discussion, the umpires declared that Grisham was not in the runner’s lane, so he was called out. Considering that the Brewers are in the wild card picture, this could be a season-changing call.

The Padres attempted to extend the lead in the 8th. After Nick Martini would reach on a single to right to lead off the inning, Travis Jankowski attempted to move him up on a sacrifice bunt. Not only did Martini move up, but Jankowski also beat the throw and reached first base. Margot sacrificed himself to get both runners into scoreless position. With one out, Machado and Hosmer both struck the ball well but were unable to score the runners.

Craig Stammen (3.46 ERA) retired all three batters he faced, and the Padres would also go down in order in the top of the 9th. Kirby Yates (1.23 ERA) came in for the first time in eight days. The rust was evident as he walked the first batter he faced. The MLB’s leader in saves settled down and retirer the next three Brewers to end the ballgame.

The final score for this contest was 2-1, with Dinelson Lamet earning the victory. The Padres are now 69-83 and will send out Joey Lucchesi (4.22 ERA) to split the series tomorrow.

Dominic Stearn

Dominic is a graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Journalism. He also  is the producer and co-host of the “Padres EVT Podcast.”