Luis Patiño debuts, Padres come up short against Dodgers
Credit: AP Photo
San Diego, California
Luis Patiño, the #27 overall prospect according to MLB.com, made his MLB debut on Wednesday night. The young man was signed out of Colombia for $130,000 in the San Diego Padres famous 2016-2017 international signing class, and, at the time, he was relatively under the radar.
Many other players came in with more hype and signed for more money, including Adrian Morejon, Gabriel Arias, Jorge Oña, and Michel Baez.
Last year he dominated batters with both the Lake Elsinore Storm (Advanced A) and the Amarillo Sod Poodles (AA). In 94.2 innings, he accumulated 123 strikeouts and only surrendered 38 walks. He also finished with a 2.57 ERA while opposing batters managed a meager .198 batting average.
His MLB debut got off to a rough start, as a three-run home run by Joc Pederson in the sixth inning proved to be the catalyst for a Los Angeles Dodgers 7-6 win as a late comeback by the Padres stalled out in the ninth inning.
Patiño was able to turn things around for the better, evidenced by his strikeout of Enrique Hernandez to end the sixth. The rookie then pitched a clean 1-2-3 seventh, including a strikeout of Max Muncy.
Another first came in the game for the Padres, but for different reasons as Jayce Tingler got his first ejection as a Padre manager.
With two men on and two outs, Manny Machado strode up to the plate with a chance to tie the game. On a strike call that appeared to be below the zone, Machado started to get chirpy with the umpire.
Tingler, who didn’t want to lose a key better in a clutch situation, argued the call with home plate umpire Mark Ripperger, who gave Tingler the heave-ho.
Pederson was not the only player to bring the home run power, Fernando Tatis Jr. blasted a two-run homer in the fifth inning, belting the ball at 112.1 MPH, according to Statcast while adding a sense of panache with a bat flip.
FERNANDO TATIS JR TO THE MOOOOOOOOOOOON 🚀🚀🚀#FriarFaithful | @Padres pic.twitter.com/xSPyw6WDuA
— Bally Sports San Diego (@BallySportsSD) August 6, 2020
A two-RBI double by Greg Garcia and a solo home run from Wil Myers put the game at 7-5 leading up to the ninth inning, an inning which provided all the drama one could hope for in a rival series.
After a Tatis walk and a single from Trent Grisham, Tommy Pham sliced an RBI single to cut the deficit down to just one run.
However, a Machado line drive wasn’t hit deep enough as Chris Taylor’s throw just beat out Grisham at home plate to end a nail baiter at Petco Park.
Evan is a student finishing up a degree in Finance from Northern Arizona University. The ability to break down numbers and find the story behind them has lead to his first of writing for East Village times. He covers baseball which is the sport he grew up playing and has followed even after his playing years.