Paddack Outdels deGrom in 4-0 Victory Over Mets
Credit: Padres
Petco Park- San Diego, California
The Sheriff was in town Monday night for the Padres, as Chris Paddack struck out 11 in 7 â…” innings, leading the Padres to a 3-0 victory over the visiting New York Mets.
Paddack was fired up early, striking out the first two batters he faced, including National League rookie of the month Pete Alonso.
Paddack’s fastball usually sits in the mid-’90s, but against Alonso, he threw four fastballs, at 96, 97, 96, and 98 mph to strike him out. Alonso would end the day 0-3 against Paddack with two strikeouts.
Welcome to May. 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/nCnAkGDbdz
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 7, 2019
It wasn’t just Alonso who could not figure out Paddack, the entire Mets lineup struggled, striking out 11 times, and only mustering four hits throughout the game.
Runs were hard to come by for both teams as deGrom and Paddack were both working extremely effectively. Paddack threw 91 pitches, 66 of them were strikes, lowering his ERA to 1.55 in the process. Jacob deGrom on the other hand, Â threw 103 pitches, 73 of them for strikes.
However, it was the Padres who were able to strike first courtesy of Hunter Renfroe. In the bottom of the fifth Renfroe continued his home run tear, launching a solo shot 371 feet giving the  Padres a 1-0 lead.
Walk-off slam yesterday, solo shot tonight.
HUNTER RENFROE'S ON 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥#FriarFaithful | @Padres pic.twitter.com/VoS3933lpA
— Bally Sports San Diego (@BallySportsSD) May 7, 2019
Over the past several weeks it has been Eric Hosmer who has seen the ball extremely well. With a 2-4 day today, Hosmer has raised his average to .281, when it had previously been down below .24o.
With a single in the seventh and a double in the eighth Hosmer has been spraying the ball to all parts of the ballpark. But it was the double in the eighth inning that added two insurances runs for the Padres, giving them a 4-0 lead that had him and his teammates fired up.
We love insurance, & @TheRealHos305 has provided just that!#FriarFaithful pic.twitter.com/5XU9PuVEzg
— Bally Sports San Diego (@BallySportsSD) May 7, 2019
Even though Hosmer provided the crucial insurance runs for the Padres, Chris Paddack was the star of the game. He utilized his three pitch mix of a fastball, changeup, and curveball to keep the Mets hitters off-balance consistently. The 25-year-old Texan has shown he belongs in the big leagues and has proven himself to be the ace of a young Padres staff that continues to impress day in and day out for the Friar Faithful.Â
Paddack left the game with two outs in the bottom of the eighth. Craig Stammen came in and quietly sent down Alonso via a strikeout to end the eighth and had a 1-2-3 inning in the ninth to complete the shutout.
Paddack’s stellar outing, along with timely hits from the likes of Renfroe and Hosmer, lead the Padres to a victory in game one of this three-game series against the Mets. The Padres improved their record to 20-16, and are now only two games behind the Dodgers in first.
Michael is currently a junior at the University of Oregon. Passionate about all things MLB, especially the Padres. USMNT and Leicester City supporter. Just trying to have hair like Travis Jankowski. Follow me on twitter: @_Michael_Abbott
With every game Paddack looks more and more like the real deal. And we finally found the prefect game for Andy Green, one where he doesn’t have to make any decisions.