Padres’ bats bludgeon Urias, Darvish whiffs 11 in 6-2 win over Dodgers
Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Petco Park- San Diego, California
The San Diego Padres entered the series with the Los Angeles Dodgers with a four-game winning streak after sweeping the Reds over the weekend. The Dodgers came to town having swept the Diamondbacks on the road. Yu Darvish took the hill in hopes of keeping San Diego’s winning streak alive against his former team.
Expectations were high for game number eight between the two sides this season. The previous seven matchups brought numerous dramatic moments and a tension usually reserved for October, with the Padres winning four of the first seven contests.
Julio Urias took the mound opposite Darvish for the Dodgers. The Friars got to Urias quickly in the bottom of the first inning. Tommy Pham continued his hot hitting and led off the inning with a double. Jake Cronenworth later doubled home Pham after a walk by Fernando Tatis Jr. walk. With the Padres already leading 1-0 and runners on second and third, Manny Machado launched a three-run home run into left, sending Petco Park into an early frenzy and giving San Diego a 4-0 lead after one inning.
“Tommy and (Tatis) both had quality at-bats. I was just trying to find a pitch to drive. Then Manny comes up with the big three-run homer,” Cronenworth said after the game.
Machado had a big night, racking up three hits, including that home run along with a stolen base. It is very clear that Machado is past his early-season slump.
MANNY MACHADO SENDS IT 💪
The San Diego crowd is loving the early 4-0 Padres lead over the Dodgers on ESPN. pic.twitter.com/dX30XEwEhf
— ESPN (@espn) June 22, 2021
The Dodgers responded in the third inning with a homer of their own, a solo shot by Mookie Betts, to cut the lead to three. After that, Darvish settled down and ended up throwing six solid innings, striking out 11 batters. At one point, he struck out seven consecutive Dodger hitters. He allowed just two hits and one walk along with that lone run. He became the fastest pitcher in major league history to reach 1,500 career strikeouts, doing so in just 197 games.
With 11 Ks tonight (and counting), @faridyu has reached the 1,500 K mark in fewer games than any other pitcher in MLB history (197). pic.twitter.com/dQVvspsb9l
— MLB (@MLB) June 22, 2021
The Friars were not done adding on against Urias. Tatis led off the bottom of the fifth with a double. Cronenworth added onto his hot night with a two-run shot, giving the Padres a 6-1 lead. They chased Urias from the game after tagging him with six earned runs in four-plus innings.
TO THE ⚠️ CRONE ZONE ⚠️@Padres | #HungryForMore pic.twitter.com/L5DTzCsk9O
— Bally Sports San Diego (@BallySportsSD) June 22, 2021
After Darvish, the Friars turned to Tim Hill, Austin Adams, Craig Stammen, and Emilio Pagan to close the game. Stammen surrendered a solo home run to Will Smith in the eighth, bringing the game to 6-2, which would end up being the final score.
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Notably, Eric Hosmer entered the game after previously having the night off due to Ha-Seong Kim leaving with an injury to his finger.
Tuesday night will be Blake Snell against Clayton Kershaw, with the first pitch at 7:10 PST.
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.