Padres come up short of sweep with 8-3 loss to Diamondbacks
Credit: Padres
The San Diego Padres had won the first two games against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the taste of victory was back on their tongues. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long, and the Padres dropped a perfect chance to sweep a series by losing to the Diamondbacks 8-3 on Wednesday afternoon.
No more than 24 hours ago, Blake Snell tossed seven hitless innings, and the Padres shut out the Diamondbacks, and things seemed to be changing in their favor. Then came Yu Darvish, and the veteran right-hander was hit with another brutal start. He went just 2.2 innings, giving up six runs (five earned) on eight hits.
All the runs came in the third inning, which would be the end of the road for Darvish, and his struggles have not faded away since the All-Star Break. Padres manager Jayce Tingler touched on Darvish’s outing after the game.
“For whatever reason, the last two times the third inning has kind of been the kryptonite…He wasn’t as sharp as he’s been.”
Despite the struggles, Tingler emphasized that he still trusts Darvish.
“I do have a lot of trust in him, and I’m not wavering off it one bit.”
On the other side of things, the Diamondbacks started Luke Weaver on the mound, and he was borderline dominant in a surprising turn of events. He finished the game after six innings, giving up just four hits and one run. The lone run came off of the bat of Trent Grisham, who finally ended the drought for the Padres in the top of the sixth inning with a home run to right field.
Once Darvish came out, the Padres bullpen went to work with another long day on their hands. Nabil Crismatt stepped in and tossed 1.1 scoreless innings. Then, Dinelson Lamet made his return after being activated before Wednesday’s game.
Lamet pitched well, and his return could be just what the Padres need for a tired, taxed bullpen. Lamet tossed a scoreless inning, striking out three batters and providing the Padres–and manager Jayce Tingler— with a bit of hope.
“He threw some good sliders…I thought (Lamet) was one of the highlights today…It was a good one to build on going forward.”
After Lamet was another surprise as Ryan Weathers made an appearance out of the bullpen. Weathers has struggled heavily in his past few starts, and Tingler eluded the team would evaluate their options with the lefty going forward. Well, it looks as if he will do bullpen work, for now at least, and he tossed a scoreless inning.
The Padres added another pair of runs in the seventh. Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a double, and Wil Myers put a little spark in the team with a two-run home to cut the deficit down.
WIL DID IT👏👏 #HungryForMore pic.twitter.com/4mNosSBBBe
— Bally Sports San Diego (@BallySportsSD) September 1, 2021
The score held until the eighth inning when Austin Adams came in. Adams gave up a single Ketel Marte, then put on both Pavin Smith and David Peralta via hit by pitch. The bases were loaded with no outs, and then Adams gave up a four-pitch walk to Josh VanMeter to bring in a run, and his day was done after that. Adams threw just eight pitches, giving up two runs and just one hit.
In fact, Adams is pretty close to making history, although not the good kind.
Austin Adams is one hit batter away from expansion era record for a single season.
He hit his 19th & 20th batters today. It was first time he hit two in a game.
Kerry Wood hit 21 batters in 211 IP in 2003. Tom Murphy hit 21 in 1969 in 215.2 IP.
Adams has pitched 45.2 innings.— Kevin Acee (@sdutKevinAcee) September 1, 2021
Tim Hill came in and gave up a run–charged to Adams, of course–, and the Diamondbacks extended the lead to 8-3. That was the end, and the Padres’ perfect chance to sweep a series was over.
The Padres will have a much-needed day off on Thursday. After that, they will begin a three-game series against the Houston Astros in San Diego. As of now, Jake Arrieta is set to throw Friday with Joe Musgrove and Chris Paddack–tentatively–pitching the final two games of the series.
Matthew Wadleigh, born in Oceanside and currently lives in Fresno. He lives with his wife and 2 dogs and is a sports enthusiast. Retired drummer and member of the Fresno State Marching Band. He has been a Padres fan since childhood and has suffered during the struggles just like everybody else.