Padres don’t have miracle magic, drop game 2 to Mariners 8-3
Credit: USA Today Sports
Petco Park, San Diego, California-
In his last start on Aug 21, Garrett Richards only pitched two innings. Despite walking three and allowing four hits, Richards only allowed one run to score.
In his start Thursday afternoon against the Seattle Mariners, he didn’t make it out of the first inning.
After the heroics of Wil Myers in game one of a two-game doubleheader, the San Diego Padres couldn’t repeat the magic as the Padres fell to the Mariners 8-3.
The first inning began with a single by J.P. Crawford. Then another one. A walk to Kyle Lewis loaded the bases.
Richards fetched one out on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Seager, but a wild pitch and another walk filled the bases full of Mariners for Jose Marmolejos, who had homered only a couple hours ago.
On a 2-1 pitch, Marmolejos would do it again, unloading on a 95 MPH sinker to make the score 5-0 in favor of the visiting team. Another home run by Shed Long Jr. chased Richards out of the game.
The Padres then began to chisel away at the large deficit they were facing. Manny Machado, who blasted two home runs in the previous game, continued his hot streak by searing a 1-2 slider from Yusei Kikuchi into left field.
Ho-hum.
Manny Machado just homered again.#FriarFaithful | @Padres pic.twitter.com/G5tb3GQAK7
— Bally Sports San Diego (@BallySportsSD) August 27, 2020
San Diego cut the lead to 6-2 on a Jurickson Profar RBI single that drove in Jake Cronenworth from third. Both Cronenworth and Machado have been on fire as of late, with Cronenworth riding an 11-game hitting streak after today’s match while Machado carries a nine-game hitting streak.
An unlikely savior emerged from the Padres bullpen in Luis Perdomo, who has had more than his fair share of struggles. After replacing Richards in the first inning, Perdomo tossed 3.1 innings of scoreless ball, striking out six and allowing just a single hit.
However, as the game wore on, it became clear San Diego didn’t have another miracle up their sleeves. Their best chance of scoring a comeback came in the sixth inning as two leadoff walks and a single load up the bases with one out.
With Joey Gerber sent out as a reliever, Josh Naylor was called upon to drive in the runners. On the first pitch he saw, Naylor drove the ball to first base for a double play, ending the Padres’ threat.
Two more runs off of David Bednar in the seventh padded Seattle’s lead, and Yoshihisa Hirano closed the door in the bottom of the inning to take the series against San Diego.
I am currently attending San Diego State University while working on achieving a major in journalism. At SDSU, I write for The Daily Aztec while also hosting the sports radio show “Picked Off”, for KCR Radio. A loyal fan of San Diego sports, I hope to bring content that you will enjoy reading.