Padres earn first four-game sweep in 10 seasons, defeat Reds 3-2
Credit: AP Photo
Petco Park- San Diego, California
The San Diego Padres defeated the Cincinnati Reds 3-2 on Sunday, giving them their first four-game series sweep against any team since the 2011 season.
The win for San Diego, the fourth in a row following a tough stretch that saw them get swept in Colorado this past week, puts them 10 games over .500 at 42-32.
Padres’ starter Dinelson Lamet came into Sunday’s Father’s Day start against the Cincinnati Reds looking to continue his progression from the elbow injury that ended his 2020 season prematurely.
In five shutout innings on Sunday, Lamet had two extremely positive statistics that bode well for he and the Padres moving forward. His 81 pitches set a season-high, eclipsing his previous high of 78 set earlier in the season. He also set a new season-high in strikeouts with seven, all of which came in the first three innings.
Also impressive was Lamet’s counterpart, Cincinnati starter Luis Castillo. Coming in with an optically unappealing 2-9 record, Castillo went six innings making only one costly mistake, a 2-RBI triple to Padres’ right fielder Wil Myers in the third inning that ended up as a little league home run for Myers when first baseman Joey Votto threw a one-hopper to third base, trying to throw out Myers rounding second. Votto’s throw ended up skipping past Reds’ third baseman Eugenio Suarez, allowing Myers to score the third run of the play.
When asked about the crazy play after the game, Myers said, “It’s a lot of fun. Especially to be able to come back around for myself for that little league homer. I was gassed after, but it was worth it.”
Those three runs would be the only scoring for San Diego’s offense, though it was enough to hold on for the 3-2 victory.
Things got close in the top of the 8th inning when Padres’ reliever Emilio Pagan allowed two runs to score, escaping a third run on a catch in right by Myers that was scolded by Reds’ center fielder Shogo Akiyama, to no avail.
San Diego closer Mark Melancon closed out the Reds with a scoreless 9th inning, giving the Padres the win and the series sweep.
“Coming off that long road trip, the energy was definitely felt. It’s something we can build on,” Answered Padres’ manager Jayce Tingler when asked about the four-game sweep at Petco Park that was opened to full capacity to start the series for the first time since 2019.
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With the Los Angeles Dodgers coming into town starting Monday night at 7:10 PM for a three-game series, the win streak for San Diego gives them much-needed confidence after a tough start to the month of June.
Starting for the Padres Monday night will be ace Yu Darvish (6-2, 2.57 ERA) facing off against Julio Urias (9-2, 3.54 ERA) for Los Angeles.
Kevin is a San Diego Native covering the San Diego Padres and their affiliates