Padres grind out 5-4 win over Giants as playoffs await
Credit: USA Today Sports
The San Diego Padres geared up for a playoff run with a 5-4 win, giving them three straight wins while denying their Bay Area rival from reaching the postseason in the process.
In what was a final tune-up before the Padres start their postseason adventure against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Padres won their third in a row in San Francisco over the Giants 5-4.
San Diego finishes the season with a 37-23 record in the 60-game season, second only to the Dodgers for the best record in the National League.
Sunday, which was mostly a bullpen day for the Padres, saw appearances from a handful of arms for the Friars; some good, some shaky.
The game was started by rookie left-hander Adrian Morejon, who looked good in 2.2 innings of work. Morejon allowed an opposite-field solo home run while striking out four and walking none.
Offensively, Wil Myers began the scoring with a towering blast off of Giants’ starter Drew Smyly, his 15th home run of the season. Myers would later hit a ground-rule double to give the Padres a 5-1 lead, giving him exactly 40 RBI on the season.
#WilPower has got @DonOrsillo hyped! pic.twitter.com/z2btAbApg2
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 27, 2020
The Padres also got RBI doubles from Mitch Moreland in the 4th inning and Jorge Mateo in the 7th.
Following Morejon, the Padres sent out six different arms to finish out the game, with right-hander Austin Adams giving up a two-run home run to Brandon Crawford in the 7th and Tim Hill giving up a solo home run to Wilmer Flores in the 8th to make things interesting.
Heading into the bottom of the 9th, with the Padres up 5-4 over the Giants, Trevor Rosenthal came in and did what he has been doing since being acquired by San Diego in late August. Rosenthal struck out the side and gave the Padres their 37th win of the season.
The win not only gave the Padres a hot streak heading into the playoffs but also denied the Giants a chance at making the postseason, which required a win from San Francisco on Sunday, along with other factors that would have had to fall their way.
The Padres finish their season with the potential to take home some postseason awards all over the board. Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, and Wil Myers all argue for consideration of National League MVP.
Dinelson Lamet should be in the conversation for NL Cy Young. Machado and Myers should be highly talked about for the Comeback Player of the Year award. Jake Cronenworth, who has lost steam of late with some struggles at the plate, should be considered for the NL Rookie of the Year award. Lastly, Padres’ manager Jayce Tingler should certainly garner some votes for NL Manager of the Year.
Though awards don’t mean much as far as team success, they do mean a lot in a symbolic way that should make this award season exciting in its own way.
As previously mentioned, the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Brewers 5-2 on Sunday, locking them into the fifth seed in the playoffs, making them the Padres’ first-round opponent in the 2020 playoffs. The best-of-three series will be played at Petco Park starting on Wednesday, September 30, with games two and three to be played the following two days (game three if necessary).
Kevin is a San Diego Native covering the San Diego Padres and their affiliates