Padres Series Recap: Brewers Take Series in Petco as Padres Flounder
Game 1 (Padres 6, Brewers 5)
In a season of promise, the young Padres once again showed why fans should be excited about the future of this team. After Eric Sogard hit a home run in the top of the 10th to take a 5-4 lead, the feeling in the mostly-empty Petco Park, was that of defeat. That feeling only lasted a few moments as Erick Aybar opened the bottom of the 10th with a single. Up stepped Hunter Renfroe, who has had much better at bats of late. The young right fielder stood in there against a tough off-speed pitch and lined a home run into the left field stands for the 6-5 victory.
A great walk-off victory for the Padres, as they opened the series with a win. Luis Perdomo started the game for the Friars and was pretty impressive on the night. He went six strong innings, but was removed for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the sixth. Perdomo struck out nine on the evening, while allowing three runs to score on five base hits. He also went 2-2 with the bat, smashing a double and triple off Brewers’ pitcher, Chase Anderson. Cory Spangenberg went 3-5 in the game with two stolen bases as well for the Friars. Sadly, this was the only victory for the Friars in the series.
Game 2 (Brewers 6, Padres 2)
A horrible first inning sealed the deal for the Padres, as the Brewers scored five runs off of Clayton Richard in the premiere inning. The left-handed pitcher for the Padres, was the victim of four straight one-out singles. He then gave up a double to Manny Pina that was the deciding factor in the game. Richard settled down after the first inning, going six total innings, striking out seven, and not walking a batter. He threw 95 pitches on the night and was attacking the strike zone against the Brewers’ batters.
Miguel Diaz threw the final three innings for the Padres without allowing a run. The young Dominican pitcher threw 43 pitches and only allowed two hits, while striking out two. He seems to have settled down a bit and looks to be a solid contributor to the bullpen for the remainder of the season. Wil Myers hit his 11th home run of the season in the sixth and Austin Hedges went 2-4 on the night. Jimmy Nelson was solid for the Brewers, going six innings and only allowing two runs to score.
Game 3 (Brewers 3, Padres 1)
Wednesday’s matchup turned out to be a pitcher’s duel, as Jhoulys Chacin and Matt Garza took the mound. Both pitchers performed well, as each recorded a quality start for their team. Garza went six strong, allowing one run on four hits while striking out three. Chacin threw seven innings, allowing one run on two hits while striking out eight on the night. Brandon Maurer imploded in the ninth, giving up two runs on four hits in his inning of work. He was the victim of some bad defense as Erick Aybar allowed a line drive to get over his glove, which should have been the second out in the inning.
Sloppy defense and a shaky bullpen are beginning to be a common theme with this club. At this point, the team should be improving in those aspects. It’s a bit troubling that they continue to make the same dumb mistakes. Wil Myers went 2-4 on the night and Allen Cordoba got a surprise start over Matt Szczur, and capitalized on it, by going 2-4 himself. The young Rule-5 player has emerged as a quality bat despite his lack of experience.
Game 4
Trying to even up the series, the Padres had their chances in this game. Once again the defense and bullpen coughed up the lead, as the Brewers displayed which of the two teams has the intangibles to be successful in this league. Jarred Cosart pitched well on the day, going five innings, allowing one run on five hits. Kevin Quackenbush was victimized for two runs on two hits in his inning of work. Jose Torres came on and allowed a run on one hit, in two innings of work. The bullpen is being taxed right now. The starters are failing to go seven and eight innings each night, and with that, the relievers are out of gas.
Austin Hedges had a chance with two out in the ninth. He represented the winning run, but struck out against the Brewers’ closer, Corey Knebel, after getting ahead in the count three and zero. The catcher swung through two pitches ahead in the count, and then took a nasty curveball for strike three. Hunter Renfroe continues to swing the bat well as he hit his eighth home run of the season in the second inning. A disappointed series for the Friars, as they should have won three out of the four.
Next Up
The Arizona Diamonbacks come to town for a three-game, weekend set, starting on Friday.
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.