Padres split doubleheader in Colorado
Credit: AP Photo
Coors Field- Denver, Colorado
The San Diego Padres rolled out a lineup with a lot of new faces due to the rampant COVID-19 tests and contact tracing issues with the team.
After Monday’s game was postponed due to inclement weather, the Padres won on Tuesday by a score of 8-1. They went into Wednesday’s doubleheader with some big question marks.
Game one went well, considering the circumstances. Tucupita Marcano got the start, as did Brian O’Grady, who demolished a home run no less than a day before making the start for the big league club.
Yu Darvish tossed just four innings, giving up a pair of hits and one run (unearned) with only two strikeouts. However, the game was 1-1 through the 5th inning when the Padres broke it open.
Victor Caratini smashed a two-out grand slam in the 6th inning, in turn welcoming back the Slam Diego catchphrase that surrounded the Padres in 2020.
Grand Slam Diego by Victor Caratini š„
(via @MLB) pic.twitter.com/IrzTOqlayY
— SI MLB (@si_mlb) May 12, 2021
The Rockies responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the hitting as Ryan McMahon doubled in Trevor Story and then ended up scoring on a sac fly off the bat of Elias Diaz.
The 7th inning- which is the final inning for doubleheaders- was worrisome for the Padres. Mark Melancon came in during the 6th inning after Tim Hill gave up two runs on three hits and Jayce Tingler brought in his closer for a rare five-out save.
Melancon got through the 6th and then gave up a single to Charlie Blackmon and a walk to Trevor Story. He then loaded the bases, igniting hope for the Rockies and severe anxiety for the Padres.
However, he would get Diaz to pop up to end game one and give the Padres the victory in a hard-fought win with far from a complete team.
Game two was most of the same players, as expected for a team without a good amount of their starters. Patrick Kivlehan got the nod in right field, and Blake Snell got the start on the mound. For the Padres, the issues of Snell were once again in effect in the second game of the doubleheader.
Snell would go just four innings and give up five hits and a pair of runs while striking out seven. He threw 84 pitches, continuing a trend of high pitch counts and short outings.
“It’s the same thing. I have to make adjustments,” Snell said. “I’m trying to get it back to the guy that I know that I am.”
The issues Snell has had so far are frustrating to him as well as the team after they traded Luis Patino to acquire him.
Despite those issues from Snell, San Diego had a chance to win the game late. Down one run in the 7th, Caratini again delivered and drove home O’Grady, tying the game at two to send the game to “extra” innings.
Then in the bottom of the 8th, the Rockies scratched their way to the game-winning run. Nick Ramirez got Matt Adams to ground into a double play, which put runners on second and third due to the initial placement rule and the intentional walk to McMahon. Then Josh Fuentes smacked the game-winning single to center, and the Rockies walked off the afternoon with their first win of the series.
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“We kept fighting. We were certainly shorthanded with using as many guys as we did in game one. Everybody contributed, and everybody battled,” Tingler said after the game.
With no Fernando Tatis Jr., Jurickson Profar, Eric Hosmer, and Wil Myers, the Padres were certainly shorthanded and still managed to take two of three against the Rockies.
The Padres will head home and have an off day on Thursday as they prepare for a three-game set against the St. Louis Cardinals before taking on the Rockies against, this time in San Diego, starting on Monday.
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.