Reyes Homers Twice to Lead Padres Over Braves

Atlanta, Georgia

The Padres sent Christ Paddack to the mound in the second game of a four-game series in Atlanta.

Paddack made his sixth career start, entering the game with a 1-1 record, 1.67 ERA and 0.667 WHIP. The Braves countered with Julio Teheran (2-3, 5.40 ERA, 1.58 WHIP) in his 200th career major league start.

Ty France got his first major league start, giving a much-needed boost to a struggling Padres line up. With Fernando Tatis, Jr.hitting the Injured List earlier today, France started at the hot corner for the Friars. Manny Machado slid over to shortstop, and Greg Garcia got the start at second base and led off the game. Garcia entered the game with a .355 OBP, the best on the team behind Tatis.

Franmil Reyes batted second in the lineup, a key spot ahead of Machado. Padres hitters entered the game hitting .272 in the second spot, and Reyes had a .316/.350/.625 line in the second spot. He added to that with a first-inning home run on a 1-2 pitch on the inside corner.

Paddack had a 1-2-3 first inning, but the Braves got to him in the second. A two-out balk moved runners to second and third before Matt Joyce singled against the shift on an 0-2 count to score Nick Markakis and Johan Camargo.

Reyes came through again in the top of the third. Garcia walked and went to second on an 0-2 ball that got away from catcher Brian McCann. Reyes worked the count full and doubled to right field, scoring Garcia to tie the game at two. Machado grounded out to Teheran to end the threat.

The Padres went up 4-2 in the sixth inning on solo shots by Reyes and Hosmer. Aside from the three home runs, Teheran pitched well. He threw seven innings, walked one and struck out eight. The loss was his fourth of the year.

Paddack’s first strikeout didn’t come until the second out of the third inning. He struck out five in six innings and walked one. He held the top of the Braves lineup without a hit with their first four hitters combining to go 0-for-12 with four strikeouts. Trey Wingenter came on in relief, putting two men on in the seventh by hitting McCann and giving up a single to Joyce. He fell behind 3-0 to pinch hitter Ender Inciarte before striking him out. Ozzie Albies grounded out to end the inning as Wingenter escaped out of a self-induced jam.

The Braves cut the deficit to one in the eighth inning against Craig Stammen. Ronald Acuna, Jr. singled to score Danby Swanson from second.

Yates came on to pitch the ninth for his major league-leading 14th save of the year. He gave up a lead-off single to McCann, but pinch-runner Charlie Culberson was caught stealing by catcher Francisco Mejia. Pinch-hitter Tyler Flowers struck out to end the game.

The Padres showed little patience at the plate, seeing only 111 pitches in the game. In the eighth, they saw seven pitches. Ian Kinsler pinch hit in the eighth and struck out on three pitches. Kinsler entered the game hitting .134 with only one hit in his last 14 at-bats. Garcia lined out 0-1 and Reyes lined out 1-0. In the ninth, the team saw only four pitches on a first pitch Machado single, first pitch Hosmer groundball double play, and second pitch flyball by France. For the game, they struck out nine times with only one walk.

San Diego improves to 17-13 on the season and 5-2 in their last seven games. Former first-round pick Cal Quantrill will make his major league debut tomorrow, while Max Fried toes the rubber for the Braves.

Danny Pierce