Squandered Opportunities Lead to Series Loss vs Rockies
The San Diego Padres lost 3-2 to the Colorado Rockies on Thursday May 4, resulting in a series loss against their N.L. West foes.
San Diego was 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position in the rubber match.
Yangervis Solarte hit into an RBI-groundout with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth and the Padres trailing 2-1. He hit a weak grounder, and a hesitation move by Alexi Amarista prevented a double play. Solarte was safe at first and the run scored by Luis Sardinas counted.
Renfroe was the next hitter, and with runners at first and third, he hit a pop fly that was caught by Rockies second baseman, DJ LeMahieu.
The Padres loaded the bases again in the bottom of the ninth inning. This time, Erick Aybar hit a fly ball to center field. They had runners at first and second in the bottom of the tenth with two outs. Cory Spangenberg hit a deep fly to center that was caught by Charlie Blackmon just in front of the warning track.
Colorado scored the deciding run in the top of the 11th. With the bases loaded, Ryan Hanigan hit a chopper to short. Aybar fielded the ball, but couldn’t connect with Sardinas at second. A run scored to break the tie.
The Padres won the first game in the series. The win was possible due to an explosion of timely hitting in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Trevor Cahill led off the inning by drawing a walk. Manuel Margot followed and hit a triple. Margot could have turned it into an inside-the-park home run. He rounded third just after Cahill, and then slowed up and went back to third.
Wil Myers followed with a double to put the Padres ahead 2-1. Solarte followed and hit a home run to right-center to make the score 4-1. Ryan Schimpf added a solo shot, and the Padres ended the sixth inning with a 5-1 lead. They won the game 6-2.
Cahill turned in another solid outing on the mound. He pitched six innings, allowing one run on three hits and struck out seven. The run scored in the second inning when Austin Hedges tried to throw out Ian Desmond, who was trying to steal second base. Solarte missed the throw and it went into center field. Desmond was able to score on the errant throw.
Game two of the series didn’t go so well for San Diego. Jered Weaver made the start, In four-plus innings of work, he allowed 10 runs on 10 hits. Five of those runs were earned. The Padres defense picked up three errors in those four innings.
Weaver allowed four extra-base hits, those being a home run by Desmond and three doubles.
Aybar had a solo home run, and Myers hit an RBI-double. Solarte hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning. That was all the scoring the Friars could muster.
The Padres now have a 12-18 record and remain a half-game ahead of the San Francisco Giants in the N.L. West standings.
The Padres squandered a lot of scoring opportunities in the third game, and they should have come away with a series win. The second game in the series did not go well at all.
However, the team continues to battle. That’s one reason why they are six games under .500 in May. This team is expected to be the worst team in baseball, but they have a better record than three other teams, those being the Toronto Blue Jays, Kansas City Royals and the Giants.
The Padres stay at Petco over the weekend to host the Los Angeles Dodgers, May 5-7.
Mike is the sports editor for the Fayette Advertiser, and has been with East Village Times since 2015. His work has appeared on Bleacher Report. He is an avid Padres fan who is keeping the faith and trusting the process.