Sullivan, Soto drive Padres offense to 7-1 win vs Reds

In the series finale of the three-game set against the Cincinnati Reds, the San Diego Padres earned the 7-1 victory to take the series. One of the stars of the day for San Diego was an unlikely one in Brett Sullivan, who drove in four of the seven runs on the day for the Friars.

In the second inning, “Sully” drove in the first two runs of the game as he doubled to right field to bring in Jake Cronenworth and Ha-Seong Kim. After hitting 68 homers over eight seasons in the minor leagues, Sullivan finally hit his first home run in the majors in the fourth inning of the game off of Luis Cessa. The dinger was a two-run bomb that drove in Rougned Odor to make it a 4-0 game.

Sullivan talked to Bally Sports San Diego after the game and expressed his emotions on hitting the home run. “Surreal, it’s a dream come true,” Sullivan said. “Just to be able to help the team out felt amazing. To be able to get that out of the way, it felt the best and seeing the fans go crazy it was a great feeling.” The Padres catcher also talked about wearing the sombrero for the first time this season after hitting his two-run shot. “Me to put on the sombrero, I wanted to do that since we were in Mexico,” Sullivan said.

Have a day, @Brettsully ?#BringTheGold pic.twitter.com/xL7eK5wxQl

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 3, 2023

The Padres were unable to extend their tally until the seventh inning, when Juan Soto doubled on a line drive to right field with the bases loaded. Soto cleared the bases as Rougned Odor, Trent Grisham and Fernando Tatis Jr. all came in to make it a 7-1 ballgame.

“Childish Bambino” has been on fire since the Mexico Series as he is 8-for-17 with three doubles, eight walks, seven RBI and a home run since Saturday, April 29. Soto had a very slow start to the 2023 campaign and has finally found his groove a month into the season.

Juan’s doing a little spring cleaning.@JuanSoto25_ | #BringTheGold pic.twitter.com/gxe0QCv8BU

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 3, 2023

Seth Lugo had another quality start as he allowed just one run in six innings of work at Petco Park. The one run allowed by Lugo came in the sixth inning when Spencer Steer belted a solo shot to left field. Lugo weaved in and out of trouble, as he allowed seven hits, but struck out five and made Reds’ batters ground into two double plays on the day.

San Diego’s bullpen was perfect as Brent Honeywell Jr., Tim Hill and Tom Cosgrove combined for three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. The Friars’ pen was outstanding in this series against Cincinnati, allowing just one run over 10 innings pitched.

Xander Bogaerts was unable to extend his on-base streak as he went 0-for-5 on the day. Bogaerts did reach the bases, but it was on a fielder’s choice in the fifth inning as his streak ended in an incredible 31 games to start the season, which is a franchise record. Soto’s baserunning blunder cost him a base hit in the scoring decision.

The San Diego Padres improved to 17-15 on the season, as the Friars start a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers this Friday, May 5, at Petco Park.

Francisco Velasco

Francisco, 26, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego Loyal, San Diego Wave.