*Photo from NBC Sports*
Needing every win they can get, the boys of southern California put on a show. Brandon Drury homered, Austin Nola drove in two runs, and the San Diego Padres defeated the San Francisco Giants with a 6-5 victory on Monday night in San Francisco.
The Padres picked up their 5th win in 10 games as they try to stay afloat in an increasingly crowded NL Wild Card picture. They currently possess a 71-59 record, sitting just 1 1/2 games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers for the final NL Wild Card spot, but have a 8 1/2 game lead on the Giants.
We did see some odd occurrences in this Padres win. In the first inning, home plate umpire Marvin Hudson went down with an injury, causing a 10 minute delay while another umpire hustled to put on the gear and take over behind home. There was also an issue with the stadium lighting, with the game being paused for 40 minutes two innings in, as the umpires declared it too dark to play while the issue was being resolved.
Padres starter Mike Clevinger said that "At the end of the day, no one cares if there was a delay. All anyone’s going to care about is if it was a win or a loss. We had the same kind of mindset: It didn’t matter if there was a delay. We needed to win this ballgame."
The top of the first inning saw the Padres jump out to an early lead. Josh Bell started it with an RBI single, and Drury amplified it with a two run home run, making it 3-0 Padres early on. In the 4th, Nola made the lead 5-0 thanks to a two run single. In the bottom half of the 4th, Joc Pederson got the Giants on the board with a two run home run, making it a 5-2 game.
In the 5th inning, Drury drove in his 3rd run of the game with an RBI single, upping the Padres lead to 6-2. In the 8th, the Giants started the comeback attempt. Austin Slater delivered a two run single, plating Brandon Crawford and LaMonte Wade Jr to make it 6-4. An RBI single from JD Davis made it a 6-5 game, but that was all for the Giants.
Getting the start for the Padres was Clevinger, who completed 5 innings while allowing two runs on 5 hits and one walk. Adrian Morejon came on and pitched two shutout innings, before Ranger Suarez allowed 3 runs while getting just two outs. Nick Martinez came on and got 4 outs for his 7th save of the season.
Padres manager Bob Melvin said of Martinez's recent performance that "He’s done well against right, he’s done well against left, and as soon as he started showing up in the bullpen, the velo picked up, too. He’s got a lot of energy and confidence doing the role right now. He’s done a great job with it."\
Lefty Carlos Rodon got the start for the Giants, and was a little shaky. Rodon allowed 5 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks, taking the loss while throwing just 4 innings. Zack Littell allowed one run in one inning of work, followed by 3 scoreless innings from Jarlin Garcia and one from John Brebbia.
Rodon broke down his start, saying that "It seemed like I didn’t have a putaway. I thought they had a really good approach. Their lineup is one of the better lineups in the game. They definitely gave me a run for my money today. They fouled off a lot of fastballs up in the zone, laid off some sliders. It was a tough game. Not my best."
Up next, the Padres and Giants continue their series on Tuesday night. The Padres sent lefty Blake Snell to the mound for the start, while Logan Webb starts for the Giants.
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