Padres exhibit ‘hunger’ walk away Dodgers in a tense like atmosphere
San Diego – The Padres are ready to go after it.
By AJ Cassavell
31 July 2024 at 06:56 am
SAN DIEGO — The Padres are going for it. Over the past three days, they’ve made that abundantly clear , trading nine of their prospects — including six of their top 12 — to fortify their big league roster.
Why are they going for it? Due to nights such as this.
In front of a record crowd of a record crowd at Petco Park, San Diego came back from a five-run deficit to take a stunning 6-5 win against opponents the Dodgers over ten innings Tuesday evening. Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill homered off closer Blake Treinen in the bottom of the ninth inning -the latter tying Machado by scoring his third homer of the game before Donovan Solano won it in the 10th inning with an unearned walk on the left-field line.
“That,” Merrill would declare afterward, “was a real baseball game.”
It was the culmination of an exciting Deadline Day that saw the Padres bring in Lefty Relief Ace Tanner Scott to an already-excellent bullpen bullpen which tossed six scoreless innings following the starter Matt Waldron had surrendered five runs (all in the middle of the 1st).
The Padres didn’t use the newly acquired right-hander Jason Adam, and they’re waiting for three more pitchers -the right-hander Bryan Hoeing, left-handeder Scott Scott Bryan Hoeing, right-hander Scott and veteran left-hander Martin Perez. However that Tuesday’s win was pre-planned by these acquisitions. The manager Mike Shildt could maneuver aggressively with the help of Jeremiah Estrada and Adrian Morejon when his team was trailing by two runs in the final seconds.
“That’s what you can achieve by using deep bullpens,” Shildt said.
Commented Merrill: “Our bullpen dominated this evening. Then, do you add three, two more pieces? It’s a lot of fun.”
Don’t even think about it however, San Diego’s loss to the NL West is down to 5 1/2 games. Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts — who was left without a weapon when attempting to change the pitching order in the 10th innings -is reportedly thinking that the race is now on.
“Absolutely,” he said. “It’s 5 1/2 now. They added some things They’re happy and they’re playing fantastic baseball. Perhaps, in for the month of July has seen them play as well of baseball as anyone else in the Major Leagues. They’re definitely feeling proud of themselves, definitely. We’re going to have [Dylan”Dylan” Cease on the horizon which means we’ve got our hands full.”
Padres closer Robert Suarez worked a clean in the top of the 10th inning and set the stage for Solano’s heroics during the bottom third. The only reason for that was an error by Roberts as well as the Dodgers team’s coaching staff.
Shildt had asked for Solano to serve as a pinch-hitter in place of Jake Cronenworth, prompting a mound visit by Dodgers pitchers manager Mark Prior. Then, Roberts attempted to make an adjustment to his pitching — something that isn’t allowed during a mound check.
The Padres got the game they wantedlefty Alex Vesia facing Solano, who also received an extra ball in exchange for the Dodgers delay. Solano was a bit behind, 1-1, before hitting the game’s crucial strike to the left-field line. The 47,559-strong crowd — the biggest ever in Petco Park’s history became a madhouse The remarkable comeback was complete.
“This is what fun teams are, extremely aggressive teams and teams that have lots of energy are,” Shildt said. “Regardless they are just competing.”
Shildt’s choice to substitute in place of Cronenworth was at a minimum unusual. Cronenworth has been a struggle for left-handed players Sure. However, he’s the team’s No. 3 hitter. And He did create one of the most significant hit during Padres the history of Padres against a particular lefty.
However, the game was a call for Solano -the right-handed, contact-oriented player who has a great ability to play in a situation. Cronenworth returned to the dugout where the dugout was where he sat with his manager, who was watching the game. After that, he was among the first players to meet Solano on the dirt infield following the walk-off.
“I was fully prepared for the game,” Cronenworth said. “But I’m saying, don’t get me wrong, I’m not upset about it. I totally comprehend the situation. I’m here to succeed.”
Most importantly Solano’s at-bat that he hit in a pinch was a reflection of the power of the team — because a hitter of the caliber of Solano could be found off the bench at all times. The Padres remain waiting for their return to Fernando Tatis Jr. in right field. The offense is largely full.
So General manager A.J. Preller might be able to push the majority of his options towards acquiring pitching prior to Tuesday’s Deadline. And following an 8-2 road trip that took him through Cleveland, Washington and Baltimore There was no doubt that he’d take action.
“What we’ve accomplished over the past few weeksparticularly after the All-Star break -was put ourselves in the position of being able to allow A.J. perform his job,” Cronenworth said. “And the guys he recruited will come into the room and truly assist us.”