The San Diego Padres took a business-like approach to their final game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday night. The end result was a 5-1 win that allowed the Padres to earn a series split and remain one game behind the Diamondbacks in the chase for a Wild Card berth in the playoffs. There are still a lot of games to be played, but San Diego manager Craig Stammen treated this game like a must-win.
Walker Buehler got the start on the mound for the Padres and was not overly dominant, but he did enough to hold the Diamondbacks to one run on six hits with one walk and three strikeouts over four innings. San Diego gave him a lead with a run in the first and two in the third and that was all the Padres would need.
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Buehler departed the game and Bradgley Rodriguez took over. He worked two scoreless innings without allowing a hit or a walk and recorded a strikeout. That allowed Jeremiah Estrada to work a scoreless seventh inning, Adrian Morejon to work a scoreless eighth inning and Mason Miller to close out the game in the ninth inning despite it not being a save situation.
San Diego tacked on a run in the sixth and one in the seventh. What was notable about the way the Padres scored their runs was how they did it. The first run scored on a double play groundout and the second also scored on a ground out. Ty France hit a sacrifice fly to bring home the third run. Freddy Fermin recorded the first hit to score a run with a single in the sixth and Jackson Merrill did the same with a single in the seventh.
The Padres return home today to host the Houston Astros to open a three-game series at Petco Park. Robbie Ray is scheduled to make his first start for San Diego at 6:40 p.m. The Trade Deadline acquisition will look to make a better first impression with the club than Casey Mize did against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.
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The Padres made three additions at the Trade Deadline and with the game tonight, the Friar Faithful will have had an opportunity to see all three perform in a San Diego uniform. There was a ton of speculation about what the Padres could, would and should do. With the deadline passed and moves made, how do you feel?
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