Swept by the Dodgers? Lead down to a half-game in the NL West?
No problem, said the San Diego Padres. Bring on the Giants.
For the seventh straight time in 2010, the Padres managed to find a way to beat the San Francisco Giants. On Monday night at Petco Park, Clayton Richard worked seven strong innings and Adrian Gonzalez homered in a 3-1 victory that lifted the Padres (23-15) back into a 1 1/2 game divisional lead.
How does Padres’ manager Bud Black explain his team’s domination of their Bay Area divisional rivals?
“I really can’t,” said Black after the game, “They have great pitching, a veteran lineup, solid bullpen…I can’t explain it, except that our hits are falling, and they hit some balls on the nose that were caught.”
The Giants (21-16) had three deep flies die at the wall in the pitcher’s haven known as Petco Park. While the Padres stranded 13 baserunners, the Giants only had base hits in two of nine innings against the San Diego pitching staff.
Clayton Richard (3-2) allowed just three hits over seven frames, striking out five and walking three. The only run he allowed came on a Juan Uribe RBI single in the 5th. Mike Adams worked a scoreless 8th and Heath Bell struck out two in the 9th for his 11th save of the season.
Bell’s outing was interrupted twice by fans who came running onto the field. Two young men, both shirtless, were eventually dragged out of the outfield. Heath talked to 619 Sports about the win, and the 9th inning incident:
619Sports.Net postgame video interview: Heath Bell
After the jump, watch postgame video from winning pitcher Clayton Richard, listen to a postgame audio interview with David Eckstein, and soundbytes from Bud Black:
David Eckstein gets high fives in the Padres dugout after scoring in the fifth inning (AP photos courtesy SDNN)
The Padres offense, still struggling, managed to scratch together a pair of runs against hard-luck loser Matt Cain (2-3), who walked five and allowed two runs in six innings. Adrian Gonzalez lifted his 8th homerun of the year in the first off Cain, and Chase Headley drove home David Eckstein (2-for-4, BB, 2 runs) with a two-out single in the 5th.
Postgame mini-interview: David Eckstein talks about the Padres’ offense at Petco Park:
For another night, the Padres’ outfield produced very little at the plate. Tony Gwynn Jr. went 0-for-4 from the leadoff spot, Will Venable chipped in a single and walk but did not score, and Kyle Blanks went hitless in his first three at-bats before “snapping” an 0-for-26 skid by being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the 8th.
Despite this, and 13 baserunners stranded by the San Diego lineup, Black saw positive signs in Monday’s effort (embedded soundbyte):
Amazingly, in seven contests against the Giants this year, not only have the Padres gone 7-0, they have yet to trail San Francisco for even one inning.
Richard is making a habit out of facing Matt Cain. For the second time in six days, Richard defeated Cain, and he squared off against the San Francisco flamethrower for the third time already in 2010. Black praised Richard for working effectively off a fastball that touched 94 MPH on the stadium radar gun (embedded soundbyte):
Richard, meanwhile, is choosing not to focus on his battles with Cain, or the Padres’ early domination of the Giants. Video postgame comments:
On Tuesday night, Mat Latos will try to build off his complete game one-hitter (against, surprise, the Giants last time out) when he challenges left-hander Jonathan Sanchez in the finale of a five-game homestand. 619 Sports will be at Petco Park for complete coverage.
NOTES: The Padres placed outfielder Scott Hairston (hamstring) on the 15-day disabled list prior to Monday’s game and recalled outfielder Chris Denorfia from AAA Portland. To make room for Denorfia on the 40-man roster, pitcher Chris Young was transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list…Denorfia made his first Padres appearance in the 8th and singled in his first at-bat…the Padres honored San Diego sports legend Bob Breitbard, who passed away at the age of 91 on Sunday, with a moment of silence before the game
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