Extra innings. Battle of the bullpens. Home cooking.
Padres…lose?
In a result San Diego fans have rarely seen in 2010, the Padres surrendered three runs with two outs in the top of the 10th, dropping a 6-3 decision to the Houston Astros at Petco Park. Michael Bourn’s two-run triple to center field snapped a 3-3 tie, plating a pair of Luke Gregerson two-out walks.
Gregerson, who set a club record for relievers by going 110 batters in between walks earlier this season, stunningly lost the plate with two outs in the 10th. He walked two of Houston’s least disciplined hitters, Humberto Quintero (4 BB’s in 145 AB’s, .267 OBP) and Oswaldo Navarro (2 BB’s in 15 AB’s, .175 OBP) back to back.
“I just couldn’t find the strike zone,” said Gregerson, “I wasn’t getting through the ball on the slider or the fastball. Tomorrow’s another day.”
Bourn made Gregerson pay by lining a slider in between Tony Gwynn and Will Venable and all the way to the wall in center field for his second triple of the season. Jeff Keppinger followed with a flare single over first base to complete the scoring.
“Luke couldn’t find his release point,” said Padres manager Bud Black, “One of those rare outings.”
The Astros rally made a winner out of reliever Chris Sampson (1-0), who pitched a perfect 9th inning. Matt Lindstrom retired the Padres in order in the 10th for his 19th save of the season.
Prior to the tenth, Thursday’s game was shaping up as so many others have before in this magical 2010 season, with the Padres taking advantage of every opportunity to pull a game out of the fire.
Read more and watch a Jon Garland postgame video interview after the jump: Living up to their small-ball reputation, the Friars are making the most out of an extra ninety feet on the basepaths. Twice on Thursday night, seemingly innocuous plays allowed San Diego to create a run.
In the 5th, Nick Hundley walked with one out, then advanced to second on a slow grounder by Jerry Hairston Jr. The extra base mattered when pinch hitter Chris Denorfia singled to right, and Hundley was able to beat the throw home to plate the first Padres run of the night.
Home plate umpire Ron Kulpa yells at Scott Hairston after ejecting him from the game in the 9th inning
San Diego completed their comeback against Houston reliever Wilton Lopez in the seventh. Hundley led off with a drive to right-center, and hustling all the way, the Padres catcher converted the hit into a leadoff triple. Pinch hitter Oscar Salazar brought him home with a one out sacrifice fly.
Then, with two away, Tony Gwynn singled, and a Lopez balk moved him to second base. Sure enough, David Eckstein made the balk matter, lining a two-strike single up the middle for yet another clutch two-out hit, plating Gwynn to tie the game.
San Diego sought the lead in the 8th, but with two on and two out, Nick Hundley’s humpback liner to second base was caught to end the threat. Chase Headley went 3-for-4 with two doubles in the loss.
Starting pitcher Jon Garland’s walk rate caught up to him on Thursday night. Despite averaging over four walks per nine innings without the strikeouts to erase the damage, Garland came into July with an ERA of 3.13; a reflection of not only the fine Padres defense behind him, but a good measure of luck.
After a quiet first inning, Garland lost the plate in the second, throwing 31 pitches in the laborious frame, only 10 for strikes. One of the 10 strikes was struck squarely: Jason Michaels led off the inning with a homer into the first row of the left-field upper deck.
Garland then walked Geoff Blum and rookie Chris Johnson on eight straight pitches outside the zone. After retiring Humberto Quintero and Moehler, Garland fell behind and then intentionally passed Michael Bourn to load the bases. The strategy backfired when Garland fell behind Jeff Keppinger, eventually surrendering a two-run single.
“I wasn’t throwing the ball, I was pushing it up there,” said Garland, “I was searching for it and lost the zone. Walks killed me that inning.”
Still, despite a wild outing that included 115 pitches, a season-worst six walks, and six hits allowed, Garland managed to strand nine baserunners over five fitful innings, keeping San Diego within striking range and eventually earning himself a no decision.
Garland lamented being unable to work deeper into the game, forcing Black to go to his much-used bullpen for five more innings of work. The Padres’ veteran starter suspects that workload may be catching up to relievers like Gregerson:
“Maybe (Luke’s) getting a little tired heading into the All Star Break. He’s been used a lot. There are situations where I think the starters could go a few more innings and give those guys a break. It’s not always going to go your way. I don’t think people realize how tough it is for a reliever to be ready every single night.”
Video interview: Jon Garland discusses his wildness and the bullpen’s workload:
Combined with a Rockies win over San Francisco, the Padres saw their lead shrink in the NL West. Idle Los Angeles moved within 2 1/2 games of San Diego, while the Rockies pushed within 4 games of the lead. The Padres will turn to their young ace Mat Latos (8-4, 2.85 ERA) on Friday night against Houston’s beleaguered veteran starter Roy Oswalt (5-10, 3.55) at 7:05pm.
NOTES: The Padres made a series of roster moves prior to Thursday’s game. The team activated veteran pinch-hitter Matt Stairs (knee) from the 15-day disabled list, optioning outfielder Aaron Cunningham to AAA Portland. San Diego also activated Tim Stauffer (appendectomy) from the disabled list and reinstated him to the major league roster. To make room, reliever Sean Gallagher was designated for assignment…Scott Hairston was ejected from the game in the 8th inning by home plate umpire Ron Kulpa for arguing a called strike three.
Craig Elsten -
Chainsaw -
