Here's something you might be interested in.
On Wednesday, the Padres team was the piñata and Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval was the stick, and he let his teammates take turns as well, no blindfolds. San Francisco blasted San Diego on a warm afternoon, 13-5, in the last game of the series at Petco Park.
The story of the game was the long ball. The Giants had six home runs (Sandoval had three, while Brandon Crawford, Hunter Pence, and Hector Sanchez each smacked one) while the Padres had two, one each by Ronny Cedeño and Chase Headley.
The game figured to get weird in a hurry when the first run scored on a passed ball in the Padres half of the first inning, and then Ronny Cedeño homered in the second. Brandon Crawford’s homer in the third inning brought the game to a respectable 2-1 score in favor of the Padres, but then everything went nuts in favor of the Giants in a ball park not known for giving up home runs.
In the top of the fourth the game began to unravel. A pair of homers by Hunter Pence and Hector Sanchez made it 5-2, Giants, and it only got worse after that.
The top of the fifth saw Padres starter Eric Stults chased after the Giants scored another run, and then Brad Brach gave up a two-run homer to Pablo Sandoval (his first of three). The Padres got a little closer in the bottom of the fifth inning when Chase Headley hit a solo shot, his first since late in July.
The Padres still had some fight in them and scored twice in the bottom of the sixth inning to trail 8-5 and chase Giants starter Tim Lincecum, but the rest of the fiesta belonged to the Giants. Sandoval homered again in the eighth, and then after the Giants scored again in the ninth, Sandoval hit the trifecta with a three-run bomb.
The Giants pounded out 17 hits against Padres pitching compared to 9 for the Friars. But the glaring dissimilarity in the game was a distinct difference in power between the two clubs on an afternoon primed for the ball to travel well off of the bat.
This is something the Padres might wish to look into during the off-season in order to not be outmatched on those rare days at Petco Park where the ball flies out, and on the road where the Padres are 24-44 so far this season.
The homer-fest between the Giants and the Padres did not set a game record for Petco Park with eight, total. It tied one. And coincidentally, the Padres and Giants are now tied for last place in the National League West.
Notes:
The Padres take the day off on Thursday, so no real notes to relay, other than on Friday, the Colorado Rockies come to town for three. Friday is beer-fest (as opposed to homer-fest, hopefully). Beer-fest (called “Beerfest” by Padres media relations, but I’m sorry, until the folks at Webster clear that as a word, I have to put a hyphen in there) starts at 5 PM, and you have to purchase something called “Friar Funds”, which are supposed to be available at multiple locations. The skinny is that $5 gets you a beer or two tastings, go to www.padres.com/beerfest for more information. Corey Brock, beat writer at mlb.com claims on twitter that he’ll be there, and he’s a fairly knowledgeable beer snob. I’ll be busy trying to figure out the Burch Smith – Juan Nicasio matchup between the Padres and Rockies in the press box. Also, the first 25,000 fans in attendance receive a luchador mask, which might come in handy if you have to wrestle someone in Mexico.
Saturday, the Eastlake Little League team that won the National Title but lost to Japan in the Little League World Series will be presented and honored. The game match-up will be Tyson Ross for the Padres against Tyler Chatwood of the Rockies, 5:40 PM first pitch. Sunday, as always, is “KidsFest”, and possibly “Breakfast at the Park” if neither team takes batting practice on the field. That game will feature Ian Kennedy for the Padres against Rockies starter Chad Bettis, and game time is at 1:10 PM.
On Wednesday, the Padres team was the piñata and Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval was the stick, and he let his teammates take turns as well, no blindfolds. San Francisco blasted San Diego on a warm afternoon, 13-5, in the last game of the series at Petco Park.
The story of the game was the long ball. The Giants had six home runs (Sandoval had three, while Brandon Crawford, Hunter Pence, and Hector Sanchez each smacked one) while the Padres had two, one each by Ronny Cedeño and Chase Headley.
The game figured to get weird in a hurry when the first run scored on a passed ball in the Padres half of the first inning, and then Ronny Cedeño homered in the second. Brandon Crawford’s homer in the third inning brought the game to a respectable 2-1 score in favor of the Padres, but then everything went nuts in favor of the Giants in a ball park not known for giving up home runs.
In the top of the fourth the game began to unravel. A pair of homers by Hunter Pence and Hector Sanchez made it 5-2, Giants, and it only got worse after that.
The top of the fifth saw Padres starter Eric Stults chased after the Giants scored another run, and then Brad Brach gave up a two-run homer to Pablo Sandoval (his first of three). The Padres got a little closer in the bottom of the fifth inning when Chase Headley hit a solo shot, his first since late in July.
The Padres still had some fight in them and scored twice in the bottom of the sixth inning to trail 8-5 and chase Giants starter Tim Lincecum, but the rest of the fiesta belonged to the Giants. Sandoval homered again in the eighth, and then after the Giants scored again in the ninth, Sandoval hit the trifecta with a three-run bomb.
The Giants pounded out 17 hits against Padres pitching compared to 9 for the Friars. But the glaring dissimilarity in the game was a distinct difference in power between the two clubs on an afternoon primed for the ball to travel well off of the bat.
This is something the Padres might wish to look into during the off-season in order to not be outmatched on those rare days at Petco Park where the ball flies out, and on the road where the Padres are 24-44 so far this season.
The homer-fest between the Giants and the Padres did not set a game record for Petco Park with eight, total. It tied one. And coincidentally, the Padres and Giants are now tied for last place in the National League West.
Notes:
The Padres take the day off on Thursday, so no real notes to relay, other than on Friday, the Colorado Rockies come to town for three. Friday is beer-fest (as opposed to homer-fest, hopefully). Beer-fest (called “Beerfest” by Padres media relations, but I’m sorry, until the folks at Webster clear that as a word, I have to put a hyphen in there) starts at 5 PM, and you have to purchase something called “Friar Funds”, which are supposed to be available at multiple locations. The skinny is that $5 gets you a beer or two tastings, go to www.padres.com/beerfest for more information. Corey Brock, beat writer at mlb.com claims on twitter that he’ll be there, and he’s a fairly knowledgeable beer snob. I’ll be busy trying to figure out the Burch Smith – Juan Nicasio matchup between the Padres and Rockies in the press box. Also, the first 25,000 fans in attendance receive a luchador mask, which might come in handy if you have to wrestle someone in Mexico.
Saturday, the Eastlake Little League team that won the National Title but lost to Japan in the Little League World Series will be presented and honored. The game match-up will be Tyson Ross for the Padres against Tyler Chatwood of the Rockies, 5:40 PM first pitch. Sunday, as always, is “KidsFest”, and possibly “Breakfast at the Park” if neither team takes batting practice on the field. That game will feature Ian Kennedy for the Padres against Rockies starter Chad Bettis, and game time is at 1:10 PM.