{"id":35330,"date":"2020-07-26T12:44:46","date_gmt":"2020-07-26T16:44:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonbaseball.com\/?p=35330"},"modified":"2020-07-26T12:44:46","modified_gmt":"2020-07-26T16:44:46","slug":"padres-diamondbacks-20200725","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2020\/07\/26\/padres-diamondbacks-20200725\/","title":{"rendered":"Padres, Hitting Woes Doom Diamondbacks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Padres 5, Diamondbacks 1<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Designated hitter Wil Myers<\/a><\/strong> hit a three-run home run, and third baseman Manny Machado<\/a><\/strong> added a two-run homer as the San Diego Padres<\/a> defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks<\/a>, 5-1, Saturday night at Petco Park.<\/p>\n

Pitchers\u2019 Duel Early<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Diamondbacks left-hander Robbie Ray<\/a><\/strong> and Padres right-hander Dinelson Lamet<\/a><\/strong> traded zeroes for the first three innings. Lamet only allowed one hit \u2013 a two-out double in the third by second baseman Ketel Marte<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 while walking one and striking out five. Ray retired the first eight hitters he saw \u2013 five via the punchout \u2013 before allowing a single to the ninth hitter, center fielder Trent Grisham<\/a><\/strong>. After walking shortstop Fernando Tatis<\/a><\/strong>, Jr. to put runners on first and second, Ray fanned Machado to end the inning.<\/p>\n

The fourth inning was a different story. Center fielder Starling Marte<\/a><\/strong> led off the top of the inning with a single up the middle and advanced to second on a passed ball. Two batters later, DH Christian Walker<\/a><\/strong> stroked a double to right, scoring Marte and giving the Diamondbacks a 1-0 lead. Walker advanced to third on a single to right by right fielder Kole Calhoun<\/a><\/strong>. They remained on the corners, however, as catcher Stephen Vogt<\/a><\/strong> and first baseman Jake Lamb<\/a><\/strong> followed with a called strikeout and a grounder back to the mound, respectively.<\/p>\n

Ray walked the first hitter in the bottom of the fourth, Pham. He stole two bases in Friday\u2019s game, so Ray kept a close eye on him. Ray fooled him with a pickoff move, but Pham sprinted to second fast enough to beat first baseman Jake Lamb\u2019s throw, and he stole second anyway. After second baseman Jurickson Profar<\/a><\/strong> popped to first, first baseman Ty France<\/a><\/strong> singled. This put runners on the corners for Myers, who deposited the sixth pitch into the (empty) left-field seats to give the Padres a 3-1 lead. Ray said, \u201cI tried to go backdoor with a curveball, and it came back over the middle. It was middle-middle \u2013 just a bad pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ray Runs out of Gas<\/strong><\/h3>\n

After a double by right fielder Edward Olivares<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 his first major league hit \u2013 and a strikeout by catcher Austin Hedges<\/a><\/strong>, Grisham walked. This ended Ray\u2019s day, as Stefan Crichton<\/a><\/strong> took over and got Tatis to fly to center. This ended the inning with the Padres leading, 3-1.<\/p>\n

Although Ray started well, the third and fourth inning saw him run into trouble due to something that haunted him in 2019: a high pitch count. After the game, manager Torey Lovullo<\/a><\/strong> said, \u201cHe got off to a really good start, attacking the zone. He gave us a good chance to take the lead. In the third and fourth inning, it built up on him. He had too many three-ball counts and was not attacking the zone the way he was. (He was) not finishing off hitters when he had the opportunity. It was two consecutive innings that were very, very long and were grinding on him. In those two innings, he lacked consistency and the repeatability that we\u2019ve seen from him in the last several outings of summer camp.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ray added, \u201cI was battling my timing a little bit the whole game. I felt like I was getting a little quick. Obviously, it was the first time I was facing someone with a different jersey on this year. You could credit that to adrenaline. I was getting under the ball \u2013 fastballs were riding up and away on me. (This had me) falling behind in some counts. I was getting away with it, because I feel like my stuff was really good tonight when it was <\/em>in the zone. That\u2019s something to take away from it, for sure \u2013 that when it was <\/em>in the zone, it was really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diamondbacks Bats Go Silent<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Diamondbacks went down in order in the fifth, and Crichton pitched a scoreless bottom of the fifth despite allowing two baserunners. In the top of the sixth, a leadoff double by Starling Marte put a runner in scoring position with no outs. Consecutive grounders to the left side by third baseman Eduardo Escobar<\/a><\/strong> and Walker brought Calhoun to the plate with two gone and Marte still on second. On 0-2, Marte broke for third. He was out on a close play, retiring the side while violating one of the cardinal rules of baseball \u2013 never make the first or last out at third base.<\/p>\n

Marte\u2019s double was the not only the last Diamondbacks hit of the evening, but it was also the only one beyond the fourth inning. The only other baserunner <\/em>the Diamondbacks had beyond the fourth, in fact, was second baseman Ketel Marte, who reached on a throwing error with one out in the top of the eighth.<\/p>\n

It seems like the main reason for the offensive woes is that, odd as it may sound, the hitters are trying too hard. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to do too much per at-bat,\u201d Lovullo said. \u201cWe have two walks in two games, (and we were) forcing things on the bases. Those are small signs that show me that we\u2019re fighting to make something happen. In this game, you\u2019ve got to allow the game to come to you. (You have to) patiently wait for mistakes. Trust your teammate, the person in back of you, that he\u2019s going to be doing the job. That\u2019s Diamondback baseball. We\u2019ll continue to remind these guys that that\u2019s what it\u2019s all about for us. I\u2019m looking to see some patience at the plate and for us to execute the way I know that we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Padres Finish It Off<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Padres padded their lead in the seventh. This came after a leadoff double by Tatis and a home run by Machado, who came up next.<\/p>\n

Lamet earned the win while Ray took the loss. Padres reliever Matt Strahm<\/a><\/strong> pitched 1 1\/3 scoreless innings. Craig Stammen<\/a><\/strong> pitched 1 2\/3 innings of scoreless relief. Both earned holds. Kirby Yates<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 the 2019 save leader for both the NL and the AL \u2013 pitched a scoreless ninth in a non-save situation.<\/p>\n

The two teams will square off again Sunday for the third game of this four-game stretch. Zac Gallen<\/a><\/strong> will face Garrett Richards<\/a><\/strong> in a battle of right-handers. First pitch is at 1:10 pm Pacific Time.<\/p>\n

Main Photo
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>