The Padres kept rolling in a 7-0 shutout of the Giants last night, and the performance did more than just add another win. It backed up the idea that San Diego is firmly in buyer mode.
What stood out first was how complete the night was. Three pitchers combined on the shutout, the offense kept stacking pressure, and rookie Jase Bowen delivered his first major-league home run as part of a steady, one-way result.
San Diego jumped ahead right away. Bradley Rodriguez worked a scoreless first, then the Padres answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Manny Machado brought home the first run with a sacrifice fly, and Luis Campusano followed with an RBI single.
Yuki Matsuit then kept the pace going. He covered three scoreless innings, allowed just one hit, and struck out two while building on the early lead.
The Padres added another in the third on a double-play ball off the bat of Xander Bogaerts, making it 3-0. In the fourth, Bowen’s solo blast stretched the margin further, and Ty France kept the inning moving with a two-run RBI single that pushed the game to 6-0.
German Marquez finished the job after Matsui, and he did it in unusual fashion with a rare five-inning save. Marquez gave up only one hit, walked one, and struck out two. France then tacked on another run in the sixth with a sacrifice fly.
Afterward, manager Craig Stammen pointed to the way the offense was working together and also singled out Matsui and Marquez as “players of the game” as the club continues leaning on a committee approach in most games.
“I really like the at-bats that they’re taking behind each other,” Stammen about his lineup in a piece from AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. “They’re hitting with each other, not just individually.”
The result was San Diego’s sixth win in its last seven games, and it left the Padres within one game of the third wild-card spot. They’re now right behind the Phillies, who have dropped four straight after a 6-4 loss to the Orioles last night.
The next chance to keep pushing comes with Walker Buehler set to face Tyler Mahle for the Giants, with San Diego having a shot to tie the race.
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Nothing has been finalized, and the two sides are still free to keep talking before the deadline. Even so, the fact that Morejon is at the center of the discussion adds a layer of intrigue for San Diego, where every bullpen decision feels tied to the bigger question of how aggressive the front office wants to be in reshaping the roster for the stretch run. [Read more 🡒]