Beating up on the Diamondbacks was a lot of fun, but a good team showed up to Petco Park today, and it wasn’t the Padres. The Cubs hit Edwin Jackson hard, scoring five runs off him in as many innings. Meanwhile, Chicago’s pitching tore through the Padres, striking out fourteen Friars.
It was the longball that really did Jackson in, as Addison Russell, Kris Bryant, and Jason Heyward combined for four runs on three homers. The one other run Jackson allowed came in the third inning on a different kind of mistake. After Dexter Fowler drew a leadoff walk, a single from onetime Padre Anthony Rizzo sent him to the opposite corner, setting up Russell for another RBI with a sacrifice fly.
On the other hand, the Padres utterly failed to capitalize on a number of opportunities, going 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Perhaps the worst offensive moment of the night came in the first inning when Travis Jankowski was caught stealing third for the final out. The one run they did score was on a gift in the seventh inning. With runners on second and third and one out, Ryan Schimpf struck out on a curveball Justin Grimm put in the dirt. The ball rolled far enough away from catcher David Ross for Schimpf to reach base and both runners to advance. It didn’t turn into a rally, though, as the next two batters struck out.
Hopefully tomorrow will be better. Join us at 7:10 for first pitch.