Volquez Pitches a Gem in Padres' 1-0 Win Over Astros

A quick glance at the box score might make last night's game seem like a snoozefest. A single run and only five hits between the two teams may not exactly read as exciting to offense-hungry fans. But last night, though frustrating at times, kept Padres fans on the edges of their butts as Edinson Volquez put on an incredible display of pitching prowess with a one-hit complete game shutout.

It was the first one-hitter since 2010 when Mat Latos threw one in San Francisco, coincidentally also a 1-0 decision and a complete game. In that game, the lone single came off a ball that was deflected off Latos for an infield hit. Last night, similarly, the lone hit off Volquez was also an infield single by Matt Downs that deflected off Volquez's glove. I usually try not to give into the theory of the San Diego Sports Curse, but stuff like this makes it really difficult.

Still, one-hit complete game shutouts are nothing to scoff at, especially considering it was only the third shutout by a Padres pitcher at home in Petco Park's history. Volquez was nails last night. He threw five 1-2-3 innings, issuing just three walks on the night and striking out five Astros.

Astros starter Lucas Harrell pitched a great game too, but was tagged with the tough-luck loss thanks to Volquez' phenomenal outing. The game's only run came in the 1st inning when Alexi Amarista hit a leadoff double off Harrell and then came home on a Logan Forsythe RBI single. Yonder Alonso and Will Venable had the only other two hits on the night, in the form of back-to-back singles in the bottom of the 5th.

As Scanman pointed out last night, Volquez isn't the only one who deserves credit for the game's outcome.

One other thing about tonight's shutout, let's not overlook nice job of game calling and handling of Volquez by... fb.me/1TZ3HxSQW

— Bob Scanlan (@heyscan) July 20, 2012

Yasmani Grandal has been such a great addition to the lineup and his defensive leadership definitely shouldn't go unnoticed. He made up half of the duo that put together such an absolute gem.

With last night's win, our Padres improved to 5-2 since the All Star Break, secured their second series win in a row, and increased their lead over the fifth-place Rockies in the NL West standings.

Friar Fever lead the 23 Gaslamp Ballers who came together to watch Volquez's awesome outing last night. Roll call after the jump.

Roll Call: Friar Fever, Sam (sdsuaztec4), jodes0405, iheartyourfart, padmadfanman, StrangeBroP25, turbopan, B Cres, abara, .99, mrbarneydangles, Darklighter, chris.callahan.7777, wegotballsley, Axion, Hormel, The Kipper, TheThinGwynn, Ketchup, Jonathan Holmes, Wonko, creanium, raw_toast
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