After Edinson Volquez put the Padres on top with a three run homer, I expected the rest of the lineup to follow suit. They must have run in the marathon this morning, because all I saw was a bunch of weakly hit balls and sad strikeouts.
2nd Inning
Once again, the Jays scored first, with Adam Lind scoring from first base on a Colby Rasmus double. The Padres refused to let that stand and tied it back up when Jedd Gyorko's RBI double scored Yasmani Grandal. With two outs and Volquez on deck, Will Venable was intentionally walked. Padres fans swore and got up to grab another beer. And then Volquez hit his first career home run.
4-1 Padres
3rd Inning
In some sort of act of karmic balance, Volquez served up a two out solo shot to Edwin Encarnacion before ending the inning. Then, with Chase Headley leading off, Ramon Ortiz threw a pitch and fell to the ground in pain. When he got back up, he threw his glove down as the Toronto training staff came out to check on him. Ortiz pointed at his elbow as his teammates gathered around him to offer their support. If the tears on his face were any indication, it was the final pitch of the 40-year-old's major league career. We wish him all the best. Nobody ever wants to see a player go out this way.
Brad Lincoln took the mound and retired the side.
4-2 Padres
5th Inning
With two outs and Melky Cabrera on first, Volquez started losing control of the game. Cabrera moved up on a wild pitch and then Encarnacion walked. That set up Adam Lind to hit a two RBI double off the center field wall that Alexi Amarista couldn't come up with. Tie game.
4-4 Tie
6th Inning
Tommy Layne relieved Volquez and promptly made a mess of things. A single, a wild pitch, a fielder's choice, and a bean ball had him with runners on the corners and just one out. Luckily, Esmil Rogers gave up the second out with a bunt. Then Tyson Ross came in and got the reigning AL MVP to pop out in foul territory. The Padres didn't score in the bottom half, but Gyorko did pick up his first career stolen base.
4-4 Tie. Still.
11th Inning
After five and a half scoreless innings, the Blue Jays were getting restless, so Mark DeRosa homered off of Brad Boxberger. Boxberger would allow two more runs before the Padres quietly went down in order.
Final: 7-4 Blue Jays
The good news is that the Padres won the series and went over .500 on the homestand. Also, Kelly Crull got to stay dry tonight. The bad news is that 75% of our RBIs tonight came from the pitcher. The Padres head to Dodger Stadium tomorrow. Eric Stults was supposed to face off against Chris Capuano, but Capuano is expected to be scratched. Stephen Fife will get the start instead. First pitch at 7:10 PM. First pitch thrown at Carlos Quentin shortly thereafter.