Padres 3, Diamondbacks 2: Last homestand starts with a W

After tonight’s win, there are just nine more games left at Petco Park this season. The 2016 team began their final act by rehashing narratives old and new. On the old front, Clayton Richard continued to excel in his second stint here. The once and future Friar held Arizona scoreless for six innings, surrendering a stingy two runs as he pushed into the seventh. Meanwhile, Wil Myers continued to cement his status as the future of the club, starting the scoring with his 26th home run of the season.

On the whole, it wasn’t the world’s most exciting game. Both teams combined for twenty walks and hits, and each went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position. It was up to Myers to get things moving as he led off the fourth inning, and he did it with the help of the right field porch.

Ryan Schimpf struck out after that, but a short rally prolonged the inning. Alex Dickerson laced a single into left, and Adam Rosales followed with a grounder in the same direction. An error put Derek Norris on first, loading the bases for Alexi Amarista. The littlest Padre sent a single over the head of the shortstop, plating two runs and putting the good guys up three-zip.

That was all the runs the Padres put up, but the Diamondbacks waited until late in the game to score. They took advantage of a fading Clayton Richard in the seventh inning. Yasmany Tomas drew a leadoff walk, and then Kyle Jensen hit a one-out triple to put Arizona on the board. A single from Phil Gosselin narrowed the lead to a single run, which prompted Andy Green to call Brad Hand in from the bullpen. Hand promptly ended the threat by getting Rickie Weeks, Jr. to ground into an inning-ending double play. Hand came back for a scoreless eighth inning, and Brandon Maurer wrapped things up in the ninth to earn his eleventh save.

The homestand continues tomorrow as Paul Clemens takes the mound at 7:10 PM.