Padres 4, Giants 3: Margot leads the way in rubber match victory

We’ve been waiting all season for the Padres to call up their young talent, and it’s paying off. After going 3-for-4 with a run and RBI today, Manuel Margot his hitting .308 with a .846 OPS. More importantly than the small sample size stats is that Margot showed off his speed today, taking extra bases twice.

It was a young gun that got the action started in the second inning, as Austin Hedges led off the inning with a single to right field. Clayton Richard laid down a bunt to put him in scoring position, and a ground out got him 90 feet away from the plate. Manuel Margot singled, and the Padres had their first lead of the afternoon.

Richard pitched a pretty solid six innings today, only getting into serious trouble in the third. Trevor Brown opened with a single to right field, and a bad throw by Hedges put Ty Blanch on the basepaths, too. Another single, this one from Eduardo Nuñez, loaded the bases with nobody out. Kelby Tomlinson provided the first out of the inning, a trademark Clayton Richard ground ball to second. But it was enough to score Brown and tie the game. Then Buster Posey followed up with a two-run single to put the Giants up 3-1. Hunter Pence helpfully wrapped things up by grounding into a double play.

The Padres got one of those runs back right away. Adam Rosales hit lucky number 13 into the right field porch to cut the deficit in half. Two innings later, the team would tie it up. Wil Myers drew a leadoff walk, and then stole second (his 28th of the year, for those hoping to see a Padre join the 30-30 club in the next week). Then Yangervis Solarte hit a line drive to center field, bringing Myers home and knotting the game at three all.

That held for two innings, at which point the Padres were deep into San Francisco’s mercurial bullpen. The Friars took advantage of it, as Margot launched a fly ball into the right-center field gap before tearing around the bases for a triple. Myers backed that up with a single, putting the Padres on top again. Brandon Morrow got the first out of the eighth inning, then Brad Hand took over for the last five batters, retiring them all in order for the save.

The Padres have one last series at Petco Park this year, and it starts Tuesday as the Dodgers come to town. Paul Clemens will throw the first pitch at 7:10 PM.