Padres 2, Red Sox 1: Pomeranz falls in return to Petco

Drew Pomeranz returned to Petco Park for the first time since he was traded in July, and while he had a pretty solid day, it did not go according to plan, as the Padres kept the Red Sox in second place in the American League East. Edwin Jackson, on the other hand, was in the zone today. The veteran pitcher tossed seven scoreless innings while striking out eleven Bostonians in his fourth win of of the season. He was helped there by Adam Rosales, who hit his ninth home run of the year to score the team’s two runs of the afternoon.

Today’s game was a serious pitchers’ duel, with both starters allowing a combined ten hits and four walks across thirteen innings and change. The first runs of the afternoon came in the bottom of the fourth inning. Alex Dickerson knocked a single up the middle with two outs in the fourth inning. That brought up Adam Rosales, who worked ahead with a 2-0 count before Pomeranz threw him a 90 MPH fastball on the inside of the strike zone with just a little bit of elevation. Rosales pulled it into the left field stands for a two run lead.

The one real threat to that lead came in the eighth inning with Brad Hand on the mound. The other Chris Young led off the inning by taking Hand deep to left for a solo homer. Aaron Hill followed up with a pinch-hit double, and then went to third on a ground out to short. But Hand buckled down for a pair of strikeouts against the heart of Boston’s lineup to hold the lead. Brandon Maurer took over in the ninth to retire the lineup in order for his eighth save of the season.

Paul Clemens will vie for a series win as he takes the mound against Clay Bucholz at 7:10 tomorrow evening.