Well, he’s been on the mound a few times now, and it’s really starting to seem like Tyson Ross has still got it. He tossed six scoreless innings tonight to keep the Giants in check, and he even plated the first run of the game when he hit an RBI single in the fifth inning. The offense wasn’t firing on all cylinders, tallying just eight hits, but three of those were for extra bases, including Franchy Cordero’s second homer in three games.
The Padres scored the only runs they would need in the fifth inning. A couple of singles from Christian Villanueva and Austin Hedges had runners on the corners with one out, and then an error by Brandon Belt put Carlos Asuaje on first to load the bases. That’s when Tyson lined into right to take the lead. A two-out single from Jose Pirela plated the final run of the inning, but there was more to come.
Hunter Renfroe led off the sixth with a double, and Villanueva must have had In-n-Out before the game, because he made it a double-double to put the Pads up 3-0. A single from Freddy Galvis brought Villanueva home, and the Padres were rapidly leaving the Giants behind.
Ross got yanked after facing two batters in the seventh without recording an out. Craig Stammen came in with runners on first and second, when he immediately got dinged by a Joe Panik RBI single. To his credit, Stammen didn’t miss a beat, striking out Belt on three pitches before getting Andrew McCutchen to ground into an inning-ending double play. And that run didn’t hurt one bit, as Cordero led off after the stretch with his second bomb of the season.
Kazuhisa Makita took over for Stammen in the ninth and immediately struck out Robinson Crusoe cosplayer Hunter Pence. But he then gave up two singles, and Andy Green went to his closer. Brad Hand didn’t waste much time. He got Panik to ground into a game-ending double play on his third pitch.
Tomorrow the Padres will start the poor man’s Shohei Ohtani as Clayton Richard takes on Derek Holland. First pitch at 5:40 PM.