Padres 3, Marlins 1: Richard tosses another gem

Going into the season, everyone expected Clayton Richard to be the inning eater in the Padres rotation. Putting together six solid innings more often than not was his job. But he hasn’t just done his job; he’s excelled. After today’s start, he has now thrown seven or more frames in half of his appearances. And he flirted with a place in the record books in Miami this afternoon, falling seven outs short of tossing San Diego’s first no-hitter.

While Clayton was dealing, the offense gave him an early lead. Hunter Renfroe doubled to start the second inning. He took third on a wild pitch from José Ureña, which was something of a theme for the Marlins this weekend. Freddy Galvis brought him home with a fly ball to center.

The sixth inning brought important insurance runs. Travis Jankowski led off with a single into right, and Eric Hosmer backed him up by launching a rocket at the monstrosity in center field.

The Fish finally got to Clayton in the seventh inning. Justin Bour drew a walk to start the frame. Former Friar Cameron Maybin did his part to keep the no-no going by flying out, and Lewis Brinson grounded to shortstop, allowing the Padres to get the lead runner off the basepaths. But Miguel Rojas broke up the no-hitter, and JT Riddle followed that up with the second and final Marlins hit of the day, plating Brinson.

Kirby Yates and Brad Hand took over for the final two innings. Both pitched flawlessly to seal the team’s fourth series win in a row.

The boys will head to St. Louis, where Jordan Lyles will open a three-game set against the Cardinals. First pitch at 5:15 PM.