Padres 6, Giants 2: Resurgent offense backs Richard in win

After losing a brutal five in a row, the Padres have finally bounced back to snap their streak. Clayton Richard pitched six fantastic innings, only giving up two runs on three hits. Of course, that kind of start is nothing without solid bats to back it up, and the Friars were all hitting tonight. Every one of the starting position players picked up a hit tonight, and four of them did it more than once.

The Giants got on the board early, as Gorkys Hernandez led off the bottom of the first with a double. A ground out put him on third, and a wild pitch from Clayton gave him the opportunity to score. That was the only lead San Francisco got, and they didn’t hold it for long.

Cory Spangenberg led off the second with a double, and another two-bagger from Manuel Margot brought him home to tie the game. That’s the way things stayed until the sixth, when a replay review went the Friars’ way. Spangy smashed a one-out grounder down the first base line that sent Buster Posey diving. Posey snagged it and made the throw to first for the out. But the video showed Spangy barely beating the ball, and he was safely on base. A line drive single from Freddy Galvis put runners on the corners. A wild pitch and a throwing error by our old friend Nick Hundley plated Spangenberg for the lead and put Galvis on third. Margot tallied his second hit of the night, and the Pads were up 3-1.

Four different pitchers toed the rubber for the Padres in the seventh, but it didn’t keep the Giants from scoring. Richard gave up a leadoff single to Andrew McCutchen before he was replaced by Adam Cimber, who threw five pitches to strike out Brandon Belt. Jose Castillo had an even shorter appearance, retiring Brandon Crawford with one pitch. Craig Stammen took over for the rest of the inning, with mixed results. McCutchen swiped second, and Stammen walked Mac Williamson. A single off the bat of Pablo Sandoval scored McCutchen.

But that was the last run the Padres allowed, and they hung a crooked number in the ninth just for fun. Manny Margot and Raffy Lopez started the inning with a pair of walks, and Wil Myers got a a two-out intentional walk to load the bases. Back-to-back singles from Eric Hosmer and Jose Pirela put the good guys ahead by a grand slam. Brad Hand pitched a perfect ninth, and the losing streak ended.

Jordan Lyles will try to secure a series split when he takes the mound tomorrow afternoon. First pitch at 1:05 PM.