Giants 5, Padres 3: Impromptu bullpen start goes poorly

Just when the Padres thought they were done with bullpen starts, another pitcher found himself hurting. Jordan Lyles was scheduled to start this afternoon, but felt tightness in his right forearm while warming up. That left Matt Strahm to lead the Friars’ relievers on short notice. It didn’t go great. Strahm pitched a solid 3.1 innings while holding the Giants to one run, but Adam Cimber gave up a pair while Phil Maton and Robbie Erlin gave up one run each.

The Padres held a brief lead in the fourth inning when Hunter Renfroe hit a solo shot, but it was all downhill from there. Strahm issued a leadoff walk to Andrew McCutchen, and Brandon Crawford drilled a one-out triple to right field to tie the game. Jose Castillo managed to strand Crawford on third when he took over.

The Giants took the lead for good in the sixth when Adam Cimber struggled. Alen Hanson led off with a single, and Brandon Belt put him on third with a one-out base hit of his own. Another extra base hit from Crawford plated both, leaving the Friars down by two.

Phil Maton gave up a run on a single and a double in the seventh, while Robbie Erlin gave up Crawford’s third XBH in the eighth, eventually leading to San Francisco’s fifth run of the day. The Padres made an admirable attempt at a comeback in the ninth with a pair of doubles from Travis Jankowski and Manuel Margot. Both scored when A.J. Ellis hit a soft grounder to shortstop and Crawford botched the throw to first. But Cory Spangenberg grounded out on the very next pitch to end the game.

Eric Lauer will take the mound tomorrow as he tries to salvage a series split. First pitch at 1:05 PM.