Padres 6, Reds 2: Mejía doubles up

Francisco Mejía made his first start as a Padre today, and he put on a show. He hit his first two big league homers in his first two at bats, picking up four of the Padres’ six RBI tonight. He wasn’t the only long ball hitter today; Hunter Renfroe hit his twentieth this afternoon, complementing a stellar defensive play that kept three runs off the board. Eric Lauer didn’t pick up a W since he only pitched four frames, but they were good innings. The rookie didn’t allow a single run while striking out eight of the sixteen batters he faced.

Mejía led off the third and sat on one pitch before going yard. It was an obvious ball, and the next pitch was more to his liking. He drilled it to put the Friars up 1-0. Renfroe doubled that lead with a solo shot of his own in the fourth. Eric Hosmer kept things going with a single, and Wil Myers reached on an error. With two outs, Mejía didn’t even wait for a meatball. He took the first pitch he saw and drilled it to right field.

Lauer saw his only real trouble in the bottom of the fourth. After Jose Peraza hit a leadoff single, Lauer walked the next two batters to load the bases with nobody out. He bounced back with a pair of strikeouts, but a Dilson Herrera liner to left looked like trouble. Hunter Renfroe saved the day with a diving catch to end the inning.

Some small ball gave the Pads one more run in the seventh. Freddy Galvis drew a leadoff walk, and Manuel Margot put him in scoring position with a single. Travis Jankowsi laid down a bunt to advance both runners, and Luis Urías brought Galvis home with a sacrifice fly.

Trey Wingenter was the only San Diego reliever to have any trouble, as he gave up a pair of solo shots after the seventh inning stretch, but the offensive outburst made those irrelevant.

Brett Kennedy tossed a gem in his last start, and he’ll try to repeat the effort tomorrow. First pitch at 3:40 PM.