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On June 29th, the Padres laced up for game two against the St. Louis Cardinals. Although the bats were a little quieter than we have become accustomed to in game one of this series, the Padres came out swinging in game two. The boys racked up 12 runs off 12 hits, and thanks to another solid 9 innings from the pitching staff, were able to hold on for their fourth win in a row.
Chris Paddack got the start this evening and did not disappoint. The Sheriff was able to throw deep into the game lasting 6 innings and only gave up 1 run. That run came from the Cardinals first at bat of the game and gave us all a scare. We have seen what happens when the Pitching staff struggles, but luckily that early run was just a minor hiccup for Paddack who went on the pitch a stellar 6 innings. Andy Green then turned to the bullpen, bringing in Brad Wieck who saw 1.2 innings and gave up the Cardinals only other run of the night. Looking to the bullpen again Robert Stock game in and finished out the last 1.1 innings of the game. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come, as the Padres pitching staff gave another lights out performance.
At the plate the Padres were back to their old selves swinging for the fences. All together the Padres hit 5 home runs and sent 12 runners across home plate. The Padres wasted no time getting on the board, putting up 7 runs in the second inning. With the bases loaded, Paddack helped his team out on offense. His soft ground out was enough to bring in Francisco Mejia and avoid a double play. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Eric Hosmer each notched and RBI of their own before Manny Machado hit his first homer of the day. Not to be out done, Franmil Reyes took Dakota Hudson deep on the very next pitch.
In the middle of a brutal second inning the Cardinals manager, Mike Matheny, had seen enough and turned to his bullpen much earlier than he would have hoped. They called upon Daniel Ponce de Leon and to his credit Ponce de Leon gave the Cardinals 5.1 innings, but the Padres continued to put the bat on the ball scoring another 4 runs off him. In the 4th inning, Machado hit his second home run, scoring Greg Garcia, capping off his 5 RBI night. Eric Hosmer knocked in Tatis Jr. in the bottom of the 6th, and Reyes went deep again to lead off the 7th inning. Wanting a homer of his own, Tatis Jr. smashed one 440 feet to kick off the bottom of the 8th inning.
Tonight, was a prime example of what this group of guys are capable of when everything clicks. An excellent 9 innings of pitching, aggressive base running, and hot bats at the plate made for an exciting game to watch.
Final score: Padres 12-2