Giants Vs. Padres 4/5/2021

The Padres were coming off of a series against the Diamondbacks where they won 3 of the 4 games that they played. The Giants were coming off of a disappointing series against the Mariners which they lost 2 games to 1. The Giants also had an off day on Easter meaning they would have a bit of rest entering this game. The Padres got 2nd place in the NL West last year and lost to the Dodgers in the division series last year. The Padres in the offseason made many acquisitions including Blake Snell and Yu Darvish. This team is undoubtedly a top 5 team in MLB and widely known as a very exciting team to watch. This would be the first game that Gabe Kapler would manage the Giants without a DH. It would be interesting to see how Kapler would adapt to losing that asset in the lineup. Speaking of lineups Mike Yastrzemski was a late scratch for the Giants. The Giants’ lineup would be Austin Slater (RF) hitting leadoff, Donovan Solano (2B) hitting 2nd, Wilmer Flores (1B) up 3rd, Evan Longoria (3B) hitting cleanup, Darin Ruf (LF) hitting 5th, Buster Posey (C) hitting 6th, Mauricio Dubón (CF) hitting 7th, Brandon Crawford (SS) hitting 8th, and finally the Giants’ starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani hitting last. The Padres lineup would be Jake Cronenworth (2B) hitting leadoff, Fernando Tatis Jr. (SS) hitting 2nd, Manny Machado (3B) hitting 3rd, Eric Hosmer (1B) hitting cleanup, Tommy Pham (CF) hitting 5th, Wil Myers (RF) hitting 6th, Jurickson Profar (LF) hitting 7th, Victor Caratini hitting 8th, and finally Adrian Morejon the starting pitcher for the Padres hitting 9th. This was Anthony DeSclafani’s first regular season game as a Giant. This game would go down at Petco Park meaning the Giants would hit first. For the Padres to win they needed Adrian Morejon to pitch well, exploit the Giants bullpen, and draw walks. For the Giants to win they needed amazing pitching, some offensive fire power, and they needed to take an early lead. Would the Giants be able to upset the Padres or would the top 5 Padres take home the win? To the game!

The first pitch of the game was a swinging strike to Austin Slater from Adrian Morejon. Austin Slater led off the game with a ground ball to right field for a single. Donovan Solano was up next and he hit a swinging bunt to Victor Caratini who threw the ball to Eric Hosmer at first for the out. Austin Slater advanced to 2nd on the play. Then Wilmer Flores flew out to Tommy Pham in center field leaving Slater at 2nd. To end the top of the inning Evan Longoria grounded out to Fernando Tatis Jr. at shortstop. Anthony DeSclafani’s first pitch was a strike to Jake Cronenworth. Cronenworth ended up hitting a single to Darin Ruf in left field. Fernando Tatis Jr. then flew out to Austin Slater on the first pitch for the first out of the inning. Jake Cronenworth stayed at 1st on the play. Manny Machado was up next and flew out to Austin Slater on the right field warning track leaving Cronenworth at 1st. Eric Hosmer then struck out swinging to end the inning. Both pitchers gave up a leadoff single but bounced back with 3 straight outs to end the inning. The Giants and Padres were tied 0-0 after the first inning.

Darin Ruf started off the 2nd inning by hitting a solo homer to dead center field to give the Giants the lead. Buster Posey followed that up with a single to right field. Then Mauricio Dubón lined out to Jurickson Profar in left field leaving Buster Posey at 1st. Brandon Crawford ended up grounding into a fielders choice after Eric Hosmer couldn’t pick the throw. To end the inning Giants pitcher Anthony DeSclafani struck out swinging. Tommy Pham started off the inning by flying out to Austin Slater in right field. Wil Myers was up next and he walked on 5 pitches. Then Jurickson Profar hit into a fielders choice on a diving stop by Brandon Crawford. On a full count Jurickson Profar stole 2nd base. Victor Caratini then hit an RBI single to center field. Adrian Morejon swung at the first pitch for a fielders choice to end the inning. Both offenses were able to break through with a run in the 2nd inning. The Giants and Padres were tied 1-1 after the 2nd inning.

Austin Slater led off the 3rd inning with a fly out to Tommy Pham in right center field. Donovan Solano was up next and he grounded out to Fernando Tatis Jr. at shortstop. To end the top half of the inning Wilmer Flores struck out swinging. Jake Cronenworth led off the bottom of the 3rd inning by grounding out to Wilmer Flores. Fernando Tatis Jr. then struck out swinging but injured himself in the process. To end the inning Manny Machado grounded out to Donovan Solano on a 3-0 count. This inning was a great showing of pitching from both teams. The Giants and Padres were still tied 1-1 after the 3rd inning.

Ha-Seong Kim replaced Fernando Tatis Jr. to play at shortstop. Evan Longoria led off the 4th inning with an opposite field home run for his 3rd homer of the season. Darin Ruf followed that up with a walk on 5 pitches. Buster Posey was up next and he hit into a 5, 4, 3 double play on a full count. Then Mauricio Dubón hit a single to left field. To end the top of the inning Brandon Crawford hit a blooper to Jake Cronenworth. Eric Hosmer grounded out to Evan Longoria to leadoff the bottom of the 4th inning. Then Tommy Pham reached base on an error from Evan Longoria. Wil Myers then walked to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Jurickson Profar was up next and he popped out to Donovan Solano in foul territory. To load the bases Victor Caratini walked. Tucupita Marcano pinch hit for Adrian Morejon and grounded out to Wilmer Flores to end the inning. This was a great inning for the Giants where they were able to take the lead. The Giants led 2-1 after the 4th inning.

Adrian Morejon was taken out for Nabil Crismatt to pitch the 5th inning. Crismatt started off by striking out Anthony DeSclafani on strikes. Then Austin Slater struck out swinging for the second out of the inning. Donovan Solano then hit a first pitch single to left field off of Crismatt who happens to be from the same city as him. The next at bat Donovan Solano stole second. Wilmer Flores ended up walking to put runners on 1st and 2nd for the red hot Evan Longoria. Sadly for the Giants though, Evan Longoria grounded into a fielders choice to end the inning. Jake Cronenworth led off the bottom of the 5th inning by hitting a single up the middle. Ha-Seong Kim was up next and he popped out to Brandon Crawford. Then Manny Machado hit a single to left field to move Jake Cronenworth to 2nd. Eric Hosmer then struck out swinging for the 2nd out of the inning. On an 0-1 count and a passed ball Cronenworth moved to third and Machado moved to 2nd. To end the inning Tommy Pham struck out on a foul tip. Both teams had 2 runners left on base in the 5th inning. The Giants were leading 2-1 after the 5th inning.

Craig Stammen replaced Nabil Crismatt to pitch the 6th inning. To start the 6th inning Alex Dickerson pinch hit for Darin Ruf and flew out to Tommy Pham in center field. Then on the first pitch Buster Posey popped out to Eric Hosmer in foul territory. To end the top of the inning Mauricio Dubón struck out on a full count. Matt Wisler came in for Anthony DeSclafani to pitch the 6th inning. Matt Wisler started off by getting Wil Myers to ground out to him for the out. Then Jurickson Profar hit a triple to right center field. Victor Caratini then hit a sacrifice fly to Mauricio Dubón who made a nice play in center field. Craig Stammen who is a relief pitcher hit a single up the middle to bring up Jake Cronenworth. Matt Wisler was taken out after that at bat for Caleb Baragar. Then Jake Cronenworth reached on an error from Brandon Crawford. To end the inning Ha-Seong Kim popped out to Wilmer Flores. The Giants had a disappointing inning with a 0 hits or walks and a run given up. The Giants and Padres were tied 2-2 after the 6th inning.

Brandon Crawford led off the top of the 7th by striking out swinging. Mike Yastrzemski then pinch hit for Caleb Baragar and hit a solo homer to dead center field. Then Austin Slater hit a first pitch single to left field. After that Craig Stammen was taken out for Emilio Pagan to finish the inning. Pagan then threw away a pick off attempt of Austin Slater and Slater advanced to 2nd. Donovan Solano was up next and he hit a single to left field. Slater advanced to 3rd on the play. Brandon Belt then pinch hit for Wilmer Flores and struck out swinging. To end the top of the inning Evan Longoria lined out to Wil Myers. Reyes Moronta was put in to pitch the 7th inning instead of Caleb Baragar. Reyes Moronta started out by getting Manny Machado to ground out to Brandon Crawford on the first pitch. Then on a full count Eric Hosmer grounded out to Brandon Crawford. Then to end the inning Tommy Pham grounded out to Evan Longoria at 3rd. The Giants batters hit well in the 7th inning and Reyes Moronta pitched very well. The Giants were ahead 3-2 after the 7th inning.

Tim Hill came into pitch the top of the 8th for the Padres to replace Emilio Pagan. Alex Dickerson led off the 8th inning by grounding out to Jake Cronenworth at 2nd base. Then Buster Posey lined out to Jurickson Profar in left field. To end the inning Mauricio Dubón struck out swinging. Tyler Rogers then came in for Reyes Moronta to pitch the 8th inning. Wil Myers led off the bottom of the inning with a bunt for an infield hit. Jurickson Profar was up next and he popped out to Brandon Crawford at shortstop. Tyler Rogers then struck out Victor Caratini for the 2nd out of the inning. Jorge Mateo then pinch hit for Tim Hill and grounded into a fielders choice to end the inning. Both pitchers pitched well in the 8th inning. The Giants still led 3-2 after the 8th inning.

Drew Pomeranz came in to pitch the 9th inning for Tim Hill. Brandon Crawford led off by flying out to Tommy Pham in center field. Then Tommy La Stella pinch hit for Tyler Rogers and lined out to the 2nd baseman Jake Cronenworth. To end the inning Austin Slater flew out to Tommy Pham in left center field. Jake McGee was put in for Tyler Rogers to close out the game. Jake Cronenworth led off by grounding out to Brandon Crawford. Then Ha-Seong Kim struck out swinging for the 2nd out of the inning. Manny Machado was up next and he walked putting the winning run at the plate in Eric Hosmer. Jake McGee hit Eric Hosmer to put runners on 1st and 2nd and the tying run at 2nd. Then Tommy Pham flew out to Mauricio Dubón in center field to end the game.

Leo’s Extra Inning: This was a great win for the Giants in a very tight game. Luckily for the Giants the bullpen was able to hold it down with 5 pitchers pitching 4 innings and 1 earned run given up. The Giants relievers also had a combined 4 hits and 1 walk given up along with 2 strikeouts. Caleb Baragar got the win for the Giants, Jake McGee got the save, Matt Wisler got a blown save, and Reyes Moronta and Tyler Rogers each got a hold. Anthony DeSclafani who started the game for the Giants pitched 5 innings, gave up 4 hits, 1 earned run, and 3 walks. DeSclafani also had 4 strikeouts and a no decision. Adrian Morejon started for the Padres and pitched 4 innings and gave up 5 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, and 2 homers. Morejon also had 2 strikeouts and a no decision as well. The Padres bullpen had 5 pitchers pitch 5 innings with a combined 4 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, and 1 homer given up. The bullpen also had a combined 6 strikeouts. Craig Stammen was the losing pitcher for the Padres in this game and gave up 1 earned run out of the bullpen. The Giants offense was led by a Evan Longoria who went 1 for 4 with a solo homer. Darin Ruf and Mike Yastrzemski each hit a solo homer as well for the 2 other runs from the Giants in this game. The Padres were led by Victor Caratini who went 1 for 2 with 2 RBI and a walk. Jake Cronenworth played well too going 3 for 5. Wil Myers also had a decent game going 1 for 2 with 2 walks. Fernando Tatis Jr. got injured in the 3rd inning with a hurt shoulder and would opt not to get surgery but would definitely not play in the rest of this series. Overall, this was a great win for the Giants over a great team in the Padres.