Padres Hold Off Yanks Charge To Get 4-3 Win, Take Series

The San Diego Padres won the rubber game of their three-game series against the New York Yankees today, as they rode a quartet of homers from excellent and timely pitching to a 4-3 win. 

The Padres opened the scoring with a trio of bhomers against Yankees starter Gerrit Cole, as Fernando Taitis Jr., Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado went back-to-back-to back to give the Padres a 3-0 lead. 

The Padres then left it up to starter Michael King to shut down the Yankees, and King was up to the task. He threw six strong innings, shutting out the Yankees on just four hits and three walks while picking up three strikeouts along the way. 

Bradgley Rodriguez picked up King with a scoreless seventh as the Padres peerless bullpen took oever, and the Padres padded their lead with yet another solo home run from Friday’s hero, Luis Campusano. That made it 4-0, and it looked like the Padres would cruise to the win and take the series the easy way.

Guess again. The Padres rarely do things the easy way, and that would apply to this game in spades as the Yankees mounted a quick late-inning comeback. Things got dicey after that when Adrian Morejon had a rough inning, starting with a single by Cody Bellinger and a walk to Paul Goldschmidt. 

Spencer Jones continued to menace San Diego with an RBI double to get the Yanks on the board, and Amed Rosario got an infield hit to bring home a second run, with a Morejon throwing error bringing a third run home. But Jasson Dominguez lined to center for the third out and give the Padres a one-run lead at 4-3. 

That brought on Mason Miller, who was his usual fire-breathing self in this one. He did walk Austin Wells with two outs to add some suspense, but Miller struck out the side to get his 33rd save of the season. 

The victory gave the Padres a much-needed series win after their rough road trip to Tampa Bay and Cincinnati, and the win was especially necessary given that the Arizona Diamondback won 3-2 over the Houston Astros. The Padres remain a half-game out in the wild-card spot, as they continue to go up and down on an almost daily basis with the Diamondbacks. 

The Padres welcome the Washington Nationals to town tomorrow, with the Dbacks on the road against the Kansas City Royals.