The San Diego Padres were cruising against Arizona with a 7-2 lead, but the bullpen couldn't come through this time.
The San Diego Padres discovered the downside of baseball south of the border in a homer-happy slugfest in Mexico City, as the Arizona Diamondbacks came from five runs down to beat the Padres, 12-7
The first six innings of this one played like a San Diego blowout as the Padres raced out to a 7-2 lead. Starter Micheal King was brilliant as he struck out eight hitters and gave up just three hits and two runs in six innings.
The big blows for the Padres came on a pair of home runs by Manny Machado, the first a two-run shot in the third, the second a three-run homer in the fifth, with Luis Campusano driving home another run with a double.
The Diamondbacks got their first run on a Jose Fernandez in the fifth to make it 6-1. The two teams traded single runs in the sixth inning to make it 7-2, and that was when the wheels came off completely for the Padres.
The normally-reliable Padres bullpen collapsed in this one, starting with David Morgan after he took over for King. He gave up a grand slam to Tim Tawa to make it 7-6, and an RBI double by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. off Bradgley Rodriguez drove home two more to make it 8-7 as the Diamondbacks took the lead.
Arizona kept hitting against Rodriguez and Rod Marinaccio, and by the time the offensive onslaught was over the Diamondbacks had a 12-7 lead. It was a shocking turnaround, with homers flying out in a park where the altitude is about 2,000 feet higher than Coors Field.
The Padres’ other home run came courtesy of Luis Campusano, who also had an RBI double as part of a fine offensive day. The Diamondbacks third home run of the day was a blast by Ildemaro Vargas, who hit a solo shot in the sixth inning.
The Arizona bullpen did some yeoman work after starter Ryne Nelson gave up six runs in five innings, but four Diamondbacks relievers combined to yield just one run over the final four innings. Ryan Thompson got the win, with Rodriguez taking the loss after he and Morgan combined to give up six runs in the seventh before Marinaccio yielded another four in the eighth.
The result was a series split, and overall the Padres won’t be unhappy to leave Mexico. The atmosphere may be festive, but the games are wildly unpredictable in a way that makes good pitching nearly impossible at times, and the Padres head home to play some normal baseball against the Chicago Cubs tomorrow night.