Padres Reinforce Status As Buyers With 7-0 Win Over Giants

The San Diego Padres got back to their winning ways with a 7-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants last night in a game that featured a combined shutout from three pitchers and some consistent offense that included rookie Jase Bowen’s first major-league home run. 

It was a night in which just about everything worked to perfection, as Bradley Rodriguez opened the game with a scoreless inning and the Padres followed up with two runs in the bottom of the frame to take a quick lead. Manny Machado got the first run home with a sacrifice fly, and Luis Campusano drove home the second one with an RBI single. 

Yuki Matsuit took over and picked up where Rodriguez left off, pitching three scoreless innings while giving up just a run and striking out a pair. 

The Padres scratched out a run in the third on a double-play ball from Xander Bogaerts to make it 3-0, and Bowen’s solo shot in the fourth kept the beat going. Ty France drove home two more in that same inning with an RBI base hit, which turned the game into a route at 6-0. 

German Marquez was next up after Matsui, and he provided more the same with a rare five-inning save. Marquez also gave up just one hit to go with a walk and a pair of strikeouts, and Padres padded their lead in the sixth with a sacrifice fly from France. 

Manager Craig Stammen commented on the offensive approach, and he praised Matsui and Marquez as “players of the game” as the Padres continue to go with a committee approach in most games. 

“I really like the at-bats that they’re taking behind each other,” Stammen about his lineup in a piece from AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. “They’re hitting with each other, not just individually.”

The win was the Padres’ sixth in their last seven games, and it once again cemented their status as buyers. Their big need is starting pitching, but that’s going to be a tough go given the low supply and high demand. 

The victory also pulled the Pads within a game of the third wild-card berth, as they’re now right on the heels of the reeling Philadelphia Phillies, who have lost four straight. The Phils lost to the Baltimore Orioles last night, 6-4, and the Padres will send Walker Buehler to the moung against Tyler Mahle for the Giants with a chance to tie the race.