By Ron Davis:
The Padres came up with a big win Monday night as they took down the Arizona Diamondbacks by a score of 2-1. Still reeling from losing 3 out of 4 games to the Pittsburgh Pirates over the weekend and with their young ace Chris Paddack on the mound, while it was not considered a 'must-win' game (it is only May 20th after all), this was a game that the Padres really needed to come away with. Paddack may not have exactly been 'lights-out' but he still gave the Padres what they needed to stop the bleeding, as he pitched 6 walk-free innings while racking up 7 strikeouts along the way. Paddack has still not allowed more than 5 hits in any of his Major League starts, and his 1.93 ERA on the season is the lowest by any Padre pitcher ever after their first 9 career starts.
Too nasty pic.twitter.com/YSuJOGCIjU
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 21, 2019The Padres still had to work for this one though, as the offense sputtered once again to start the game. Arizona's Luke Weaver looked to be in cruise control early on, as he only allowed 1 hit while striking out 6 over the first 5 frames. But as has been the case so many times during this young season, Franmil Reyes would not allow the Padres to go quietly into the night, as he turned the game around completely with one swing in the 6th inning:
ICYMI:@La_Mole_13 hit a 2 run shot to right center in the 6th inning to give the @Padres the lead!@JesseAgler had the call right here on @973TheFanSD @PadresRadio pic.twitter.com/dIg8Kqi0Lr
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) May 21, 2019LA MOLE. CRUSHED. @PADRES LEAD.#FriarFaithful | @La_Mole_13 pic.twitter.com/eVBiK4Rg6g
— FOX Sports San Diego (@FOXSportsSD) May 21, 2019Franmil's 15th home run of the season moved him into a tie for the 3rd best tally in the National League home run race, and proved to be the deciding blow in Monday nights game.
Not to be overlooked were the contributions of El Cajon native Greg Garcia, who started a crucial double play in the 5th inning to get Paddack out of a jam, and jump-started the 2 out rally in the sixth with his single to right to bring up Franmil Reyes. Our pre and post-game host Chris Ello got a chance to speak with him on the field following the victory.
The @Padres came through with a much needed 2-1 win against the @Dbacks Monday night and our pre and post-game host @ChrisElloSD got a chance to speak with Greg Garcia on the field following the game! pic.twitter.com/kXobZhOGq0
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) May 21, 2019The Padres will look to build on that momentum Tuesday night, as they face the Diamondbacks in game two of the series. Pregame coverage on 97.3 with Braden Surprenant starts at 6:10 PM, first pitch is scheduled for 7:10.
