Tommy Pham’s sacrifice fly in the top of the 10 inning finally gave San Diego a lead it would not surrender. After blowing advantages of 3-0, 4-3, and 6-4, the Padres finally put away the Detroit Tigers, 9-7, Friday night at Comerica Park for their fourth victory in five games.
Pham’s fly ball scored Francisco Mejia from third base after Mejia and Jurickson Profar had opened the top of the 10th with singles off loser Victor Alcantara. Craig Stammen (2-0) pitched the ninth-inning to get the victory, and Kirby Yates came on for his sixth save.
San Diego (13-12) took an early lead on an RBI single by Manny Machado and a two-run homer by Josh Naylor in the fourth. But Detroit tied the game off starter Joey Lucchesi in the fifth, scoring one run on an error and two more on C.J. Cron’s two-run single. Profar’s RBI single in the sixth was answered in the bottom of the frame by Victor Reyes’ RBI hit.
Profar hit a two-run home to make it 6-4 San Diego in the eighth, but Emilio Pagan, out of the Padres’ bullpen, could not hold on. He allowed a tying two-run single to Jonathan Schoop and a go-ahead RBI double to Miguel Cabrera that gave Detroit a brief 7-6 lead.
The Padres scored in the top of the ninth to force extra innings with three consecutive hits off closer Jose Jimenez. Machado, who had opened the inning with a double, came in on Eric Hosmer’s base hit to tie the score, 7-7.
