Past seasons have resulted in favorable numbers for the Phillies when they travel to play the Padres in San Diego. There was no reason to believe this season would be any different, and with the Phils having already swept the Padres earlier this season, a series victory seemed all but definitive. However, the series opener did not go as planned, with Andrew Cashner holding the Phillies to no runs over a complete game effort. Now, A.J. Burnett was due to take to the mound in the follow up game, hoping to have the support of an offense coming off their fourteenth shutout of the season.
The Game: The game opened with a standing ovation from the San Diego crowd for the Phillies Tony Gwynn Jr., in a kind gesture of support for the son of the city's most beloved player. Ian Kennedy would then step in for the Padres and retire the first three batters in order. It was then A.J. Burnett's turn in the first, and his start did not go as well.
Cory Spangenberg led the game off with a triple, perhaps an ominous sign of the matchup to come. Will Venable followed up quickly with an RBI single, and two batters into the game, San Diego scored as many runs as they did the night before. With Venable on first, an errant throw on a pickoff attempt by Burnett allowed the runner to move all the way to third. Burnett would go on to walk Yangervis Solarte, and the first three batters of the game had now reached base. A groundout by Yasmani Grandal scored run number two, but two straight out ended the Padre threat. Still, the home squad took the 2-0 lead.
Inning number two saw the Phillies score their first run of the series, and it came in the form of a Domonic Brown solo home run. Fast forward to the fifth, where the score still remained 2-1. Brown had the leadoff opportunity, but struck out. Cameron Rupp would then work the walk with one away. That's when Freddy Galvis slugged his third home run of the season, a two-run shot that put the Phillies ahead 3-2.
While still allowing a few baserunners, A.J. Burnett managed to hold the Padres silent up into the sixth inning. In fact, in the sixth, Burnett retired the first two batters right away. He would then walk Jake Goebbert to start the trouble. Alexi Amerista then did his own Freddy Galvis impression, recording his own two-run home run to put the Padres back on top with a score of 4-3. Rymer Liriano and Tommy Medica each singled in consecutive at bats to follow the home run, spelling the end of Burnett's night. Cesar Jimenez then entered the game, and served up an RBI single to Jedd Gyorko. At the end of six, San Diego held the 5-3 lead.
Neither team would score in either the seventh or eighth, leading to Kevin Quackenbush coming in for the ninth inning save. Galvis had reached base with a one out walk, and with two away, Darin Ruf stepped to the plate. After Galvis stole second, Ruf singled into center field to bring the score to within one. Cody Asche then came up with a chance to tie things up, but ultimately popped up down the third base line. With that, the Padres scored the 5-4 victory and have now taken the first two games of the four game set.
Notable Offensive Performances
Freddy Galvis: 1-for-2, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Grady Sizemore: 0-for-4, K
Chase Utley: 1-for-4, 4 LOB
Up Next: The Phillies will hope that ace Cole Hamels will lead them to their first victory of the series. Eric Stults gets the ball for San Diego in the 10:10 eastern time matchup.
