FriarNotes: Machado’s Walk-Off HR Gives Padres’ Historic Win; Notes on Machado, Merrill and Higashioka, Vasquez, Kolek
It’s looking more and more that the identity that first-year manager Mike Shildt worked hard on during spring training has actually become the Padres identity.
Be resilient. Never give up. Running out of outs is one thing. Running out of determination, however, is unacceptable.
Never has that been clearer Friday night when the Padres turned what looked-to-be one of the more devastating losses of this season — or most others — into a victory.
The Padres took a 7–2 lead into the top of the ninth against the Diamondbacks at Petco Park.
What followed was a historic inning. For the first time in Major League history, there was a grand slam home run (Arizona’s Alek Thomas), a go-ahead home run (Arizona’s Randal Grichuk), a game-tying home run (the Padres’ Jurickson Profar) and a walk-off home run (Manny Machado).
The Padres went from a 7–2 lead to an 8–7 deficit, to a tie to a victory — going from sure victory to a humiliating defeat to an incredible victory before the largest crowd (47,171) in Petco Park history — topping the 46,701 drawn on May 11 for a game against the Dodgers.
For Machado, it was his 10th career, walk-off hit and eighth career walk-off home run.
For Padres fans, it’s one of the more memorable wins in franchise history.
NOTES:
— 3B Manny Machado’s two-run, walk-off homer Friday night capped his second, four-hit game of the season — and past 13 games. Machado has hit .377 (23-for-61) over the past 15 games to raise his batting average from .245 to .270. He has two doubles, six home runs, 16 RBIs, three walks and 14 runs scored in the past 15 games for a .406 on-base percentage and a .705 slugging percentage for a 1.111 OPS. The walk-off was Machado’s 12th of the season and his 150th as a Padre, leaving Machado only 13 short of Nate Colbert’s franchise record of 163.
— Rookie center fielder Jackson Merrill and catcher Kyle Higsashioka are tied for the Padres’ home run lead since June 1 with nine apiece. Since June 1, Merrill is hitting .303 (36-for-119) with seven doubles, a triple, nine home runs, 24 RBIs and 18 runs scored with a .325 on-base percentage and a .605 slugging percentage for a .930 OPS. Higashioka is hitting .290 since June 1 (18-for-62) with half his hits going for home runs. He also has a double and a triple for 22 RBIs and 13 runs scored for a .333 on-base percentage and a .758 slugging percentage for a 1.091 OPS. Merrill tied his career-high with three RBIs Friday night. Higashioka’s nine homers and 22 RBIs are career-highs for him over a 20-game span.
— The Padres have won three straight games started by Randy Vasquez, who has given up three runs on 16 hits and five walks with 10 strikeouts over 15 1/3 innings in the three starts for a 1.76 earned run average and a 1.370 WHIP. The Padres are 5–2 in Vasquez’s seven starts since June 1 and the right-hander has a 3.96 ERA with a 1.514 WHIP. His ERA has dropped by 1.16 runs since June 1.
— Stephen Kolek has a 3–0 record and has allowed only four runs (one earned) on 14 hits and 3 walks with 13 strikeouts in 15 innings over 11 appearances since June 1. That’s a 0.60 ERA and a 1.133 WHIP. He entered June with a 6.66 ERA.
