SAN DIEGO -- The Padres slugged their way into the lead, then poured it on late, en route to a 7-3 series-opening victory over the Athletics on Friday night.
“Clutch hits and homers -- that’ll do it,” said Ramón Laureano, whose go-ahead home run in the seventh inning put San Diego on top for good.
Here’s some instant reaction from Petco Park:
The suddenly slug-happy Padres
This is what the Padres envisioned this year. They didn’t hit nearly enough home runs last season. They played games in which they scratched and clawed for a bunch of hits, but lost because they were ultimately outslugged.
On Friday night, the Padres were the out-sluggers. Through seven innings, they had recorded only three hits -- yet they led 4-3 courtesy of three home runs.
Manny Machado, Nick Castellanos and Laureano all went deep. When the A’s grabbed an early lead? Machado tied it with a two-run homer. When the A’s grabbed another lead? Castellanos tied it. Laureano put San Diego on top for good with a titanic solo shot beyond the left-field seats into the standing-room area in the seventh.
“Even when these guys are struggling, they just have the ability with one swing to do some damage,” said manager Craig Stammen. “That’s the beauty of having those guys in our lineup. … They have the ability for one big swing to matter immensely.”
A season ago, the Padres finished ranked 28th in home runs. They vowed that would change. Sure enough, even without a single home run from Fernando Tatis Jr., they’re now tied with the Pirates for 17th overall in homers with 52. With a few more dingers from their big bats, it’s not outlandish to think the Padres could be in the top 10.
Durán continues to make case
Starting catcher Rodolfo Durán? That statement would’ve seemed outlandish as recently as a couple weeks ago. But Durán has done just about everything the Padres could’ve asked for -- and he turned in another sneaky excellent game on Friday night.
Durán deftly helped Walker Buehler navigate traffic. He threw out Henry Bolte trying to steal in the fourth inning and has now nabbed 42% of would-be base stealers. At the plate, he reached base in all three of his plate appearances, including a leadoff single that started a key eighth-inning rally.
“I just have confidence in all the work I put in before the game,” Durán said. “Everything, it’s showing up in the games.”
Durán’s story is an incredible one. He spent over a decade toiling in the Minors, the last few of which came in the Padres' system. When Luis Campusano went down with a fractured toe, Durán got his call.
And he’s not wasting it. There’s a case to make that -- even when Campusano is healthy -- Durán is earning a chance to stick.
Preserving Miller was crucial
Mason Miller will have to wait another day (at least) to face his former team.
With the Padres leading by a run in the bottom of the eighth, Miller began getting loose. Then Durán’s single sparked a three-run rally, and Stammen chose to use Jeremiah Estrada to cover the ninth instead.
“That’s huge,” Stammen said. “We’ve talked a lot over the season about [Miller’s] workload and trying to limit that, not wear him out in April and May. For our offense to put up enough runs … and then to have a guy like Jeremiah Estrada sitting down there in the bullpen, able to throw him in [with] a four-run lead, and he just goes 1-2-3, it makes it really easy to help Mason stay a little fresher for us.”
It was another outstanding effort from the San Diego ‘pen overall. Adrian Morejon picked up Bradgley Rodriguez by leaving the bases loaded in the sixth, then worked a 1-2-3 seventh. Jason Adam pitched a scoreless eighth, and Estrada made quick work of the A’s in the ninth.
That’s quite the array of dominant back-end arms, even with Miller getting the night off.
Castellanos finding a groove
With the Padres trailing by a run in the bottom of the fifth inning, Castellanos launched a majestic blast off the third level of the Western Metal Building, keeping the ball just fair. It was his third homer in the past nine games after he’d hit just one in his first 24.
“He’s definitely a creature of habit,” Stammen said. “And when he does get to play more, he’s probably going to swing a little bit better.”
After some early struggles, Castellanos began to learn the nuances of his bench role with the Padres. He started to hit. And as he started to hit, more playing time became available. Now, here we are. Castellanos is, for all intents and purposes, the Padres’ starting right fielder, with Fernando Tatis Jr. entrenched at second base.
Thrust back into that everyday role, Castellanos has established a rhythm. He’s become the hitter the Padres envisioned when they signed him in Spring Training -- with his contributions going a long way toward turning the overall offense into more of a power threat.