SAN DIEGO -- The Padres used the long ball to win Sunday's series finale against the Dodgers. Hunter Renfroe's pinch-hit walk-off grand slam served as one of the most dramatic finishes in franchise history.
To get to that point, however, San Diego used the opposite tactic. "Don't bunt, hit dingers?" The Padres say: Why not both?
San Diego entered play Monday ranked sixth in the Majors with 52 homers and first in the Majors with nine bunt hits. Two of those bunts came against Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen on Sunday. After Eric Hosmer's leadoff single, Manuel Margot dropped one up the third-base line. Then Wil Myers followed by placing one into no-man's land between third, short and pitcher.
"If that’s the way they have to beat me, I’ll take that," Jansen said. "It’s a compliment. Two perfect bunts, that's how they beat me."
The Padres found that analysis strange (aside from the fact that Renfroe won the game with a grand slam). They noted that if Jansen's willing to get beat via the bunt, they're more than willing to take it.
"If that's the way we're going to beat a guy, then, yes, it's fine with us," Myers said. "We won. Any way you can find a win, you've got to do what you got to do."
"It's whatever it takes to win," Padres manager Andy Green said. "If that's there, we want to be a team that takes it. We don't want to be a team that forces it. But if it's there, we'll take it."
It was there on Sunday. Margot’s decision to bunt was his own, a beauty up the third-base line. Justin Turner only watched it roll, hoping for it to trickle foul.
"Super proud of Manuel," said bullpen catcher Griffin Benedict, the man tasked with heading the team’s bunting efforts. "He noticed the third baseman was back. He had the confidence to get it down in a big situation."
The Padres made note of the way the Dodgers played Margot's bunt. They signaled for Myers to do the same. His placement wasn't quite so perfect. But Turner covered third, Corey Seager covered second, and Jansen fell off to the right side. Nobody attacked the ball, and Myers was safe without a throw.
In a way, it was a sacrifice attempt. The Padres would've been fine with men on second and third and one out. But they also wouldn't have called for Myers' bunt if they didn't feel he had a chance to earn a hit.
The Padres have mostly eschewed traditional sacrifice bunts this year. They only have one from a position player, and it came Friday night when Margot was fairly obviously bunting for a hit. (The scoring decision to award him a sacrifice remains up for debate.)
Contrast that with the nine bunt hits they have, from five different players including catcher Austin Hedges. The Padres feel it’s an important tool to have in the bag -- even when they aren’t using it.
"Ideally, we're getting bunts for base hits," Benedict said. "But if we don't, hopefully they're at least respecting it, and they come in a little bit, and we sneak a hit past them on the ground. To have it, and be able to have the other team know that we're going to use it, it's useful."
Noteworthy
• The Padres continue to play coy with the status of injured shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. He resumed baseball activity on Saturday, as he returns from a left-hamstring strain, and he took swings in the batting cage for the first time on Monday.
Tatis is eligible to come off the injured list ahead of the Padres’ three-game weekend series in Colorado. But Green wouldn’t offer any timetable for his rookie phenom to return to action.
• Matt Strahm will start Wednesday’s series finale on schedule. But Green wouldn’t offer any further plans. With off-days before and after the Colorado series, it’s possible the Padres tweak their rotation to give extra rest to some of their young starters.