ICYMI: Spangenberg, Ross prevail in opener

By Ian Smith

June 27, 2015

Friday night's series opener between the Diamondbacks and Padres had a little bit of everything as the Friars scratched and clawed their way to victory using smart baserunning and effective small ball to produce runs. The Padres took game one of a three-game set against the D-backs by a score of 4-2 thanks in part to the smart offensive moves made by the team, but of course the solid pitching performance by Tyson Ross proved to be a huge factor as well.

Ross, who pitched admirably in his last outing against the D-backs by throwing a complete game victory, repeated his mastery over Arizona by surrendering only two earned runs on two hits over 6.0 innings of work. Those two hits surrendered by Ross were paired with five walks and seven strikeouts, but those two walks were the only knocks that the snakes would collect on the evening.

The Padres offense got to work early on Friday and scored first thanks to a Yonder Alonso RBI double in the home half of the first inning to plate Derek Norris. The next two Padres' runs came courtesy of the speedy Cory Spangenberg, who went 3-for-3 on the day with two runs scored and two stolen bases. Spangenberg first scored on a throwing error by catcher Wellington Castillo and then later on thanks to a sacrifice-fly off the bat of Matt Kemp. Kemp also went 1-for-3 on Friday with an RBI and extra base hit which allowed him to score thanks to a Justin Upton RBI infield single late in the game.

Thanks to Friday's victory, the Padres now have a chance to secure a series victory over the Diamondbacks behind the capable arm of righty Andrew Cashner on Saturday. In case you missed it, here are some highlights and stories that may have passed you by on Friday:

Padres post-game recap: Padres edge D-backs with speed, small ball

Ross earns the victory, a quality start while striking out seven:

Video: ARI@SD: Ross fans seven over six strong innings

Alonso's RBI-double puts the Padres up 1-0 in the 1st inning:

Video: ARI@SD: Alonso opens the scoring with an RBI double

Kemp's RBI sacrifice-fly plates Spangenberg and regains the Padres lead:

Video: ARI@SD: Padres take the lead on Kemp's sacrifice fly

Kimbrel collects his 19th save of the year:

Video: ARI@SD: Kimbrel fans Lamb for his 19th save

Healthy Norris developing into regular "iron man": Slimmed-down Norris a steady force in lineup

He is the most interesting man in the world: Derek Norris scares a dribbler into staying fair with eyes

Down on the Farm: Torres has 3 hits, Fort Wayne beats Great Lakes