Chacin outduels Nola as Padres beat Phillies

July 8th, 2017

PHILADELPHIA -- Padres right-hander can enjoy himself a little more during the All-Star break.
He allowed just three hits, two walks and one run, with six strikeouts, in 6 1/3 innings Saturday in a 2-1 victory over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Chacin has been solid in his final seven starts before the break, posting a 2.44 ERA (12 earned runs in 44 1/3 innings) to lower his ERA from 5.77 to 4.32.
"[Phillies starter Aaron] Nola was pitching a really good game, so I knew it was going to be a close game," Chacin said. "I was just trying to keep my team there, give them a chance to score some runs for me."
With another lock-down effort from the bullpen, the Padres secured their first series victory in Philadelphia since 2009. San Diego has won five of six overall, clinching the first winning road trip of the season in the process.
"It's a nice road trip," said Padres manager Andy Green. "It's not going to be a great one until we finish it off tomorrow."
Nola also finished the first half strong. He allowed just four hits, two walks, two runs and struck out nine in eight innings. He has a 1.53 ERA in his past four starts, and a 2.61 ERA in his past seven.
"It's just knowing what I can do and finding my delivery again," Nola said. "I'm trying to stay with my plan. I try to have good work weeks in between each game and stay healthy. I think it's just getting ahead in counts and getting the leadoff hitter out. I think that's been key for me. It definitely makes pitching more fun and less stressful when you do that."

Nola pitching like he's key part of Phillies' future
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Asuaje, Hedges strike: Padres catcher hit the game-winning single in the seventh inning, less than 24 hours after he homered twice and hit a game-winning sacrifice fly Friday. The inning started when dropped a double over Phillies first baseman Tommy Joseph down the right-field line. The hit surprised Renfroe, who initially thought the ball was foul. Nola retired the next two batters, but smashed a clutch triple off the right-field wall to score Renfroe and tie the game. Hedges followed with a single to right to score Asuaje and give San Diego the lead.

"I wasn't really thinking about a triple or a double or a homer out of the box," Hedges said. "I was just thinking about getting that run in. That's the most important thing."

'Feisty' Asuaje making most of regular playing time
Yates is great: Chacin allowed a one-out walk to and a double to Joseph to put runners on second and third in the bottom of the seventh, but Padres right-hander worked out of the jam. He got , who homered in the fifth, to pop out to and to fly out to left field to end the inning. Since joining the Padres as a late-April waiver claim, Yates has posted a 1.98 ERA.

QUOTABLE
"Personally, I think [Odubel] Herrera is going to hit .280 or more. He's just going through a period where he doesn't look right at the plate. I'm looking for consistency. I don't know what I'm going to get with every at-bat, and because of that, I'm going to try to make some adjustments. But I don't plan on doing that for the whole season, hopefully not."
-- Mackanin, after pinch-hitting rookie for the left-handed-hitting Herrera in the eighth inning against Padres left-hander
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The Padres have won six games this season in which they've recorded five hits or fewer. That's the second-best mark in baseball, behind only the Dodgers.
RENFROE BANGED UP
Padres right fielder Hunter Renfroe felt his neck lock up on his rally-starting seventh-inning double. He hit the ball awkwardly -- off the top of the bat -- and was initially unsure where it went. Once he realized it stayed fair down the first-base line, he hustled into second. But he was replaced by in the bottom half of the frame.
"He felt something tighten up in his neck, and he wasn't able to move around really well," Green said. "He finished off the bases there. It's been a rough last couple days. My immediate thought is to give him tomorrow down and just extend the All-Star break for him."
Renfroe exited Friday's game in the ninth after being hit by a pitch in the left wrist.
LIVELY OPTIONED
The Phillies announced after the game that they had optioned rookie right-hander to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to make room for starting pitcher , who will be activated Sunday. Lively went 1-4 with a 3.80 ERA in seven starts.
"Lively's start won't come up for 10 days, and we want to keep him in the rotation, whereas [Mark] Leiter can be used out of the bullpen," Mackanin said.
WHAT'S NEXT
Padres: eyes a strong finish to a solid -- albeit injury-plagued -- first half in the finale of a three-game set at Citizens Bank Park. In his return from a shoulder strain earlier this week, Cahill held the Indians scoreless over 4 1/3 frames. First pitch is slated for 10:35 a.m. PT.
Phillies: The Phillies finish the first half of their season in Sunday's 1:35 p.m. ET series finale against the Padres. Right-hander Jerad Eickhoff makes his first start since June 17. He has been on the 10-day disabled list due to a strained upper back.
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