Sanchez making most of chances for Padres

July 16th, 2017

Bill Center, longtime sportswriter for U-T San Diego, is an employee of the Padres.
is making the most of his limited hits for the Padres this season.
The 27-year-old reserve catcher has seven hits.
Four of those have been homers.
Three of those homers were pinch-hit shots, two of which have led to Padres wins.
Then there was Saturday night's two-run walk-off homer against his former San Francisco Giants teammates -- marking the second time this season that one of his homers helped the Padres defeat the Giants.
Three of Sanchez's four homers were instrumental in Padres wins. A quick recap of Sanchez's 2017 homers:
April 30: His two-run pinch-hit shot in the top of the ninth off Giants closer allows the Padres to avoid the shutout and tie the game at 2-2. The Padres win 5-2 in 12 innings.

June 24: His two-run, pinch-hit homer in the bottom of the eighth erases a one-run deficit and gives the Padres a 4-3 lead over Detroit. The Padres score three more runs in the inning and win 7-3. 

June 30: His third pinch-hit homer of the season is a two-run shot against the Dodgers. But the Dodgers are far ahead and win 10-4.

Saturday night: Sanchez made only his fourth start of the season behind the plate when regular was a late scratch. His two-run, walk-off blast in the ninth gives the Padres a 5-3 win over the Giants.
On the season, Sanchez, who has twice been on the disabled list in addition to spending time with Triple-A El Paso, is hitting just .163 (7-for-43). But he has four homers and 10 RBIs and is 4-for-19 with three homers and eight RBIs as a pinch-hitter.
Sanchez is now 6-for-12 with three homers and eight RBIs in seven career games against San Francisco, his former team.
And Saturday's walk-off homer off was the switch-hitter's first hit against a left-handed pitcher in eight at-bats this season. He had been 0-for-7 with four strikeouts.
Noteworthy
• RF is 4-for-8 with a double and Saturday night's two-run homer off in his first two games since returning from Triple-A El Paso as a sub for the injured (neck). Blash has three RBIs and three runs scored with a walk in the two games. Up until his return, Blash had only three hits in his first 29 at-bats as a Padre this season.
• 2B was 1-for-3 with a run scored Saturday night to extend his career-best hitting streak to a seventh straight game. He is 9-for-26 during the streak with three walks for a .414 on-base percentage.
• OF is 4-for-6 with a walk in his last two starts after going 2-for-26 between June 10 and July 8. His solo homer in the third inning Saturday night was the Padres' first hit off Bumgarner.
• RHP allowed three runs on six hits in six innings against the Giants Saturday night. It was his seventh quality start in his last nine outings and his team-leading 11th on the season. In 10 starts at Petco Park this season, Chacin is 5-2 with a 1.94 home earned run average -- still the best home ERA mark in the National League.