Padres thwart Giants’ streak at five games with walk-off victory; A’s lose
On the day they essentially conceded a win was meaningless at this point, the Padres won.
They did to the Giants what the Giants (and others) had done to them so often, scoring four runs in the first inning. Then the Padres did what they had not done in more than a month, coming back in the latter part of a game to win.
In the end, it was a walk-off infield single by Victor Caratini in the 10th inning that gave the Padres a 7-6 victory in front of a slightly orange-leaning crowd of 31,049 on Thursday afternoon at Petco Park.
This development could not rightly be considered better late than never, given the Padres’ recent ineptness almost certainly cost them a playoff spot. But the victory did end a losing skid at five games and allow the Padres to be, if only officially, be counted among postseason contenders until at least Saturday.
The St. Louis Cardinals (83
69) won their 12th consecutive game earlier Thursday and remained six games ahead of the Padres (77-75) in the race for the National League’s second wild-card spot with 10 games remaining.
Adam Frazier led off the bottom of the first inning with a soft double grounded just inside first base. One-out walks drawn by Fernando Tatis Jr. and Eric Hosmer loaded the bases before Giants starter, and Rocklin native, Logan Webb grazed Jurickson Profar’s lower leg with a pitch to bring in a run. Trent Grisham’s fly ball to left field scored Tatis, and singles by Haseong Kim and Caratini made it 4-0.
It was the first time since Aug. 1 the Padres had scored more than two runs in the first inning of a game.
It had been done three times to them. Another three times, their opponent scored three runs in the first inning.
Webb threw 45 pitches in the inning but allowed only one hit over the next three innings before being lifted for a pinchhitter in the fifth.
The Giants got two runs back on Mike Yastrzemski’s homer in the second inning. It was the 28th home run yielded by Yu Darvish, tying him for third most in the National League.
That was all Darvish allowed until the sixth, when he walked leadoff hitter Tommy La Stella and Brandon Belt followed with a single. After Darvish struck out Kris Bryant, left-hander Tim Hill was brought in with left-handed hitting Lamonte Wade Jr. due up. Austin Slater, who bats from the right side, pinch-hit for Wade and gave the Giants a 5-4 lead with a home run down the left field line.
Grisham’s first home run since Sept. 1 — a drought of 57 at-bats — tied the game 5-5 with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. Two pitches later, Kim’s first homer since Aug. 1— a dry spell lasting 41 at-bats — gave the Padres a 6-5 lead.
River Valley. The game will be played at RV for the second time this year following last spring’s showdown during the COVID-19 five-game modified season.
YC (2-2) won earlier this year,
40-6 over the Falcons, extending its winning streak to five. The last RV victory came on Oct. 23, 2015, when the Falcons (0-3) edged out the Honkers, 31-29.
YC leads the series (since 2006), 13-2.
To purchase tickets, visit https://bit. ly/39uejca and click on a link for “online tickets” to choose the game you want to attend.
On gameday, River Valley will set up a line for traditional ticket sales and a separate one for validating online tickets.
Colusa (4-0) vs. Pierce (2-2)
The Redhawks, off to their best start in over a decade, look to stay unbeaten today (Friday) against county rival Pierce in Colusa.
Colusa comes in 4-0, with three wins by double-digit spreads. Pierce, beaten last week at Fall River, 14-0, has a pair of wins on its resume ove Clear Lake and Williams.
Varsity kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
East Nicolaus (0-2) vs. Live Oak (1-1)
The Sacramento Valley League schedule begins for both squads at 7:30 p.m. tonight (Friday) in Live Oak. East Nicolaus is still searching for its first win this fall. The Spartans last started 0-2 back in 2014 under former head coach Travis Barker.
Live Oak, meanwhile, last played Sept. 10 when it fell at home to Marysville, 49-6.
The Lions have dropped their last four battles with East Nicolaus – with
their last victory coming in 2013.
Sutter (2-1) vs. West Valley (0-3)
The last time Huskies locked helmets with West Valley was in the 2018 Northern Section Division III final when the Eagles shutout Sutter, 7-0, in Cottonwood.
The teams renew their rivalry to kick off Butte View League play tonight (Friday) at Wayne Gadberry Field in Sutter. Varsity is set to begin at 7:15 p.m.
For Sutter, it is coming off its first loss – 21-0 at Foothill (Palo Cedro) last week.
The offensive found little breathing room all night as quarterback Trevor Eck threw for 109 yards on 10-of13 passing and an interception. He ended up rushing for negative seven yards on two attempts. Sutter’s leading rusher was receiver Caden Simmons with 36 yards.
Wheatland (0-4) at Corning (0-3)
Head coach Andy Fatten is still looking for his first victory when Wheatland makes the trip to Tehama County to take on Corning tonight (Friday) to begin league play.
The Pirates are coming off a 51-0 loss at Colfax last week.
Varsity kickoff is set for 7 p.m.