Phoenix Sports Today

Phoenix Sports News Continuously Updated

Padres score 5 runs in 9th inning, Diamondbacks’ postseason hopes take hit

by

PHOENIX — The San Diego Padres blasted two home runs off Arizona Diamondbacks ace reliever A.J. Puk in a five-run ninth inning to earn a 5-0 win in Saturday’s penultimate game of the regular season.

Kyle Higashioka and Brandon Lockridge ended the scoreless draw with back-to-back jacks off Puk in a meaningless game for the Padres’ postseason outlook. Donovan Solano tacked on with a two-run shot off Scott McGough.

The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, did not record a single hit until the sixth inning and finished the game with only two.

The D-backs have dropped five of their last six games dating back to the 8-0 collapse against the Milwaukee Brewers last Sunday. Arizona’s postseason chances are not zero, but they are in a dire spot.

RELATED STORIES

“Offensively, I think we’re all trying to do a little bit too much,” manager Torey Lovullo said.

“My message would be, if I were speaking to the players right now as I’m speaking to you, is just go out there, control the zone, control the at-bat by controlling the zone. Don’t try and do too much. Don’t be the hero. Hand it off to your brother. Understand that it is a process … We are damn good offensive team, and I know their pitcher had it going on today, but I felt like we were trying to roll it up all into a ball and make it happen right now.”

The D-backs lead MLB in runs scored but have been shut out twice in their last four games.

San Diego rookie starter Randy Vasquez no-hit the Diamondbacks through five innings until Corbin Carroll doubled to lead off the sixth.

Through five frames, Vasquez walked a batter and plunked two, but only one runner reached scoring position. Ketel Marte was one of those hit by a pitch, and he stayed down after taking a curveball to the lower left leg, the same leg he has dealt with ankle issues. Marte bounced up and remained in the game.

In the sixth, Carroll and Joc Pederson executed a double steal to put runners on second and third with two outs, but Vasquez struck out Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to end the threat.

The young starter left the game after six shutout innings.

“Just throwing multiple pitches, didn’t leave stuff in the middle, he got the better of us today,” Pederson said.

The Padres’ bullpen picked right up where Vasquez left off, as a Christian Walker single to lead off the ninth inning was the only Arizona hit in three frames.

Geraldo Perdomo led off the eighth with a walk ahead of the top of the order. Carroll popped up, Marte grounded into a fielder’s choice and pinch hitter Randal Grichuk smacked a line drive snagged on a dive by Padres third baseman Manny Machado.

“Everybody wants to be the guy that puts us in a good situation and opens it up,” Walker said. “But it doesn’t feel like anybody’s putting too much pressure on themselves. That’s a really good team. They’ve been playing really well lately. Definitely want to be accountable. I missed some opportunities to drive pitches and drive in runs tonight, but in the same sense, we’re out there preparing the right way and it just didn’t go our way tonight.”

Eduardo Rodriguez does his job for Diamondbacks

On the other side, D-backs left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez excelled through four shutout innings. He ran into some trouble with two outs in the fifth, and Lovullo brought the early hook while managing Saturday like an elimination game.

Rodriguez said Saturday was one of his best days in terms of feel and stuff, and Lovullo knew he did not want to exit at only 62 pitches.

“I don’t want to come out of the game, but he makes the decision and I respect it,” Rodriguez said. “In the moment it is just frustrating, maybe because I want to keep going, but I respect it and I understand.”

Kevin Ginkel stranded two runners, and Rodriguez finished with 4.2 shutout frames in his final start of the regular season.

A.J. Puk’s perfection ends

Joe Mantiply, Ryan Thompson and Justin Martinez kept the Padres off the board until Puk entered with one out in the ninth inning to face former Diamondback David Peralta, who singled.

Puk owned a 25-game scoreless streak, one shy of tying the franchise record, coming into Saturday. The lefty nearly went two months without an earned run, last giving one up on Aug. 2.

He missed over the middle with two sliders to Higashioka and Lockridge, the latter of whom belted his first MLB home run. Puk said fatigue had nothing to do with it.

“It’s baseball. Things happen like that, and I’m looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow and trying to get that win so we can get into the playoffs,” Puk said.

Braves and Mets check-in

The Atlanta Braves (88-71) walked off the Kansas City Royals 2-1 on Saturday, while the New York Mets (87-72) were blown out by the Brewers 6-0.

These results came down as the Diamondbacks (88-73) and Padres were entering the later innings.

The Wild Card implications of the Mets losing were that the Diamondbacks could clinch a spot with two wins to end the season. They received the help they needed to once again be in position where what happens with the other teams going forward no longer mattered as long as they took care of business on Saturday.

The three teams entered Saturday in a virtual tie for the final two Wild Card spots, but the D-backs were behind by percentage points without either tiebreaker.

With the loss, the D-backs will once again need help from other teams to push them into the postseason.

“We’re going to need a lot of help, and I don’t love relying on other people, but the one thing we can control is the San Diego Padres at 12:10 tomorrow,” Lovullo said.

Updated Diamondbacks clinching scenarios

The Diamondbacks can still clinch on Sunday if they finish the regular season with a win, a Mets loss and a Braves loss.

Why? Well, the D-backs would finish with 89 wins, while the Mets enter the doubleheader with 87 and the Braves with 88. The Mets and Braves would not both be able to finish with 89.

Arizona can also clinch a spot with a win and if the Mets drop two of their last three games or the Braves lose out.

If the D-backs lose on Sunday, they could only clinch if the Mets lose their final three games.

FanGraphs dropped the D-backs’ playoff odds to 24.3%.

“We’ve played 161 games this year, I mean, it’s not the first down stretch that we’ve had this year,” Walker said. “We show up and prepare the same way, we do things right here, we have a good leadership group. We prepare the right way. Guys work hard. We’re good at flushing and turning the page, moving on and that’s what we plan to do.”

Diamondbacks’ season finale

The D-backs end the regular season Sunday with first pitch at 12:10 p.m.

If Monday’s doubleheader matters to the Diamondbacks’ postseason aspirations, the team will convene at Chase Field for a workout and to watch its fate on TV.

The game will air on ESPN 620 AM and the Arizona Sports app.