Supporting another amazing Cashner start, the Padres close up the game with a go-ahead in the ninth.
Continuing the hot streak having just seared the Marlins 3 games out of 4; San Diego sends home a W in the form of an old-fashioned Padres' one-run ballgame. This was their first series against the Cincinnati Reds this season, and they thoroughly handled the competition with classic Padres pitching with some small-ball and long-ball sprinkled in.
The bottom of the 1st started a bit ugly; with a leadoff triple from Billy Hamilton, followed up by a sharp single from Brandon Phillips; the Reds were on the board early. Shortly after, Joey Votto smashes one off the right field wall. This sent Phillips over to third, but as far as conceding a hard-hit double? Well, Seth Smith wasn't having none of that.
Smith fields the carom off the wall perfectly and drills a high strike into second.
After that short offensive parade from the team named after a color, the home team didn't do much of anything else for the remainder of the game. A few innings of harassing us with baserunners here and there, Cashner handled the #FF0000's amazingly for 7 solid innings. Ca$h threw 7H, 1ER, 1BB, 6SO for the afternoon, and snuck out of a tense bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the 6th with a nimble play followed by some clutch pitching.
Ca$h Rules Everything Around Me, makes a heads-up force out at home for out #2.
Back in the 4th, Jedd Gyorko plated our Seth Smith with a sac fly after Smith smacked a double to former-Padre and man-with-a-very-tall-shaped-head Ryan Ludwick. Tying it up early kept the game close and made it appear, by the lack of runs, that we would be going into another extra-innings escapade to start our road trip. But instead of hitting a go-ahead late into the 12th; Chase Headley decided he was going to get to bed at a reasonable hour and serve a 2-out, 99mph fastball from Aroldis Chapman deep into the left field bleachers.
Headley shows that with great power comes great earned runs to blow the game.
That did it for the night, as Houston Street slipped in and took care of the remainder of the Reds, skipping Skip Schumaker and recording his 12th save out of 12 opportunities. Carlos Quentin was back in the lineup today, walking in his first at bat for the 2014 season with the Padres. He wrapped up the night grounding out and striking out, but it was good to see the former Chula Vista linebacker take up the batters box with his mass and flowing Hispanic hair again.
So the Padres start off the road trip on a good note. We're now still 6 games back but only two away from .500. We'll see Ian Kennedy on the mound, and hopefully the Reds are prepared for more low-scoring games. A win is a win, but I'm definitely spoiled on 5+ run performances, so let's hope to see those bats tear up the Great American ballpark.