Ian Kennedy had a decent start, but for a while there it looked like it would all be for naught. But little Alexi Amarista came up big in the sixth inning to guarantee the Padres a series split against the Phillies.
Cory Spangenberg got the game started nicely with a leadoff triple. Will Venable brought him home immediately with a single to right. An error on a pickoff attempt sent Will all the way to third, allowing him to score easily on a ground out by Yasmani Grandal. Domonic Brown got one of those runs back for the Phils in the top of the second by taking Kennedy deep to right field.
IPK settled down after that and held his lead into the top of the fifth. Unfortunately, a walk to Cameron Rupp set up Freddy Galvis for a go ahead homer. With the Padres recent offensive woes, it seemed like that might secure the loss for Kennedy. Alexi Amarista had other plans, though. After Jake Goebbert drew a two out walk, the little ninja caught a mistake from A.J. Burnett. With a little help from the hot and humid air, the ball carried just far enough to land on the Jack Deck and put the Friars on top. Rymer Liriano and Tommy Medica kept the rally going with a pair of back to back singles. Jedd Gyorko added one more single to the chain, bringing Liriano home for a little insurance.
Nick Vincent and Frank Garces combined for a pair of shutout innings, bringing Kevin Quackenbush in to try for his fourth save of the season. Quack retired Cesar Hernandez on a grounder to third, but Galvis battled back from a 1-2 count bring the tying run to the plate with one out. Undaunted, Quackenbush struck out Ben Revere on three pitches. With two outs in hand, the closer ignored Galvis as he took second base. The defensive indifference stung a bit when he came around on Darin Ruf's RBI single, but Cody Asche popped out to Yangervis Solarte in foul territory to wrap up a solid win on a stormy night.
Eric Stults will go for the series win tomorrow when he takes on Dodger-lover Cole Hamels at 7:10 PM.
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| Commenter list | B Cres, Darklighter, EvilSammy, Friar Fever, Jonathan Holmes, Sam (sdsuaztec4), abara, daveysapien, hashtagtroll, mrbarneydangles, turbopan |
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