You can say what you want about Tuesday’s loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks by the Padres, but you can’t say it was a boring game. It went ten innings, and the Snakes finally got over 10-9, but the Padres fought hard enough to push it to that limit.
Former Diamondbacks pitcher Ian Kennedy was staked to an early three-run lead in the first inning by the Padres, but that lead quickly disappeared. In the bottom of the second, Gerardo Parra smacked a home run that tied the score.
And it got worse after that, when the Diamondbacks came up with three more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to run Kennedy out, and then another in the sixth for good measure. And Chase Headley left the game due to back spasms, and it looked fairly hopeless for the Padres down 7-3 at that point, but that’s when the real entertainment began.
The innings that followed the bottom of the sixth saw a lot of bizarre and exciting things happen. It could all try and be explained, but as Inigo Montoya once said in Princess Bride, “There is no time to explain. Let me sum up.”
Five players played third base for the Padres. Five. Without looking it up, it’s a safe bet that this is a franchise record for one game. Outfielders switched positions. It was difficult to tell at times whether one was watching a ball game or an intricate circus act where keeping track of trapeze artists becomes impossible.
In the top of the eighth inning, those scrappy Padres came back to tie the score. In the bottom of the eighth, the Diamondbacks scored two more on a double by Martin Prado.
Meanwhile, after Headley sat out, Jedd Gyorko, Alexi Amarista, Logan Forsythe, and Jesus Guzman all took turns at third base. After the Padres tied the score in the top of the ninth inning, Gyorko and Guzman switched positions between second and third base depending on the Diamondbacks hitter.
Gyorko’s line read 2B-3B-2B-3B-2B-3B-2B while Guzman’s read similarly. Will Venable and Chris Denorfia each played all three outfield positions. Those keeping score at home would have needed a good bottle of bourbon to get through this, not to mention lots of ink and extra pages in the scorebook.
Ultimately, in a 9-9 tie, it went to extra innings and Dale Thayer took the bump for the Padres. With one out, the Diamondbacks found themselves with runners on second and third. Then there were more shenanigans.
Manager Buddy Black called in Mark Kotsay from left field to play first base, and the Padres had a five-man infield. It didn’t matter. Aaron Hill singled to left, and the game was over. If you would have had to have taken a shot of tequila every time a Padres player changed positions on the field, then you wouldn’t have noticed who actually won the game, you would have passed out before then.
Which might not have been a bad idea from the first inning on.
Notes:
Robbie Erlin (1-2, 7.15) gets the start tonight for the Padres, while the Diamondbacks will call on Wade Miley (9-8, 3.60). On paper this looks like a mismatch, but Erlin is better than his line and talks with Buddy Black revealed that Buddy was somewhat high on Erlin being close to a regular spot in the rotation. Game time is 6:40 PM PDST, and you can pick it up on radio 1090 AM or watch on Fox Sports San Diego. If it’s anything like last night’s entertainment, start your drinking early.
You can say what you want about Tuesday’s loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks by the Padres, but you can’t say it was a boring game. It went ten innings, and the Snakes finally got over 10-9, but the Padres fought hard enough to push it to that limit.
Former Diamondbacks pitcher Ian Kennedy was staked to an early three-run lead in the first inning by the Padres, but that lead quickly disappeared. In the bottom of the second, Gerardo Parra smacked a home run that tied the score.
And it got worse after that, when the Diamondbacks came up with three more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to run Kennedy out, and then another in the sixth for good measure. And Chase Headley left the game due to back spasms, and it looked fairly hopeless for the Padres down 7-3 at that point, but that’s when the real entertainment began.
The innings that followed the bottom of the sixth saw a lot of bizarre and exciting things happen. It could all try and be explained, but as Inigo Montoya once said in Princess Bride, “There is no time to explain. Let me sum up.”
Five players played third base for the Padres. Five. Without looking it up, it’s a safe bet that this is a franchise record for one game. Outfielders switched positions. It was difficult to tell at times whether one was watching a ball game or an intricate circus act where keeping track of trapeze artists becomes impossible.
In the top of the eighth inning, those scrappy Padres came back to tie the score. In the bottom of the eighth, the Diamondbacks scored two more on a double by Martin Prado.
Meanwhile, after Headley sat out, Jedd Gyorko, Alexi Amarista, Logan Forsythe, and Jesus Guzman all took turns at third base. After the Padres tied the score in the top of the ninth inning, Gyorko and Guzman switched positions between second and third base depending on the Diamondbacks hitter.
Gyorko’s line read 2B-3B-2B-3B-2B-3B-2B while Guzman’s read similarly. Will Venable and Chris Denorfia each played all three outfield positions. Those keeping score at home would have needed a good bottle of bourbon to get through this, not to mention lots of ink and extra pages in the scorebook.
Ultimately, in a 9-9 tie, it went to extra innings and Dale Thayer took the bump for the Padres. With one out, the Diamondbacks found themselves with runners on second and third. Then there were more shenanigans.
Manager Buddy Black called in Mark Kotsay from left field to play first base, and the Padres had a five-man infield. It didn’t matter. Aaron Hill singled to left, and the game was over. If you would have had to have taken a shot of tequila every time a Padres player changed positions on the field, then you wouldn’t have noticed who actually won the game, you would have passed out before then.
Which might not have been a bad idea from the first inning on.
Notes:
Robbie Erlin (1-2, 7.15) gets the start tonight for the Padres, while the Diamondbacks will call on Wade Miley (9-8, 3.60). On paper this looks like a mismatch, but Erlin is better than his line and talks with Buddy Black revealed that Buddy was somewhat high on Erlin being close to a regular spot in the rotation. Game time is 6:40 PM PDST, and you can pick it up on radio 1090 AM or watch on Fox Sports San Diego. If it’s anything like last night’s entertainment, start your drinking early.