Padres Lose Third Straight, Drop Opener 5-4 To Giants

The San Diego Padres (7-13) suffered a 5-4 loss to the San Francisco Giants (10-11) at AT&T Park in San Francisco on Monday, their third straight defeat.

Padres Lose Third Straight, Drop Opener 5-4 To Giants

The Padres rallied late, which made the game a nail-biter. A deep fly ball from Matt Kemp in the third inning hurtled toward the centerfield wall, and was intercepted with a well-timed hop by Giants center-fielder Denard Span. Kemp narrowly missed a three-run homer, which would have more than covered the difference between the two teams.

“That’s the way baseball is. It’s a game of inches at times,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “If that ball travels three more feet, it’s three more runs on the board for us, it’s a completely different complexion to the ballgame.”

In the bottom of the second, Padres left-hander Drew Pomeranz issued a leadoff walk to Brandon Belt, and Padres catcher Derek Norris compounded the problem. Pomeranz struck out both subsequent batters, but a passed ball and a wild pitch put Belt at third. He then scored on Angel Pagan’s two-out single to give the Giants a 1-0 lead.

After a sacrifice bunt from Pomeranz in the third, Padres center-fielder Jon Jay tied the game with a single through the left side. However, Giants right-fielder Hunter Pence saw a 3-1 fastball speeding toward the bottom of the zone and went down to get it. Immediately afterwards, a solo home run touched down beyond the left-field wall, thus putting San Francisco up 2-1.

With Pence up to bat in the bottom of the fifth, right-handed rookie Luis Perdomo replaced Pomeranz. The Giants then quickly gained a 4-1 lead thanks to runs from Joe Panik and Pence.

Norris now has three passed balls on his ledger, more than any other catcher in the majors. The Padres have already seen their pitching staff endure multiple injuries.

“Obviously, we don’t want those things to happen,” Green said. “I don’t think anybody takes it more seriously than the catchers. I don’t think anybody fights harder to keep the ball in front of them than Derek Norris. He takes a lot of pride in it, does a very good job. It was an inopportune time today, but he’s out there giving everything he can.”

Left-handed ace Buster Posey, on the other hand, allowed two runs and had nine strikeouts. Pomeranz, meanwhile, permitted four runs, three earned, over 4 1/3 innings.

In the bottom of the seventh, Padres reliever Carlos Villanueva stepped in.

Kemp stroked his second leadoff double of the game in the eighth, and Melvin Upton Jr. followed with a single. Norris tied the game 4-4 with a single of his own.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Padres managed to catch a break after a sliding catch by Kemp was upheld by official review. Television replays showed the ball may have hit the turf before it was corralled.

Giants closer Santiago Casilla then allowed Kemp’s two-out single in the ninth before freezing Upton with strike three.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – APRIL 25: Hunter Pence #8 of the San Francisco Giants hits a sacrifice fly scoring Joe Panik #12 against the San Diego Padres in the bottom of the fifth inning at AT&T Park on April 25, 2016 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)