Eric Hosmer’s first single barely stayed fair and never made it past third base. His second was a little crisper and gave the Padres a little
cushion in the ninth inning.
It also assured Clayton Richard’s career-best winning streak stayed intact.
Hosmer reached base three times
Saquon Barkley Giants Jersey , Richard pitched three-hit ball over six innings for his fourth consecutive win and San Diego beat the San Francisco
Giants 6-2 on Friday night.
The Padres were clinging to a 3-2 lead in the ninth before scoring three times. Hosmer’s two-run single to left off Will Smith was the pivotal blow and
came after the Giants intentionally walked Wil Myers.
”I don’t think he likes having the guy in front of him intentionally walked,” Padres manager Andy Green said. ”He’s got way too much pride for that to happen.
It was a great at-bat. We needed those two insurance runs.”
Hosmer’s hit in the ninth was in stark contrast to his infield single in the third off starter Chris Stratton. The ball bounced near the plate then rolled
slowly down the line as third baseman Pablo Sandoval stood and watched, hoping
it would go foul. It didn’t.
”I didn’t even know it had a chance of staying fair, honestly, so it was kind of a surprise for me,” Hosmer said. ”I’ll take the free knocks. I need them,
that’s for sure.”
Manuel Margot had two hits and two RBIs as the Padres snapped a five-game skid. Travis Jankowski and Cory Spangenberg added two hits apiece.
Richard (7-6) was dominant in his third start against the Giants this season. He retired 17 straight during one stretch, allowed only two runners past second
base and struck out four. The four consecutive wins mark a career high for the
left-hander.
”We’ve struggled the last five days so it’s good to get back on the right track,” Richard said. ”That’s always a good thing
Mike Hughes Vikings Jersey , and to do it against the Giants here, it’s a good win.”
San Diego’s bullpen made Richard’s performance hold up, but it was dicey at times.
Green used three relievers to get out of the seventh. Kirby Yates allowed a leadoff single in the eighth before setting down the next three. Brad Hand
retired all three batters he faced in the ninth.
Gorkys Hernandez doubled twice off Richard.
”We just couldn’t do much offensively,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. ”We hit a lot of ground balls off of Richard. That’s what he induces with that
sinker and we just couldn’t get much going offensively.”
San Diego scored the go-ahead run in the sixth on a throwing error by catcher Nick Hundley.
Spangenberg slid into first base with an infield single after initially being called out. After Freddy Galvis singled Spangenberg to third, Hundley blocked a
wild pitch by starting pitcher Chris Stratton but threw the ball into center
field, allowing Spangenberg to score.
”We had him,” Bochy said. ”Nick recovered well. He just yanked the throw a little bit to the left.”
Margot followed with an RBI single.
Sandoval’s two-out single in the seventh off Craig Stammen trimmed San Diego’s lead to 3-2.
TOO SLOW
Stratton (8-5) allowed three runs and nine hits in six innings but was more upset at himself for not getting to first base on Spangenberg’s infield single
in the sixth. Giants first baseman Buster Posey made a diving stop but Stratton
was late to the bag.
”My thought was that it probably was going to go foul there, but Buster made a heck of a play there and you can’t be late,” Stratton said.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Padres: C Austin Hedges (elbow tendinitis) continues to make progress in his rehab start with Triple-A El Paso and could rejoin the team soon. The Chihuahuas
are playing a series against San Francisco’s affiliate in Sacramento
Derrius Guice Jersey , about 80 minutes north AT&T Park.
Giants: The team is undecided what the next step will be for Jeff Samardzija after the right-hander gave up four runs in four innings with Triple-A
Sacramento on Thursday. Manager Bruce Bochy said it’s possible Samardzija will
make at least one more rehab start before rejoining the big league club.
UP NEXT
RHP Jordan Lyles (2-4, 4.46 ERA) pitches for San Diego on Saturday in the third game of the series. It will be Lyles’ ninth start, his most since 2015.
LHP Andrew Suarez (2-4, 4.70) goes for San Francisco.
—
??Quarterback Matt Ryan has another shot at a happy homecoming.A berth in the NFC championship game is at stake when Ryan leads the Atlanta Falcons (11-6)
against the Philadelphia Eagles (13-3) in a divisional playoff Saturday. Ryan,
who grew up rooting for the Eagles and went to Philadelphia’s William Penn
Charter School, is 1-3 at the Linc.“I’m used to it now,” Ryan said about
returning home. “Playing as long as I have, I understand regardless of where we
play you have to be at your best every week. The one nice part is there will be
a lot of familiar faces, friendly faces after the game
Calvin Ridley Youth Jersey , which is always nice.”Ryan had his worst game of his MVP season last year in Atlanta’s 24-15 loss in Philly on Nov. 13, 2016. He was
18 of 33 for 267 yards with one touchdown and one interception.“Obviously, there
will be some scheme from that game that we’ll take, what went well and what
didn’t go well and try to improve on that,” Ryan said. “We’re a different team
than we were last year when we played them and they’re a different team. It will
be some carry over, but it will be a little bit different.”Here’s some things to
watch for when the teams meet in the playoffs for the first time since
Philadelphia’s win over Michael Vick’s Falcons in the 2005 NFC championship
game:NICK’S UP: Nick Foles makes his fourth start since replacing Carson Wentz
after the MVP candidate tore his ACL in Week 14. Foles played well in his first
five quarters and struggled in the next five. He’s certainly a drop-off from
Wentz, but he’s also capable of spectacular performances. Foles once tossed
seven TDs in a game in 2013. He had four TDs in his first start in Week
15.“There’s enough substance behind his career that merits having confidence,”
Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich said.‘NORTHEAST’ NOISE: There’s crowd
noise, and then there’s the noise generated by Philadelphia fans known for their
intensity.Falcons coach Dan Quinn seemed to search for a polite term to compare
Eagles fans with the fans the team heard in last week’s wild-card win at the Los
Angeles Rams.“I’m not going to say more passionate
Will Hernandez Jersey , but I would say more Northeast,” Quinn said with a smile.The Falcons have pumped in artificial noise in practice this week but
will lean heavily on Ryan and center Alex Mack to use their experience with
silent counts and hand signals.“That’s huge,” said tight end Levine Toilolo.
“That’s where it all starts, coming off the ball, the cadence and stuff like
that. We definitely work on that every week. Their fans, we’re expecting a loud
crowd in a big playoff game.”Mack said he expects Philadelphia’s fans “to be
really dedicated, really loud, really involved. So it’s going to be a challenge
just in terms of crowd noise.”COMFORT ZONE: After leading the league in scoring
in 2016, the Falcons finished the regular season 15th with first-year offensive
coordinator Steve Sarkisian.Atlanta averaged 22.1 points per game
Cheap Sam Darnold Jersey , down from 33.8 last season.Ryan says he has become more comfortable with Sarkisian, especially the last two weeks in wins over Carolina
and the Rams.“I think Sark has done a great job of finding who we are week to
week, specifically the last two weeks I think he’s done a great job,” Ryan
said.STOPPING JULIO: The Eagles had some success against Julio Jones in their
win last year, keeping him out of the end zone but allowing 10 catches for 135
yards. Jalen Mills held him to four catches for 48 yards when he was matched up
against Jones. The second-year pro is confident he can contain Jones again.
Ronald Darby will have to cover Jones when he’s on his side.“You have to think
the ball is coming to him each and every play,” Mills said. “Whether they’re
having a run or a pass play, you’ve just got to think the ball is coming to
him.”MULTIPLE BACKS: Both teams have options in the backfield. The Falcons are
led by Devonta Freeman, who had 865 yards rushing and seven TDs. Tevin Coleman
had 628 yards rushing and five TDs. LeGarrette Blount led the Eagles with 766
yards rushing and scored two TDs. Jay Ajayi had 873 yards rushing and one TD
combined with the Dolphins and Eagles. He ran for 130 yards against Atlanta in
Miami’s win on Oct. 15.AP Sports Writer Charles Odum contributed to this
report.AP NFL website: .
