Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Game of the Day (4/22/14)

Padres 2, Brewers 1 (12). Ian Kennedy for San Diego, Yovani Gallardo for Milwaukee.

As you can probably surmise from the final score, both starters were quite effective. They took rather different routes to their similar results, however.

Gallardo was perfect through two innings; he allowed a Chris Denorfia double in the third and a pair of walks (to Seth Smith and Chase Headley) in the fourth, but kept the Padres off the scoreboard until the fifth, when a Yonder Alonso double, a Denorfia single, and a Kennedy squeeze bunt pushed in the game's first run. Gallardo then allowed singles to Smith and Headley in the sixth before a double play ended that inning, and worked a 1-2-3 seventh in his final frame.

Kennedy was considerably less dominant in the early going; he walked Ryan Braun in the first, and got into serious trouble in the second when Jonathan Lucroy singled and Khris Davis doubled, putting runners at second and third with nobody out. Milwaukee's 7-8-9 hitters bailed Kennedy out by failing to hit a ball into fair territory (two strikeouts and a foul to the catcher), but the trouble resumed in the third when Carlos Gomez led off with a single and moved to third on a steal-and-error. Braun flied to short right, and after a pair of walks loaded the bases, Davis struck out to end the inning. Kennedy settled down after that, only allowing one of the last ten Brewers he faced to reach base - but that one was Scooter Gennett, who reached on a game-tying solo homer in the bottom of the fifth.

The bullpens took over starting in the bottom of the seventh, and pitched just as well as the starters. The procession of relievers began with Nick Vincent, who allowed a single and steal to Lyle Overbay, but nothing else. Zach Duke was perfect in the top of the eighth, while Joaquin Benoit permitted only a Lucroy single in the bottom. Jim Henderson managed a spotless ninth, and Dale Thayer saw Jean Segura reach on an error and steal second before leaving him there.

With extra innings came multi-inning relievers. Milwaukee's Alfredo Figaro allowed a Denorfia single-and-steal in the tenth, and San Diego's Donn Roach permitted the same to Gennett in the bottom of the inning, then intentionally walked Lucroy before Davis flied out to prolong the contest. Both pitchers were perfect in the eleventh, and Figaro retired three of the four hitters he faced in the twelfth as well - but the one hitter who reached was Headley, who led off the inning with a homer. Huston Street finished the game with a 1-2-3 twelfth.

25 strikeouts, six walks, two homers, eight relievers used, and one lonesome run scored without the assistance a round-tripper. That's 2014 baseball in a nutshell. At least this was a good version of it.

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