Grisham’s 10th-Inning HR Gives Padres 4-2 Win Over Pirates
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SAN DIEGO -- Trent Grisham stood at the plate for a moment watching his fly ball sail into the right field corner of Petco Park, not knowing if it would come down fair or foul.
It clanged off the foul pole for a two-run walkoff home run to lead off the 10th inning, sending the San Diego Padres to a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates and a sellout crowd into a frenzy on Sunday.
The Padres needed something to go their way after Saturday night's brutal 4-2 loss when they stranded 16 baserunners, including leaving the bases loaded three times.
And on Sunday, they got two pivotal plays in the 10th, with Grisham's being the biggest.
He drove a 2-0 pitch from Chris Stratton (2-2) for his second career walkoff homer, which brought in automatic runner Jorge Alfaro.
"I just figured it was foul the way it was hooking," Grisham said. "The majority of the time those balls going down into the corner are foul so I was just sitting there waiting."
Grisham came into the game hitting just .161 with only one homer, one of the many Padres who are struggling at the plate. Grisham intended to bunt until the count went in his favor.
"It feels good but I want to do more of it, is about it," Grisham said.
"He has the ability to do that," Padres manager Bob Melvin said. "Hopefully this is a springboard for him. I'd love to get him up in the lineup doing what he normally does. That does a lot for your confidence when you're in a big situation like that. Typically a bunt situation for him; he swings away and hits a homer."
Alfaro, the catcher, made a huge play to end the top of the 10th. Pirates automatic runner Hoy Park, called up earlier in the day from Triple-A, broke for home on a wild pitch by Luis García (4-2) to the backstop, but Alfaro played the carom perfectly and dove to tag out Park.
"The only thing that I can remember is just catch the ball, look at the runner, I have time, try to block home plate," Alfaro said. "I was trying to slide headfirst and block home plate. I wasn't thinking that much, just trying to make the out."
Said Garcia: "That was the best play of the day. That saved the day."
Padres rookie lefty MacKenzie Gore was impressive in pitching seven scoreless innings before the Pirates broke through against Nabil Crismatt to tie it at 2-2 in the eighth.
Crismatt's 11-inning scoreless streak ended when Ke'Bryan Hayes doubled to left with one out to bring in former Padres player Tucupita Marcano, who was aboard on a leadoff single. Josh VanMeter singled in Hayes with two outs.
Hayes hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning of Saturday night's 4-2 win, when the Padres stranded 16 baserunners. It looked like it might be that kind of game again when the Padres loaded the bases with two outs against starter Roansy Contreras in the second before rookie Jose Azocar hit into a forceout.
San Diego's Jurickson Profar lined a two-run homer off Contreras to right field with two outs in the fifth, his sixth HR. It brought in Alfaro, who hit a leadoff single and advanced on a wild pitch and a groundout.
Azocar popped up a bunt to the catcher before Profar homered. Jurickson stopped before rounding first and looked at the Padres' dugout, and then raised both arms as he approached the plate.
Gore held the Pirates to two singles in seven scoreless innings -- his longest outing -- while striking out nine and walking three. He allowed only three baserunners to get into scoring position.
"He's pitching with a lot of confidence," Melvin said. "Early in the year it was five (innings), got him to six the last time, got him to seven this time, and told him after the seventh that you'll see some nines at some point in time if you pitch economical like this. It was just a little bit to push him to ask for the eighth.
"I don't know that there's a better rookie pitcher in baseball right now."
Gore said the goal "is just try to get a little better each outing. It was nice to be able to go seven today and be pretty efficient. Just keep building off of this."
Contreras allowed two runs and five hits in five innings, struck out three and walked one.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Pirates: Placed OF Ben Gamel on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring.
Padres: Slugger Manny Machado, who leads the NL with a .357 average, missed his second straight game with tennis elbow. Melvin said Machado will be back in the lineup on Monday.
UP NEXT
Pirates: RHP Zach Thompson (2-4, 5.50 ERA) is scheduled to start Monday night in the opener of a three-game series at the Los Angeles Dodgers, who will counter with RHP Walker Buehler (6-1, 2.91).
Padres: RHP Nick Martinez (2-2, 3.86) is scheduled to start Monday in the opener of a three-game series at St. Louis. The Cardinals will put LHP Packy Naughton (0-1, 2.89) on the mound.
Saturday
PIRATES 4, PADRES 2
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Ke'Bryan Hayes hit a three-run homer off major league saves leader Taylor Rogers with one out in the ninth inning, leading Pittsburgh past San Diego for the Pirates' first win in 25 chances when trailing after eight innings.
It was the first time the Padres lost in Joe Musgrove's nine starts this season. Musgrove pitched six strong innings, holding his former team to one run and six hits while striking out seven and walking two.
Summoned to protect a 2-1 lead, Rogers (0-1) allowed Michael Perez's double and walked Tucupita Marcano. After a strikeout, Rogers served up Hayes' homer to center field, his first of the season.
Anthony Banda (1-0) pitched one inning for the win and David Bednar worked a perfect ninth for his ninth save.
GUARDIANS 8, TIGERS 1
DETROIT (AP) -- Jose Ramirez homered and drove in five runs, leading Shane Bieber and the Guardians to the win.
Ramirez hit a three-run triple in the seventh inning and a two-run shot in the ninth for his 12th homer. The three-time All-Star is batting .297 with a major league-best 48 RBIs in 42 games.
Bieber (2-3) allowed one run and eight hits in a season-high eight innings. The 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner struck out five and walked none.
Josh Naylor added two hits and two RBIs for Cleveland, which had dropped three in a row.
Detroit wasted another effective start for Alex Faedo (1-2), who allowed two runs and five hits in a career-high six innings. The Tigers had won two in a row.
Sunday
BLUE JAYS 11, ANGELS 10
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Lourdes Gurriel Jr. doubled home the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning for his season-high fifth RBI, and Toronto overcame two homers by Shohei Ohtani to complete a four-game sweep of Los Angeles.
Raimel Tapia added three RBIs and Bo Bichette hit a tying homer in the eighth for Toronto, which capped its first four-game sweep of the Angels in 30 years with its highest-scoring performance of the season.
Toronto blew a four-run lead and Los Angeles blew a three-run lead in a wild game featuring 25 combined hits and highlighted early on by Ohtani's latest power display. Ohtani hit a solo homer in the first inning and a two-run shot in the third for his ninth career multi-homer game. The AL MVP has seven homers in May and 11 this season.
Taylor Ward had a two-run homer and an RBI double for the Angels, who have lost a season-high five straight and nine of 12 after their perpetually poor pitching staff's latest struggles.
Adam Cimber (6-2) got the win for Toronto, while Jose Quijada (0-1), who hadn't pitched in the majors since April 7, was given the loss. David Phelps pitched the ninth for his first save since 2019.
BRAVES 6, MARLINS 3
ATLANTA (AP) -- Marcell Ozuna hit two home runs as part of Atlanta's barrage of extra-base hits in its win over Miami, giving the Braves their first winning homestand of the season.
Of the Braves' 11 hits, nine were for extra bases, including six doubles. Ozuna's second homer of the game, his 10th of the season, traveled 458 feet into the upper left-field seats in the third.
Austin Riley had two hits and drove in two runs for Atlanta. Ozuna and Riley hit back-to-back homers off Elieser Hernandez in the first inning. Ozzie Albies and William Contreras hit back-to-back doubles to produce a run in the second.
Miami's Jorge Soler provided all of the team's runs by hitting two homers. Max Fried (5-2) gave up the first of those in the first inning before posting five consecutive scoreless innings. Kenley Jansen had two strikeouts in the ninth for his 12th save with Atlanta.
Hernandez (2-5) allowed four runs in four innings.
WHITE SOX 5, CUBS 4, 12 INNINGS
CHICAGO (AP) -- Jake Burger atoned for a costly error with a game-ending RBI single in the 12th inning, and the banged-up Chicago White Sox topped the Chicago Cubs in a wild finale to the season series between the crosstown rivals.
Danny Mendick opened the White Sox's 12th as the automatic runner andadvanced on Andrew Vaughn's grounder to second against Robert Gsellman (0-2). Burger then drove Gsellman's next pitch into left for the winning hit.
Matt Foster (1-0) worked a scoreless 12th, helping the White Sox to a sorely needed victory after they lost shortstop Tim Anderson to a right groin strain in the fifth.
The White Sox looked as if they had won the game in the 11th after pinch-hitter Leury García attempted a sacrifice, and Gsellman's throw got away from first baseman Alfonso Rivas. But García was called out for interference and Adam Engel was sent back to second.
The Cubs opened a 3-1 lead with two runs in the 10th, and the White Sox responded with two runs in the bottom half of the 10th. The Cubs scored again in the 11th, but the White Sox tied it back up.
The Cubs wasted a terrific start by Marcus Stroman, who pitched seven innings of three-hit ball.
Dylan Cease had two hits, five strikeouts and four walks in seven innings for the White Sox.
ASTROS 2, MARINERS 1
SEATTLE (AP) -- Ryan Pressly got Luis Torrens to ground into a game-ending double play with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, preserving Houston's win over Seattle.
Yordan Alvarez broke an eighth-inning tie with a two-out bases-loaded single off Paul Sewald, who had relieved Marco Gonzales (3-5).
Pressly walked J.P. Crawford leading off the ninth, threw a called third strike past Eugenio Suarez and walked Mike Ford, loading the bases. Torrens grounded Pressly's third straight slider to third baseman Alex Bregman, starting a 5-4-3 double play and giving Pressly his eighth save in 10 chances.
Jeremy Pena hit a second-inning home run, giving Houston its first lead of the series. Ty France had a tying single in the sixth.
Gonzales allowed two runs and five hits in 7 1/3 innings. Rafael Montero (2-0) relieved Gonzales with two on and no outs in the seventh.
ATHLETICS 6, RANGERS 5
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Jed Lowrie hit a two-out RBI single off Brett Martin in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting Oakland past mistake-prone Texas.
After closer Dany Jiminez blew a save opportunity in the top of the ninth, the A's came back and won in their final at-bat for the second time this season.
Cristian Pache hit a leadoff single off of Martin (0-4), then Tony Kemp popped out and Ramon Laureano grounded out to move Pache to second. Lowrie, who struck out in his first two at-bats and was 1 for 5, lined a 2-2 pitch into left-center and Charlie Culberson's throw home sailed over the head of catcher Jonah Heim.
Corey Seager homered for the second consecutive day for the Rangers, who matched their season-high of five errors.
Jiminez (2-2) skipped a two-out pitch between the legs of catcher Sean Murphy, allowing Marcus Semien to score the tying run in the ninth.
DODGERS 3, DIAMONDBACKS 1
PHOENIX (AP) -- Tyler Anderson threw six effective innings, Will Smith added a solo homer and Los Angeles swept a four-game series from Arizona.
Anderson (6-0) continued his streak of great pitching, giving the Dodgers' rotation a much-needed lift after injuries to Clayton Kershaw and Andrew Heaney. The veteran left-hander scattered five hits and has given up just two earned runs over his last 21 innings, spanning three starts that all ended in wins.
Smith pushed the Dodgers ahead 1-0 in the second, driving the 12th pitch of the at-bat into the Chase Field swimming pool that sits just behind the right-center field wall.
The Dodgers -- who won despite just four hits -- added two more runs in the third on Freddie Freeman's RBI single and Trea Turner's RBI groundout.
Craig Kimbrel gave up a run in the ninth but still recorded his 10th save.
Zach Davies (2-3) took the loss, giving up three earned runs over 5 1/3 innings. David Peralta drove in the D-backs' lone run with a pinch-hit triple in the ninth.
RED SOX 12, ORIOLES 2
BOSTON (AP) -- Bobby Dalbec hit a two-run homer, one of Boston's season-high five longballs, and the Red Sox coasted over Baltimore.
Rafael Devers, Kike Hernandez, Franchy Cordero and Christian Arroyo each hit a solo drive for the Red Sox, who posted their ninth win in 12 games.
All five Boston home runs came in four innings against Bruce Zimmermann (2-3), who was tagged for six runs and eight hits. He allowed a previous career-high four homers in his last start Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.
Jake Pivetta (4-4) gave up one run on five hits in six innings, improving to 4-0 with a 1.59 ERA in his last five starts.
Trey Mancini had three hits for the Orioles, who have lost four of six.
TWINS 7, ROYALS 3
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Sonny Gray cruised before leaving in the seventh inning because of right pectoral soreness, and Minnesota beat Kansas City behind Gio Urshela's three-run homer.
Gray (3-1) allowed two hits and retired 14 in a row before Andrew Benintendi's single leading off the seventh.
With a 3-1 count on Bobby Witt Jr. and Kansas City asking for a video review to try to get a hit batter call, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli and athletic trainer came to the mound as Gray appeared to be trying to stretch a muscle near his pitching shoulder. Gray was replaced by Griffin Jax, who struck out Witt and allowed MJ Melendez's RBI double.
Nick Gordon and Trevor Larnach hit the Twins' first consecutive solo homers of the season in the fourth.
Zack Greinke (0-4) gave up five runs, six hits and two walks in four innings. Manager Mike Matheny said his pitcher had elbow/flexor pain.
GIANTS 6, REDS 4
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Evan Longoria hit his fourth home run in four games, a go-ahead, three-run drive in a six-run eighth inning, to lift San Francisco over Cincinnati and avoid a three-game sweep.
Tyler Mahle took a no-hit bid into the seventh and Cincinnati led 2-0 in the eighth when Tommy La Stella doubled off Jeff Hoffman with one out, Wilmer Flores walked with two outs and Joc Pederson slapped a run-scoring single to right.
Art Warren (2-2) relieved, and Longoria reached down for a a full-count fastball on the outside corner and drove it to the opposite field in right.
Brandon Crawford walked, Thairo Estrada singled, Joel Kuhnel relieved and Luis Gonzalez doubled in two runs for a 6-2 lead.
Alex Cobb allowed the two runs and four hits in six innings with eight strikeouts. John Brebbia (3-0), the second of three relievers, pitched a one-hit seventh and helped drop NL-worst Cincinnati to 16-31.
Mahle pitched 6 2/3 innings, his longest outing since Aug. 29.
NATIONALS 6, ROCKIES 5
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Juan Soto snapped a 15-game home run drought with a two-run shot, Tanner Rainey got the final five outs and Washington held off Colorado.
Soto, who hadn't homered since May 12 against the Mets, added a double and a walk for the Nationals, who took three of four from the Rockies. Lane Thomas had a two-run homer.
Rockies starter Kyle Freeland (1-5) exited with an apparent left leg injury with two outs in the sixth inning. Freeland, who was helped off the field, was charged with five runs on seven hits. He walked four and struck out two.
After pulling within 6-3 in the seventh, the Rockies got RBI singles from Brendan Rodgers and Sam Hilliard with one out in the eighth against Kyle Finnegan. With runners on first and third, Nationals closer Rainey struck out Elias Diaz and Charlie Blackmon.
Rainey finished with a 1-2-3 ninth for his fifth save.
Nationals starter Josiah Gray (5-4) worked around three hits and four walks to allow one run over five innings.
RAYS 4, YANKEES 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- Taylor Walls and Ji-man Choi homered for Tampa Bay's only hits, and the team scored two runs in the seventh inning on four walks and a hit batter in a 4-2 win over New York.
Walls, in a 1 for 34 slide, homered on a 3-1 fastball from Luis Severino (3-1) for a 2-1 lead in the fifth and then made an outstanding defensive play to end the eighth inning.
Gleyber Torres had three hits, including a second-inning home run against Shane McClanahan (5-2). It was Torres' ninth home run of the season.
Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 18th home run, a drive off Colin Poche in the eighth.
J.P. Feyereisen pitched a perfect ninth for his first save this season in two chances.
TIGERS 2, GUARDIANS 1
DETROIT (AP) -- Harold Castro homered for the third time in three games and Jeimer Candelario also connected in Detroit's win over Cleveland.
Detroit won despite getting just four hits. The Tigers beat Cleveland for just the seventh time in their last 28 games at Comerica Park.
Tigers starter Elvin Rodriguez pitched four scoreless innings, allowing two hits in his second major league start. He struck out four and walked none before exiting with lower-body cramping. Gregory Soto, the sixth Detroit pitcher, worked around a two-out single and closed for his eighth save.
Luke Maile drove in Cleveland's lone run in the seventh inning with a sacrifice fly that scored Andres Gimenez. Castro homered in the fourth off Triston McKenzie (3-4).
BREWERS 8, CARDINALS 0
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Corbin Burnes tossed seven shutout innings and Jace Peterson hit a three-run homer to lead Milwaukee over St. Louis.
Lorenzo Cain and Rowdy Tellez also homered for the Brewers, who have won four of six and stretched their road record to 13-10.
Burnes (3-2), the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, passed the 10-strikeout mark for the fourth game in a row with 11 and allowed only two hits -- the first being a double from Juan Yepez in the fourth.
Miles Mikolas (3-3) gave up six earned runs on nine hits over 5 2/3 innings.
St. Louis' Paul Goldschmidt extended his hitting streak to 20 games with a single in the ninth inning. He has reached base safely in a career-best 34 consecutive games.