|
 To begin with, he shouldn't have come up.
Padres reliever Dale Thayer had retired the first two hitters he
faced in the 11th then got David Dietrich to hit a soft grounder to
rival second baseman Jedd Gyorko for what looked to be the last out
of the inning.
But Gyorko failed to field the grounder. Dietrich was on first --
and Stanton was at the plate.
Down 0-2 in the count, Stanton drove a low fastball on the outer
corner of the plate over the distant fence in right-center to give
the Marlins a 3-1 win.
The home run was Stanton's National League-leading 11th and gave him
a major league-leading 40 RBIs in 35 games.
"That was probably the best pitch Thayer threw," Padres catcher
Yasmani Grandal said of the fastball that Stanton drove 412 feet
with very little altitude.
"Dale painted it. It was right on the spot. There's only one guy who
could hit that pitch where he did and he was at the plate. I
guarantee you, no one else in that league hits that pitch like
that."
 Stanton said it wasn't even his home run swing.
"The guy made me look silly on the previous pitch," he said of
Thayer.
Meanwhile, Gyorko was taking the blame for costing the Padres on a
night when they wasted one of the best all-around efforts by a
pitcher.
"That was an easy play," Gyorko said of his failure to glove
Dietrich's hopper. "That play has to be made every time. What
happened is unacceptable, bad -- you can't do that."
Right-handed reliever A.J. Ramos (3-0) struck out three in two
innings to get the win for Miami in the opener of an 11-game road
trip to the West Coast. Right-hander Steve Cishek got the save.
Right-handed Padres starter Ian Kennedy and relievers Joaquin Benoit
and Huston Street combined to hold Miami to one run on four hits
with 17 strikeouts over the first 11 innings.
Kennedy became only the third pitcher in Padres history to have 10
or more strikeouts and hit a home run in the same game.
Kennedy equaled his career high of 12 strikeouts while allowing one
run on four hits and two walks over seven innings. He hit the first
home run of his career in the second to give the Padres a 1-0 lead.
"That was exciting," Kennedy said of his performance. "After a
while, I thought I was never going to hit a homer. On the mound, I
felt really good, I had a really good curve. I threw it down and in
for swings and misses. When you do that, you can do anything you
want."
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Kennedy had nine strikeouts before he allowed his first hit. He
retired 14 straight Marlins before first baseman Garrett Jones
doubled off the base of the fence in right center with two out in
the fifth to end Kennedy's bid for the first perfect game (as well
as first no-hitter) in the Padres' 7,200-game history.
Kennedy's bid for a shutout ended in the sixth when leadoff hitter
Christian Yelich lined a two-out double over the head of Padres left
fielder Seth Smith and scored on Dietrich's single to right.
Kennedy walked Stanton and third baseman Casey McGehee to load the
bases before he struck out catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia for the
third time to end the threat. The strikeout was Kennedy's 12th of
the game.
The pitcher had given the Padres a 1-0 lead with two out in the
second with the first homer of his career -- a 400-foot drive to
left center off Marlins right-hander Jacob Turner.
The Padres squandered several other chances against Turner. They
loaded the bases with two out in the first when center fielder
Cameron Maybin grounded out to short. And shortstop Everth Cabrera
doubled leading off the third and reached third with one out only to
be stranded.
The Padres had one hit in each of the first five innings, but also
grounded into two double plays. Turner allowed the one run on five
hits and a walk with four strikeouts over six innings.
NOTES: The Padres promoted RHP Kevin Quackenbush from Triple-A El
Paso. At the same time, RHP Hector Ambriz, who was promoted from El
Paso the previous day, was designated for assignment. ... Marlins
president Michael Hill will scout LHP Brady Aiken Friday afternoon
in San Diego. The Cathedral High senior is considered one of the top
three prospects in the draft. The Marlins have the second overall
pick. ... For the first time in franchise history, the Marlins have
two pitchers with winning records and ERAs under 2.00 after seven
starts -- RHPs Jose Fernandez (4-1, 1.74) and Tom Koehler (3-2,
1.99).
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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