SAN FRANCISCO— The San Diego Padres kept up their good play this season by beating the San Francisco Giants 5-1 on Tuesday night. Jose Iglesias hit a two-run homer in the second inning, and Jackson Merrill hit a solo shot in the eighth inning to help the team win.
The Padres got off to a good start in the first inning as Manny Machado hit a single and Xander Bogaerts hit a double. The first run came when the umpire called a balk on Giants pitcher Robbie Ray. But the Giants knotted the game in the bottom half of the eighth when Wilmer Flores hit a single with two outs.
Padres Pitching and Giants’ Problems
Nestor Cortes, a pitcher for the Padres, did a good job, giving up only one run and six hits in 4 2/3 innings while striking out six and walking one. Jason Adam (8-3) won the game by getting the last two outs of the sixth inning, which pulled him out of a bases-loaded jam.
The Giants, on the other hand, kept losing. They lost their fourth game in a row and their 12th in their last 13 home games. Robbie Ray, the Giants’ starter, gave up four runs on seven hits in six innings. He hasn’t won in his last seven outings. The Giants’ only serious danger came in the sixth inning when Dominic Smith got a pinch-hit single that loaded the bases and gave him his best hitting streak ever, but they couldn’t score.
Standings and the Series Finale
The win gave the Padres their fifth straight winning series, which is their best of the season. They have won 8 of their previous 11 series. The San Diego Padres are presently 68-52 this season and are only two games behind the Dodgers, who are in first place in the division.
In the last game of the series, the Padres will send RHP Nick Pivetta (11-4) to the mound, and the Giants will send RHP Kai-Wei Teng (1-1) to the mound.