Urias Called Up as Padres Sweep Mariners
This week for the Padres was all about the calling up and debut of second base prospect Luis Urias. The 21 year old infielder was called up before the Padres took on the Seattle Mariners for a short two game series at Petco Park, drawing excitement from Padre fans who have been yearning for something to be happy about all season.
On Tuesday, Urias immediately made an impact for the Padres as he made a fantastic diving stop at second base for the first out of the game. In the bottom of the 1st, Travis Jankowski hit his third home run of the season to give the Padres a 1-0 lead. Hunter Renfroe added an RBI single in the 4th to extend the lead to 2-0 and starter Jacob Nix pitched his best start of the season, going 8 ⅓ innings allowing 1 run on 8 hits. He was lifted in the 9th after giving up a solo home run to Nelson Cruz but Kirby Yates shut the door to give the Padres a 2-1 win.
The Padres finished off the two game sweep with an 8-3 win on Wednesday afternoon. After falling behind 1-0 in the 1st on a Robinson Cano RBI single, the Padres responded by scoring 2 in bottom of the 1st, 1 in the 2nd and 4 in the 3rd to take a 7-1 lead. Hosmer’s RBI single tied the game at 1 and Renfroe hit a sac fly to give the Padres a 2-1 lead.
Manny Margot hit his 7th home run of the year to extend the lead to 3-1 and Renfroe hit a three run homer (his 17th) in the 3rd to make it a 6-1 game. Starting pitcher Joey Lucchesi added a sac fly later in the inning.
Margot doubled in another run in the 5th to make it 8-1 and Lucchesi pitched very well, going 6 ⅔ innings allowing just 1 run on 6 hits with 9 strikeouts. Seattle scored two runs off Padres reliever Colton Brewer in the top of the 8th but that was it for the Mariners offense as the Padres picked up the win.
The Padres will now welcome the Colorado Rockies in Petco Park for a four game weekend series as the Rockies continue to fight for both the NL West and Wild Card. Eric Lauer (5-7, 5.30 ERA) will be the starter on Thursday night and Brett Kennedy (0-2, 7.58 ERA) will take the ball on Friday night.