The 7th Inning That Stretched Way Too Long

Padres Unravel Against The Rangers

The Padres collectively lost Tuesday’s game as well as a catcher, a pitcher - and their concentration - in the span of about 15 minutes.

With 2 outs and nobody on base in the 7th inning, the Rangers seized control of their Tuesday contest against the Padres with 4 runs to break open a 4-4 tie.

Texas scored 3 runs in a wacky way off a bases-loaded single by Elvis Andrus. Matt Kemp threw a dart home to potentially nab Adrian Beltre after the initial hit by Andrus, but as Beltre tried to score from 2nd base, the ball was knocked away from catcher Derek Norris by Beltre’s leg as he slid in a close play at the plate.

Andrus wound up on 3rd base and then caught the Padres napping by stealing home a couple pitchers later to help the Rangers build an insurmountable 8-4 lead.

The Padres were reeling after Norris left the game holding his left forearm as a result of that collision at the plate. Replays indicated that Beltre's shin - and not his spikes - made contact with Norris' forearm and was the cause of the ball getting away from the Padres starting backstop.

Moments later, relief pitcher Shawn Kelley took himself out of the game after wincing in pain as he threw warmup pitches to Austin Hedges who had just replaced Norris behind the plate.

San Diego tried to rally in the 9th, loading the bases in a valiant effort late but they ran out of outs.

It’s a shame that this 7th inning that stretched on way too long overshadowed two great offensive outings by Matt Kemp and Brett Wallace.

Wallace is sizzling at the plate and thriving in his role as a pinch hitter. He is batting .385 after 3 more singles and he also scored 2 runs to help the Padres take a 4-3 lead. He did not start Tuesady but entered the contest in the 3rd for Yonder Alonso and may see more playing time in the next few weeks.

Kemp deposited a 2-run double in the gap in left after Wallace’s first base knock in the 3rd. The next time the former Dodger strode to the dish he smashed his 17th homer of the season in the 5th.

Andrew Cashner’s struggles continued as he failed to hold that lead after Kemp’s two clutch swings. The Rangers scratched together the tying run and Pat Murphy decided to pinch-hit for Cashner after 5 innings of work.

San Diego falls 10.5 games behind the first-place Dodgers, who won 2-1 over their archrivals from San Francisco on Tuesday evening. The Padres actually fell into 4th place in the division as Arizona passed them after sweeping a doubleheader with Colorado.

San Diego also expanded its roster with relievers Marcus Mateo (Disabled List) and Nick Vincent (Triple-A El Paso) joining the squad. Both saw game action in the 6th inning but Mateo fared better with a strikeout to end the frame. Vincent was credited with the blown save.

Wil Myers starts a rehab assignment in Single-A Lake Elsinore this week.

Also down on the farm, Poway native Alex Dickerson won the Pacific Coast League Rookie of the Year Award. Dickerson entered Tuesday batting .309 with 12 homers and so far has had a cup of coffee in the bigs in early August.

At this point in the season, the Padres should be playing more young players like Travis Jankowski, Dickerson and Brett Wallace to see if they can carve out everyday roles in 2016.

No point in stretching out the inevitable because this Padres season looks like it will come to a close at the end of this month.

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