On getaway day in Atlanta, the San Diego Padres received timely homers from a couple of players not necessarily known for their power.
The chance to grab a win – and avoid a sweep at the hands of the Braves – was in their grasp.
Unfortunately, Atlanta rallied in the final two frames to pull out a 5-4 victory and complete a sweep of the Padres.
The Friars ended their rough four day stay in Atlanta with their 4th straight loss and a 5-9 record.
Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman was a huge reason why San Diego left new SunTrust Park empty-handed.
His 2-run homer in the 3rd inning off of Jered Weaver gave the Braves a 3-1 advantage.
Freeman also went yard a second time in the 8th inning when he faced left-handed pitcher Ryan Buchter and tied the game at 4. Freeman raised his batting average to .400 and finished 4-for-4 with 3 RBI.
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Highly touted shortstop Dansby Swanson provided the game-winning theatrics for Atlanta with a clutch RBI single in the bottom of the 9th to end the game.
Prior to that base knock against Padres closer Brandon Maurer, Swanson was 0-for-4 in the contest. Maurer suffered his first loss of the season and Buchter was saddled with his first blown save.
Weaver held the Braves to three runs (two earned) over six innings of work.
But Freeman’s initial blast casts some more doubt on Weaver's ability to keep the ball in the park.
In his first three starts as a Padre, Weaver has already given up five homers.
That’s especially disconcerting because he gave up a 37 dingers in 2016 in his final season with the Angels.
That number was second-most out of all MLB pitchers to former Padre James Shields - who allowed 40 homers last year in 33 combined starts for the Friars and the White Sox.
The loss spoiled a milestone for Padres outfielder Allen Cordoba. The Rule 5 draft pick hit his first major league home run in the 7th off of Braves starter Jaime Garcia.
Catcher Austin Hedges later gave the Friars a 4-3 advantage when he lofted a 2-run shot off of reliever Arodys Vizcaino.
Yangervis Solarte collected his 11th RBI of the young season with a single that plated Manny Margot in the 1st inning.
As of Monday evening, Solarte ranks tied for 4th in the National League for runs batted in.
The Padres open up a six-game homestand Tuesday when they welcome the Diamondbacks to Petco Park.
San Diego’s Jarred Cosart is slated to throw out the first pitch at 7:10 p.m. while Arizona will counter with Shelby Miller.
