Padres Drop Series in Phoenix

Friars fall with their hottest pitcher on the mound

If you were going to make a bet based on a pitching matchup you probably would have put a whole lot of cash on the Padres on Sunday. They were sending Drew Pomeranz, the man with the 2nd-best earned run average in the Major Leagues, to the hill against Diamondbacks youngster Archie Bradley, who was called up from Triple-A Reno just before the game.

Alas, that would have been a losing proposition. Pomeranz, the guy who had given up three runs total over in his last five starts, got rocked for six runs in 5.0 innings in a 6-3 Arizona win at Chase Field. Pomeranz surrendered all six runs in the first two innings before settling in and striking out seven of the next 11 batters he faced.

Arizona did the bulk of its damage in the 2nd. Chris Owings led off with a home run. After that the Diamondbacks got a walk, a single, another single, and a wild pitch before Pomeranz finally got the first out on a Jean Segura groundout. Arizona got another run on a fielder’s choice but with two outs Paul Goldschmidt hammered a two-run double to cap a five run inning, which alone would have been enough to win the game.

Bradley, who was just named the Pacific Coast League pitcher of the week, continued his hot streak against a lineup that probably didn’t look much more intimidating than the ones he faced in the PCL. The 23-year-old allowed three runs in 7.1 innings and struck out nine Padres hitters in his best big league start.

One positive for the Padres was shortstop Alexei Ramirez, who hit his first home run in a San Diego uniform. The solo homer in the 5th inning cut the lead to 6-2. The Friars got their final run in the 8th inning on an RBI groundout by Wil Myers.

The Padres travel to Seattle to start a four game home-and-home series (two at Safeco Field, two at Petco Park) against the Mariners. Andrew Cashner gets the start against Nathan Karns in the opening game of the Vedder Cup.

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