When he was drafted 6th overall by the Mariners in the 2006 MLB Draft, Brandon Morrow was supposed to be an ace. He has the stuff for it. But, while he’s been effective, injuries and bouts of wildness have kept him from truly becoming that front-of-the-rotation starter.
He came to the Padres from Toronto on a one-year deal, hoping to win the 5th starter job in Spring Training. He did that, narrowly beating out Odrsiamer Despaigne, and looked pretty good in his first two starts. But on Sunday at Petco Park, Morrow looked like the man he always knew he could be.
Morrow threw a gem against the Dodgers, helping the Padres avoid a sweep with a 3-1 win. Brandon tossed 7.0 innings, allowing just one run (a solo home run to Alex Guerrero) on five hits, striking out four and only walking one. Joaquin Benoit and Craig Kimbrel threw a scoreless inning each to secure Morrow’s first win in a Padres uniform.
Speaking of firsts, the Padres added a few more to a season already flush with them. Shortstop Alexi Amarista hit his first home run of the season, a solo shot off Dodgers starter Scott Baker in the 3rd inning. Catcher Derek Norris provided the rest of the offense. In the fourth he doubled home Matt Kemp to put the Padres up 2-0. Norris has nine doubles this season, tied for second-most in Major League Baseball. No other catcher has more than four doubles.
In the 7th inning, Norris smashed a solo home run down the left field line for his first dinger as a Padre. San Diego avoided being swept by Los Angeles but did suffer its first series loss at home since July of 2014. The Friars had gone 11-0-1 in their last 12 series played at Petco Park.
San Diego falls one game behind the Dodgers in the National League West. The Padres open a 3-game series against the surprisingly good Houston Astros, who are in first place in the American League West, on Monday in the East Village.
