When a baseball team has 12 hits in a 9-inning game, and one of those hits is a home run, and that team does not ground in to a single double play ... the natural assumption is that team will have scored more than one run.
But when that team is the Padres, things tend to happen a bit un-naturally.
The Friars did, indeed, score only one run on 12 hits and lost to the Twins 3-1 at Target Field on Tuesday night. Yonder Alonso had three of those hits, including a solo home run (his first homer since June 7), but the Padres left at least one runner on base in every single inning.
Well, every inning except the second, when Alonso doubled and Yasmani Grandal tried to score from first base. Grandal dove around Twins catcher Kurt Suzuki and thought he avoided the tag, but home plate umpire Mike DiMuro disagreed.
Padres manager Bud Black elected not to ask for a replay challenge. Multiple TV views showed there probably was not conclusive evidence to overturn the call.
The Twins got all their runs in one swing. Rookie pitcher Jesse Hahn was not as sharp has he has been recently, but he certainly did not throw poorly. After a walk and a double in the 6th inning, Hahn left a curve ball up and Kennys Vargas deposited it in the right field bleachers for a 3-run shot.
Hahn was saddled with his third loss of the season. The Padres try to split the short two-game set on Wednesday in a 10:00 a.m. San Diego time start. Odrisamer Despaigne takes the mound against former Padre and Granite Hills High School alum Kevin Correia.
