If you were to make a list of all the guys who could cost the Padres a game because of errors, Ha-Seong Kim would probably be the last guy on it. Even the Gold Glover has bad days.
Kim made a pair of errors that led to three unearned runs in a 3-2 loss to the Giants in San Francisco, sending the Friars to their second straight series loss. Of course, San Diego's offense didn't do a whole lot to help out.
The Friars scored in the 1st inning when Jake Cronenworth doubled home Fernando Tatis Jr. then again in the 6th when Kim singled to score Cronenworth. But, they went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position, squandering multiple chances to put the game away. The lone bright spot was rookie Jackson Merrill, who went 4-for-4 with four singles for the first 4-hit game of his young career.
Amazingly, it looked like the two runs might be enough. Matt Waldron started on the mound. He throws a knuckleball but is not a "knuckleballer," meaning he uses the pitch with regularity but doesn't make it his preferred weapon like Tim Wakefield or Charlie Hough did. Since adding it to the repertoire, Waldron has become a viable big league pitcher.
Get San Diego local news, weather forecasts, sports and lifestyle stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC San Diego newsletters.
He went 5.1 innings with five strikeouts and one walk. The only run he allowed came in the 6th inning when Jung Hoo Lee hit a ground ball to shortstop. Kim fielded it cleanly and unleashed a wild throw that almost ended up in the Padres dugout. Lee scored on a Matt Chapman groundout that should have been the final out of the inning.
In the 8th inning the Giants put two runners on with one out. Jhony Brito got Michael Conforto to hit a grounder to Cronenworth at 1st base that should have ended the threat. Jake stepped on the bag and threw in plenty of time to Kim, who had Jorge Soler out by several feet ... but as he applied the tag the ball simply flew out of his glove. Wilmer Flores scored to tie it and Soler came in on a Chapman single to put the Giants on top for good.
The Friars fall to 5-7 and head home to start a 3-game series against the Cubs at Petco Park on Monday night.
Local
LISTEN: With NBC 7 San Diego's Darnay Tripp and Derek Togerson behind the mic, On Friar will cover all things San Diego Padres. Interviews, analysis, behind-the-scenes...the ups, downs, and everything in between. Tap here to find On Friar wherever you listen to podcasts.
