Padres manager Andy Green is not a hothead. But when he’s had his fill of frustration he can blow like any other human being.
Green lost his temper in the top of the 5th inning of a 12-6 loss to the Orioles on Wednesday at Petco Park. With the O’s up 4-0 and the bases loaded Baltimore slugger Chris Davis hit a dribbler up the first base line. Padres pitcher Christian Friedrich fielded the ball and threw to first, and that’s where the fun began.
San Diego 1st baseman Wil Myers missed the throw and the ball ended up in right field. Yovani Gallardo and Jonathan Schoop scored to put the Orioles up 6-0 but Green thought Davis was running too far inside the first base line and should have been called out for interference.
"I got down to 1st base and could see his footprint right there in fair territory, which is where you're not allowed to be," said Green. "With his footprint there and with the way it transpired it should have been an interference call."
Umpiring crew chief Bill Miller, who was at 1st base, disagreed and Green got hot. Really hot. Green started waving his hands and pointing angrily at Miller, who didn’t take too long to throw Andy from the game. After that Green stayed a while longer and really let the ump have it before heading to the clubhouse to watch the rest of the afternoon's proceedings.
"It's my job to fight on behalf of my players," said Green. "I recognize it's a difficult call. There's a lot spinning but the way I saw it in real time it very much looked like he interfered with Wil's ability to catch the baseball."
That was the last inning Friedrich threw on a day where he started off looking tremendous. The Padres lefty retired the first nine hitters he faced, throwing 20 of his first 26 pitches for strikes. But he walked Morse High School alum Adam Jones to lead off the 4th and things immediately unraveled.
Schoop followed with a double to left-center to score Jones … Manny Machado singled to score Schoop … and Mark Trumbo unloaded his 23rd home run of the season in to the second deck in left field to give the Orioles a 4-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Gallardo was cruising on the mound for the O’s. He didn’t allow a hit until the 5th inning when Poway native Alex Dickerson dropped a single into shallow left field. The only runs the Padres scored came an inning later when Brett Wallace ripped a 3-run home run to straightaway centerfield. At the time it brought the Padres to within 7-3, theoretically just one grand slam away from tying it up.
That hope evaporated in the 9th inning. Ryan Buchter, one of the most reliable relievers in baseball for much of the year, walked three guys and gave up three hits. Two of the hits were RBI doubles by Machado and Trumbo that put Baltimore up 12-3 and solidified their 2-game series sweep.
Wil Myers bolstered his All-Star resume with a 2-RBI double in the 9th inning. Myers finished June with 21 extra-base hits, tying Greg Vaughn's franchise record for most extra-base hits in a single month.
The Padres get a day off on Thursday then open a 3-game set at Petco Park on Friday night against the New York Yankees. Colin Rea gets the start against Nathan Eovaldi.
