Padres manager Andy Green decided to give a couple of his starters a rest on Saturday. Eric Hosmer, Carlos Asuaje, and Austin Hedges all got a night off so a couple of guys ended up in different spots of the batting order.
It worked out alright.
The Padres got six hits from the revamped top four spots of the order, including a pair of home runs, to beat the Giants 5-4 at Petco Park.
This might be a lineup they use more often against left-handed pitchers. Facing San Francisco lefty Derek Holland, Jose Pirela had a pair of doubles, Freddy Galvis singled twice, Hunter Renfroe drove in three runs and Christian Villanueva was on base three times.
In the first inning, Renfroe brought in Pirela with a sacrifice fly and Villanueva hit a solo home run to put the Padres up 2-0 but Padres starter Clayton Richard, usually a ground ball machine, got touched up by the long ball himself. Richard coughed up homers to Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen and left after five innings trailing 4-2.
San Diego got a run in the fifth on one of Pirela’s doubles and, in the seventh, Renfroe hit a rocket into the left-field seats to score Galvis and put the Padres on top 5-4. The stellar bullpen made it stand up.
Rookie Adam Cimber tossed two shutout innings to get his first major league win and Brad Hand struck out all four batters he faced to get his sixth save of the year.
The Padres have won two-straight and can win the series against the Giants on Sunday afternoon behind rookie lefty Joey Lucchesi. Sunday is also Military Opening Day and Jackie Robinson Day at Petco Park. Every player on both teams will wear Robinson’s iconic No. 42 on their backs.
