One rookie didn’t get a chance to swing the bat. Another rookie made sure he did.
Despite a truly horrific managerial decision from Andy Green the Padres beat the Rockies 3-2 in 13 innings on Thursday night at Petco Park thanks to a towering walk-off home run from rookie outfielder Franmil Reyes, the first walk-off of his career and the first game-ending homer for the Padres all season.
Franmil’s heroics may not have been necessary. Two innings prior the Padres put two runners on with nobody out and Luis Urias coming up. Urias is already one of the best hitters on the roster but Green asked him to lay down a sacrifice bunt, something he’s only done three times all year.
Urias popped it up and then Myers, who went 0-5 with three strikeouts, grounded into a double play to end the inning. Urias went 0-4 but made a pair of stellar defensive plays to keep the game tied 2-2 and set up Reyes for the big blast.
That strange series of events overshadowed the outing by another promising rookie. Eric Lauer came off the disabled list to make the start. He threw 5.0 no-hit innings but needed 81 pitches to do it. Part of the reason he used 81 pitches is also the reason he allowed a run.
Wil Myers made errors on back-to-back ground balls in the 4th inning to let the Rockies score a run. Myers made three errors on the night.
The Padres have won three straight games behind three rookie starting pitchers and can make it four on Friday night when Brett Kennedy takes the mound against Antonio Senzatela at Petco Park. It would be their first four-game winning streak of the season.
