Everything about the Padres' 5-4 victory over Arizona yesterday pleased Jody Gerut.
First, the win completed a three-game sweep of the NL West leader. “We're not going to be pushovers,” Gerut said.
Second, the Padres had to overcome a 4-0 deficit against Randy Johnson. “We fought our way back,” said Gerut.
K.C. ALFRED / Union-Tribune
Trevor Hoffman (right) is congratulated by catcher Nick Hundley after saving the Padres' 5-4 win yesterday against Arizona at Petco Park.
|
Finally, the Padres' winning two-run rally in the eighth featured a sacrifice bunt and a stolen base. “We manufactured runs,” Gerut added.
The last seemed to be a fact that was lost on no one among the 24,563 at Petco Park.
As the Padres left the field with a one-run lead in the bottom of the eighth, the crowd rose in appreciation. “Now that's what we're talking about,” cried out one fan down the first-base line.
Seldom this season have the Padres used “small ball” to position themselves for a win. But yesterday, they turned baserunning and situational hitting into a victory.
Even a rookie could appreciate the events of the day.
“In this ballpark, you have to play small ball at times,” said Chase Headley, who drove in the tying run and scored the winning run after stealing second. “We took what the situation gave us.”
For most of the afternoon, the situation gave the Padres little hope.
Johnson was seemingly cruising toward his 295th career win after the Diamondbacks scored four runs in the sixth against Padres starter Cha Seung Baek and reliever Clay Hensley.
But in the seventh, a one-out triple by Gerut, an RBI single by Edgar Gonzalez and a two-run homer by Nick Hundley brought the Padres back to within one.
The breakthrough came an inning later against reliever Chad Qualls. But how the eighth unfolded was even more significant.
Pinch-hitter Brian Giles singled to center on the first pitch from Qualls. Luis Rodriguez, who made his first major league start at first base, bunted the potential tying run to second – the Padres' league-low 39th sacrifice bunt of the season.
After Kevin Kouzmanoff struck out, Headley tied the score with a two-strike single to right. Headley then stole second – the Padres' league-low 30th steal of the season – and scored the decisive run on Gerut's third hit of the game, a single to right-center.
Headley had been given the green light to steal if he saw an opening.
“I didn't see anything to lose right there,” he said. “I knew they didn't expect me to run. And if I'm out we have our hottest hitter leading off the 10th.”
The fans reacted as though they had witnessed a miracle.
“Was that the Comeback of the Year?” asked manager Bud Black – knowing it might have been for the Padres, who had been 4-68 this season when trailing after seven innings.
It was the Padres' first home sweep since they took four straight from the Mets in early June – and the first time they won three straight at home since mid-June. In the process they won three games against pitchers – Dan Haren, Brandon Webb and Johnson – with a combined record of 43-19.
“Since early in the season, we've talked about situational hitting,” Black said. “We needed to improve. We see signs of guys making adjustments. And it comes with time. When it shows up, you score some runs.”
Said Giles: “I think, playing in this park, you have to manufacture runs. I think the eighth inning was a great example of what can be done.
“Everyone expects this team to quit. With Randy Johnson on the mound and being down 4-0, we could have laid down. But that's not going to be us.”
“At this point, we're probably spoilers,” Gerut said. “But you don't want to be pushovers. I think after the last three days, we're going to make some teams sweat a bit.”
Bill Center: (619) 293-1851; bill.center@uniontrib.com
