Padres start crucial stretch with strong win over Giants

SAN FRANCISCO - Things just got a whole lot more interesting in the National League West division, as a result of the San Diego Padres 4-1 win on Monday over the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.  

With the Dodgers 7-4 loss to the Angels, there is now only a one game difference deciding for first place in the NL West. With 43 games left on the schedule, their is still a lot of time left to crown a champion before entering October baseball, however this has been a defining moment for the Brown and Gold. 

The Padres entered a pivotal stretch of the season, playing 19 games across 20 days with the next 13-straight games coming against divisional rivals (6 G vs. LAD, 7 G vs. SF). 

An important reason why they were able claw another game closer to their bitter rival due to another strong performance on the hill for right-hander Yu Darvish.

While Giants' right-hander Logan Webb put up a commendable outing on his side, Darvish, on the other end, exhibited flashes of his vintage self on the mound against his team's division rival. The 38-year-old was an out away from pitching six scoreless innings but only surrendered a run on four hits with six strikeouts and no walks given up on 84 pitches.

"It was a pitcher's dual, you know, quick innings," Padres manager Mike Shildt said. "They were both really good. Darvish (was) exceptional as well, threw the ball very well. Controlled counts, different spins, different shapes."

Losing his last seven and owning a 0-3 record against the Giants, Darvish earned his first win against San Francisco since April 30, 2021. Over his last three starts, he has a 2.25 ERA and has held his opponents to a .176 AVG (22-for-125). 

Reliever Jeremiah Estrada came in and tossed a one hit seventh inning, and newly acquired reliever, Mason Miller struck out the side on 13 pitches in the eighth inning. Closer Robert Suárez was thrown in the ninth inning to earn his MLB leading 33rd save to grab the first of three in the series. 

For the 33rd time this season, the Friars limited their opponents to 5 or fewer hits, which puts them at a 28-5 record and tied for the 3rd-most wins overall in the Majors. They also own a 38-19 record when their starters throw 5.1+ innings and post a 2.42 ERA and allow an .186 AVG (234-for-1,256) over that span.

With their four run total, the Padres were motivated offensively finishing with another 10 hit outing. 

Both teams were held scoreless through five innings until center-fielder Jackson Merrill sent out his third hit (single-single-double) of the evening out to right-field for an RBI double, scoring Fernando Tatis Jr., to give the Padres a 1-0 lead. Following his 16th double, the 22-year-old is now batting .313 with RISP this season.

"Webb was early as good as we've seen him, and we've seen him good," Shildt said. "A lot times with that guy, you got to get him early. But we talk about getting better as the game goes, and it was case in point there... Guys stayed with it, stayed with it, stayed with it. And we were able to get to him." 

During the bottom half of the sixth inning, Darvish started off with a quick two outs on six pitches. However, against Rafael Devers, he gave up a 1-1 opposite field solo shot to deep left-center field to tie up the game. 

The Padres swiftly responded against Webb in the next frame with three runs, starting with a first pitch double by Gavin Sheet, who made his third start this month out in left-field, followed by an RBI ground ball single from Jake Cronenworth and a Freddy Fermin (4) two-run homer to left-field.   

Since joining the Padres at the trade deadline, Fermin is batting .385 (10-for-26) and trails Mike Ivie in AVG (.440) and hits (11) by a Padres catcher in his first 8 games with the team.