The San Diego Padres got back to their winning ways on Monday night against the Philadelphia Phillies, coming back from an 0-3 deficit in the 9th inning to win the game 4-3 in the 10th inning.
Kyle Blanks was the star of the night, going 4-for-5 with three RBIs, scoring the game-tying run and getting the game-winning hit. The 2013 Padres might not be the best team in the NL, but they are definitely in contention to be the most exciting. After not being able to score a single run off of Cliff Lee in the first eight innings of Monday’s game, the San Diego offense came to life in the ninth inning in a three-run rally that tied the game and sent it into extra innings. The first two runs were scored on a 2-RBI single by Kyle Blanks, who scored the third run of the inning on a wild pitch by Phillies’ closer Jonathan Papelbon.
San Diego has had more than its fair share of extra-inning games, walk-off wins and late-inning rallies this season. Despite the lack of injured stars Jedd Gyorko, Cameron Maybin, Yonder Alonso and Everth Cabrera, Bud Black’s team still managed to find a way to score late when Papelbon, the Phillies’ closer, entered the game. Papelbon has blown four of his last five save opportunities.
Jason Marquis and his sterling 9-2 record will take on the Phillies’ Kyle Kendrick in tonight’s match-up at PETCO Park, where the Padres are 25-16 this season. Monday night’s victory put the Padres in a tie for second place in the NL West with the Colorado Rockies, three games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks. Next week, when San Diego’s opponents appear weak and the team is missing some of its best players, is especially important. If the Padres can continue winning until guys like Gyorko and Cabrera return to the lineup, it will set the stage for a strong second half of the season for the second year in a row.