For series explanation and previous installments [go here]
GAME 10 of 18
July 29th, 2010
Padres v. Dodgers @Petco Park
(Thursday/ Upper Reserved Section 317... but we sat in the Park at the Park)
WHAT I THINK I KNOW...
On July 29th the time had come. Daughter #2 was about to go to her first Padres game while Daughter #1 was getting her second game. For this treat we offered the Los Angeles Dodgers to the baseball gods. Mat Latos was on the hill for the Padres and I think it was that crazy headhunter for Los Angeles.
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My buddy Al met the Mrs. and I, along with daughters in tow, at the Park at the Park. We picnicked in the shadow of the greatest Padre of them all, taking pictures, running through the grass and watching as much baseball as little ones will permit.
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The game extended to a precarious length for children accustomed to a structured bed time routine but we pressed on determined to see a regulation 9 innings. We agreed to leave if it went to extras.
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Something told me that 9 innings was all it would take and if we could just make it we'd be rewarded. I believe it was Oscar Salazar who would eventually knock home the winning run in the bottom of the 9th and it was there at the Park at the Park that we celebrated a walk-off win dancing to the sounds of Macy Gray playing over the PA system.
Source: A child's first game... and a ticket stub.
RESEARCH SAYS...
The Padres won 3-2.
Mat Latos surrendered two runs as did Dodgers' starter Vicente Padilla (aka Headhunter). Latos (5IP) and Padilla (4IP) had unspectacular starts and did not factor into the decision.
The Padres bullpen pitched 4 scoreless innings giving up only 1 hit and striking-out 6 batters. The relief effort featured Joe Thatcher (1IP), Ryan Webb (1IP), Luke Gregerson (1IP), and Heath Bell (1IP).
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Heath Bell worked a scoreless 9th and was credited with the win, improving to 5-0. Dodgers' reliever George Sherrill recorded only 1 out in the 9th inning getting the loss (1-2).
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In the ninth inning Scoot Hairston singled and was sacrificed to 2B by a Tony Gwynn Jr. bunt. Oscar Salazar battled George Sherrill in an 8 pitch AB in which Salazar was victorious, driving a game winning single up the middle to plate Hairston.
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Padres win. So much beauty in the world...
Attendance: 42,075. Sellout.
NOTABLE OMISSIONS...
Game time: 3 hours and 10 minutes
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Throwback Thursday. Brown and Yellow '78s
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Adrian Gonzalez went 2 for 4 lifting his average to .297. Adrian had a notable AB against Dodger reliever Hong Chih Kuo in the 7th inning. I believe that the statistic during this AB was that Kuo, a lefty, had not surrendered a hit to a left handed batter all year... or maybe something ridiculous like the previous 30 ABs. Whatever the exact statistic, the fact remains that Kuo held leftys to an average of .095 in 2010... which is crazy. Adrian banged Kuo for a single.
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Chase Headley: 1 for 2 with 2BBs. 1 R/1RBI.
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When Oscar Salazar knocked the game winner he was pinch hitting for Everth Cabrera. Salazar's .237 avg. for Cabrera's .199. Makes sense.
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Before the start of this game the Padres acquired SS Miguel Tejada for minor league pitcher Wynn Pelzer.
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The Padres moved to 60-40, 20 games above .500 for the first time in 2010
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The win pushed them 7 games ahead of the Dodgers and 3 1/2 ahead of the San Francisco Giants.
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Check out this video and sound taken from a fan in attendance... awesome!
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Listen/watch to the audio/video at the Padres link below. Vin Scully gives the call on Salazar's game winning hit.
Source: Baseball Reference and Padres.com
LASTING IMPRESSIONS...
The whole reason I started this series was because I couldn't remember the first game I went to as a kid with my dad. This particular game, during a pennant race and against the rival Dodgers, turned out to be the very first game for the daughter. She won't remember it. But if she ever asks, there are pictures, ticket stubs, video, and this modest piece of writing to document when and where it happened.
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I love walk-off wins. The last three write-ups I've done have all been Padres wins where the winning run was scored in their final AB (1 walk-off and 2 in the 8th).
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Macy Gray's So Much Beauty In The World has grown on me. While I would prefer Pennywise's Bro Hymn, Gray's song has come to signify wins in San Diego. That's always good.
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There are only 8 games left to catalog in my 2010 season and since I've recapped 8 Padres games (2 Storm) it's probably time for a mid-season review. I'll save it for Wednesday.
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