Short-handed Padres edge Athletics to take series

Kevin Acee, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Apr 9, 2025

Published in Baseball

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WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Padres had just enough on an afternoon in which they played without so much.

With half of their six core players on offense watching, the Padres got at least one runner into scoring position in seven of nine innings and scored in two of them and then let Randy Vásquez and the back end of their bullpen close out 2-1 victory over the Athletics on Wednesday.

It was Xander Bogaerts crossing the plate both times — in the third inning on a single by Oscar Gonzalez and in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly by Gavin Sheets.

Those were the Padres’ cleanup and No.5 batters, respectively, as second baseman Jake Cronenworth, center fielder Jackson Merrill and right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. were all sidelined by injury.

Vásquez ran into trouble only when he gave away free bases and finished five innings, allowing one run on one hit before being pulled. He had thrown just 61 pitches and cycled through the Athletics’ order twice.

With his higher-leverage relievers rested and a day off Thursday, Padres manager Mike Shildt went with his bullpen to protect a one-run lead over the final four innings.

That is what they did, and it is all they have done this season.

Adrián Morejón worked a scoreless sixth, Jeremiah Estrada a perfect seventh, Jason Adam a scoreless eighth and Robert Suarez a scoreless ninth inning for his National League-leading sixth save. It was also his sixth hitless inning to start the season, something no other Padres pitcher has ever done.

Those four relievers have only pitched in Padres victories this season. No Padres reliever has surrendered a lead this season.

It was the Padres’ fourth comeback victory, and they improved to 5-0 in one-run games.

For all that, their MLB-best 10th victory in 13 games was unlike any of the others for who was not playing and who was.

Merrill, who batted either fourth or fifth in the season’s first 10 games and leads the Padres in almost every offensive category, missed the third of what will be at least nine games with a right hamstring strain.

Tatis, who while batting in the lead-off spot is just behind Merrill in almost every offensive category, sat after leaving Tuesday’s game with left shoulder irritation first experienced on a swing.

Cronenworth, who has mostly batted fifth or seventh and has a .409 on-base percentage, was also out. He departed Tuesday’s game after a swing aggravated the area on his right side where he was hit by a pitch two days earlier.

Tatis and Cronenworth were said to have progressed to the point they could reasonably be expected to return Friday against the Rockies at Petco Park. Shildt said Tatis was available off the bench, though they were pleased to be able to give him the day off.

In their absence, Gonzalez started in right, Jose Iglesias at second and Lockridge in center.

The A’s took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Vásquez’s command faltered as it has in spurts during his three starts.

The right-hander needed just six pitches to get through the first and then walked Shea Langeliers on four pitches to start the second and JJ Bleday on eight pitches.

They were his 10th and 11 walks of the season, and they were costly.

Jacob Wilson’s single to right field was the first hit by a right-handed batter in 16 at-bats against Vasquez this season. Luis Urias followed with a fly ball to center field, and Langeliers just beat center fielder Brandon Lockridge’s throw to the plate.

Vásquez (1-1, 1.72) would retire the next eight batters, as well, before walking Urias with two outs in the fifth.

The Padres’ comeback was launched with three players (Sheets, Gonzalez and Iglesias) in the center of the lineup who joined the team for spring training on minor league contracts.

After Sheets struck out and Gonzalez hit a fly ball that was caught on the warning track in right field with Bogaerts and Manny Machado on base in the first inning, it was Gonzalez’s two-out single in the third inning that tied the game 1-1.

Bogaerts led off the fifth with his third hit, a double down the left-field line, went to third on a fly ball out by Machado and scored on Sheets’ fly ball to center.