Anthony Rizzo’s debut marks win for San Diego Padres over Washington Nationals 7-3 - MLB Update
In the first of the four game series, the San Diego Padres triumphed over the Washington Nationals 7-3 at the Petco Park in San Diego, California on June 9.
"It was not a good game," manager Jim Riggleman said about his teams defeat. "The effort and intensity's there, but it was just not a good game. We had a couple things happen on the bases. We walked people. It just was not a pretty game. I don't know how
else to say it."
Although he was not spectacular, Anthony Rizzo of the Padres did not fail to make an impact in his first Major League game. He struggled at first but after a few innings where he settled in and got comfortable, he successfully unleashed the first run by
belting out a triple beyond the left side of the fence.
San Diego got Rizzo as one of the three prospects in exchange for All Star Adrian Gonzalez who is now on a lengthy contract with the Boston Red Sox. Rizzo was previously in the Triple A Tuscon from which he was called up. He batted at Number seven on the
first base and left the game 1-for-2 along with two walks.
The Padres are known to have struggled time and again at the Petco Park, but this time things were different and their offence was in full force, evident by the seven runs that they managed to put up on the scoreboard. The runs scored are a season high for
the Padres who have had their moments of offensive struggle throughout the season.
Bud Black was all praise for Rizzo saying, "He looked as though he belonged on the field."
Livan Hernandez, the pitcher for Nationals added another defeat to his Major League high of eight losses. This is the longest losing streak of his career after losing six back-to-back decisions. In the five and one third innings that he pitched, Hernandez
let six runs off nine hits pass him by.
The Padres dominated the scoreboard and the first run came from their side in the very first inning when Chase Headley belted out a 396 feet home-run off which Jason Bartlett scored. The Nationals gave them competition by scoring in the second inning when
Michael Morse scored on a sacrifice fly by Alex Cora.
The next couple of innings were scoreless until the fifth one rolled around where Rizzo scored. Once again the Nationals countered their run when Jayson Werth scored.
The sixth inning was hitting galore for the Padres as Chase Headley, Brad Hawpe and Nick Hundley scored. As if that wasn’t enough, Ryan Ludwick scored totalling the number of runs to 7.
The Nationals could only manage one more hit when Wilson Ramos homered in the ninth innings, but it was just a little too late.
Tags: