San Diego Padres crush San Francisco Giants 5-1 – MLB Spring Training
San Diego Padres crushed San Francisco Giants 5-1 at the Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Arizona on March 18 in their Cactus League encounter of the 2012 Major League Baseball Spring Training Session.
Edinson Volquez put up a great show as he tossed three tight innings in Padres’ 5-1 split squad win over the Giants on Sunday. The starter was acquired from Cincinnati Reds during the offseason and he will be very satisfied after giving up just one run, two hits and four walks over three innings pitched.
For the Giants, left hander Madison Bumgarner made a valiant effort as he gave up four hits and struck out two in five scoreless innings. However, San Diego rallied for two runs in the seventh and three in eight to win the game.
"I liked what he did a lot," said Black of Volquez. "The third inning was a long one, and he held his stuff. The velocity on his fastball was good and he had a good changeup. He continues to be more comfortable in our environment. The more he throws each time out, the more familiar he gets with our catchers and our catchers with him."
"Crazy weather," Bumgarner said. "I felt good out there. There weren't really any adjustments (because of the conditions). It was the same as any other day."
Showing quality and depth in their pitching attack, the Padres gave up just one during the entire contest. The hitting department also made the most of available opportunities to help the Padres rally past the Giants 5-1. With their win over their arch rivals, Bud Black and his men have now improved their spring win-loss record to 9-8.
After making a poor start to their Spring Training campaign, it seems things are finally settling down for the Padres. It will be interesting to if they can take this winning momentum into the regular season to reach the playoffs.
The Giants, on the other hand, will be disappointed with the result of the game. There were several decent performances by San Francisco’s pitchers but lack of concentration from them in the seventh and the eighth helped the Padres earn a deserving victory. Considering Giants’ 11-5 win-loss record this season, they are expected to bounce back strongly in their next spring game.
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