San Diego Padres defeat Texas Rangers 7-4 – MLB Update
National League’s San Diego Padres gained their second-straight victory in the Cactus League as the beat the American League’s Texas Rangers 7-4 as they posting three decisive runs in the tenth inning on Thursday, March 24 at Surprise Stadium in Arizona.
Neftali Feliz’s scoreless pitching did not prove beneficial for the Rangers in their last of the two scheduled meetings with the Padres. Neftali, who made 40 saves in 2010, was announced to maintain the closer position before the game.
Padres led off the game in the first inning when Jorge Cantu’s sacrifice-fly to right-fielder Doug Deeds allowed Will Venable to score. The Padres then keep on moving and ended on a 4-3 lead in the third inning but the Rangers balanced the game ticking another
in the fourth inning. Josh Hamilton posted a grand slam in the second inning to centre-field keeping the game interesting.
The game remained tied until the tenth innings when Jose Dore earned a one run lead. Padres then kept going and scored two more runs that ended the outing in San Diego’s favour. Sawyer Carroll singles on a ground ball to second baseman Davis Stoneburner
allowing Logan Forsythe to score. Rob Johnson was then hit by a pitch providing a chance to Dean Anna to steal a run.
Texas right-hand pitcher Dave Bush, who was replaced as starter with Feliz, went for four runs including three earned on four hits. Brett Tomko, vying with Bush for a rotation spot, tossed two scoreless innings. Tomko, who is capable of throwing five innings,
would remain in relief position, according to manager Washington.
"Right now, for our organization, he's better in the bullpen," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "We haven't closed the door on him being a starter. With Feliz being at the closing end, we're certainly strong."
The Padres lost their centre-fielder Cameron Maybin, who left the game in the third inning due to an injured leg. Before leaving the game, he impressed in fielding with a catch and grounding out in first inning.
Aaron Harang tossed five innings for the Rangers and consumed four runs including three earned over six hits. Harang was a pitcher for the Reds before joining San Diego in the off-season.
"A couple of times tonight, the way the ball was flying out, I felt like I was back in Cincinnati,” said Harang.
The Rangers will land against Colorado Rockies with the ambition to earn another victory in spring exhibition outing. It will be interesting to see how long the Padres will carry their winning momentum into their next match-up. The Rangers will be looking
to improve on their performance and get their offence to contribute runs.
Tags: