yagsy
07-11-2006, 07:07 PM
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/padres/20060710-9999-1s10padres.html
By Bill Center
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
July 10, 2006
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/padres/images/060709piazza-hr.jpg
Associated Press
It would have been easy for the Padres to pack it in yesterday. Having wasted several early opportunities, San Diego was down by six runs after five innings.
WASHINGTON – It would have been easy for the Padres to pack it in yesterday.
Having wasted several early opportunities, San Diego was down by six runs after five innings.
Having won their past four games, the Padres had already assured themselves a successful trip and first place in the National League West at the All-Star break.
So why not roll over, catch the long flight home and relax for a few days as division leaders?
“This club is just not cut that way,” manager Bruce Bochy said after his team scored four runs in the sixth and four in the ninth – the decisive run coming on a pinch-hit solo homer by Mike Piazza – to defeat the Nationals 10-9.
“We had moments today that could have sucked the wind right out of us,” said Bochy. “Things didn't go right. We missed some huge opportunities. We made mistakes.
“And we refused to cave in. We're not letting adversity dictate the result. These are the types of games you remember. That's what I told them after the game.”
Moments after his team's fifth straight victory, Bochy assembled his players in the cramped RFK Stadium clubhouse and delivered a rare postgame address.
“I told them I was proud of them,” he said. “What with extra innings and that doubleheader, the last two weeks have been a grind. We've had guys going every inning of every game. I've asked a lot of everyone, especially the bullpen.
“It's been inspiring to see how we've played the last two weeks.”
In addition to five straight wins on this trip, the Padres have won nine of 13 overall and are 16-9 over their last 25 to go eight up in the won-lost column for the first time this season.
In half of those 16 wins, they were behind in the second half of the game.
“We refuse to roll over,” said Piazza. “We've talked recently about working to try to pull some of these games out. No one gave in today. We're just a resilient type of club.”
While Piazza tipped the scales with his homer into the second deck some 50 feet above the 380-foot sign in left-center, he said the credit should go to his teammates.
Khalil Greene had tied the game in the ninth with a two-run homer off Nationals closer Chad Cordero – after Josh Bard and Adrian Gonzalez opened the inning with booming doubles to center.
But the rally started much earlier and suffered its own setback when Nationals catcher Brian Schneider hit a two-run homer off reliever Scott Cassidy in the eighth to widen what had been reduced to a one-run lead back to three at 9-6.
It wasn't the Padres' most dramatic comeback of the season. That remains the April 30 game against the Dodgers in which the Padres scored five times in the bottom of the ninth, then scored again in the 10th to win 6-5.
But yesterday marked the first time since Sept. 8, 2000 – a 10-7 win at San Francisco after San Diego trailed 6-0 in the fifth – that the Padres overcame a six-run deficit to win.
The alarming part of yesterday's game for the Padres was that they failed to score when they had the bases loaded and none out in the first, went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and fewer than two outs in the first three innings and failed to score the potential tying run from third with one out in the eighth after Dave Roberts tripled home Josh Barfield.
The Padres stranded 11 runners in each of the three games during the sweep of the Nationals and were 7-for-32 with runners in scoring position until Barfield and Mike Cameron hit run-scoring singles around a two-run, pinch-hit double by Geoff Blum in the four-run sixth.
“I've seen this team for three weeks now,” said new hitting coach Merv Rettenmund. “We leave a lot of runners out there. But they never quit. It was nice to watch the way they kept battling.”
The Padres had 18 hits, their second-highest total of the season. In addition to the ninth-inning homers by Greene and Piazza, the Padres had a triple and seven doubles.
“In situations like today (the six-run deficit), all you can do is try to have a good at-bat and hand it off to the next guy,” said Greene. “It was everyone.”
Said Gonzalez: “For some reason, our offense seems to pick up at the end of most games. We could have put our heads down and said, 'Oh, man, let's get out of here.' But we all felt we're still in the game.”
The tide actually could have turned in the eighth when the Padres failed to tie the game.
Cordero needed to get six outs to record his 14th save. But the Padres forced him to throw 29 pitches in the eighth. Piazza's fifth career pinch-hit homer came on Cordero's 50th pitch.
“It helped that we got his pitches up there,” said Bochy. “We put the pressure on right away. Guys saw what we needed to do and were stretching out the count.”
Yesterday marked the fourth time this season the Padres have won despite trailing after eight innings.
“We're pesky little rascals,” said Trevor Hoffman, who sat this one out – after posting four saves in as many days for the first time in his career – and let Scott Linebrink pick up his second career save.
Said Bochy: “For these last two weeks, every time you think we're done, we're back in it. This is one of the best comebacks I've had here.
“Honestly, I'm proud of these guys.”
By Bill Center
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
July 10, 2006
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/padres/images/060709piazza-hr.jpg
Associated Press
It would have been easy for the Padres to pack it in yesterday. Having wasted several early opportunities, San Diego was down by six runs after five innings.
WASHINGTON – It would have been easy for the Padres to pack it in yesterday.
Having wasted several early opportunities, San Diego was down by six runs after five innings.
Having won their past four games, the Padres had already assured themselves a successful trip and first place in the National League West at the All-Star break.
So why not roll over, catch the long flight home and relax for a few days as division leaders?
“This club is just not cut that way,” manager Bruce Bochy said after his team scored four runs in the sixth and four in the ninth – the decisive run coming on a pinch-hit solo homer by Mike Piazza – to defeat the Nationals 10-9.
“We had moments today that could have sucked the wind right out of us,” said Bochy. “Things didn't go right. We missed some huge opportunities. We made mistakes.
“And we refused to cave in. We're not letting adversity dictate the result. These are the types of games you remember. That's what I told them after the game.”
Moments after his team's fifth straight victory, Bochy assembled his players in the cramped RFK Stadium clubhouse and delivered a rare postgame address.
“I told them I was proud of them,” he said. “What with extra innings and that doubleheader, the last two weeks have been a grind. We've had guys going every inning of every game. I've asked a lot of everyone, especially the bullpen.
“It's been inspiring to see how we've played the last two weeks.”
In addition to five straight wins on this trip, the Padres have won nine of 13 overall and are 16-9 over their last 25 to go eight up in the won-lost column for the first time this season.
In half of those 16 wins, they were behind in the second half of the game.
“We refuse to roll over,” said Piazza. “We've talked recently about working to try to pull some of these games out. No one gave in today. We're just a resilient type of club.”
While Piazza tipped the scales with his homer into the second deck some 50 feet above the 380-foot sign in left-center, he said the credit should go to his teammates.
Khalil Greene had tied the game in the ninth with a two-run homer off Nationals closer Chad Cordero – after Josh Bard and Adrian Gonzalez opened the inning with booming doubles to center.
But the rally started much earlier and suffered its own setback when Nationals catcher Brian Schneider hit a two-run homer off reliever Scott Cassidy in the eighth to widen what had been reduced to a one-run lead back to three at 9-6.
It wasn't the Padres' most dramatic comeback of the season. That remains the April 30 game against the Dodgers in which the Padres scored five times in the bottom of the ninth, then scored again in the 10th to win 6-5.
But yesterday marked the first time since Sept. 8, 2000 – a 10-7 win at San Francisco after San Diego trailed 6-0 in the fifth – that the Padres overcame a six-run deficit to win.
The alarming part of yesterday's game for the Padres was that they failed to score when they had the bases loaded and none out in the first, went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and fewer than two outs in the first three innings and failed to score the potential tying run from third with one out in the eighth after Dave Roberts tripled home Josh Barfield.
The Padres stranded 11 runners in each of the three games during the sweep of the Nationals and were 7-for-32 with runners in scoring position until Barfield and Mike Cameron hit run-scoring singles around a two-run, pinch-hit double by Geoff Blum in the four-run sixth.
“I've seen this team for three weeks now,” said new hitting coach Merv Rettenmund. “We leave a lot of runners out there. But they never quit. It was nice to watch the way they kept battling.”
The Padres had 18 hits, their second-highest total of the season. In addition to the ninth-inning homers by Greene and Piazza, the Padres had a triple and seven doubles.
“In situations like today (the six-run deficit), all you can do is try to have a good at-bat and hand it off to the next guy,” said Greene. “It was everyone.”
Said Gonzalez: “For some reason, our offense seems to pick up at the end of most games. We could have put our heads down and said, 'Oh, man, let's get out of here.' But we all felt we're still in the game.”
The tide actually could have turned in the eighth when the Padres failed to tie the game.
Cordero needed to get six outs to record his 14th save. But the Padres forced him to throw 29 pitches in the eighth. Piazza's fifth career pinch-hit homer came on Cordero's 50th pitch.
“It helped that we got his pitches up there,” said Bochy. “We put the pressure on right away. Guys saw what we needed to do and were stretching out the count.”
Yesterday marked the fourth time this season the Padres have won despite trailing after eight innings.
“We're pesky little rascals,” said Trevor Hoffman, who sat this one out – after posting four saves in as many days for the first time in his career – and let Scott Linebrink pick up his second career save.
Said Bochy: “For these last two weeks, every time you think we're done, we're back in it. This is one of the best comebacks I've had here.
“Honestly, I'm proud of these guys.”