“It's really shocking” Upset San Diego awaits ‘Awesome Kim’ Kim Ha Sung
The San Diego Padres have suffered a shocking upset.
The Padres fell 3-4 at home to the Detroit Tigers on Saturday (June 6) at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif. Starting pitcher Martin Perez pitched 6.1 innings of five-hit, five-strikeout, one-walk baseball, but a five-run ninth inning cost the Padres a chance to win.
It was a close call that cost them the win. San Diego, which defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 on April 2, has taken the first two games of a three-game series with Detroit. They were looking for a fourth straight win, but their bullpen fell apart.
San Diego scored in the first inning. Areyes singled to left and Tatis Jr. followed with a double. With the bases loaded, Profar hit a solo home run over the right field wall.
After taking the lead, San Diego added two more runs in the second inning. Cronenwirth led off with a double to right field. Bogaerts followed with a two-run home run over the left field wall.
The bullpen held the Detroit offense scoreless through the eighth inning, until Robert Suarez came on to pitch the ninth.
Suarez gave up a leadoff single to Justin-Henry Molloy and a walk to Jayson Young. He got Spencer Togelson to fly out to second, but Colt Case walked to load the bases. He struck out Kerry Carpenter to preserve the win, but Parker Meadows hit a grand slam to make it a 3-4 game.
“It's pretty shocking,” MLB.com said. “It's the first time since June 2 that a starter has given up a lead to the bullpen and lost a game.”
Perez, the starter who blew a chance to win the game, said, “Suarez has been great all year. It's part of the game. We'll be ready for tomorrow.” “I thought it was a good pitch,” said Suarez, who gave up the game-winning run. I thought it was a good pitch, they took a good swing, that happens,” he said.
While Suarez's inability to protect the lead was partly to blame for the loss, San Diego's inability to score after the top of the first inning was also a disappointment.
In particular, Mason McCoy, who is playing shortstop in place of Ha-Sung Kim, who has a shoulder injury, went hitless for the second straight day. He went 0-for-4 the day before and 0-for-3 today. He is batting just 2-for-7 in his last seven games.
One can't help but think of Kim Ha-seong, who was batting 4-for-9 in seven games before his injury. Kim suffered a shoulder injury on March 19 against the Colorado Rockies when he was running back to first base on a throw to the plate after singling in the third inning.
Kim was diagnosed with inflammation in his right shoulder after an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan and was placed on the 10-day disabled list (IL) on March 21st. It was his first time on the disabled list since joining the major leagues.
However, his return is imminent. “Kim has joined team workouts,” MLB.com reported. MLB.com continued, “Kim is playing catch. In the past five days, he has improved enough to throw from third base to first base.”
He hasn't gotten up to full throwing speed yet, but he's making progress. “It's good progress,” manager Mike Schildt said. But we're cautiously optimistic that he'll be back for the home series (July 9-10 against the San Francisco Giants).”
Before his injury, Kim was batting .330 with a .370 on-base percentage, .370 slugging percentage and .700 OPS in 121 games this season with 11 home runs, 47 RBIs, 22 doubles and 22 stolen bases. He is eligible for free agency at the end of this season. If Kim returns healthy, San Diego could have a much smoother offense.
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