Padres edge Marlins 3-2 on late error by Rojas
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Pinch-hitter Hunter Renfroe's infield single in the ninth inning led to two runs when third baseman Miguel Rojas followed with a throwing error, lifting the San Diego Padres to a 3-2 victory over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday night.
Closer Brad Ziegler (0-5) coughed up a one-run lead when he loaded the bases with one out. Renfroe hit a chopper to Rojas, who was charging. He double-clutched his throw, which was low to first baseman Justin Bour. When the ball skipped away from Bour, Freddy Galvis came home with the winning run.
Matt Strahm (1-2) got the win for working the final two innings.
San Diego Padres third baseman Christian Villanueva (22) squeezes powder onto Hunter Renfroe, center, after Renfroe drove in the winning run against the Miami Marlins in a baseball game Wednesday, May 30, 2018, in San Diego. The Padres won 3-2. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
The Marlins lost for the 14th straight start by Jose Urena, a franchise record, which included 12 from this year. The right-hander entered the game receiving 2.84 runs per game, the third-lowest average in the majors, and got more measly support Wednesday.
Urena got just two runs on Starlin Castro's homer before departing after six innings following a strong performance. He surrendered a run, three hits and two walks. He struck out six in a 93-pitch effort.
Reliever Drew Steckenrider gave up a two-out double to Manuel Margot in the seventh but got pinch-hitter Jose Pirela looking on a 95-mph fastball to strand the tying run.
Clayton Richard had won two of his last three starts and was relying on his slider in inducing the Marlins into harmlessly pounding the ball into 14 groundouts. The left-hander exited after seven innings of two-run ball. He allowed four hits and a walk, with five strikeouts.
Richard wiggled out of a jam after hitting Lewis Brinson to start the fifth and allowing JT Riddle's single.
But when Urena tried to sacrifice, catcher Raffy Lopez made a fine play, pouncing on Urena's bunt and retiring Brinson at third to change the inning. With two outs, J.T Realmuto walked to load the bases but Richard got Castro on a grounder to end the threat.
Franmil Reyes continued his hot streak with his third home run in three days, pulling the Padres to 2-1 in the fourth inning. The rookie right fielder took a high fastball the opposite way, his fourth homer in six games clanging off the right-field foul pole. Urena had sat down eight straight before Reyes' blast.
Richard retired the first 10 batters he faced. Then Realmuto singled up the middle and Castro hit his third home run of the season, a two-run, fourth-inning shot that landed 423 feet away in the Padres' bullpen over the fence in left-center.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Padres: C Austin Hedges (elbow) has resumed his throwing program after meeting with team doctors.
UP NEXT
Marlins: LHP Wei-Yin Chen (1-2, 5.22) gets the nod for the final contest of the four-game series on Thursday with his second career start against the Padres. He beat San Diego in 2016, allowing four runs and seven hits over six innings.
Padres: RHP Jordan Lyles (1-1, 3.83) makes his fifth start of the season, which matches his total from the previous two years. He worked the second-longest perfect game in Padres history on May 15, blanking the Rockies for 7 1/3 innings.
Miami Marlins' Starlin Castro (13) is greeted by teammate Justin Bour, right, after hitting a two-run home run against the San Diego Padres during the fourth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 30, 2018, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
San Diego Padres' Franmil Reyes watches his home run during the fourth inning of the team's baseball game against the Miami Marlins on Wednesday, May 30, 2018, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Miami Marlins' Starlin Castro reacts after hitting a two-run home run during the fourth inning of the team's baseball game against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, May 30, 2018, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)