Welcome to the Padres-Dodgers rivalry.
This was quite an introduction.
Arraez received a standing ovation early Friday night as he played his first game at his new home stadium. Hours later, he sent fans home happy with a walk-off home run that ended a tense pitching battle in a 2-1 win over San Diego in front of a packed Petco Park.
“It’s amazing,” said Arraez, who joined the Padres in a trade with the Marlins last Saturday. “It’s a different energy. If you have the energy, you’re going to do something good.”
Arraez’s dramatic walk-off hit ensured that starter Michael King’s dominant pitching wouldn’t go to waste. Against perhaps the toughest lineup in the sport, King pitched seven scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts.
The Padres took an early lead on a solo home run from Tyler Glasnow to Luis Campusano.
Los Angeles tied it in the eighth inning, but that only set the stage for Arraez’s heroics. Campusano led off the ninth inning with a double, and then Dodgers right-hander Michael Grove hit a fastball over the center of the plate.
“I don’t try to do too much,” Arraez said. “So I’m just being me. When I saw the hole in the middle, I just said, ‘Okay, if he throws me that pitch, middle, middle, I’m I just want to hit it right in the middle.’
Arraez is one of those rare hitters who has the ability to hit where he wants to hit. And he did just that. Pinch runner Tyler Wade scored from second base, and Arraez was immediately mauled by his teammates on the infield dirt. Petco Park was furious.
“I’m a big fan of my new teammates,” King said with a smile.
Of course, there were many reasons behind the Padres’ surprising trade of two-time batting champion Arraez early in the season. They needed a left-handed bat to balance the offense. They needed command plus a threat on the bases. They needed another batter to lengthen, or complete, their lineup.
But to sum it all up, the Padres acquired Arraez because they want to win.they want to win now. The Dodgers are the favorites to win the National League West, and are the team most directly standing in the way of that goal.
It’s still May. The Dodgers remain a powerhouse, entering Friday’s game on a seven-game winning streak and already have a sizable cushion in the standings. But no team has played them harder than the Padres, who have accounted for four of Los Angeles’ 14 losses this season.
“This was amazing,” Arraez said. “We won. We put teamwork in there. Really good game. [Campusano], pitching staff. This match was great. It was a good start for us by winning the first game of the series. ”
It was a good start for Araez. Thursday’s day off was spent trying to resolve the housing situation while picking up his wife, mother and daughter from the airport. In his first week with his new club, he hit .375, his biggest hit to date.
“This guy is just a special talent,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “…Welcome to Petco Park.”
For most of the night, Arraez’s home debut took a backseat to the duel on the mound. Glasnow was dominant for seven frames, striking out 10 Padres. But Mr. King was better.
The Dodgers recorded only two hits against King, both of which were easy singles to opposite field. King showed dizzying movement with both his sinker and changeup, causing a career-high 19 swings and whiffs.
“That was a really good baseball game,” Shildt said. “Both teams pitched well. Neither pitcher gave much away.”
“I thought it was almost a race to the bullpen,” King added. “We didn’t know what we were going to get out of their bullpen, and Glasnow was dominating.”
In that bullpen battle, the Dodgers struck first and scored the only points on Freddie Freeman’s sacrifice fly. However, Hason King skillfully converted Max Muncy’s late grounder into a double play, allowing Hiroki Matsui to escape.
Padres closer Robert Suarez continued his early-season dominance with a scoreless pitch in the top of the ninth inning. He then hit a game-winning hit to second base, stepping up for the cutting-edge Padre, who has been the highest-performing hitter in the sport in recent seasons.
“We put that inning together and put him at second base. It feels great when he comes up,” Shildt said.
Arraez wasted little time reinforcing his faith in his new manager, new team and new city.
