SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — It was truly an all-hands on deck game for San Diego, as the Padres bullpen lead the Friars to the National League Division Series with a game 3 win over St. Louis on Friday.
Pitching performances by Craig Stammen, Tim Hill, Pierce Johnson, Adrian Morejon, Austin Adams, Luis Patino, Emilio Pagan, Drew Pomeranz, and Trevor Rosenthal shut out the Cardinals, who brought in 16 runs in the first two games of the wild card series.
According to the MLB, the nine pitchers were the most used in a nine-inning combined shutout since at least 1901, regular season or postseason.
Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty threw six solid innings only giving the Padres one run.
In the bottom of the fifth, Fernando Tatis Jr. drove a double to left field that was followed up by another double by first baseman Eric Hosmer to give San Diego the lead.
A base hit by Jake Cronenworth and single from Trent Grisham off St. Louis’ Alex Reyes preempted an intentional walk of Tatis Jr. in the seventh. Manny Machado would ground into a fielder’s choice to third, scoring Cronenworth.
Hosmer would walk next with the bases loaded, giving the Padres the 3-0 lead heading into the eighth.
In the eighth, Cronenworth sent a solo shot to center field with two outs to give San Diego some insurance with a 4-0 lead.
Rosenthal came in to close out the ninth for the Padres, who now advance to their first NLDS since 2006 where they ended up losing to St. Louis. Friday's win also marked San Diego's first playoff series win since 1998.
San Diego will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in game 1 of the NLDS on Tuesday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, for a best-of-five series.
