SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — After being held to just one hit in Game 1 Tuesday night, the San Diego Padres' bats came back with a vengeance.
The Padres defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 8-5 in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, and fans didn't have to wait long to see runs scored.
The problem was, Philly struck first. In the top of the 2nd, the Phillies scored four runs off of five hits, which 10News Sports Reporter Ben Higgins called a "bloop-fest."
After escaping the frame, the dormant bats woke up.
The Padres got halfway out of that 4-0 hole in the bottom of the 2nd thanks to back-to-back dingers by Brandon Drury and Josh Bell, respectively.
Starting pitcher Blake Snell recovered from his shaky start, holding the Phillies hitless and scoreless in the three full innings he pitched following the 2nd. Snell threw 89 pitches on the day, and 42% of those were thrown in the 2nd.
Once Snell struck out all three batters in the 5th, the Friars stepped up to the plate and exploded.
Ha-Seong Kim started the barrage, making it to first base off a sharp line drive to left field. Catcher Austin Nola then hit an RBI-single, which is especially of note because he hit it off his brother, Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola. Their matchup marked the first time brothers pitched and hit against each other in MLB Postseason history.
Jurickson Profar also hit a single, sending Nola to third. Although Juan Soto has struggled at the plate recently, his double drove in Nola and tied the game 4-4.
After a strikeout, Brad Hand replaced Nola for the Phillies. This was short-lived: Hand hit a batter with a pitch, then gave up singles to Drury and Bell, which extended the Padre-lead to 7-4. Hand was yanked out of the game, and Andrew Bellatti took the dirt for Philly.
Bellatti got them out of that inning, but the damage was already done.
The Padres defense and relief pitcher Nick Martinez held down the fort, keeping Philly scoreless until the 8th. A Manny Machado home run in the bottom of the 7th helped give the team more of a cushion, but Rhys Hoskins responded with a homer of his own to open the 8th.
Padres pitcher Robert Suarez shook off Hoskins' hit, as he struck out a batter after a double-play to end the half-inning. Padres batters continued to make contact in the bottom of the 8th; however, the contact led to a forceout and two groundouts.
As is tradition, Padres closer Josh Hader made quick work of the Philly batters he faced in the 9th to secure the win for San Diego.
In total, the Friars had 13 hits on the day. The Padres must continue to show up at the plate if they want to make their World Series dreams a reality.
Game 3 is scheduled for 4:37 p.m. PT on Friday in Philadelphia.
