Juan Soto homered in the first inning for a third straight game and right-hander Seth Lugo and three relievers blanked the visiting San Francisco Giants on four hits as the San Diego Padres won 4-0 on Sunday to score a third straight win to conclude the National League West rivals’ four-game series.
Alex Cobb, who lost a no-hitter with two out in the ninth in his previous start, gave up a hit to the first batter he faced Sunday and was touched for three runs in the first inning.
Ha-Seong Kim opened the Padres first with a single and stole second, only to be thrown out at third on Fernando Tatis Jr.’s grounder to short.
But Soto followed with his 28th homer of the season on the first pitch he saw from Cobb — the right-hander’s preferred split-finger fastball, which he heavily relied on during his no-hit bid against Cincinnati last Tuesday in San Francisco
But the Padres’ scoring in the first didn’t end with Soto’s 372-foot drive to left center. Manny Machado followed with a single and came around on a double by Xander Bogaerts. Machado closed out the scoring with a one-out solo homer in the third. His 26th homer of the season travelled 417 feet to center off a Webb sinker.
Bogaerts was 4-for-4 in the game with the double and three singles. Machado was 3-for-4.
Lugo (6-6) gave up three hits and a walk with four strikeouts in six innings. Nick Martinez, Scott Barlow and Josh Hader followed with scoreless innings, the Padres’ closer getting three strikeouts around a walk.
Cobb (7-6) gave up all four Padres runs on six hits and no walks with three strikeouts in just three innings. He threw 58 pitches after throwing 131 in his complete game last Tuesday.
The Giants are 9-18 over their last 27 games and 4-17 in their last 21 road games.
–Field Level Media