Tyler Stephenson hit a two-run, opposite-field, tie-breaking home run off Padres’ reliever Nick Martinez with two outs in the bottom of the eighth Sunday afternoon to lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 4-3 victory over the visiting San Diego Padres in the rubber match of a three-game series.
Stephenson hit Martinez’s first pitch 370 feet down the line in right while pinch-hitting for Joey Votto as the Reds improved to 16-4 over their last 20 games.
Padres left-handed reliever Tom Cosgrove (1-1) retired the first two Reds he faced in the eighth but he walked pinch-hitter Stuart Fairchid on a full-count pitch. After the right-handed Stephenson was announced as the pinch-hitter, the Padres countered with the right-handed Martinez.
The Padres tied the game at 2-2 on back-to-back, two-out homers in the top of the eighth — the first by Ha-Seong Kim off starter Andrew Abbott and the second an upper-deck launch to left by Fernando Tatis Jr. off reliever Lucas Sims (2-1).
The home runs spoiled a brilliant start by rookie left-hander Abbott, who had shut out the Padres on three hits and a walk with 12 strikeouts through 7 2/3 innings. Abbott retired 15 straight Padres from the first to the sixth innings and had struck out four straight when Kim came up.
The Padres’ second baseman hit a low liner into the left field stands on Abbott’s 101st and final pitch for his 10th homer of the season and fifth in the last 10 games. Tatis greeted Sims with a 420-foot drive into the second deck in left for his 16th homer of the season.
San Diego scored in the top of the ninth on a two-out single by Gary Sanchez that was followed by Jake Cronenworth’s double to left center off Alexis Diaz. The Cincinnati closer then retired pinch-hitter Rougned Odor for the final out and his 23rd save.
The Reds had taken a 2-0 lead in the fourth on their first two-out homer of the game, a 441-foot blast into the second deck in left by Spencer Steer. Padres reliever Tim Hill had retired the first two hitters he faced in the inning when he hit Votto with a pitch. Steer followed with his 14th homer of the season.
After giving up back-to-back, one-out singles to Tatis and Juan Soto in the first, Abbott struck out Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts to start his run of 15 straight outs.
The Padres finished a 1-5 trip and have lost seven of their past eight games.
–Field Level Media
