San Diego Padres vs Philadelphia Phillies Match Player Stats On Jul 07, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Jul 7, 2017

PHILADELPHIA -- The final ball that San Diego catcher Austin Hedges hit on Friday night didn't leave Citizens Bank Park like the first two did.

It was plenty good enough, though, as Hedges' sacrifice fly in the ninth inning lifted the Padres to a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on a rainy Friday night at Citizens Bank Park.

A 94-minute rain delay midway through the seventh inning helped the Phillies get right back into a game they had trailed to that point.

San Diego starter Clayton Richard had limited his opponents to five hits and one run in six innings before the storm forced the Padres to go to the bullpen.

They Phillies put runners on second and third against reliever Phil Maton, and pinch-hitting Daniel Nava made it a one-run game with a ground ball to the pitcher.

Freddy Galvis then tied it up with a single through the gap at short off left-hander Brad Hand, scoring rookie outfielder Nick Williams, who had doubled in a pinch-hitting appearance.

Hand (2-4), the Padres' only All-Star selection, ran into more trouble in the eighth, walking Tommy Joseph and giving up a single to Odubel Herrera to put men on first and second with one out. But he struck out Andres Blanco and Cameron Rupp to end the inning.

San Diego got to Phillies reliever Hector Neris (2-3) immediately thereafter. Cory Spangenberg singled and advanced to third on a one-out base hit by Carlos Asuaje before Hedges brought him home with a fly ball to center.

Brandon Mauer pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 18th save of the year.

Hedges had the Padres in good shape before the delay. A solo shot to left in the third inning put the Padres up 2-0 and his follow-up at-bat in the fifth inning ended the same way, with Hedges rounding the bases after the ball landed in the right-field seats to make it 3-1.

Hedges wasn't the only Padres' hitter to go deep against Phillies starter Nick Pivetta. Jose Pirela got the scoring underway in the first inning with a homer to left, his fourth of the season.

Philadelphia's first run also came on a solo shot, off the bat of Joseph in the fourth inning. That was the 15th of the season for the first baseman, who hit 21 in 107 games as a rookie last year.

The home runs were the only problem for Pivetta, who went seven strong innings, giving up five hits while striking out nine Padres along the way.

NOTES: It was 1980s retro night at Citizens Bank Park, with both teams wearing throwback uniforms from the era. ... San Diego hasn't won any of its last six series in Philadelphia, dating to the 2011 season. They've only won one series between the clubs since 2009, in 2014 at Petco Park. ... Padres manager Andy Green and third-base coach Glenn Hoffman both celebrated their birthdays. ... Saturday afternoon's game will pit Philadelphia RHP Aaron Nola (6-5, 3.73 ERA) against San Diego RHP Jhoulys Chacin (7-7, 4.52).