SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jorge Mateo scored from third base on Daniel Bard’s wild pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the San Diego Padres a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night.
The Padres have a five-game winning streak and have won eight of their last nine. San Diego’s 26 victories tie San Francisco for the most in the majors.
Bard (1-3) threw a high pitch on a 3-2 count to Trent Grisham that sailed off the mitt of catcher Dom Nunez, sending Mateo scampering home with one out.
“I am kind of ready for every situation there. I’m ready for the possibility of a wild pitch,” Mateo said through a translator. “I am going to be a little bit more aggressive in that situation with the game on the line. … I wanted to win the game right there.”
Pierce Johnson (1-1) struck out three in the top of the 10th for the win.
Padres lefty Blake Snell, who hadn’t lasted six innings in any start this year, turned in his strongest performance of the season, striking out 11 and giving up one run and five hits in six innings.
“It was definitely good to go six innings. It’s definitely trending in the right direction, so I am happy about that,” Snell said. “I felt really good and I executed pretty much how I wanted to.”
It was a classic pitchers’ duel between Snell and Rockies left-hander Austin Gomber, who also got a no-decision. Gomber pitched well in his six innings, giving up one run and five hits while striking out seven.
“I definitely feel like I have given our team a chance to win in my last couple of outings,” Gomber said. “I executed pitches in tight spots.”
Snell’s previous high in strikeouts this season came in his first two appearances with eight on April 2 against Arizona and April 7 versus San Francisco….
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