Field Level Media
May 2, 2018
Eric Hosmer hit an opposite-field home run off Giants reliever Hunter Strickland with two outs in the ninth inning Tuesday night to break a tie and give the San Diego Padres a 3-2 win in San Francisco.
The home run was Hosmer's third of the season and first since April 17.
Padres closer Brad Hand, who gave up three runs in the bottom of the ninth Monday night to take the loss in San Francisco's 6-5 walk-off victory, retired all three hitters he faced Tuesday to pick up his seventh save in nine opportunities.
Kirby Yates (1-0), the third of four Padres pitchers, worked a scoreless eighth inning. Strickland (2-1) took the loss despite retiring three of the four batters he faced.
The Padres built an early 2-0 lead.
Rookie third baseman Christian Villanueva hit his ninth homer of the season in the first inning. Hosmer opened the fourth with a triple off Giants starter Andrew Suarez and scored on a one-out groundout by Jose Pirela.
The Giants battled back to tie the game on single runs in the fifth and seventh.
In the fifth, Alen Hanson opened with a single, stole second and scored on Andrew McCutchen's two-out single against Padres starter Tyson Ross.
San Francisco tied the game in the seventh against Padres reliever Craig Stammen, who retired the first two hitters he faced. Gregor Blanco walked and scored on Buster Posey's opposite-field double to right after McCutchen drew a walk.
Both starters deserved better.
Ross allowed a run on four hits and three walks with nine strikeouts in six innings while throwing 102 pitches. Suarez, making his second major league start, allowed two runs on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts in seven innings. The Giants turned three double plays behind Suarez.
--Field Level Media