Yastrzemski homers and drives in 2 runs as the Giants beat the punchless Padres 7-2

By BERNIE WILSON
AP Sports Writer

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A solid job by opener Jakob Junis and one big inning on offense were enough to carry the San Francisco Giants over the sloppy, listless San Diego Padres.

Mike Yastrzemski homered and drove in two runs and Junis opened with four hitless, scoreless innings in a 7-2 victory on Thursday night that opened a one-game lead over Arizona for the NL’s third wild-card spot.

Junis and three relievers combined on a seven-hitter. The Giants were up 7-0 before the Padres got their first hit, a single by Matthew Batten with two outs in the fifth off former Padres pitcher Sean Manaea (5-5).

Junis struck out three and walked one in four hitless, scoreless innings. Manaea allowed one run and three hits in 3 1/3 innings, while walking five and striking out two. He loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth but the Padres failed to score.

“That was about all Jake was ready for today,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “That was a good workload for Junis. He pitched great, obviously. The slider was really working.”

Junis said “having three pitches and mixing the changeup in there has been really beneficial for me. Limit the damage. Keeping the ball in the ballpark. I was giving up some home runs earlier in the year when I was going through tough stretches. Pounding the zone and doing what I do and attacking guys and good things are happening.”

Yastrzemski had an RBI single in the third, when the Giants scored six runs, five of them unearned due to two errors by first baseman Matthew Batten. The Padres had three errors overall, tying their season high.

The Giants sent 10 batters to the plate in the third and had five hits and a sacrifice fly to go along with Batten’s two errors. Blake Sabol had an RBI double while Joc Pederson, Yastrzemski and Wade Meckler had run-scoring singles.

“Big innings are just so critical to winning baseball games,” Kapler said. “One-run innings are good, two-run innings are good, but you put up those crooked numbers and it makes it very difficult to come back. You get a little cushion, it gives a little confidence to the pitcher and then they go through the innings a little easier.”

Yastrzemski homered to left off Matt Waldron leading off the fifth for a 7-0 lead. It was his 12th.

The Padres were coming off a 1-5 trip through Milwaukee and St. Louis that badly damaged whatever hopes they have of returning to the playoffs. The Padres have been a massive disappointment after reaching the NL Championship Series last year and then beefing up their payroll to about $250 million, the third-highest in the majors. They are 8 1/2 games out of the final wild-card spot.

Padres starter Pedro Avila (0-2) allowed six runs, one earned, on six hits in three innings. He struck out five and walked two.

SUSPENSION

Padres reliever Robert Suárez dropped his appeal and began serving a 10-game suspension for using banned sticky stuff. Suárez was ejected Aug. 23 for having sticky stuff on his left wrist and arm before he threw a pitch in the eighth inning against Miami. Suárez denied using any banned substances, saying he only had sunscreen on his arm because it was a day game.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Padres: RHP Yu Darvish has a bone spur in his pitching elbow and had a cortisone shot Thursday. He’ll rest for three to five days and the Padres should have a better idea after that where he stands, manager Bob Melvin said. Darvish was placed on the 15-day IL Monday, retroactive to Saturday. “There’s some relief in the sense that there’s nothing going on with the ligament,” Darvish said through an interpreter.

UP NEXT

The Giants haven’t named a starter for Friday night’s game while the Padres will go with RHP Michael Wacha (10-2, 2.84).

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