Padres lose to Astros in 10 innings – San Diego Union-Tribune

Jurickson Profar laughed as he stood in front of his locker late Tuesday night.

What else could he have done?

He knows the pain of defeat and the thrill of a postseason finale. Then, during a 4-3 loss in 10 innings to the Houston Astros, something happened.

“It was a wild game,” said Profar.

Indeed.

Let’s count the possibilities.

Manny Machado hit a home run to tie the game in the sixth inning after home plate umpire Brennan Miller called the Padres’ all-time home run leader back into the box after two apparent ball foursome.

There was a balk, a 2-2 intentional walk and a wild pitch that gave the Astros the lead in the eighth inning. There was the wild pitch that tied the game after controversial closer Josh Hader — who was booed endlessly by a sellout crowd of 44,553 when he came on in the eighth inning to protect a one-run lead — had a rules review overturn a pitch clock violation early in his appearance.

In the ninth inning, Jose Altuve was ejected after removing his left shoe and sock to convince Miller that his inning-ending groundout should have been ruled a foul ball off his foot.

And there was the Astros’ claim that Profar was not hit by a pitch with two outs in the 10th – and Profar approving – only for a review in New York to force him to take first base and load the bases for Machado.

“I was ready to strike,” said Profar, who stood visibly upset on the field after the game.

Machado, of course, was as good an alternative as there is, and he sent a 103 mph rocket up the middle—a touch faster than his 27th home run of the season four innings earlier—that might have scored two runs.

But the ball appeared to touch the mound just enough for Altuve’s replacement at second base, Grae Kessinger, to slide to his right, stop the ball and throw it to second base, ending the game and the Padres’ four-game winning streak.

“I thought he was going to get through,” Machado said. “He was 103 from the mound. I wish he hadn’t fallen on the mound and onto the turf and jumped through. But he made a good play, man. They’re a good team over there. They play good defense, throw well, hit well.”

“That’s what it’s about.”

The Padres were The close to significantly improving their chances in the postseason.

After all, the Diamondbacks had already lost in Colorado, which meant that the Mets were now tied with Arizona for the second wildcard spot in the NL.

The Braves had also lost and were two games behind this team.

Damn, even the Dodgers lost in Miami.

A win for the Padres could have reduced their deficit in the NL West to 2½ games.

Instead, the Padres are 3½ games behind Los Angeles in the division and hold a not-so-comfortable 2½-game lead in the race for the NL’s top wild-card spot with 10 games remaining.

Truly a wild day.

“It was definitely a weird day,” said reliever Jason Adam, whose 11-inning scoreless streak was ended by Yordan Alvarez’s one-out double in the eighth inning, a balk and a wild pitch after a 2-2 intentional walk for Kyle Tucker. “That’s how games can be this time of year. Everyone fights to the end.”

The Astros were the team left standing on Tuesday because Tucker hit a single against Adrián Morejón in the 10th inning to score the winning free runner and Hector Neris got out of danger in the bottom half of the inning.

The stage for a comeback in the first inning of the game began with Elias Diaz’s leadoff walk. Ghost runner Tyler Wade even made it to third base on a wild pitch before the free throw, but he was out of the contact screen on Luis Arraez’s ensuing bouncer and didn’t get far enough away from third base to force the issue at the plate.

“I just looked through the ball and tried to avoid a double play when the ball was on the ground,” said Wade, who replaced Donovan Solano as a runner on second base early in the 10th inning. “That’s why I made that extra jump there. With Tati on, we’re taking our chances with one out instead of trying to force something with no outs.”

The fielder’s choice ended Arraez’s hit streak at 14 games. Arraez was also subbed out for a pinch-runner, Brandon Lockridge, but Fernando Tatis Jr. grounded out with momentum and got the second out. After Profar was “hit” by a phantom pitch, Kessinger grabbed Machado’s rocket and ended the game.

“It felt good,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said of Machado’s final at-bat. “I mean, they were pretty well positioned and Kessinger made a really nice, great play. So he hit the bat right there, it looks like it could have landed in the middle and could have been celebrated.”

It would have been Machado’s second at-bat on Tuesday, which would have been a reason to celebrate.

The Padres didn’t have much to offer against Astros right-hander Hunter Brown when Tatis hit a single early in the sixth inning in a 2-0 game.

Tatis stole second base after Profar hit a flyout to left, and Machado was more than ready to take the open base when Brown missed the zone with his first three pitches.

The fourth out also missed, and Machado dropped his bat and walked to the first base line, only to hear a strike from Miller.

This scene played out again on the following fastball, an attempt that might have grazed the top of the zone.

Machado then fouled off a sinker before hitting the seventh pitch of the at-bat, a hanging-knuckle curve, and ripping the ball out to left to tie the game at 2-2.

This time, Machado carried his bat a few steps up the line before throwing it toward the dugout, pounding his chest and waving to his teammates: “Let’s go (beep)!”

They almost succeeded.

“If I was the pitcher, I think I would have just let him go,” King said. “Because you know he would focus even more and almost take the team on his back. He made sure he wouldn’t get cheated, and he showed that.”

Machado added: “(Miller) apologized afterward. I thanked him. I’ll take that all day.”

Originally published: September 17, 2024 at 10:04 p.m.