Padres rally to beat Mets

May 24, 2017 7:35 PM PT

New York —

The Padres dealt with a pair of injuries up the middle of the field Wednesday at Citi Field. They doled out some damage of their own. Finally, they avoided what would have been a painful loss.

In a 6-5 victory over the New York Mets, Yangervis Solarte, Wil Myers and Hunter Renfroe delivered critical blows, fueling the Padres’ rally from a 5-1 deficit. Then, in the bottom of the ninth, Brad Hand extricated himself from a bases-loaded, no-out jam to retire three consecutive batters.

The Houdini act ensured that a collection of key hits did not go to waste.

Solarte, who singled to drive in the game’s first run, lined a two-run double to center in the fifth, slicing the deficit to two.

Myers just missed a home run in the seventh, settling for a single off the top of the fence in right-center. Two runs scored, tying the game.

In the eighth, Renfroe left no doubt with a 440-foot, tie-breaking homer to the second deck in left. The Padres’ Nos. 2, 3 and 5 hitters had driven in all of their runs.

The earlier portions of the game had not gone so well.

Right-hander Jarred Cosart’s fifth pitch of the night collided with Michael Conforto’s bat. A comebacker pegged Cosart in the right foot. He immediately doubled over in clear discomfort.

In the middle of the third inning, Matt Szczur, not Manuel Margot, jogged out of the visiting dugout. Margot, the Padres’ starting center fielder, had left the game because of a sore lower calf.

“As hard as he’s pushed this year, as soon as he said that, we weren’t going to push him at all,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “He’s been out there grinding every single day.”

Cosart, meanwhile, had remained in the game, but his stay did not last long. Shortly after Margot’s departure, he was lifted after his 38th pitch in the bottom of the third. The Mets had taken a 4-1 lead after a three-run double and an RBI single.

X-rays on Cosart’s foot were negative. He is day-to-day.

“It wasn’t too bad the first inning,” Cosart said. “When I got back out for the second inning, it was tighter. It got progressively tighter. I just lost all push off my backside, and everything started to sail on me, and I’m sure my velocity started to drop a little bit. I tried. I just didn’t really have much and just didn’t locate many pitches.”

Cosart, who has battled injuries throughout his career, including earlier this season, said he will try to avoid the disabled list “at all costs.

“I’m hoping to get back out there as soon as possible,” he said. “Another DL trip would make me very upset.”

After Cosart’s exit, the Padres were picked up by their offense. Solarte logged his second consecutive multi-hit game, after not recording one since April 29. Myers also finished with two hits, ending a five-game drought. Renfroe’s homer was his ninth this season, continuing a recent string of quality at-bats.

“I’ve told him on multiple occasions he’s got more power than me,” said Myers, who has 11 home runs on the season. “It’s hard to admit that, but he’s got some crazy power, man.”

In the bottom of the eighth, Renfroe committed a potentially costly fielding error, allowing Juan Lagares to reach second with no outs. Brandon Maurer, who had opened the season as the Padres’ closer, retired the next three batters to preserve the lead.

“It’s just been a situation recently here where we’re trying to get his feet back under him,” Green said of Maurer, whose ERA had risen sharply over the last two weeks. “He’s had a rough stretch. … He was outstanding today.”

Hand, who has emerged as a coveted trade piece, got the ball in the bottom of the ninth. The Mets came up with a soft single, a walk and a seeing-eye single. The bases were full.

Hand struck out the next two batters and got another to fly out, sealing his third career save.

“He’s always been a ‘low heart rate guy,’ not nervous, not anxious,” Green said. “To get out of that situation, there’s only a few relievers in the game who work out of that situation, and Brad Hand is one of them.”

“It doesn’t really matter what my role is,” Hand said. “Whenever my name is called in the bullpen, that is when I’m going to pitch. That’s the way I look at it. Whatever you can do to help the team win the ballgame, it doesn’t really matter what inning you pitched in.”

Green stopped short of declaring Hand his official closer.

“I think we’ll just bounce guys around and utilize them in the best way possible going forward right now,” the manager said. “Wouldn’t be shocked at all to see Brandon Maurer in that situation in the ninth. Wouldn’t be shocked to see Brad Hand back in that situation.”

Orioles claim Sardinas

Former Padres infielder Luis Sardinas was claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. Sardinas was designated for assignment by San Diego on Sunday.

Sardinas, 24, showed some promise after being acquired from Seattle last summer, but he returned to being a light-hitting utility player this season. In 53 plate appearances with the Padres, he batted .163 with a .226 on-base percentage.

Chase d’Arnaud, whom the Padres claimed off waivers on Sunday, will fill the utility role vacated by Sardinas.

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