The Dodgers, of course, have spent much of the past decade beating up on the Padres. They came to town as the six-time defending National League West champs, in first place once again. With San Diego off to its best start in nine years, it was the most highly anticipated series here in recent memory. All three games sold out, setting a Petco Park three-game-series attendance record.<doc-sep>Pinch hitter Hunter Renfroe hit a walk-off grand slam off Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen with two out in the bottom of the ninth Sunday afternoon to give the host San Diego Padres an 8-5 victory to avoid being swept in a three-game series at Petco Park. Chris Taylor had put the Dodgers ahead 5-4 with a two-run homer in the top of the eighth off Padres reliever Robbie Erlin. Dodgers pitchers had held the Padres to three hits and retired 14 straight -- including seven straight by strikeouts at one point -- when Eric Hosmer opened the bottom of the ninth with a single to left off Jansen, who had picked up saves in each of the first two games of the series. Manuel Margot and Wil Myers followed with back-to-back bunt singles to the left side to load the bases with no one out. Two outs later, Renfrow belted his fifth career grand slam -- and seventh homer of the season -- on a cut fastball. It was the first walk-off win of the season for the Padres, and the first pinch-hit walk-off grand slam in franchise history. Pirates 5, A’s 3 (13 innings) Starling Marte hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the 13th inning to lift Pittsburgh over visiting Oakland. The game was tied 1-1 from the seventh inning until the 13th, when the A’s took a 3-1 lead on Kendrys Morales’ RBI single and Stephen Piscotty’s RBI double. Pittsburgh’s Cole Tucker singled with one out in the bottom of the 13th against Fernando Rodney (0-2), and Jung Ho Kang walked. Adam Frazier drove in Tucker with a single to make it 3-2, and Marte followed with a shot into the bullpen in center. The A’s were without closer Blake Treinen because of a sore right elbow. Tigers 5, Royals 2 (10 innings) Brandon Dixon blasted a walk-off three-run homer in the 10th inning to lift Detroit over visiting Kansas City. Nicholas Castellanos and Niko Goodrum reached on infield singles prior to Dixon’s two-out home run off Ian Kennedy (0-1). Dixon entered the game in the eighth inning as a pinch hitter. Buck Farmer (2-2) recorded one out to gain the victory. Castellanos and Miguel Cabrera each had two hits and an RBI. Jeimer Candelario reached base for the 18th consecutive game with two walks. Giants 6, Reds 5 Brandon Crawford’s pinch-hit, two-run homer in the ninth inning capped visiting San Francisco’s second come-from-behind win over Cincinnati in the last three days. The Giants fought all the way back from a 4-0, first-inning deficit, 48 hours after stunning the Reds with a late surge for a 12-11 win in a game they trailed 8-0 in the third on Friday. Giants closer Will Smith gave up a two-out solo home run to Kyle Farmer, his fifth of the season, before closing out the bottom of the ninth for his ninth save. The rally spoiled a hot start for Cincinnati, which plated its first four batters of the game. That included three homers -- by Eugenio Suarez, Jesse Winker and Derek Dietrich -- on three consecutive pitches from San Francisco starter Jeff Samardzija, the first time any team has homered on three straight pitches since June 12, 2007. Braves 3, Marlins 1 (10 innings) Slideshow ( 14 images ) Ender Inciarte slapped an opposite-field, RBI double down the third-base line in the 10th inning to put Atlanta on top for good in a victory at Miami. Atlanta started the 10th-inning rally when pinch-hitter Josh Donaldson led off with a full-count walk. Donaldson, who missed three recent games due to a calf injury, was lifted for a pinch runner - pitcher Max Fried. Inciarte then faked a bunt before producing his decisive double. The Marlins had a chance to get Fried, who was stumbling badly as he approached the plate. But catcher Chad Wallach couldn’t handle shortstop Miguel Rojas’ one-hop relay throw, and Fried dove for the plate safely. Cubs 13, Cardinals 5 Willson Contreras played a key role in three rallies, and Kris Bryant added a grand slam late as Chicago routed visiting St. Louis for its seventh straight win. Contreras went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, two runs scored and one walk. Albert Almora Jr. slugged a pair of doubles, and Anthony Rizzo and David Bote added two RBIs each to help power Chicago’s offense. The Cardinals suffered their fourth consecutive loss, as Adam Wainwright (3-3) allowed five hits, two walks and five runs in five innings. Astros 10, Angels 4 Alex Bregman hit a grand slam, and Justin Verlander overcame a shaky start to lead Houston over Los Angeles in Monterrey, Mexico, completing a two-game sweep in the Mexico Series. Bregman enjoyed his stay in Monterrey, going 5-for-10 with three home runs and eight RBIs in the two games. Michael Brantley and Carlos Correa also homered for Houston, which scored 24 runs on 27 hits in the two-game series. Verlander gave up three runs in the first two innings, but shut out the Angels until the seventh, when Angels catcher Jonathan Lucroy hit the second of his two home runs. Verlander (5-1) gave up four runs on five hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. Red Sox 9, White Sox 2 Xander Bogaerts belted his fifth career grand slam to cap a seven-run eighth inning as Boston won at Chicago. Mitch Moreland drove in his second run with a go-ahead RBI single to start the eighth-inning uprising for the Red Sox, who erupted for nine runs in the third inning of Saturday’s 15-2 romp. J.D. Martinez and Eduardo Nunez each had an RBI single and Brandon Workman (2-1) tossed one scoreless inning to pick up the win as Boston recorded its sixth victory in seven games to move within one game of .500. Mariners 10, Indians 0 Slideshow ( 14 images ) Jay Bruce hit a grand slam in the first inning, and Erik Swanson pitched six scoreless innings of one-hit ball for his first major league victory as Seattle won at Cleveland. Mitch Haniger and Edwin Encarnacion also homered for the Mariners, who snapped a six-game losing streak during which they had been outscored 53-12. Swanson (1-3), a right-hander acquired in the offseason from the New York Yankees as part of the trade for left-hander James Paxton, allowed only three baserunners through the first five innings, all via walks. The only hit Swanson allowed was a two-out double in the sixth by Jose Ramirez. Rockies 8, Diamondbacks 7 Raimel Tapia tripled in three runs during a five-run eighth inning, and Colorado rallied to beat Arizona in Denver. Ryan McMahon had an RBI single, and pitcher German Marquez had a two-run single for the Rockies. Scott Oberg (1-0) got the win with an inning of relief, and Wade Davis pitched the ninth for his fifth save. Eduardo Escobar and Blake Swihart homered for the Diamondbacks, who had their six-game road winning streak snapped. Brewers 3, Mets 2 Christian Yelich hit his major league-leading 15th home run in his return to the lineup to lead Milwaukee to a win over visiting New York, completing a three-game sweep. The outfielder, who missed the last six games with a back injury, clubbed a two-run homer off Mets starter Jason Vargas into Miller Park’s upper deck for a 3-0 lead in the third inning. Milwaukee starter Zach Davies (4-0) tossed 7 2/3 innings of two-run ball, allowing six hits while striking out five and walking one. During his MVP season in 2018, Yelich hit his 15th homer in his 91st game. He belted his 15th in just his 31st game this season, breaking a tie with Los Angeles’ Cody Bellinger for tops in the league. Yankees 4, Twins 1 (eight innings) Domingo German pitched 6 2/3 strong innings to become the second six-game winner in the major leagues, and New York recorded a rain-shortened victory over visiting Minnesota. After starting late to avoid a delayed start, the game was halted in the bottom of the eighth with Gleyber Torres on third and a 3-1 count to Brett Gardner. After a 61-minute delay, the game was called. German (6-1) joined Tampa Bay’s Tyler Glasnow as the only six-game winners in the majors by allowing a run on four hits. He struck out seven, walked three and threw 69 of his career-high 108 pitches for strikes. Phillies 7, Nationals 1 Zach Eflin had another strong start, and host Philadelphia took advantage of defensive miscues to beat Washington on a rainy day, taking two of three games in the series. Eflin (4-3) allowed just one run on four hits in seven inning with five strikeouts in a 108-pitch outing. Washington starter Anibal Sanchez (0-5) fell to 5-11 in his career against the Phillies despite fanning a season-high nine batters in 4 2/3 innings, while allowing two runs, none earned. The Nationals have won just three series this year -- losing five series in a row -- and lost for the 11th time in 16 games. Rangers 10, Blue Jays 2 Asdrubal Cabrera continued his success off Toronto right-hander Clay Buchholz, driving in four runs in the first three innings as Texas won the series finale in Arlington. Cabrera came into the game 9-for-18 in his career off Buchholz with two doubles and two home runs. He doubled in the first run of the game in a three-run second inning, and smashed a three-run homer in the third to make it 6-1. Rougned Odor ended an 0-for-21 skid with a two-run homer in the second inning and finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs for Texas, in the rubber game of the series. Rays-Orioles PPD The final game of the series was postponed due to inclement weather in Baltimore. The game will be made up as part of a split doubleheader on July 13. --Field Level Media<doc-sep>
SAN DIEGO, CA - MAY 5: Hunter Renfroe #10 of the San Diego Padres celebrates after hitting a grand slam walk off home run during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park May 5, 2019 in San Diego, California. The Padres won 8-5. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) Examining How the Highest Paid Relief Pitchers Are Playing in 2019 by Tyson Shushkewich MLB: As a term for complete games, the ‘Maddux’ is mis-labeled by Bill Felber Hunter Renfroe hit a pinch-hit grand slam to give the San Diego Padres a walk-off win against the Dodgers, so what are the takeaways. San Diego Padres outfielder Hunter Renfroe‘s pinch-hit walk-off grand slam against Kenley Jansen gave the Padres their first win against Los Angeles this season, and it would be an understatement to say it was much needed. The Padres have had success on the offensive side in all three games of the series, but their bullpen let them down in the first two games. It is a great sign to see Andy Green rest his bullpen (especially Kirby Yates) because they have a huge series vs the Mets coming up tonight. Conclusion: Hunter Renfroe is Clutch Nick Margevicius was able to keep the Dodgers offense pretty quiet on Sunday afternoon. He went 5 2/3 innings, giving up three earned runs. The Padres gave him a 4-0 lead, so he had some wiggle room early in the game. The only big mistake he made was to Max Muncy, who has terrorized Padres pitching the whole weekend. Muncy hit a three-run home run to make it a one-run contest before Chris Taylor homered off of Robbie Erin to give them a one-run lead. Conclusion: Margevicius was Dominant The Padres brought back the bunt in the bottom of the ninth inning to set up the grand slam by Hunter Renfroe. After an Eric Hosmer single, Manuel Margot laid down a fantastic bunt down the third base line to get runners on first and second. Then, Wil Myers came up and no one expected him to bunt, but he also singles on a bunt to shortstop Corey Seager to load the bases with no outs. You do not see many teams bunting in any situation, especially in the bottom of the ninth so for the Padres to blindside the Dodgers was great to see. Greg Garcia would proceed to strikeout, Francisco Mejia popped up to Max Muncy, and then with the bases loaded, two outs, in the bottom of the ninth with the Padres down by one, Hunter Renfroe delivered a pinch-hit walk-off grand slam. Chris Paddack will go up against Jacob deGrom and the New York Mets tonight at 7:10 PT to kick off the final series of the San Diego Padres homestand. Want your voice heard? Join the Call To The Pen team! Write for us! Conclusion: Padres Played Fundamentally Good Baseball