X units the tone in feel-good sport for Friars

SAN DIEGO — One sturdy homestand could not presumably treatment every thing that went flawed for the Padres within the first half this 12 months. But as they arrived at Petco Park on Monday following an entirely disheartening 1-5 highway journey via Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, they insisted it might no less than get issues headed in the appropriate course.

“Restart,” mentioned a resolute Juan Soto. “That’s what we’ve got to do. Forget about what happened in this first half. Try to finish strong these last couple games. And come back stronger in the second half.”

Sure sufficient, the homestand is off to the beginning — or restart — the Padres had been hoping for. They beat the Angels, 10-3, on Monday evening within the first of six video games at Petco Park main into the All-Star break. It was the kind of victory that supplied a reminder of what nonetheless is likely to be doable for a crew with as a lot star energy as this one. 

“Winning any way would’ve been nice,” Bogaerts mentioned. “But this is one that I feel like everyone chipped in. … In the end, we were solid offensively, defensively, pitching.”

Of course, these Padres have tantalized earlier than. They’ve received massive. They’ve flashed their star energy. They simply haven’t finished it incessantly sufficient – and after they have, they’ve tended to comply with with two proverbial steps again.

It was solely 10 days in the past that the Padres notched consecutive 10-run victories over the Giants and Nationals. They proclaimed themselves on target, then adopted with consecutive losses to last-place Washington earlier than a highway journey that, clearly, they’d prefer to get out of their system as shortly as doable.

To that finish, a win like this one helps.

“It means that we can not have to think about that anymore,” supervisor Bob Melvin mentioned. “I mean, that was miserable, a really miserable trip. Feel-good game tonight.”

Right off the bat, too. With two outs within the backside of the primary inning Jaime Barria tried to sneak a fastball previous Bogaerts on the interior edge on the high of the strike zone. Bogaerts, who has struggled with that specific location, turned on the pitch and launched a towering three-run homer to the deepest reaches of the Western Metal Building’s first degree.

“That was a really good one, man,” Bogaerts mentioned. “That felt good off the bat.”

Just like that, Snell had his cushion. The National League’s newly minted June Pitcher of the Month wasn’t at his very best. Yet he nonetheless managed to stifle the Angels and hold them off the board.

In the method, Snell lowered his ERA to three.03, amid a outstanding eight-start stretch during which that quantity sits at a minuscule 0.77. Earlier within the day, Dodgers All-Star Clayton Kershaw landed on the injured listing, maybe clearing a spot on the NL pitching workers. Hey, Snell is headed dwelling to Seattle subsequent week a method or one other.

“Yeah, it would mean a lot playing in your hometown for an All-Star Game,” Snell mentioned. “So if I am [named], I’d be really excited.”

Things acquired dicey following Snell’s departure. Domingo Tapia surrendered a pair of runs within the sixth. Tom Cosgrove cleaned up that mess by punching out Shohei Ohtani with a grimy slider, earlier than Hunter Renfroe later flied out to left with the bases loaded.

From there, the Padres tacked on in a serious method — two runs within the sixth, three within the seventh and one within the eighth. Tatis had hits in all three innings, together with an two-RBI triple within the seventh. After overtaxing their bullpen in Cincinnati, the Padres wanted exactly that sort of outburst (even when they had been nonetheless compelled to make use of nearer Josh Hader within the ninth as a result of, frankly, he was their final arm obtainable).

“Our bullpen’s a little beat up right now, and we’re probably using some guys in some situations that we don’t normally,” Melvin mentioned. “So, yeah, that was big that we opened it up a little bit and didn’t have to grind on every pitch.”

It was a wanted blowout victory at precisely the appropriate time, with 45,000-plus readily available to assist San Diego neglect about its tribulations on the highway. Of course, none of it modified the Padres’ standing.

They’re nonetheless fourth within the NL West, nonetheless farther from playoff competition — now seven video games out — than they ever thought they’d be. But with almost half a season remaining, it was no less than a begin. Or, as Soto so earnestly put it, a restart.