How did coach Craig Stammen, the San Diego Padres’ batting lineup, who was quiet until the eighth inning and suddenly exploded in the last nine?
San Diego lost 6-7 away to the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia on the 23rd (Korea Standard Time).
It was a rollercoaster game. It was 1-1 until the top of the eighth inning, then fell to 1-7 when two pitchers, Wandy Peralta and Randy Vazquez, collapsed in the bottom of the eighth inning, and the lineup exploded again in the top of the ninth inning, trailing by a point.
사진 확대 San Diego’s batters exploded late in the ninth inning. Photo = AP= Courtesy of Yonhap News
San Diego manager Craig Stammen looked back on the game in an interview after the game, saying, “That’s how baseball is supposed to be.”
As for hitting Victor Meredith in the ninth inning, he said, “He was the first player to face in the series. The batting order went around and faced him. To be honest, he is not a must-win pitcher. At that time, I had no choice but to use him because the opponent had no bullpen left,” he said, adding that he targeted a familiar pitcher.
“Our players fought well until the end. With six runs behind in the ninth inning, the goal was to get the opposing closer to the mound and increase his pitch count to help him win the next game, which he did. Although it was one point short,” he explained the meaning of the attack in the top of the ninth inning.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t do it against the opponent starter Martin Perez before that. He gave up four walks until the third inning.
사진 확대 Stammen looked back on the day’s disappointing game. Photo = AP= Courtesy of Yonhap News
Stammen said, “I’ve put my opponent in a corner to some extent. It looked like he couldn’t command as he wanted. Still, he threw well in a crisis. He hardly made a hit against him. “I let the runner out, but there was no bye at a critical moment,” he said.
The massive loss in the eighth inning was once again a disappointing match. “There was only one bad inning,” said Stammen, who continued, “Peralta was not sharp today, and Vazquez was not lucky.”
As for the offensive power showing its ups and downs, he said, “That’s what hitting is.” “In baseball, hitting always has its ups and downs. On the other hand, pitching and defense are factors that maintain consistency. In particular, our bullpen has been stable throughout the season, and thanks to this, we can win many games. It’s just that the flow of the game didn’t go our way today,” he continued.
Jackson Merrill, who hit a tiebreaking solo home run in the seventh inning, said, “I’m not despairing at all. That’s how baseball is supposed to be,” he said, expressing his composure.
“There are quite a few players on the record who don’t look very good, but if you look at the flow over the past few weeks and months, it’s a different story. As a team, we are making good at-bats to help each other. There is no selfish intention, this is what we are,” he said with force.
사진 확대 San Diego starter Michael King was on the verge of loading the bases due to poor control in the first inning, but he saved with one run. Photo = Getty Images/AFP= Courtesy of Yonhap News
Starter Michael King allowed five hits, four walks, seven strikeouts and one run in six innings. He was shaken by allowing walks to the first three batters in a row in the first inning, but he allowed one run.
“The ball wasn’t very good in the beginning,” Stammen said. However, he pitched six innings while holding out. Despite a shaky start by giving up a walk to the first three batters, it’s great to have one run in six innings. “I’m putting strict standards on myself this season, but I’m often showing this kind of good pitching even when I’m not at my best pitching,” he said.
King explained the secret of getting out of the crisis in the first inning, saying, “In the beginning, it was a little different from usual, but after adjusting, I felt better.” “I don’t really like to think mechanically on the mound. I think the easiest way to regain focus or regain flow is to change your gaze. So I threw it as if I was aiming at the left-handed batter to keep putting the ball into the strike zone, and I maintained the method until the end,” he said, explaining how to adjust.
“The experience of taking the mound as a relief pitcher was a good learning opportunity for me,” he said after playing as a relief pitcher. This is because I realized that I had to help my team out of the crisis when I was in a difficult situation. I didn’t want to put my team at a disadvantage by giving up four points from the first inning. It would have been better if I had crossed the crisis neatly with three strikeouts, but I knew that even if I was behind by one point in the first inning, I could turn the tables sufficiently,” he said, adding that his past experience helped.
King continued, “I’m proud of what we showed in the ninth inning of the attack. Although I lost, making the opponent finish in a situation that was far behind gives me the feeling of winning,” he said, explaining the meaning of the game.
[Atlanta (USA) = KIM JAE HO, MK Sports Correspondent]