Padres 3, White Sox 1: Pitching shines in Arizona sun
...but the offensive woes continue
While the pitching was pretty darn good through six innings, overall, it was a rough day on the ranch for the South Siders. Their record moves to 1-5 on the spring.
Let’s start with the good news. Starter Deivi García was dominant in his two innings, blanking the Friars, allowing only one walk while striking out three. He was relieved by Prelander Berroa, Brian Shaw, and Tim Hill, all of whom continued with the shutout during their one inning of work each. The relievers collectively allowed only two hits and two walks over three innings.
Then, well, the wheels pretty much fell off.
It started out well as Sammy Peralta came on for the sixth inning and turned the lineup over in order without a glitch. Unfortunately, trouble started in the seventh after a leadoff fielding error by shortstop Colson Montgomery allowed Ha-Seong Kim to reach first. Luckily, he pitched around the mistake and got Matthew Batten to fly into a double play. Regrettably, he walked the next batter, Óscar Mercado, and then surrendered a two-run blast to Brett Sullivan.
San Diego manufactured one more run in the ninth off Chase Plymell. The 25-year-old righty hit Eguy Rosario to lead off the inning, then walked Clay Dungan. He then proceeded with an errant throw to second on a pickoff attempt, moving both runners up. After a Graham Pauley groundout, Ethan Salas drove in Rosario with a sacrifice fly.
On the offensive side, the Pale Hose continue to struggle. Despite Andrew Benintendi finally getting his first hit of the spring — a single to center — the rest of the core, including Yoán Moncada, Luis Robert Jr., and Eloy Jiménez, put up zeros. The lone run scored by the Good Guys came in the bottom of the sixth when Max Stassi led off with a triple and was brought home on a sacrifice bunt by Zach Remillard. The only two other hits were a double in the seventh by Gavin Sheets and a single in the eighth by Danny Mendick.
White Sox top prospect Colson Montgomery has had better days. He went 0-for-1 at the dish with a walk and a strikeout. He also committed a throwing error that allowed Kim to reach first base in the seventh. Without a broadcast, I can’t tell you exactly what happened, but it was his first error on the spring.
The club is back at it tomorrow with a split-squad doubleheader. The first game is against our dear friends, the Kansas City Royals, at Camelback Ranch, starting at 2:05 p.m. The second game is at the Peoria Sports Complex versus the Seattle Mariners at 2:10 p.m. Unfortunately, there’s no radio or television broadcast, so be sure to visit us at South Side Sox for tomorrow’s pre-game and recap.