 struck out rookie Fernando Tatis Jr. to end the ninth with two runners on. Nick Markakis made a nice catch against the right-field wall of Frankie Mejia's fly ball with two runners on in the 10th.Manager Brian Snitker said the win ranks ''Right up there. Especially here. That was an exciting game. A very exciting game. It was a big win for us.'' By taking the first two games of the three-game set, the Braves won a series in San Diego for the first time since 2011.''It's definitely one of those momentum games you take going into the second half,'' Newcomb said. ''Coming out winning two games and winning one like that definitely gives us a boost.'' Donaldson, who scored three runs, started the winning rally when he drew a leadoff walk against Luis Perdomo (1-2). He advanced on Markakis' groundout and scored when Albies singled to right. Tyler Flowers added a two-run double.Donaldson hit a two-run homer in the first and has three homers and six RBIs in the two games here. Ronald Acuna Jr. homered for the second straight night.Donaldson ''plays with emotion,'' Snitker said. ''That was a big walk. He's had some really, really good at-bats. He's an emotional guy and wants to win really bad. He plays with a lot of emotion and that's good. He fits right in here.'' Luke Jackson struggled to get his 16th save. He allowed Manny Machado's second homer of the game with one out in the 10th and loaded the bases with two outs before striking out Perdomo on a full-count pitch to end it.With two runners on, Markakis made a nice catch of Francisco Mejia's drive to the right-field wall.''I thought it was out when he hit it,'' Snitker said.Machado hit his 22nd homer in the first and his 23rd in the 10th. Mejia also homered.''Offensively, he's a hardened soul,'' manager Andy Green said about Machado.The Padres ''gave ourselves a chance there at the end, finally put some good at-bats together consecutively late in the game,'' Green said. ''Just not enough solid hard contact.''I think you just look at the story of the game for us from a pitching perspective. Leadoff walks in innings crushes us. It crushes every team. Those are things we can't do if we're going to be a good baseball team. We did that three times today and it cost us.'' Padres All-Star Kirby Yates blew the save when he allowed Austin Riley's sacrifice fly for a 4-all tie in the eighth. Yates came on after Gerardo Reyes issued a leadoff walk to Donaldson, who advanced on Markakis' single and Albies' grounder before scoring on the sac fly.Yates was trying for his first six-out save.San Diego went ahead 4-3 with two outs in the seventh when Manuel Margot stole home after Tatis broke for second and drew a throw to first from left-hander A. J. Minter. First baseman Freddie Freeman's throw home was high and Margot slid in to score, but was stepped on by catcher Tyler Flowers. Margot stayed in the game. Tatis had been intentionally walked.After Mejia homered leading off the fifth to tie it at 2, the Padres went ahead without the benefit of another hit. Margot followed with a walk and advanced to third when Flowers had a passed ball and threw wildly for an error while trying to get Margot at second. Julio Teheran hit Greg Garcia with a pitch and then allowed a sacrifice fly by rookie pinch-hitter Josh Naylor.Acuna tied it with a two-run shot off Craig Stammen with two outs in the seventh, his 23rd.Donaldson gave the Braves a 2-0 lead with his shot to right-center off left-hander Joey Lucchesi that was estimated at 400 feet. It was his 21st.Machado hit a line shot to left estimated at 413 feet with two outs in the bottom of the inning.Lucchesi allowed two runs and three hits in five innings, struck out four and walked two.Teheran allowed three runs, two earned, and three hits in six innings while striking out six and walking one.QBS IN THE HOUSEDrew Brees of the New Orleans Saints and Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks were at the game. Brees and his family have an offseason home in the San Diego area.UP NEXTBraves: Rookie RHP Mike Soroka (9-1, 2.42) is scheduled to start Sunday's series finale. He pitched six strong innings to beat the Padres 3-1 on April 29 at Atlanta.Padres: Rookie RHP Cal Quantrill (2-2, 4.83) will face the Braves for the second time. He made his MLB debut May 1 at Atlanta, throwing 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball but losing 5-1.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Braves shoot to stay hot vs. PadresFLMFor Brian Snitker, more of the same please.Snitker's Atlanta Braves opened the second half of the season on Friday night much the way they went into the All-Star break -- playing winning baseball."We played well tonight, we've been playing well," Snitker said after the visiting Braves defeated the San Diego Padres 5-3 at Petco Park.Since the first of June, the Braves are 25-10, a run that has catapulted them into the lead in the National League East.Saturday night they will seek to continue their run as they send out right-hander Julio Teheran (5-6, 3.75 ERA) against Padres left-hander Joey Lucchesi (7-4, 3.94) in the middle game of a three-game series.While the Braves are surging, the Padres are still looking to find the right combination in the wild-card race. Friday night, some parts worked well. But the result was a fifth straight home loss that dropped the Padres to two games under .500 at home this season.The silver lining in San Diego was the arrival of hard-throwing, 20-year-old right-handed reliever Andres Munoz, who worked a scoreless inning in his major league debut, with eight of the dozen pitches he threw clocking in triple digits and the fastest hitting 101.9 mph.He was followed by another hard thrower in Gerardo Reyes, who also struck out one in a scoreless inning."Shoring up the bullpen a big deal for us, finding those bridge pieces that work consistently between (Craig) Stammen and (Kirby) Yates and understanding no bridge piece is ever going to be perfect," manager Andy Green said. "The more options we have, the move leverage relievers we have, the better off we're going to be." The Padres made another bullpen move Friday, transferring Matt Strahm from the rotation to a bullpen role that he filled so well in 2018 -- another boost to a unit that struggled at the end of the first half.Now, the Padres have to start winning games against the elite teams of the National League ... like the Braves."The Braves are one of the hottest teams in baseball over the last month," Green said. "For us to come out and win a series, we have to play really good baseball. This is an important series for us."I think we can say that about every series from now to the end of the season. We definitely want to get off to a good start after the break." Teheran will be making his 20th start of the season. He has allowed 45 runs (42 earned) on 86 hits and 51 walks with 91 strikeouts in 100 2/3 innings for a 1.36 WHIP and a .229 opponents' batting average.Teheran is 5-4 lifetime in 11 starts against the Padres with a 3.88 ERA and an excellent 1.03 WHIP, giving up 31 runs (30 earned) on 56 hits and 16 walks with 70 strikeouts in 69 2/3 innings. But in his only outing against the Padres this season, Teheran took the loss, allowing four runs on five hits and a walk with eight strikeouts in seven innings.None of Lucchesi's 44 career starts have been against the Braves. The Padres are 9-8 in his 17 starts this season.He has worked 96 innings, allowing 44 runs (42 earned) on 81 hits and 26 walks with 92 strikeouts for a 1.12 WHIP and a .224 opponents' batting average.--Field Level Media
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