Vásquez, three relievers stymie Braves in 1-0 Padres' victory

Kevin Acee, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Mar 29, 2025

Published in Baseball

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SAN DIEGO — Randy Vásquez pitched like he hardly ever had before.

Yuli Gurriel broke a scoreless tie with a two-out pinch-hit single in the seventh inning.

Three relievers who don’t usually find themselves protecting a one-run lead late in games did so.

And the find-a-way Padres remained undefeated three games into the season.

Their 1-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday was the Padres’ third win secured in the final three innings.

Because Vásquez was the first of their starting pitchers to finish even five innings, the Padres’ usual high end relievers were unavailable. Josh Adams, Jeremiah Estrada and closer Robert Suarez had done their jobs in each of the first two games.

So it was Wandy Peralta, Alek Jacob and Adrián Morejón closing out Saturday after Vásquez’s six innings.

Peralta got through the seventh on six pitches and retired the first batter in the eighth. Jacob allowed a single before finishing off that inning. And Morejón overcame a lead-off walk in the ninth to earn the save.

The Padres did lose an important piece along the way Saturday, as Manny Machado departed the game with what was termed right calf tightness. It manifested on a swing in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Machado finished that at-bat, hitting a fly ball out to right field on the next pitch, but was replaced by Jose Iglesias at third base to start the fifth.

A two-out ground rule double by Jake Cronenworth began the Padres’ rally in the seventh. The double was actually a 102 mph line drive off Braves left-hander aaron Bummer’s foot that ricocheted into the third base dugout.

And after Xander Bogaerts was intentionally walked, Gurriel walked to the plate to pinch-hit. He waited out new pitcher Daysbel Hernandez’s warm-up pitches and then grounded a 1-1 slider just below the zone through the left side, as Cronenworth raced home.

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