With the backing of early run support and two homers by Franchy Cordero, Padres left-hander Clayton Richard was phenomenal Tuesday, guiding San Diego past the Reds to a 6-2 victory.
Richard held Cincinnati, losers of five straight, to eight hits in 8 2/3 innings, not allowing a Reds batter past first base until the seventh. Richard faltered with two outs in the ninth, when Tucker Barnhart’s two-run, pinch-hit double off Richard’s career-high 127th pitch ended his bid for a shutout.
“We desperately wanted to see him get that last out, just for him,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “He deserves those opportunities. He’s earned those kinds of opportunities. He’s earned that trust. We felt good about giving him that opportunity.”
In the eighth, Green visited Richard — then at 105 pitches — on the mound. Richard told his manager he was capable of continuing, and Green trusted him.
“I really appreciate the opportunity he gave me because I don’t think a lot of managers would do that in that situation,” Richard said. “… I felt really appreciative to have the opportunity to keep on staying in there and trying to finish what we started.
The Padres’ first four batters singled off Reds starter Scott Feldman, with Wil Myers fisting an RBI single into right before Yangervis Solarte grounded a ball up the middle to score another run.
“They had four singles on seven pitches and they had two runs in,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “None of them was really hit on the barrel. But that’s putting the ball in play and making something happen.”
Cordero homered in the third to give his team a 3-0 lead. It was the 100th home run Reds pitching has allowed this season, the most of any team. Cordero hit the 101st in the seventh. Cory Spangenberg extended his hitting streak to five games with an RBI single in the fifth and Jose Pirela, who went 2-for-5 to push his hitting streak to seven games, drove in a run in the eighth.
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