Yuli Gurriel’s pinch-hit RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning Saturday snapped a scoreless tie and lifted the San Diego Padres to a 1-0 win over the visiting Atlanta Braves.
Jake Cronenworth started the winning rally with a ground-rule double that caromed off the foot of Aaron Bummer (0-1) and rolled into the third base dugout. After an intentional walk to Xander Bogaerts, Atlanta manager Brian Snitker pulled Bummer for Daysbel Hernandez.
Gurriel then pulled a slider past diving shortstop Orlando Arcia into left field to score Cronenworth.
Wandy Peralta (2-0) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win, and Adrian Morejon pitched around a leadoff walk in the ninth for his first save, slipping a called third strike past Drake Baldwin with the tying run at third to end it. Closer Robert Suarez and multiple San Diego relievers weren’t available after being used in the first two games.
Neither starter figured into the decision despite firing six shutout innings. Atlanta’s Spencer Schwellenbach gave up just one hit and one walk with four strikeouts, while San Diego’s Randy Vasquez worked around four hits and four walks, whiffing three.
A San Diego offense that produced 11 runs combined in two previous wins over Atlanta and double figures in hits in each game got no one into scoring position in Schwellenbach’s six innings. But the Braves weren’t able to score off Vasquez, either, despite having some good chances.
Jurickson Profar and Austin Riley led off the game with walks, but Vasquez got a double play grounder from Matt Olson and then fanned Marcell Ozuna. Another double play, this time an unusual 4-5-6 jam shot off Michael Harris’ bat with men at first and second, quashed a rally in the fourth.
Olson came within inches of snapping the tie in the sixth with a deep drive to right-center that right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. gloved at the wall but couldn’t hold. The ball rolled along the top of the wall and hit the warning track for a double. After Ozuna walked, Vasquez induced a foul pop from Ozzie Albies to end the inning.
