11-14-2019, 06:12 AM
SAN DIEGO -- For one day at least, the moderate-payroll San Diego Padres are in first place in the NL West, ahead of the big-spending Los Angeles Dodgers. Jeff Mathis Rangers Jersey . Seth Smith hit a towering drive for a tying homer leading off the eighth and Chris Denorfia singled home two runs to give the Padres a 3-1 victory against the rival Dodgers in baseballs North American opener Sunday night. Smiths first hit with the Padres came on a 2-0 pitch from Brian Wilson, who started the eighth after Hyun-Jin Ryu threw seven scoreless innings. It sailed an estimated 360 feet into the right-field seats. It was his seventh career pinch-hit homer. He was acquired in an off-season trade with Oakland for reliever Luke Gregerson. Wilson (0-1) walked pinch-hitter Yasmani Grandal, who advanced when the veteran reliever couldnt handle Everth Cabreras bunt for an error. Grandal stole third and Cabrera took second on indifference before Denorfia hit a bouncer up the middle to bring them both in. "Theyre all just one game, but when youre facing a team like the Dodgers, full of great players, Brian Wilson, a guy who knows how to get it done in those situations, its not easy to do what our hitters did," said Huston Street, who pitched a perfect ninth for the save. "To come back and get three right there in that situation, especially after leaving guys on base early, thats what this team is going to have to do to win. Were going to have to battle all year long." The Dodgers set a record with an opening-day payroll of $234 million. The Padres are 23rd at just under $90 million. Street said he has no problem with the discrepancy. "Theyve got a lot of talent and their talent has earned those salaries," Street said. "Theyre not just given. At the same time, a lot of guys in this locker room are young guys. They havent hit that free agency mark. They havent hit those big salary years. We could be sitting on a higher payroll team. You dont worry about it too much just because baseball is such a game of execution." Dale Thayer (1-0) pitched a perfect eighth for the win. Smith was acquired to provide a left-handed bat off the bench. He went deep on a cutter. "You get in the box and its an at-bat," he said. "As a professional ballplayer you hope that you can kind of flush the fact that its your first at-bat with your team or its in a big spot or whatever, and just do what youve been practicing for the last six weeks." Wilson said it was tough to deal with because Ryu "pitched such a marvelous game. Its a hard one to swallow." He said he threw a pitch "that was a little bit uncharacteristic of me. Right then and there, the tire deflated." The defending NL West champion Dodgers had started the regular season with a two-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks in Sydney. Ryu got the start after reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw was scratched due to a swollen back muscle and then placed on the 15-day disabled list for the first time in his seven-year career. In a scheduling quirk, the left-hander started consecutive regular-season games. He made his season debut a week earlier, when the Dodgers beat the Diamondbacks in their second game in Australia. Ryu retired 16 in a row from the second inning until one out in the seventh. He then walked rookie Tommy Medica, who was then erased in a 3-6-3 double play. Ryu allowed three hits, struck out seven and walked three. The Dodgers grabbed the lead on a nice piece of hitting by Carl Crawford with two out in the fifth. Crawford went the other way with an 0-2 pitch from Andrew Cashner, hitting it over third baseman Chase Headley to bring in Dee Gordon from second. Gordon had reached on a walk and advanced when Cashner fielded Ryus bunt and forced A.J. Ellis at third. Cashner allowed four hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked two. NOTES: The Padres renamed the broadcast portion of the press box the Jerry Coleman Broadcast Center in memory of the Hall of Fame broadcaster who died on Jan. 5 at 89. His widow, Maggie, and daughter, Chelsea, threw out the ceremonial first pitches. ... Sunday nights attendance of 45,567 set the Petco Park single-game record. ... Padres manager Bud Black said LF Carlos Quentins time on the disabled list will go beyond April 10, when hed be eligible to be activated. He was placed on the DL on Saturday, retroactive to March 25, with a bone bruise in his left knee. Quentin was hurt diving for a ball in a spring training game. ... Monday is an off day. Tuesdays scheduled starters are Zack Greinke for Los Angeles and Ian Kennedy for San Diego. Jason Grilli Rangers Jersey . The Canucks figured to be active prior to Wednesdays trade deadline, getting a jump on things the previous day when they dealt goaltender Roberto Luongo to the Florida Panthers for netminder Jacob Markstrom and forward Shawn Matthias. Rangers Jerseys China .J. -- Tom Coughlin doesnt have many options at halfback for the winless New York Giants. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/232...ngers.html . -- Theres something about playing on Orlandos floor lately that seems to bring out the best in the Dallas Mavericks. NASHVILLE -- The Arizona Cardinals keep pushing for a playoff spot, even if they barely pulled out their latest win. Jay Feely kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime, and the Cardinals edged the Tennessee Titans 37-34 in overtime after blowing a 17-point lead late in the fourth quarter. Still, the Cardinals (9-5) won their sixth in seven games. With San Francisco and Carolina winning, they remain a game back of both for a NFC wild-card berth. The Titans scored 17 points in the final 3:12 of regulation to force overtime with Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing two of his four TD passes to Michael Preston. They also recovered an onside kick to set up the tying TD with 10 seconds left in regulation. They won the toss and drove to the Cardinals 43 before Antoine Cason intercepted his second pass of the game. Tennessee (5-9) lost its third straight and eighth in 10 games. The Titans also lost their fifth consecutive home game for the first time since moving to Tennessee in 1997. The Cardinals scored 21 straight points in the second half, the last when Cason returned his first interception for a TD and a 34-17 lead. The Titans outgained Arizona 460-360 with Fitzpatrick throwing for 402 yards and Kendall Wright caught 12 passes for 150 yards hours after new president Tommy Smith said he felt they hadnt given up on Mike Munchak with the coachs job security at questionn. Nolan Ryan Rangers Jersey. But Arizona sacked Fitzpatrick three times to go along with Casons interceptions. Rashard Mendenhall also ran for a pair of 1-yard touchdowns, and Carson Palmer threw for 231 yards and had a 6-yard TD pass to Jake Ballard. Cason also recovered a botched kickoff when Arizona surprised the Titans with a short kick to open the third quarter, and the Cardinals turned that into a 47-yard field goal by Feely. The Cardinals turned those mistakes into 13 points in a game with five lead changes. Arizona also made mistakes. The Cardinals didnt have a single penalty in the first half, but had four giving the Titans first downs on a 16-play drive by Tennessee for a TD and a 17-13 lead in the third quarter. Tennessee had won only once before this season when trailing going into the fourth quarter, losing seven other games. The Titans at least pushed this game to overtime with only a few thousand fans still left in the stadium because so many left when they fell behind 34-17. Munchak deactivated receivers Justin Hunter and Damian Williams for what team officials called violating team rules. The rookie Hunter was coming off the best game of his career and had topped 100 yards in two of the past three games. That forced the Titans to play Kenny Britt, and the veteran caught his first pass since Oct. 20. He finished with three catches. ' ' '