Haunted by the ghosts of Padres past

The San Diego Padres nearly escaped Cleveland with two wins, but some former Padres came back to haunt them.

I talked about doubleheaders yesterday, and one of the things I forgot to say is that winning both legs of one is almost impossible. The San Diego Padres found that out the hard way yesterday.

After winning a hard-fought battle in the first game, where they needed Luis Garcia and Taylor Rogers to close things out, it felt like the team’s only shot to win the second was to score a bunch of runs and build a big lead. The funny thing is, they did that.

In the top of the 8th, with a 3-2 lead, the Padres piled on and grew the lead to 5-2. A three-run lead with two innings left felt safe, but never forget that the baseball gods are cruel.

In the bottom of the 8th, Tim Hill lost the ability to throw strikes. Former Padres Owen Miller and Franmil Reyes got on base as a result. Former Padres Austin Hedges and Josh Naylor picked up RBIs and the game was tied at 5-5 heading into the 9th.

In the bottom of the 10th, Dinelson Lamet once again showed that he is broken. With Owen Miller starting the inning on second base, Lamet accidentally tagged Franmil Reyes in the ribs with a 96mph fastball before giving up a walk-off single to Steven Kwan.

It’s the type of thing that doesn’t happen if the Padres and Guardians aren’t playing a doubleheader, and it reminds you that fate might be real. Franmil Reyes, Owen Miller, Austin Hedges, Josh Naylor and Cal Quantrill had their revenge in the second game yesterday, and the Padres left Cleveland with a split.