PHOENIX β Itβs not a stretch to say that Eduardo Escobar is the most popular man in the Diamondbacks clubhouse. Even when heβs struggling at the plate, his infectious smile and constant compliments are essential to the teamβs vibe.
His long-awaited breakout caused about as raucous a celebration as possible during these COVID-19 times.
Escobar hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the eighth inning to push the Arizona Diamondbacks past the San Diego Padres 5-4 on Sunday and complete the three-game sweep. Even before Escobarβs ball cleared the right-field wall, the D-backsβ screams were echoing off the walls of an empty Chase Field.
Itβs safe to assume some social distancing guidelines were violated for a few seconds.
βWhen he hit that ball, we went nuts,β Arizona pitcher Robbie Ray said. βNobody deserves it more. Nobody works harder than that guy.β
The 31-year-old Escobar had been struggling this season, batting just .167 with one homer after hitting a career-high 35 homers in 2019. But he connected for a huge hit off Emilio PagΓ‘n (0-1), launching a line drive into the right field seats and pumping his first as he rounded first base. It capped a three-hit day for the third baseman.
San Diegoβs Manny Machado hits the dirt after almost getting hit with a pitch from D-backs reliever Archie Bradley during the ninth inning. Arizona has already finished its season series with the Padres, going 5-5.
βEduardo is the heartbeat of this team, heβs one of the leaders,β Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. βHe is so engaged and caring and loving to everybody he comes across. So to see him struggle and get down, everybody is hurting with the grind heβs going through.
βSo when he has these bits and pieces of success, heβs an easy guy to celebrate with.β
The D-backs have won four straight games and improved to 11-11, which is their first time at .500 since opening day. Archie Bradley pitched a scoreless ninth for his sixth save and Escobar was the unquestioned hero.
βEverybody here supports every other player,β Escobar said. βThese guys pushed me a lot.β
Arizonaβs comeback spoiled a solid start for San Diegoβs Garrett Richards, who pitched seven innings and gave up two runs. It continued an impressive 2020 for the 32-year-old Richards, who missed most of last season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. He gave up six hits and struck out two.
βItβs frustrating, especially with how good Garrett threw the ball,β San Diego manager Jayce Tingler said. βWe struggled to score runs offensively and then finally were able to take the lead and you feel good going into the eighth there, and it didnβt work out.β
Kole Calhoun gave the D-backs an early 2-0 lead with a two-run homer in the third inning. It was his sixth of the season.
San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. turns a double play while avoiding Arizona Diamondbacks' Jon Jay (9) in the seventh inning during a baseball game, Sunday, Aug 16, 2020, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Ray had a no-hitter through five innings even though he struggled with his command. He threw 95 pitches but only 45 were strikes. He walked six batters, hit another, threw two wild pitches and was pulled after walking Fernando Tatis Jr. to start the sixth inning.
Junior Guerra came on in relief and immediately gave up a two-run homer to Eric Hosmer that tied the game at 2-all. The next three batters all hit singles and Josh Naylorβs blooper into short center field pushed the Padres ahead 3-2. Guerra hadnβt given up a run all season through nine appearances until Sunday.
Taylor Clarke (1-0) got the win after giving up one unearned run in two innings.
This was the 10th and final meeting of the regular season between the two NL West rivals. The teams split the series 5-5.
Ray hits milestone
Ray struck out Jorge Mateo in the third inning for his 1,000 career strikeout. The 28-year-old is the second fastest left-hander since 1913 to reach the mark, needing just 810 innings. The fastest was reliever Billy Wagner, who reached 1,000 strikeouts in 757 2/3 innings.
