You could make the case that the best performance by a Padres pitcher Thursday came from Clayton Richard.And he did not throw a single pitch against the visiting Giants.In a surprising move by San Diego manager Andy Green, Richard was called upon to pinch-hit in the third inning for starting pitcher Brian Mitchell. Mitchell struggled through three innings and was pulled after he allowed three runs, four hits and walked five batters.Richard then proceeded to smack a single over the second baseman’s head.Unfortunately for the home team, that was the only hit the Padres could muster the entire evening.Chris Stratton tossed seven shutout innings and reliever Derek Law closed out the contest with two more perfect frames as the two Giants combined for a one-hitter.It’s a rather small sample size but Richard actually owns a better batting average (.286 with a homer) than half the Padres starting lineup.To put that in perspective, Padres infielders Carlos Villanueva (.212), Carlos Asuaje (.200), Cory Spangenberg (.188) and Austin Hedges (.158) are all barely around the Mendoza line.Hedges did make an amazing defensive play to help out Mitchell in the top of the third inning.The Padres catcher dove in foul territory to catch a bad bunt attempt and fired a laser while still on the ground towards Eric Hosmer at first base to double off a runner.Colten Brewer made his San Diego debut in the sixth inning. But he got roughed up by the Giants. Buster Posey greeted him with a two-run double down the left-field line to stretch the San Francisco lead to 7-0. That would eventually be the final score.Brewer was pulled after getting just two outs and giving up four earned runs, four hits and two walks.The Friars are now just 1-7 at home after going 3-3 on their recent six-game road trip to Denver and Houston.Tyson Ross gets the nod on the hill Friday night against Giants starter Ty Blach.Photo Credit: Getty Images
Source: NBC San Diego
Giants Hold Padres To One Hit
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