SAN DIEGO — The Padres played backward to complete a sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Actually, the Padres hardly stopped scoring. They just started earlier than usual Wednesday, as they welcomed manager Bob Melvin back to the dugout after an 11-day COVID absence.
They usually wait until the starting pitcher has departed to do their damage. But they started scoring right away against Madison Bumgarner, building a big lead and adding on almost to the end of a 10-4 victory at Petco Park. (Box score.)
The four runs the Padres scored in the first inning were the most they had scored in the first inning of any game this season. They were up 6-0 after two innings, and Bumgarner was gone after four innings with the Diamondbacks down 6-1.
Jurickson Profar’s two-run single against reliever Luke Weaver in the fifth inning made it 8-1; it was 9-2 after Jorge Alfaro’s home run off the front of the balcony on the top story of the Western Metal Building in the sixth inning, and Jose Azocar’s RBI double in the eighth made it 10-3.
The Padres entered the game with the league’s fifth-highest OPS against relief pitchers and fifth-lowest OPS against starters. Their 112 runs in innings seven through nine were tied for third most in the majors. They had won a major league-leading 20 games, including the first two against the Diamondbacks this week, by coming from behind.
Wednesday was just the ninth game in which the Padres (44-27) scored in the first inning and led throughout.
While their quick start was unique this year, it continued a relative trend against Bumgarner.
The veteran left-hander was making his 42nd career start against the Padres, second most among active pitchers behind Clayton Kershaw’s 44. The first of those starts was his major league debut on Sept. 8, 2009, and he had a 3.40 ERA from that game through his 35th start against the Padres. But in the seven starts he has made against the Padres since joining the Diamondbacks in 2020, he has a 7.24 ERA. The Padres are 5-2 in those games.
Mike Clevinger, making his first start since returning from his third stay on the injured list, took 29 pitches to get through the first inning but left the bases loaded after they got that way with one out.
The Padres scored all their first-inning runs with two outs.
Profar led off with the first of his four singles in the game and went to second when Bumgarner hit Jake Cronenworth with a pitch. Luke Voit and Alfaro struck out before Ha-Seong Kim’s infield single (which was originally ruled an error by third baseman Josh Rojas) loaded the bases. Austin Nola singled in two runs and Trent Grisham and Azocar followed with RBI hits.
Profar began the second inning with a single and was safe at second when shortstop Geraldo Perdomo dropped a throw on a grounder by Cronenworth. Profar scored on a single by Voit, and Cronenworth scored on Alfaro’s double-play grounder.
Clevinger left after throwing 81 pitches in four innings having allowed only Alek Thomas’ third-inning homer. Adrian Morejón worked a perfect fifth inning before an error contributed to his loading the bases with one out in the sixth.
Nick Martinez, who again moved from the starting rotation to a relief role, came in and got the final two outs in the sixth on five pitches. A run did score on a groundout.
Martinez worked through the end of the game, allowing a two-out homer to Christian Walker in the seventh and committing two errors that led to a run in the ninth.
