SAN DIEGO (AP) – Blake Snell walked off the mound to a nice ovation, maybe a little earlier than he had hoped in his San Diego debut, knowing there were things to work on but overall happy with his effort. The left-hander struck out eight before being pulled after 86 pitches through 4 2/3 scoreless innings. Eric Hosmer homered and drove in three runs for the second straight game as the Padres beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-2 on Friday night.
Snell worked out of some jams and held Arizona to four hits and two walks but wasn’t eligible for the win because he didn’t pitch five innings. San Diego manager Jayce Tingler lifted the 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner after getting the second out of the fourth, with Ketel Marte aboard on the double and the Padres leading 3-0.
Snell, obtained from Tampa Bay on Dec. 29, said 86 pitches should have gotten him through the sixth.
“I’ve got to make better pitches, be a better-starting pitcher, and not put so many innings on the bullpen as I did. “It’s the first game; I get that. But again, with how I felt and the stuff I had today, I’ve got to be better. I will watch it, learn, grow, and grow.”
Craig Stammen came on and retired Eduardo Escobar on two pitches. Snell had struck out Escobar twice.
Emilio Pagán (2-0) worked an inning for the win, and Mark Melancon pitched the ninth for his second save in two games. He got Marte to ground out with a runner on second to end it. It was Snell’s first start since Game 6 of the World Series. Rays manager Kevin Cash yanked Snell with a 1-0 lead in the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who rallied to win the game and the 2020 championship. Snell was acquired by the Padres in a five-player trade with Tampa Bay the same day San Diego acquired Yu Darvish from the Chicago Cubs.
Tingler said the decision to pull Snell was “100% pitch count. … We’re trying to be disciplined early. There’s a time to let him go. I had it in my mind tonight, 85 pitches or so, right there.”
Snell said he needs to be more aggressive in the strike zone and not fall behind batters.
“I’m not here to throw nine innings in the first game,” Snell said. “No one remembers your first couple months of a season; they remember how you finish and what you do in the postseason. That’s what matters. Right now, you build a base; you build a structure; you build something that you can grow and build on, and then when you get deeper into the season, you start to let the horses go. For now, take it easy, relax, we’re going to build this the right way, and then we’ll start to get some innings and some depth, and we can have some fun.”
Hosmer also had three hits for the second consecutive game and factored in all four runs. In the third, he hit a two-run homer off Merrill Kelly (0-1) to give the Padres a 3-0 lead. The homer came right after Fernando Tatis Jr. was thrown out trying to steal third. Manny Machado was aboard on a one-out walk.
Hosmer went deep in San Diego’s 8-7 opening-day win on Thursday.
After Marte hit a two-run homer off Stammen in the seventh to pull the Diamondbacks to 3-2, Hosmer punched an opposite-field RBI single to the left for a two-run cushion. Hosmer singled, leading off the second and scoring on Jurickson Profar’s sacrifice fly.
Marte had four hits in Thursday’s loss, including one of four Diamondbacks homers in a six-run fifth.
Kelly allowed three runs and five hits in four innings, struck out four, and walked three.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Diamondbacks: RHP Taylor Clarke took a hardliner by Tatis off his shin in the seventh. Clarke recovered to throw out Tatis and finished the inning.
BROKEN RECORD
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Padres’ 13 players on the injured list are believed to be a record for a season’s start. The list includes RHP Mike Clevinger, who is out for the season after undergoing Tommy John’s surgery in mid-November. Elias has opening day rosters dating to 1987, and 13 is the most for any team. It is doubtful that it happened before 1987 since there were limits to the number of players who could be put on the IL.
UP NEXT
Diamondbacks: LHP Caleb Smith (0-0, 2.57 ERA in 2020 with Marlins and Diamondbacks) is scheduled to start Saturday night. He’s 2-1 with a 2.01 ERA in four career starts against San Diego. Padres: RHP Joe Musgrove (1-5, 3.86 with Pittsburgh) will debut with his hometown team. He was obtained from the Pirates on Jan. 19. Musgrove attended Grossmont High in suburban El Cajon before being selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round of the 2011 amateur draft. He wears No. 44 in honor of his favorite Padres pitcher, Jake Peavy.
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