Unsere Gaeste - Ecke » out in AT&T Park’s vast right field for perh

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Rookie Francisco Mejia is quickly giving the downtrodden San Diego Padres a hopeful glimpse of the future.The 22-year-old hit his first grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning and the rebuilding Padres rallied to beat the Texas Rangers 7-3 Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep in a matchup of last-place teams.It was the first walkoff for Mejia Dave Concepcion Jersey , who was promoted from Triple-A on Sept. 4. The prized catching prospect has hit three homers since then.Mejia was obtained from Cleveland for closer Brad Hand and reliever Adam Cimber on July 19. He is part of the third wave of young talent that has come up since late in the 2016 season, when the Padres turned from a failed win-now approach to rebuilding via the farm system.“It’s a really special moment,” Mejia said through a translator. “Especially for my career. It’s great.”The switch-hitter, batting right-handed, turned on the first pitch he saw from reliever Jeffrey Springs and drove it to left field.He said he was “looking for a pitch up in the zone, especially with the shadows out there. I wanted to look for a good pitch there and get a good swing on it.”Mejia was doused with a cooler of ice water at the plate and the celebration extended into the clubhouse.Asked what he’ll remember most about the homer, he said it would be “the energy, the moment coming into the clubhouse and having everyone waiting for me there.”Manager Andy Green said Mejia “seems at home with this group of guys. He showed up and everybody welcomed him and brought him into the family, and everybody has enjoyed him. When you’re new to a club you want to come through quick because it makes you feel like a part of it. Clearly he did that in a big way for us today.”Green watched the winning shot from his office after being ejected in the top of the ninth.“I do feel comfortable,” Mejia said. “I think the home runs, those are always going to come. That’s just part of the game. But I do feel comfortable being here and being a part of this team.”Ownership expected the Padres to be better this year than their finish of 71-91 last year Pete Rose Jersey , but the Padres are one loss away from matching last year’s win total. They’ve lost at least 90 games for the third straight season and the fourth time in eight years.The Rangers were two outs away from a 3-2 win and a three-game sweep before rookie Franmil Reyes hit a bloop single to right off rookie reliever Jeffrey Springs (0-1) and made way for pinch-runner Travis Jankowski. Freddy Galvis then doubled to left to bring in Jankowski with the tying run.Pinch-hitter A.J. Ellis walked as Galvis took third on a ball four-wild pitch. Cory Spangenberg walked to load the bases and bring up Mejia, who homered to left on the first pitch he saw.“Things unraveled a little bit just with the walks, but I’ve got to hand it to him,” Banister said about Springs. “The guy’s never been in that situation before. I put him in that situation and I thought he showed a grit throughout the course of an inning.”Green was ejected in the top of the ninth after Robinson Chirinos appeared to hit the ball off the knob of his bat into fair territory. Padres reliever Trey Wingenter fielded the ball and threw to first. After the umps huddled and then went to a video review that lasted four minutes, 50 seconds, Green was ejected for arguing and Chirinos was awarded first on a hit-by-pitch.“I was pretty adamant telling them it’s not a reviewable call, it’s on the field,” Green said. “You have to fix the call on the field. It has to be a fair ball or a hit batter. It can’t be a foul ball. I’m not quite sure how we arrived where we arrived.”The Rangers loaded the bases but failed to score.Kirby Yates (5-3) got the last two outs of the ninth for the win.The Padres had runners on first and third with no outs in the eighth and failed to score.Rangers starter Mike Minor allowed two runs and four hits, struck out seven and walked one. He also doubled. Minor’s only big mistake was allowing Hunter Renfroe’s homer with two outs in the first, his 23rd.Willie Calhoun homered with one out in the second, his second http://www.redsfanproshop.com/authentic-ken-griffey-jersey , and Jurickson Profar hit a leadoff shot in the third, his 18th. Both were off Padres rookie Jacob Nix, who also allowed Robinson Chirinos’ RBI single in the sixth.Nix allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings, struck out three and walked one.UP NEXTRangers: RHP Adrian Sampson (0-1, 5.06) is scheduled to make his second start with Texas when it opens a three-game home series against Tampa Bay on Monday night. The Rays will counter with RHP Tyler Glasnow (1-6, 4.48).Padres: RHP Bryan Mitchell (1-3, 6.07) is scheduled to go in the opener of a three-game home series against San Francisco on Monday night, his third start since returning from 1 ½ months on the disabled list. He’s 1-0 with a 1.64 ERA in 11 innings since being reinstated. The Giants will counter with LHP Andrew Suarez (6-11, 4.33). SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers want no part of a wild-card game or the long flight that would come with it.The plan: another NL West crown.Max Muncy and his free-swinging Dodgers mates are headed for a one-game showdown against Colorado to determine the division winner back home, jumping on the San Francisco Giants from the start Sunday in a 15-0 win for a weekend sweep.The Rockies routed Washington 12-0 at Coors Field, setting up a tiebreaker at Dodger Stadium on Monday that the home team has every intention of taking. The winner gets the division and hosts Atlanta in the best-of-five Division Series starting Thursday; the loser is on the road for the NL wild-card game Tuesday against the loser of Monday’s Brewers-Cubs NL Central tiebreaker.“We’d rather win the division than be the wild card Tony Perez Jersey ,” Matt Kemp said. “We’re going to play it like any game we’ve been playing this last month. We’ve been playing each game like a playoff game. We’ve got to keep it going. I don’t think we want to go to the East Coast to play a one-game playoff, we’d rather have a series to play and play that series.”Walker Buehler will start for the Dodgers (91-71) as the defending NL champions try for a sixth straight West title.Rich Hill (11-5) pitched two-hit ball for seven innings to keep the playoff-bound Dodgers on a roll. The lefty found out when he woke up just before 8 a.m. Sunday he would start, having gone to bed early for him to ensure enough sleep for the possibility he would be pitching.“The biggest thing is that everybody continues to go up there and give that effort, no matter what the situation is,” Hill said.Manny Machado, Kemp and Muncy all joined the hit parade as Los Angeles left nothing to chance in Game No. 162. Kemp had a two-run double and RBI single among his three hits, while Muncy and Brian Dozier each hit two-run homers.Los Angeles followed up an 18-hit performance Saturday with 16 more to finish with 43 in the three-game series.Now, on to game No. 163.“It’s a game where obviously it’s not do-or-die, but I think that it’s a must-win game,” manager Dave Roberts said. “To win the game and get a couple days off, to host the division series is very important.”Chris Taylor drew a walk from Andrew Suarez (7-13) to get the Dodgers going Sunday http://www.redsfanproshop.com/authentic-homer-bailey-jersey , Justin Turner followed with an RBI double and the rout was on. Dozier’s drive and a two-run double by Kemp highlighted a seven-run third inning.The Dodgers clinched baseball’s final playoff berth by beating the Giants 10-6 on Saturday and celebrated with champagne in the visiting clubhouse — then all attention turned to winning another division title.So Roberts switched from Buehler to Hill (11-5), who delivered. He completed a 5-0 September and won for the sixth time in seven outings beginning Aug. 24. The lefty retired the first 10 batters in order before Joe Panik’s single in the fourth.Hill’s curveball has been clicking in recent weeks since he tweaked his delivery with a grip adjustment.“In recent memory, this is as good as I’ve seen him throw the baseball,” Roberts said. “… He understood how important this game was.”Los Angeles needed a stellar showing in its final series.The Dodgers fell out of the division lead with a 7-2 loss Wednesday at Arizona before taking all three from the injury-plagued Giants (73-89) to close out the final weekend of the regular season. A sixth straight division title by the Dodgers would be the third-longest streak since divisions started in 1969 behind Atlanta’s 14 consecutive from 1991-2005 and nine in a row by the Yankees from 1998-2006.San Francisco went a majors-worst 5-21 in September but improved on its last-place 2017 finish of 64-98 by nine wins.“No question that’s the last way we wanted this thing to go out,” manager Bruce Bochy said.SPLISH SPLASHMuncy’s pinch-hit homer gave him 34 for the season and the drive splashed into McCovey Cove beyond the right-field arcade. That marked the 44th splash homer by a Giants opponent, fifth by a Dodger and first by an LA player since Cody Bellinger on Sept. 13, 2017.PENCE’S FAREWELL?Hunter Pence went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in what was likely his final game with the Giants after 6 1/2 years. There were pins and signs reading “GR8FUL.”Pence received big cheers from the sellout crowd as he ran to the outfield some 20 minutes before first pitch and he waved and clapped in appreciation.Then out in AT&T Park’s vast right field for perhaps the final time in a Giants uniform, he tipped his cap every direction to the rousing ovation. He did the same with his batting helmet before stepping in to lead off the bottom of the first.A Pence highlight video showed before the bottom of the ninth.“Pure joy. I really just feel a tremendous amount of joy for this organization, these fans, the stadium,” Pence said. “It’s been just unbelievable to play here. You never know Barry Larkin Jersey , I could come back … but it is unknown and it really was just amazing.”FINAL ATTENDANCEWhile the Giants drew 3 million fans for a ninth straight season and 17th time in the ballpark’s 19-year history, the 3,156,185 attendance was their lowest since 3,037,443 in 2010.