HOUSTON -- Three runs was all the San Diego Padres needed to salvage the third game of their series against the Houston Astros, but the 3-2 win was marred by a concerning moment on the second play.
After Fernando Tatis Jr. led the game off with a walk, Luis Arraez laid down a sacrifice bunt and while hustling hard through first base collided with Mauricio Dubón, who was covering the base as Christian Walker fielded the ball.
Arraez was taken from the field with his head and neck secured by a brace, and was taken to Houston Methodist Hospital where the Padres released a statement saying Arraez was “stable, conscious, responsive and able to move his extremities” while being further evaluated.
Tatis would score his first of three runs for San Diego (16-6) later in the first when he came home after Xander Bogaerts reached on a fielder’s choice throwing error by Dubón.
Two innings later Tatis led off the third with a triple and came home when Gavin Sheets, who replaced Arraez in the lineup, singled off Astro starter Framber Valdez. Then in the seventh inning Tatis left the yard for the second consecutive game, nailing a solo shot off Houston (10-11) reliever Tayler Scott for what proved to be the decisive run.
The Astros had previously tied the game at 2-2 in the fifth and final inning for San Diego starter Dylan Cease, when Dubón singled home Jake Meyers and then Yordan Alvarez drove in Cam Smith with a sacrifice fly.
After back-to-back games getting stung in the later innings, the Padres pen held strong as Alek Jacob earned his first win of the season by going 1 1/3 innings and allowing one hit with a strikeout. Jason Adam had his eighth hold in 1 2/3 innings of no-hit, two-strikeout relief and then Robert Suarez capped it with two strikeouts in the ninth for his ninth save of the season.
Tatis finished the game 2 of 4 with three runs scored, a walk, a home run and two strikeouts. In the three games at Daikin Park he finished 5 of 16 with six runs scored and two solo home runs, and is currently riding a nine game hit streak where he’s collected 13 hits with 9RBIs, six home runs and five walks.
Cease finished with five innings pitched, with six hits, two (earned) runs allowed, six strikeouts and a walk. Framber Valdez went six innings for the Astros with two (earned) runs allowed to go with seven hits, three walks and two strikeouts.
San Diego begins a three game set against the Detroit Tigers tomorrow at 3:40 p.m. Randy Vásquez (1-1, 1.74 ERA) will start for the Padres, while the Tigers are expected to send Keider Montero (0-1, 9.00 ERA) to the hill at Comerica Park.