PADRES KEEP IT CLOSE, BUT DROP GAME THREE 4-3

By Liz Alper

Photo courtesy @Padres on Twitter

July 9, 2016 (Los Angeles) - Last night’s game was too chaotic and the Padres lost.  Hopefully, they’d win tonight with Luis Perdomo on the mound against Brandon McCarthy.

The Padres lit up the recently-returned-from-Tommy-John-surgery McCarthy and they wasted no time.  Yangervis Solarte hit a two-run blast in the first for a two-run Friar lead.

The Dodgers came back a bit in their half of the first with former Padre and San Diego native Adrian Gonzalez’s double that drove in Chase Utley to cut the Pads’ lead in half, 2-1.

Thankfully, this game wasn't as stressful on the heart as last night's game, but in the fourth, Howie Kendrick doubled, scoring two and giving the Dodgers the go-ahead run to put them ahead of the Padres 3-2.

Travis Jankowski did single in the fifth, scoring Alexei Ramirez to tie the game at three, but in the Dodgers’ half of the fifth, Corey Seager scored to put the Dodgers ahead again 4-3.  They’d carry that till the end for a win, so the Padres will try to split the series tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s series finale (and last game before the All-Star break) will be at 1:10 p.m.

In All-Star news, Drew Pomeranz has been added to the National League roster as a replacement for the injured Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard.  This will be Pomeranz’s first All-Star Game.