Not only does the ballpark stand 2,000 feet above Coors Field, not only are the foul lines 332 feet both ways, not only does the artificial turf turn batted balls into skipping rocks, but also the humidor apparently was set to sea levels.
That run-scoring environment allowed both the Giants and Padres to hit a pair of back-to-back home runs, amounting for eight of the 11 total homers in Saturday’s arcade game.
In the second of a two-game series, with the same game sliders set, a football score yielded to a more traditional result.
LaMonte Wade Jr., Mitch Haniger and J.D. Davis each homered for the Giants, but the Padres rallied for a game-changing three-run eighth inning.
The Padres’ 6-4 comeback win In Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú gave San Diego a sweep in the pair. Possibly even worse for the Giants (11-16), the club may have lost its starting center fielder Mike Yastrzemski.
Yu Darvish, San Diego’s starter, entered the game with 24 earned runs in his last six starts against the Giants. That 7.12 ERA over the past two years was his highest against any National League team.
Wade’s leadoff homer gave him three in his past four games. Both of Haniger’s home runs as a Giant have come south of the border. Davis’ opposite field shot was his team-best sixth of the season.
But aside from the trio of solo home runs, Darvish limited the Giants by fanning nine and walking none.
Alex Cobb similarly handled the conditions with aplomb. One of the more conscientious pitchers in the game, Cobb aimed to keep the ball on the ground and throw strikes — two of his typical goals anyway. He struck out Manny Machado twice in three innings, keeping the Padres scoreless through four while stranding seven.
Those four consecutive scoreless innings Cobb spun felt impossible based on the first game’s actions.
They also came on the heels of Cobb’s first complete game shutout since 2012. After the 13 consecutive scoreless frames, the 35-year-old’s season ERA dropped to 1.67.
Based on the small sample, though, it’s unclear if even prime Pedro Martínez could keep the ball in Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú. Austin Nola tagged Cobb for a two-run homer in the fifth, during the same at-bat that Giants trainer Dave Groeschner and manager Gabe Kapler checked on the pitcher.
Cobb allowed a third run in the fifth inning, but struck out Machado — for a third time — and Xander Bogaerts to keep the Giants ahead. The Bogaerts strikeout ended the inning and gave Cobb 1,000 in his career.
Given how lively the ballpark played, making contact was a premium. Both teams struggled in that respect. At one point, seven of the Giants’ nine outs in a row came via the strikeout. Machado fanned four times in a 13-K effort for San Diego that included John Brebbia striking out the side in the seventh.
As the Giants mustered just one hit after the fourth inning, the Padres rallied against Tyler Rogers in the eighth, prompting Kapler tap closer Camilo Doval with two on and one out. Jake Cronenworth turned on a 101 mph Doval heater for the game-tying single, and Yastrzemski couldn’t come up with a Superman diving catch in center field to score two more Padres runs.
Yastrzemski paid for his effort, leaving immediately with an apparent hamstring injury, and the Giants’s 4-3 lead became a 6-4 deficit for Josh Hader to finish off.
Yastrzemski had been off to a stellar start to the year, slashing .283./.327/.522. If his injury is serious, the Giants will have lost much more than a game.
