San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt has officially won his first game as Padres manager. While Shildt previously won 252 games as the St. Louis Cardinals manager from 2018-21, Thursday's win in Seoul, South Korea marked his first win with San Diego.
The win came in dominant fashion — particularly on offense, as the Padres earned a 15-11 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The game featured a home run by Manny Machado and a first-inning knockout of Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who in December signed the richest contract ($325 million over 12 years) ever given to a pitcher.
Shildt, who became the manager after Bob Melvin departed for the San Francisco Giants, reacted to the win after after the game.
"It means a lot for the group. I’m really proud of this group, the way we did it. Complete identity game. A lot of courage, a lot of toughness, a lot of fight. To have that kind of game, especially after coming back from a tough one yesterday, to come back and fight like we did tonight, and keep going when they kept coming back at us like a heavyweight fight. Winning feels good. It does.”
— Mike Shildt, via Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Overall, Shildt and the Padres looked good throughout the two-game Seoul Series against the Dodgers. Though they lost game one on Wednesday 5-2, the Padres did well until an eighth inning snafu from Jake Cronenworth let the Dodgers earn four runs and get the win.
Instead of a potential double-play groundout, a ball literally went through Cronenworth's glove to extend a four-run Dodger rally.
Thursday, the Padres outscored the Dodgers' stacked lineup. Though the defense and pitching weren't perfect, the game was a positive building block for their first-year manager.
Next, the Padres return home for a busy weekend. They will celebrate late owner Peter Seidler at Petco Park with a memorial on Saturday. On Sunday, the Padres will host FanFest.
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