SAN DIEGO, CA – JUNE 18: Wil Myers #5 of the San Diego Padres is congratulatd in the dugout after hitting a solo home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds at Petco Park on June 18, 2021 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
Padres outfielder Wil Myers, like the rest of the Padres not named Fernando Tatis Jr., had been in a bit of a home run drought. This week both of them have broken out in a big way.
Myers hit a pair of bombs on Friday night against Cincinnati (setting a San Diego franchise record) in an 8-2 win over the Reds. Wil had been a bit of a poster child for the Padres offensive power outage.
A year ago San Diego's offense crushed 95 home runs in 60 games (4th-most in the big leagues). The Padres hit just 70 home runs in their first 69 games of 2021. Myers had 15 big flies in 55 games last season but just six in 60 games this year.
When they come, they come in bunches. The Friars have launched 10 homers in the last three outings but Friday night belonged to Myers.
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In the 2nd inning he took Cincy starter Tony Santillan deep on a laser down the left field line. It was his 58th homer at Petco Park, passing Adrian Gonzalez for the most as a Padre in the jewel of a downtown yard. In all, Gonzalez has hit 65 long balls at Petco.
Myers is already working towards breaking that record, too. Wil blasted another one in the 4th inning off reliever Ashton Goudeau, also a solo shot to give the Padres a 4-2 lead.
He was joined on the tater list by Tommy Pham, who led off the game with his 6th homer of the year. But, the Padres also showed they can score without hitting the ball out of the park.
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Fernando Tatis Jr. had an RBI single, Jake Cronenworth hit an RBI double off the wall in left field, and Trent Grisham brought home a pair with another double. Nine of the Padres 12 hits were for extra bases.
That was more than enough with Chris Paddack on the mound. The Sheriff had his swing-and-miss stuff, going 5.0 innings with a career high-tying 11 strikeouts and two runs allowed to get the win.
The Padres try to make it three straight wins on Saturday at what should be another sellout crowd at Petco Park.
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