Mike Yastrzemski, Giants slice and dice Padres in 7-2 rout

Avila departed after the third with one of the strangest stat lines in recent memory: 3 innings, 6 runs, but just 1 earned, on account of San Diego's three errors. Like in Tuesday's game against the Reds, the Giants took full advantage of their opponents' miscues, putting the game out of reach before the power-packed Padres could claw back in.

That's not to say that the Giants simply cruised off the back of a few lucky breaks. In that third inning, San Francisco had four balls that left the bat going at least 100 MPH, and Meckler's bunt was a prime example of making your own offense. Plus, with Matt Waldron relieving Avila in the fifth inning, Yaz added on by doing this:

In all the offensive traffic, it's easy to lose sight of the excellent outing by spot starter Jakob Junis, who threw four hitless innings as he escorted the Giants to an easy victory. A walk was the only blemish on his night, and the Padres made little meaningful contact against his slider. Still, Junis doesn't quite have the leash that Cobb or Webb do, and manager Gabe Kapler swapped in Manaea amidst the budding no-hitter. Manaea wasn't his usual sharp self, walking five on the night and loading the bases in the sixth before striking out Garrett Cooper to wriggle out of the jam.

In the 7th, the Padres threatened to get to Manaea in the same way that the Giants had victimized Avila just a few innings earlier. After a walk and a single, Manaea was at 70 pitches, having only recorded six outs. Kapler's decision not to pull him with Alex Wood warming up seemed poised to loom large, only for Manaea to induce a flyout and double play to end the threat just three pitches later.

San Diego's attempts to claw back into the game ultimately fell short. A walk, a single, and an RBI double in the eighth got them their first and only run of the game, but Ryan Walker came on in relief of Manaea to strike out a pair and keep the Friars from getting back into it. There was a bit more action in the ninth, starting with a Mitch Haniger triple that didn't end up scoring. The Padres put together a small rally with a Jose Azucar double and a Ha-Seong Kim single to score the final run of the day, but Juan Soto grounded into a double play to end the game.

Tonight's win puts the Giants at 70-64 on the season, still in control of second place in the NL West. San Diego falls to 62-73, 8.5 games out of a Wild Card spot. They'll play the second game of this four-game series tomorrow at 6:40 PM Pacific time.