Soto cheered, Drury hits gland slam as redesigned Padres crush Rockies

SAN DIEGO — A sell-out crowd came to cheer Juan Soto in his first game with the San Diego Padres. Things got crazy when Brandon Drury hit a grand slam on the first place he saw with his new team.

Feeding on the energy of Soto and the crowd, the new-look Padres defeated the Colorado Rockies 9-1 on an electrifying Wednesday night at Petco Park. The crowd of 44,652 was already animated before the game started and gave Soto a standing ovation as he shot in the ran to his right field position in the first inning and then again when he hit the plate at the end of the inning. He drew a walk to start a five-run rally that was crowned with Drury’s Grand Slam.

“It feels very cool. It brings a lot of emotions to me,” said Soto, the 23-year-old Generation talent whose acquisition alongside Josh Bell in a blockbuster deal with Washington unites both the team and the city Ruck gave “It feels amazing how they cheered me on. They gave us the energy to go out there and play hard.”

Manny Machado, who has carried the Padres for most of the season, hit a homer that led fifth and finished the cycle three-off in San Diego’s fifth win. Jake Cronenworth had a two-run shot. The big beneficiary was left-hander Blake Snell (4-5), who hit nine in six innings and won his third straight start.

The Padres unveiled their revamped lineup with Soto in second and Bell cleaning up a day after receiving them on Tuesday in one of the biggest deadline deals ever. Drury was also brought in from Cincinnati on Tuesday and added a load to the already festive atmosphere with a grand slam from Chad Kuhl with an out in the first

Soto left, Machado doubled and Bell left to load bases before Cronenworth was hit by a pitch to bring in Soto. Drury then drove the first pitch he saw from Kuhl to the center left seats and the fans went wild. It was his second career grand slam and 21st homer this season.

“I was just full of adrenaline,” said Drury. “The fans were incredible tonight. First on bat, with loaded bases, I just ran on pure adrenaline. Really excited to be here. It was something very special for me.”

Drury said he went out to stretch 25 minutes before the game, “and the fans were just crazy. I was out there warming up and I was pumped up, ready to go. It was definitely a great day.”

During the pre-game hitters meeting, Melvin told the players, “It’s going to be like that. It really was all year round. When you bring in guys like that, you go to another level. We just wanted to let them know that this is going to be pretty cool.

“Before we even stepped onto the field, it was like this,” Melvin said. “It seemed like the pitch was full even before the game started. It was rare.”

Soto singled, went twice, scored once and landed twice. Bell had two walks and scored twice.

Melvin said Soto “seems to be bringing some energy. You see him supporting first base on ground balls; there’s just a lot he brings to the table. Obviously based on what he’s doing when swinging the bat. The fans seemed to embrace very quickly. He’s just one of those guys who has a lot of energy around him and I think everyone felt that today.”

Snell had a third strong start in a row. He kept the Rockies on one run and four hits in six innings with no walks. His four wins this season have come in his last five starts. After receiving only 15 assist runs in his first 11 starts, he received 19 assist runs in his last two starts.

Kuhl (6-7) allowed nine runs and eight hits in five innings, hitting out four and walking three.

NEXT

Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (6-7, 4.63 ERA) and Padres RHP Joe Musgrove (8-4, 2.65) are scheduled to start Thursday afternoon as San Diego seeks a five-game sweep.