Daniel Descalso had just one at-bat in Friday night’s series opener with the San Diego Padres, but it proved to be the biggest of the game. The veteran infielder hit a walk-off single off the centerfield wall to cap a three-run, two-out rally in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Padres 8-7 at Coors Field.
DJ LeMahieu started the ninth-inning rally with a one-out double that raised his season average to .349 – tied for best in the National League. Nolan Arenado popped out to put San Diego one out away from a 7-5 victory. Carlos Gonzalez, however, singled in LeMahieu to extend the inning. David Dahl followed with a pinch-hit single of his own before Nick Hundley tied the game, scoring Gonzalez on another single that sent the winning run to third in the form of Dahl. Descalso, who is hitting .286 with four home runs and nine RBI since returning from Paternity leave on Sept. 2, then hit the game-winning single off Brandon Maurer who surrendered all three runs in the ninth.
Postgame, manager Walt Weiss spoke about his strategy in the ninth inning and the clutch hits from everyone, including DJ LeMahieu – whom he calls a “star” despite not yet being a household name.