Rookie reliever hits slam off Scherzer, Pads sting Nats 9-8

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Welcome home to Slam Diego, Daniel Camarena.

The rookie reliever hit a stunning grand slam off Washington ace Max Scherzer and his hometown San Diego Padres overcame an eight-run deficit, finally beating the Nationals 9-8 Thursday night on Trent Grisham’s RBI single in the ninth inning.

The Padres matched the biggest comeback in franchise history, helped by Fernando Tatis’ 28th home run and Grisham’s two-out hit.

But it was Camarena’s blow that really jolted the crowd at Petco Park.

Camarena, who went to Cathedral Catholic High, was called up earlier in the day for his second stint with the Padres. He replaced Yu Darvish starting the fourth inning after the All-Star's left hip tightened up, and allowed Trea Turner’s second homer of the game, a two-run drive that gave the Nationals an 8-0 lead.

With the Padres’ bullpen taxed in recent days, manager Jayce Tingler had Camarena bat for himself against the struggling Scherzer with the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth. The left-hander golfed a 1-2 fastball deep into the right-field stands to send the fans into a frenzy and pull the Padres to 8-6.

Camarena said he was just trying to put the ball in play, “especially against Max, like that’s hard to do, so I was just trying with everything I had to put a ball in play.”

He was as stunned as everyone else in the ballpark

“Oh my God, I blacked out,” he said. “I hit first base and then all of a sudden I noticed the lights were flashing in the stadium and that’s when it kind of hit, like, Oh my God I just hit a home run. Not only that, a grand slam.”

Camarena had struck out in his only previous big league at-bat during his debut earlier this season. In the minors, he was 5 for 28 (.179) with no extra-base...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Rookie-reliever-hits-slam-off-Scherzer-Pads-16303003.php