Curtain calls don’t happen often at Petco Park, which made the night even more special for Christian Villanueva.
The rookie hit three impressive home runs and drove in five runs, Tyson Ross was a winner in his return to San Diego, and the Padres became the last team to get its first victory of 2018 by beating the Colorado Rockies 8-4 on Tuesday night.
The 26-year-old Villanueva joined Hunter Renfroe as the only Padres rookies to hit three homers in a game. Villanueva, the third player to start at third base in San Diego’s first five games, became the seventh Padres player overall to go deep three times.
After his third homer , Villanueva popped out of the dugout to answer a curtain call from the crowd of 19,283.
“Another dream come true,” Villanueva said through an interpreter. “It’s amazing, especially on a night like tonight, getting the first win. I was just happy I was able to play my part. I think we all played really well, the pitching was great, and I think if we’re able to play that way all together as a team that it’s going to be a good year.”
Villanueva, who made his big league debut Sept. 18, capped his big night with a three-run shot that went an estimated 390 feet to left off Antonio Senzatela with two outs in the seventh.
His first two were solo shots off left-hander Kyle Freeland (0-1). The first went an estimated 400 feet off the facade of the Western Metal Supply Co. building in the left-field corner with one out in the second. The second went an estimated 399 feet into the second deck in left with two outs in the fourth.
Villanueva hit four homers in 32 at-bats last year after his debut.
Villanueva said he’s felt locked in before, “but I’ve never hit three home runs.”
The difference?
“I’d say luck. It’s one of those nights where you go out and have fun with your game and things turned out the way they did. I have a lot of dreams and I have a lot of goals, and little by little I’m starting to reach them.”
Villanueva forced his way onto the 25-man roster with a hot spring, and he’ll start again at third base on Wednesday night, manager Andy Green said.
“It’s fun watching guys succeed like that,” Green said. “A guy that’s earning everything he’s getting right now. Fought his way to the big leagues. … You see the power; it’s real. It was a fun game for him, one I’m sure he’ll remember for the rest of his life.”
Villanueva homered against the Rockies last season.
“The kid’s got power. We saw it last year,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “Tonight he was locked in. He got some pitches in the middle of the plate and he’s got some pull power and he lofted the ball three times. What can you say? He squared up three balls. Gotta give him credit. He got balls in the middle and he didn’t miss them.”
UP NEXT – WEDNESDAY
Rockies: RHP Jon Gray (0-1, 6.75 ERA) looks to bounce back from an opening-day loss to Arizona.
Padres: LHP Clayton Richard (0-0, 1.00 ERA) pitched seven strong innings on opening day.
AROUND THE MAJORS
Didi Gregorius was the hitting star in the New York Yankees’ home opener yesterday. Gregorius crushed a pair of three-run homers and collected a career-high eight RBIs as the Yanks ripped the Rays, 11-4. He collected four hits, reached base five times and set a major league record for RBIs by a player in a home opener. Gregorius also broke a team record for RBIs in a game by a shortstop.
The Yankees’ bullpen blew a 4-1 lead before Tyler Austin scored on a throwing error in the seventh, three batters before Gregorius went deep a second time.
Meanwhile, Giancarlo Stanton heard boos by the eighth inning of his first home game as a Yankee. Stanton struck out a career-high five times, leaving him 1-for-14 since his two-homer, four-RBI performance on opening day in Toronto.
— Shohei Ohtani hit his first major league home run in his first Angel Stadium at-bat, highlighting a six-run first in a 13-2 dismantling of the Indians. Mike Trout, Rene Rivera, Justin Upton and Luis Valbuena also homered as Los Angeles beat Cleveland for the first time in 13 games.
— The Diamondbacks whipped the Dodgers, 6-1 as Daniel Descalso and David Peralta became the first left-handed teammates to homer off southpaw Clayton Kershaw in the same game. John Ryan Murphy added a home run off Zach Neal as the Diamondbacks made it two in a row over the defending National League champs.
— Josh Reddick delivered the big hits in the Astros, 10-6 win over the Orioles, drilling a two-run homer in the sixth and a grand slam in a five-run seventh. George Springer put Houston ahead to stay with a one-out RBI double in the seventh.
— The Rangers beat the Athletics, 4-1 behind Cole Hamels, who struck out 11 and allowed just four hits in five innings. Joey Gallo became the 11th-fastest player to hit 50 homers, doing it in his 204th big league game.
— The Red Sox pulled out their fifth straight win as Hanley Ramirez supplied a two-run double with two out in the 13th inning to lead a 4-2 decision over the Marlins. Boston starters have allowed fewer than two runs in each of their six games, the longest such streak in the majors to begin a season.
— Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun slammed back-to-back homers with two out in the bottom of the ninth to lead the Brewers past the Cardinals, 5-4. Dexter Fowler and Tommy Pham opened the game with consecutive homers for St. Louis, and Marcell Ozuna made it 4-0 with a two-run shot in the third before Milwaukee rallied.
— The Nationals suffered their first loss of the season as Freddie Freeman and Preston Tucker each hit a three-run homer to power the Braves past Washington, 13-6. The Nats scored three times in the first inning before Freeman and Tucker each delivered a big blow while Atlanta scored four times in each of its first two at-bats.
— Jake Junis carried a shutout into the eighth inning and Jorge Soler drove in the lone run as the Royals downed the Tigers, 1-0 in Detroit. Junis limited the Tigers to three hits and left the game after Mikie Mahtook led off the eighth with a single.
— Mitch Haniger hit a two-run single and Marco Gonzalez allowed three hits over 6 1/3 innings of the Mariners’ 6-4 win over the Giants. Evan Longoria belted his first home run since joining San Francisco last winter. Joe Panik went deep for the third time in five games.
— Matt Harvey tossed one-hit ball over five innings of the Mets’ third win in four games, 2-0 over the Phillies. The runs came in the sixth inning on Todd Frazier’s double and Travis d’Arnaud’s single.
— Josh Donaldson and Aledmys Diaz hit two-run homers as the Blue Jays blew out the White Sox, 14-5. Donaldson was 2-for-4 with three RBIs, and Diaz had three hits before leaving after six innings due to back spasms.
— The Reds and Cubs were postponed in Cincinnati due to stormy weather. The game will be made up as part of a May 19 doubleheader.