Fill-in closer Matsui can’t secure elusive sweep for Padres
KANSAS CITY — The Padres were on the verge of their first series sweep in 2024. But there was one problem and it was a big one.
Padres’ closer Robert Suarez wasn’t available Sunday after working the previous two games, closing out the Royals in each of them. Thus, San Diego manager Mike Shildt turned to left-hander Yuki Matsui and asked him to hold a two-run lead in the ninth.
Matsui couldn’t. The Royals needed just four batters to score three runs in the ninth, forcing the Padres to absorb a stinging 4-3 defeat that left them 0-5 in games that would have secured a sweep.
“Pretty much right as we scripted it, except for the very end,” Shildt said.
Being a Major League closer is a tough job description and Matsui felt he wasn’t on point with his pitches on Sunday. He had pitched scoreless baseball in his previous seven outings, but not as a closer.
“I feel bad for the team,” Matsui said through a translator. “My location was not there today. So, I feel bad for them.”
In retrospect, the Padres had to be thinking back to Friday night when they entered the ninth inning with an eight-run lead. The Royals put on a furious rally that forced Shildt to use Suarez, and then Suarez came in again on Saturday for his 17th save in as many tries.
While the Padres wound up winning on Friday, that 11-8 victory came at the expense of not having Suarez available on Sunday.
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