Any parent or teacher would love to have this sort of success rate to reinforce their message.
Sunday was the fourth time this season a player who did not start drove in the deciding run for the Padres, making it more than words when Andy Green repeatedly tells players and the media that a player who doesn’t start will “impact the game.”
Hunter Renfroe’s pinch-hit walk-off grand slam that gave the Padres an 8-5 victory over the Dodgers was the Padres’ fourth pinch-hit homer, tying them with Arizona for the major league lead.
That doesn’t include the game-winning solo homer Renfroe hit in the ninth inning on April 26 in Washington after entering the game as a defensive replacement an inning earlier.