SAN DIEGO -- The Padres signed Jose Iglesias precisely for a day like this.
The veteran infielder played only three innings on Sunday afternoon. But did he ever make those three innings count?
As a pinch-hitter in the seventh, Iglesias tied the game with a two-run single. Playing second base in the ninth, he kept the game tied with a picture-perfect relay throw. Then, when the Padres needed contact, they had just the guy at the plate for it in the bottom of the ninth.
Iglesias bounced a grounder toward shortstop, just far enough to Bobby Witt Jr.’s left for Luis Arraez to scamper home with the winning run in a thrilling 3-2 Padres walk-off victory at Petco Park.
“Coming from the bench in such a situation like that, to be able to come through for the team, I’m just very happy to get the job done,” Iglesias said.
It’s a slightly different job than the one Iglesias held for most of his 13-year big league career. The Padres’ infield is full. Iglesias gets occasional starts against left-handed pitching, when one of those regulars slides to DH. But he’s otherwise been used as a sub, capable of pinch-hitting and filling in wherever needed on the dirt.
“I’m still adjusting to the routine,” Iglesias said. “It’s a process. But each and every day, I feel more comfortable at it. I’ve just got to be prepared. I treat each and every day like I’m starting the game. That’s the mentality I have.”
On Sunday, Padres manager Mike Shildt put a bit of extra faith in Iglesias off the bench. He called for him as a pinch-hitter in place of Jake Cronenworth with the bases loaded. Lefty Angel Zerpa was on the mound, but Royals manager Matt Quatraro was always going to call for righty Lucas Erceg against Iglesias. It was, in essence, a choice between Cronenworth against a lefty and Iglesias against a righty.
Iglesias certainly wasn’t the conventional choice, considering his struggles against right-handed pitching. He entered Sunday with just a .498 OPS against righties. Meanwhile, Shildt hadn’t pinch-hit for Cronenworth in a high-leverage spot all season (though he’d done so occasionally last year).
“Croney’s an everyday guy,” Shildt said. “But that’s a tough look. … You know they’re going to go to the righty and Jose’s going to take a tough at-bat. And that’s what he did, man. He battled his tail off.”
Indeed, in both of Iglesias’ at-bats -- the game-tying single in the seventh and the walk-off fielder’s choice in the ninth -- he fell behind, 0-2. In both of those at-bats, he did precisely what was necessary.
In the seventh, Erceg’s 0-2 fastball caught too much plate, and Iglesias sprayed it to right field, plating the tying runs. In the ninth, with the Royals’ infield drawn in, he shot John Schreiber’s low sinker back up the middle. Witt made a nice snare, but had no chance on the throw.
“He’s always ready to go,” Jackson Merrill said of Iglesias. “He always wants to be in there. Doesn’t matter if it’s off the bench, he’s going to be ready to play, and I appreciate him playing hard all the time.”
It was Merrill who started the seventh-inning rally with a leadoff double -- the Padres’ first baserunner against Seth Lugo since Fernando Tatis Jr.’s first-inning single. An inning later, Merrill nearly won the game in his return to the lineup after a week on the concussion IL. But Royals rookie Jac Caglianone leapt at the right-field wall and robbed Merrill of a go-ahead homer.
Merrill and Iglesias teamed up to return the favor an inning later. Freddy Fermin shot a double into the right-center-field gap. Drew Waters, on first base at the time, took off. Merrill cut the ball off and delivered a strike to Iglesias, who made a perfect transfer and throw to the plate.
The two briefly danced around the plate, as Waters tried to evade catcher Elias Díaz, before he was eventually ruled out for leaving the baseline. Replays showed that Díaz appeared to tag Waters initially, anyway.
“I guess he wanted a dance-off at the plate,” Shildt quipped.
It set the stage for more heroics from Iglesias in the bottom of the ninth. When Arraez slid home safely, Iglesias was mobbed by his teammates just beyond the infield dirt in right field. His hit song “OMG” blared from the Petco Park speakers. Iglesias sure looked comfortable -- in his new home and in his new role.