ARLINGTON, Texas _ If you happened to take a leisurely stroll around the concourse at Globe Life Park on Thursday night, you might have missed a good chunk of the game zipping along on the field.
In a punchy contest that did not stall until the eighth, left-handers Clayton Richard and Martin Perez traded brisk innings, as if attempting a modern-day reenactment of Randy Jones in his prime. Richard was more concise than his Texas Rangers counterpart. The Padres seemed to support their starter with just enough offense.
In the bottom of the ninth, the seams on a crisp performance came undone. With Padres closer Brandon Maurer on to try a save, Mike Napoli launched his second home run of the game, completing the Rangers' comeback in a 5-2, walk-off victory.
Napoli's three-run blast followed his solo homer in the eighth, that ending a shutout bid by Richard.
Richard had rebounded from a poor start to post seven-plus innings of one-run ball. He permitted five hits and a walk. Four Rangers batters struck out against the lefty. Nine others grounded out.
Five days earlier, Richard had matched a career high by issuing six walks in five innings of five-run ball. Afterward, the sinkerballer lamented that he had not attacked the strike zone with enough frequency.
Thursday, Richard successfully returned to the game plan. The natural movement of his primary pitch frustrated the Rangers. A decision made earlier in the week proved prescient.
The Padres had swapped Richard and right-hander Jhoulys Chacin's spots in the rotation. The Rangers went into Thursday batting just .189 with a .564 on-base plus slugging percentage against lefties. Thanks to a rainout Sunday, Richard, while being moved up a day, would start on regular rest.
The matchup unfolded to San Diego's liking. Richard faced one more than the minimum through six innings. He did not falter until the bottom of the eighth, when he hung a first-pitch slider and Napoli punished the mistake with a solo shot. That halved Richard's lead.
A night after the Padres blew a 3-1 lead and manager Andy Green noted how homer-reliant his offense had been, singles ruled the evening. In fact, there were only two hits of a different variety: Napoli's pair of home runs.
The Padres outhit the Rangers 9-7. Three of the knocks arrived in the top of the first, with Matt Szczur, Wil Myers and Ryan Schimpf all notching a single, Schimpf's driving in Szczur.
Perez, too, was mostly efficient. The Padres did not nick him again until the seventh, when they loaded the bases with one out. Manuel Margot sent a sacrifice fly to left-center, making it 2-0.
