The San Diego Padres prevented another series sweep by pulling off an upset and inspired victory over the New York Yankees.
The Padres' 2024 season has not been that ideal, marked by frustrating losses to the worst teams in the league.
They went 2-2 with the league's second worst Colorado Rockies last month and then were swept by them at Coors Field two weeks ago.
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This is why their supporters are raving about their victory over the Yankees that prevented them from getting swept again in a three-game series.
The Yanks are on a roll this season. They lost just five times this month and getting one from them could change the mindset of mid-tier clubs.
How did they do it, though?
The pitching on Sunday night was just on another level.
Jeremiah Estrada's name will stick for a while and most probably for the long haul after his excellent pitching performance against the Yankees.
The 25-year-old has recorded 10 straight strikeouts this season dating back to their games against the Cincinnati Reds.
He was dominants against New York when he struck out five straight Yankees, all swinging.
With that record, he surpassed the nine straight punch out set by Jake Peavy in 2007.
His feat was made against the top slugger from the opponents.
He started pitching with the Padres trailing by a run in the sixth inning. All-Star Aaron Judge and Alex Verdugo went blank against him in seven pitches.
Yankees' newest superstar Juan Soto also did not have a chance against him.
Team veteran Fernando Tatis Jr. can't help but rave over his new teammate which they acquired from free agency in November of last year.
"He's nasty," Tatis said of Estrada after the victory.
"He's locked in right now, he's pounding the zone, he's not afraid of who's coming to the plate and the guy's believing in himself right now. I'm really happy for him where he's at right now."
Estrada is a feared pitcher right now. He faced 18 batters in their last four games and 15 of them struck out
Pitching department got a lift
Another key to Padres' victory is Joe Musgrove who made his second start since being placed on the 15-day pitcher injured list due to a right elbow inflammation.
The 2017 World Series winner struck out five out of five in five plus innings for the Padres, many of it came at a time when they were trying to mount a comeback.
Estrada thinks Musgrove set the tone for them and even gave him confidence in his throws.
There's not really much to think about," he said. "I think when you get ready before the game there's a lot to think about, but once I have that baseball, man, it's just more of knowing that me and the catcher are ready to go to war.
"Joe did a great job today and seeing how Joe was just shutting them down, that builds confidence in a team and that gets you thinking, like, 'We've got this game.,"
Padres are currently 28-28 and next series for them is against the struggling Los Angeles Angels on the road.
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