Grisham's October revival produces another HR

NEW YORK -- Jacob deGrom hit his spot. A 100.3 mph fastball on the black, at the knees. There’s not much you can do with a pitch like that, right? You just tip your cap to a two-time Cy Young Award winner and possible Hall of Famer.

Well, unless you’re the suddenly red-hot Trent Grisham. Then, you can wallop it 400 feet to the opposite field -- a truly remarkable piece of hitting that briefly pulled the Padres even on Saturday night at Citi Field.

“Any time you can get ahold of those types of pitches -- those pitchers’ pitches -- you’re in a good spot,” Grisham said.

Yes, the very same Trent Grisham who finished the regular season by hitting .107 after Sept. 1 and was temporarily benched in mid-September -- he’s suddenly in a very good spot.

The Padres dropped Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series, 7-3, after the Mets got to the shaky part of the San Diego bullpen. But Grisham continued his stunning turnaround at the plate. He reached base three times and scored three runs -- including his game-tying homer off deGrom in the top of the third inning.

It marked the hardest pitch any Padre has homered off since Statcast began keeping track of such data. It was also Grisham’s second home run in as many nights, making him just the third player in franchise history to homer in consecutive postseason games (joining Ken Caminiti in 1996 and Jim Leyritz in ’98).

“He’s been relentless all year,” said Padres third baseman Manny Machado. “He’s gone out there, no matter the situation, he’s been working every day, keeping that focus. The last couple days, it’s been paying off.”

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Grisham was the unlikeliest of October heroes for the Padres. It was unclear whether he’d even start this weekend. But the Padres were facing three right-handers. Asked Friday for his reasoning behind starting the lefty-hitting Grisham, manager Bob Melvin acknowledged the platoon, then added this: “Some pretty good defense in center field, too.”

Indeed, Grisham is a Gold Glove-caliber center fielder. It’s why he earned these starts, and he has put that elite glove on full display with a number of running catches. He made a particularly brilliant running grab to rob Jeff McNeil of a hit in the fifth – getting a perfect jump to make a tumbling catch on a ball Statcast had pegged at just a 35% catch probability.

Make no mistake, Grisham’s glove earned him this opportunity. But the Padres still feel he’s a much better hitter than what his 2022 numbers would indicate. Grisham batted just .184, the lowest qualifying mark in the Majors.

Still, he hit 17 home runs, including a pair of walk-offs. As the Padres struggled down the stretch, cries grew louder for Grisham to remain benched. Melvin stuck with him, repeatedly noting that, “Our best team has Grish in there.”

The same held true for Josh Bell, who also struggled down the stretch but homered in Game 1. On Saturday, Melvin explained his philosophy for sticking with that duo through the thick and very thin.

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“Look, over 162 [games] everyone is going to have periods where they don't swing well,” Melvin said. “Probably these two guys went a little longer at times than they normally have in their career, but there's a lot of production there from both of these guys. And you can't just walk away from that.

“You really have to have faith in guys that they're going to come around. These are your guys. And you continue to support them.”

That philosophy is Melvin in a nutshell. And it’s paying dividends at the most important moments. Grisham played a key role in the Padres’ Game 1 win. And although the Padres lost Game 2, believe it or not, Mets manager Buck Showalter cited Grisham as a key factor in his decision to turn to closer Edwin Díaz in the seventh inning.

“The whole idea when we brought him in was Grisham had been hurting us,” Showalter said. “And I was taking him through certain parts that set up better for the rest of the bullpen.”

Imagine that – an opposing manager game-planning around Grisham in the postseason, burning his top relief weapon for a couple extra outs. That would’ve been hard to fathom a couple weeks ago.

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But it was very much a reality on Saturday night. Grisham grounded to first base, as Díaz was the only reliever to retire him all night.

Those questions about Grisham in the starting lineup have subsided. If anything, now the Padres must mull moving him higher in the order, with Chris Bassitt, another right-hander, on the mound for Game 3.

“We knew coming into this game it was going to be tough,” Grisham said. “Any team that’s playing for their life is going to come out guns blazing. We’ll be in that same situation tomorrow. … The trying times throughout the year definitely get you ready for moments like these.”