Riding off the energy of Soto and the crowd, the young Padres beat the Colorado Rockies 9-1 on an electric Wednesday night at Petco Park. The crowd of 44,652 was alive even before the game started, and they applauded Soto as he ran into his spot in right field in the first inning and then again when he came to the plate in the bottom of the inning. He drew a walk to start a five-run rally that ended with Drury’s grand slam. “I feel really good. It brings a lot of emotion to me,” said Soto, the 23-year-old generational talent whose acquisition along with Josh Bell in a blockbuster with Washington provided a jolt to both the team and the city. “It’s amazing how they cheered me on. They gave us the energy to go out there and play hard.” Before the game, Soto, one of the game’s best young players, said he was happy Bell was included in the trade. The two were flown to San Diego by private jet Tuesday night. “For me, I never realized that I was going to be traded together. I was probably thinking to myself,” Soto said. “When I realized Josh and I were coming, we have a great relationship and I was more excited and more excited because he’s coming and I know what kind of guy he is and what he brings to the table. I’m more than excited to share another club with him.” Manny Machado, who has carried the Padres for most of the season, led off the fifth and tripled off the circle in San Diego’s fifth straight win. Jake Cronenworth had a two-run shot. The big beneficiary was left-hander Blake Snell (4-5), who struck out nine in six innings and won his third straight start. The Padres unveiled their new look, with Soto hitting second and Bell hitting cleanup a day after being acquired Tuesday in one of the biggest deadline deals ever. Drury was also acquired Tuesday, from Cincinnati, and fueled the already festive atmosphere with a grand slam off Chad Kuhl with one out in the first. Soto walked, Machado doubled and Bell walked to load the bases before Cronenworth was hit by a pitch to bring in Soto. Drury then drove the first pitch he saw from Kuhl into the seats in left-center and the fans went wild. It was his second career grand slam and 21st homer this season. Juan Soto hits a single during the Padres’ 9-1 win over the Rockies.USA TODAY Sports “I was just running on adrenaline,” Drury said. “The fans were incredible tonight. First at bat, bases loaded, I was just running on pure adrenaline. Really excited to be here. It was very special to me.” Drury said he came out to stretch 25 minutes before the game “and the fans were going crazy. I was out there warming up and ready to go. It was definitely an amazing day.” During the pregame meeting with the players, Melvin told the players, “It’s going to be like this. It really was all year round. When you bring in guys like that, it takes it to a different level. We just wanted to let them know that this is going to be really cool. Juan Soto laughs with new teammate Nomar Mazara during the Padres’ win. Getty Images “Before we even took the field it was,” Melvin said “It seemed like the place was packed even before the game started. It was rare.” Soto singled, walked twice, scored once and struck out twice. Bell drew two walks and scored twice. Melvin said Soto “seems to bring some energy. You see him support first base on ground balls. there’s a lot he brings to the table. Obviously on base, what is he doing swinging the bat. The fans seemed to embrace each other very quickly. He’s just one of those guys who has a lot of energy around him and I think everybody felt that today.” Soto is under contract for two seasons beyond this year and said he isn’t thinking about anything beyond that. “I’m just thinking about winning,” he said before the game. “I just come to this club to bring the energy that I have, all the good feelings that I have to bring here, to win.” As for Snell, he had his third straight strong start. He held the Rockies to one run and four hits in six innings, with no walks. His four wins this season have come in his last five starts. After getting just 15 RBIs in his first 11 starts, he has 19 RBIs in his last two starts. Kuhl (6-7) allowed nine runs and eight hits in five innings, struck out four and walked three.
