Thompson struggles in MLB debut vs. Padres

SAN DIEGO — The Padres didn’t give Phillies starter Jake Thompson much of a warm welcome in his Major League debut. San Diego’s first three batters reached safely to start the game, and four batters later Christian Bethancourt broke open the scoring with a bases-clearing double, with the Padres going on to win, 9-7.

Thompson, the No. 70 prospect in baseball according to MLB.com, allowed four runs in the first inning and two more in the fifth, when Travis Jankowski and Wil Myers led off with back-to-back doubles. He was taken out after 4 1/3 innings and struck out one batter while walking two and hitting one.

San Diego starter Paul Clemens also threw 4 1/3 innings despite allowing just two earned runs. Padres manager Andy Green pulled Clemens after he got his first out in the fifth inning, just a half-inning after Clemens grounded into an inning-ending double play on a failed bunt attempt.

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDTravis on a tear: Jankowski, San Diego’s leadoff hitter, went 3-for-4 with a walk Saturday night and scored four of the team’s nine runs. The 25-year-old extended his career-high hitting streak to six games after doubling in the fifth inning, and is hitting .522 (12-for-23) over that period. With his three-hit performance, Jankowski has multi-hit efforts in half of those six games.

He’ll get another shot: The best thing that can be said about Thompson’s debut is that he will get plenty of opportunities to prove himself the rest of the season. He appeared to rush himself in the first inning as the …

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