SAN DIEGO (AP) — Kyle Higashioka had a game to forget in his first start for the San Diego Padres.
In his second start, he did something so rare only five other catchers have done it since 1961.
Higashioka caught two baserunners stealing and homered in the fourth inning to help the Padres beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 on Wednesday.
He joined Sammy Taylor of the 1961 Chicago Cubs, Johnny Romano of the 1966 Chicago White Sox, Ted Simmons of the 1975 St. Louis Cardinals, Joe Ferguson of the 1977 Houston Astros and Bengie Molina of the 2000 Anaheim Angels as the only catchers to catch multiple runners stealing and homer in the same inning, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
While Higashioka seemed non-plussed about it, the Padres certainly needed his contributions to avoid a three-game sweep.
“It felt good to have a pretty good game today after the first game I had as a Padre. That wasn't one of my favorite days," he said.
Higashioka struck out four times in San Diego's 9-6 loss to San Francisco on Saturday.
Higashioka was pragmatic.
“I mean, I guess it's cool. Two guys have to go in one inning, so you're never in control of that. It just happened," he said.
“There's a lot of stuff there that's like out of your control. What if you're not batting that inning, or what if nobody steals? Or what if you do that but it's the bottom of the fourth and the top of the fifth? Like I'm sure that doesn't count. There's so many things you can't control, it's kind of ridiculous.
“I'm just glad that I was able to do my job when the opportunity arose.”
One of the players he joined on that very short list, Simmons, is in the Hall of Fame.
“Nice. I don't know if my trajectory is headed that way," Higashioka said.
He threw out Brendan Donovan trying to steal second base during a strike-em-out-throw-em-out double play in the fourth. After Willson Contreras doubled and Nolan Arenado singled, Higashioka threw out Arenado trying to steal second, which was upheld on review.
The only other time he threw out two baserunners was on July 9, 2022, at Boston while with the Yankees.
Higashioka returned to his native Southern California as one of five players obtained from the New York Yankees on Dec. 6 for Juan Soto and Trent Grisham.
Starter Joe Musgrove certainly appreciated his catcher’s work.
“It’s huge. As a pitcher I think I lacked a little bit in holding those runners on,” Musgrove said. “Some of them are guys you typically don’t see stealing. You don’t pay attention to them and they take a bag on you quick. You get a guy on base and your catcher throws them out, it just really kills momentum and it gives me a little bit more fire to go out and now I’m one out away from getting out of that inning. Saved me some pitches."
Musgrove said Higashioka throwing out Arenado with Nolan Gorman batting to end the fourth helped him strike out Gorman leading off the fifth.
“I felt we had a lot of big open holes to him and that's an out I would love to start off the next inning with him back at the plate,” Musgrove said. "I saw what he was swinging and missing at, saw what his approach was. So we get a chance to go back at that guy again and we punch him out first at-bat of the following inning which helps momentum. It's very big."
Higashioka hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth, his first.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
St. Louis Cardinals' Victor Scott II (11) is hit by a pitch as San Diego Padres catcher Kyle Higashioka (20) looks on during the eighth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, April 3, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
San Diego Padres' Kyle Higashioka, right, is congratulated by Xander Bogaerts after hitting a solo home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the fourth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 3, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
San Diego Padres' Kyle Higashioka (20) is congratulated after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Wednesday, April 3, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — On the day the San Francisco 49ers were officially eliminated from playoff contention, they delivered a performance that summed up their disappointing season.
The offense failed to reach 20 points for the seventh time this season, a missed field goal hampered a comeback attempt and the defense got gashed on the ground in a 29-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
“It’s just been not clean football across the board,” quarterback Brock Purdy said. “I just feel like we’re hurting ourselves offensively and then when the defense gets a stop, like we got to go and capitalize. Last year we did that really well, last couple of years. We played team football for four quarters and I felt like we were pretty dominant. This year, it's just been hit or miss.”
It's been mostly miss for San Francisco (6-9) since the start as the team has been plagued by contract disputes in training camp, injuries to key players on both sides of the ball and spotty play.
Purdy's late interception after being under heavy pressure behind a makeshift line spoiled a comeback attempt and assured the 49ers of a losing season.
San Francisco had already been eliminated from postseason contention earlier in the day after coming into the season as one of the favorites to return to the Super Bowl. The 49ers lost to Kansas City in overtime in February after falling short in the NFC title game the previous two seasons.
After surging following mid-season bye weeks the past two seasons, the 49ers have stumbled this season as injuries that have sidelined stars such as Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams, Brandon Aiyuk and Nick Bosa for multiple games have taken a toll.
But even the healthy players haven't performed as San Francisco ranks sixth worst in scoring over the past seven weeks, last in takeaways and fifth worst in yards rushing allowed.
That leaves the Niners in an unfamiliar place as they are playing meaningless games for the first time since the 2020 season, when they went 6-10 the season after losing the Super Bowl.
“We’ve been the highest of highs for a long time,” Bosa said. “Sometimes things don’t go your way and a lot of it is because of what we’ve done, obviously.”
Red zone defense. San Francisco held Miami to one TD on three red zone trips. After allowing touchdowns on 13 consecutive red zone drives over a four-week span, the 49ers have held the opposition to one TD on six trips the past two games.
Penalties. The Niners committed a season-high 11 penalties for 90 yards and several were costly. Rookie WR Ricky Pearsall lined up illegally twice on one drive, and DBs Talanoa Hufanga and Deommodore Lenoir each got called for unnecessary roughness penalties that helped fuel field-goal drives.
“No matter what’s going on, when you have those penalties like that, you don’t deserve to win,” coach Kyle Shanahan said.
WR Deebo Samuel. After being held to 116 yards from scrimmage the previous five games, Samuel delivered a throwback performance that looked like his play in recent years. He had seven catches for 96 yards and his first TD since Week 6 and ran for 25 yards. His 121 yards from scrimmage were a season high.
K Jake Moody. The second-year kicker missed a 41-yarder wide left in the third quarter. Moody has missed seven field goals this season and his 76.7% conversion rate is tied for 26th.
OL Aaron Banks (knee) and Jaylon Moore (quadriceps strain) will miss the final two games of the season. ... Shanahan said LB Dre Greenlaw also could be shut down with soreness in his right calf after returning from a left Achilles tendon injury. ... Shanahan said LT Trent Williams (ankle) won't return this season. ... RB Isaac Guerendo (hamstring) should return to practice this week. ... The team is awaiting MRI results to determine whether OL Spencer Burford (calf) can play again this year. ... S Ji’Ayir Brown (ankle) and LB Dee Winters (chest) are day to day.
0-43 — The 49ers remain winless under Shanahan after falling behind by eight or more points in the fourth quarter in the regular season or playoffs. They are the only team in the NFL without a win in that scenario since Shanahan was hired in 2017.
The 49ers host Detroit on Monday night.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) aims a pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
San Francisco 49ers place kicker Jake Moody (4) looks up after missing a field goal during the second half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Miami Dolphins linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. (6) tackles San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. (1) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan leaves the field at the end of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
