There is a long, deep friendship that exists between Pat Murphy and Eric Sogard.
So Sogard getting the game-winning hit for the A’s to deny Murphy a chance for a win in his first day as the new San Diego Padres manager is just another piece of shared history. Sogard singled up the middle to score Billy Burns from second base in the ninth inning after the Padres had rallied from 5-3 down to tie the game.
Sogard, while delighted to see the Padres tab Murphy, the longtime Arizona State coach, as their new manager, wouldn’t have had it any other way.