Petco Park has another marathon

SAN DIEGO (AP) — His lifetime ERA having taken a hit, Josh Wilson was relieved to be back at shortstop for the San Diego Padres on Monday night.

“I’m a little more comfortable over there. A little more natural, I guess,” he said with a chuckle.

Just 24 hours earlier, Wilson was a key player in yet another Petco Park special.

Wilson took the first pitching loss of his career after allowing a three-run, opposite-field homer to former teammate Mark Reynolds with two outs in the 18th inning that carried Arizona to a 9-6 win on Sunday evening.

Wilson had mixed feelings about his third big league relief outing.

“If there is such a thing as an emergency situation, I mean, I really hope I don’t see it,” Wilson said. “Each time I’ve had to go out there on the mound, I’ve said I really don’t want to have to do it again. The way things seem to be going, I wouldn’t be shocked if I found myself out there again.”

Wilson’s two previous relief appearances were in blowout losses. He threw a scoreless inning for Tampa Bay in a 14-8 loss to the Florida Marlins on June 8, 2007, and another scoreless inning last month for Arizona in a 13-5 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

The Padres claimed Wilson off waivers from Arizona four days later.

He was one strike away from getting out of the 18th as dusk was falling Sunday. He didn’t, and his career ERA is now 9.00.

“Having gone out there actually in a meaningful game like that, in a tie ball game with a chance to get three outs and possibly get a win, that was kind of exciting,” Wilson said. “If I do have to do it again, I prefer it be a situation like that because I enjoy the challenge. That would be fun. But … I doubt if I’ll ever find myself in a position to possibly win a baseball game again.”

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, four of the five longest games in the majors during the last two seasons have been at Petco Park.

Last month, the Padres beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-5 in 16 innings. Last year, the Padres lost an epic 22-inning game to the Colorado Rockies, 2-1, then beat the Reds 12-9 in an 18-inning game just more than a month later.

“There aren’t any cheap runs here,” Arizona manager A.J. Hinch said. “You have to hit to score, and late in the game, everybody kind of tried to win it with a solo homer on both sides. You had a lot of fly balls late in the game, or late in the second half of the game. It’s just not an easy place to score runs, period, so it doesn’t shock me.”