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Padres history (June 20): Brent Strom’s return to San Diego

Padres pitcher Brent Strom is shown in 1975.
Padres pitcher Brent Strom is shown in 1975, his first year with the team.
(Robert Houston/AP)

On this date in 1975, San Diego native Brent Strom earned his first win with the Padres

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As first impressions go, Brent Strom’s Padres debut was quite good. His second time out for the hometown team was even better.

A product of San Diego High School and San Diego City College, the 26-year-old Strom fired nine innings of one-run ball on this date — June 20 — in 1975 in a 2-1 win over the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers.

Naturally, Strom’s parents, in-laws, former college coach Bernie Flaherty and plenty of close friends were among a crowd of 22,822 at San Diego Stadium to see the native son out-duel Don Sutton.

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“I didn’t want to disappoint them,” Strom told the San Diego Union after the game. “It was an exciting time for me.”

The opposing pitcher in Strom’s Padres debut was even more imposing: Tom Seaver.

But Strom nearly matched the Mets ace’s nine shutout innings in a 1-0 loss. The one run he allowed in eight innings was unearned.

Not bad.

The Mets had selected Strom — who transferred from SDCC to USC — in the first round of the secondary phase of the 1970 June draft. Strom debuted with New York two years later, posted a 6.82 ERA in 30 1/3 innings and then packed his bags for a trade to Cleveland.

San Diego acquired Strom in June 1974 alongside Terry Ley as the players to be named later in the Steve Arlin trade.

Strom was 8-3 with a 1.50 ERA in the Pacific Coast League when Padres manager John McNamara summoned him to San Diego.

“If Strom can continue to pitch like that,” McNamara said after the victory over Sutton and the Dodgers, “he’ll stay in the majors for a long time. He made some great pitches when we needed them.”

Strom did … for a while.

He followed up the win over the Dodgers with his first career shutout — 3-0 over the visiting Giants — and won a third straight complete game in Cincinnati.

Strom went 8-8 with a 2.54 ERA, 56 strikeouts and a 1.13 WHIP that first year in San Diego.

He was 12-16 the following year (3.29 ERA) but pitched just 16 2/3 innings (12.42 ERA) in the majors in 1977 and was released the following spring.

Not long after, Strom followed Tommy John as the second person to undergo an elbow reconstruction. He never returned to the majors but kicked around in the minors until 1981.

He has been a pitching coach or instructor since 1992 and won a World Series ring with his current team, the Astros, in 2017.

Also on this date …

1978: Derrel Thomas set a franchise record for putouts by a first baseman with 23 in 10 innings in a 5-3 loss to the visiting Braves.

1989: LHP Bruce Hurst ran his scoreless innings streak to 19 in a 2-0 shutout of the Dodgers. The start followed 10 shutout innings in a no-decision against the Reds. The streak reached 24 innings when he threw nine innings of two-run ball in a no-decision in his next start.

1998: The Padres acquired C Jim Leyritz and a minor leaguer from the Red Sox to boost a playoff push. The Padres gave up Carlos Reyes, Mandy Romero and Dario Veras. Leyritz hit .266/.384/.420 with four homers and 18 RBIs in 62 games following the trade. He later hit three home runs in 11 plate appearances to help the Padres beat the Houston Astros in the NLDS.

2003: Trailing 3-1 in the ninth, LF Rondell White hit the only walk-off grand slam in his career to lift the Padres to a 5-3 win over the visiting Seattle Mariners. Acquired that spring for Mark Phillips, Bubba Trammell and cash, White hit .278/.330/.465 with 18 homers and 66 RBIs until he was traded to the Royals that August for Brian Sanches and Chris Tierney.

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