Coming Together
On Sunday, my boys played a great game. I told you we didn’t have to be worried.
Chris Young started the game, throwing 3.2 innings, allowing two runs on five hits. Not the best outing, but it was good enough. I am so excited that CY is pitching at all. I’m just praying really hard that he won’t get injured this year. It’s been a couple tough years for him, but hopefully he’ll be able to stay healthy and pitch amazingly this year.
We had nine hits: Nick Hundley had two, driving two runs. Jerry Hairston Jr. had a hit and drove in two runs. Kyle Blanks had two hits and scored two runs.
Surprisingly, we only had one stolen base, but that’s okay. We were caught stealing twice, though. You know, as amazing as all this base-stealing is, I don’t think that they’re going out there thinking about stealing a base. I think that they’re just more aware of the pitcher and the catcher, like how slow the pitcher is or if the catcher has a less-than-average arm. Then, armed with that knowledge, they go when they think the moment is right.
Liz, Bell, and Luebke pitched scoreless innings. Craig Italiano got the save in the 5-3 win. CY got his first W of the season. So great to see!
Last night we played the Giants in Peoria. It was so amazing, because we ust had Daylight Savings Time and it had been a warm day. It was a taste of what it’s going to be like in the regular season. Listening to some great Padres baseball on a warm summer night…ah. I can’t wait!
Anyways, phenomenal pitching performances by Mat Latos, Wade LeBlanc, and Edward Mujica last night. Would you look at that! Only three pitching! Man, that REALLY feels like the regular season!
Mat Latos…man. I am super excited about seeing this guy pitching in the majors this year. He was great last year, and I think he’s going to be amazing this year too. Last night, he pitched four full innings, allowing one run on three hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Amazing. He was perfect. Wow.
Wade LeBlanc took over after Mat’s incredible performance. I remember when Wade came up at the end of 2008. He was always facing the Dodgers, and he was terrible. But when he came up last year, he wasn’t that bad. Last night, he was amazing. All these young pitchers are so exciting!
Wade also threw four innings, but he didn’t allow a run. All he gave up was two hits, while striking out three. I guess he was even better than Mat!
I think the best thing about these two guys’ outings last night was that they were able to go four full innings with so little trouble. Sure, that’s not a regular season start, but they’re getting there.
Edward Mujica pitched for the first time this spring, and he was great. He allowed a hit and stuck out one and closed the game. It’s great to see him out there again.
The offense is exciting me soooo much!! These guys are sooo great, even if they had some help from the Giants’ defense 🙂
In the fifth inning, we were down 1-0 when things really turned on. Everth Cabrera started the inning off with a walk. Wade LeBlanc laid down a sacrifice that sent Everth to second. Tony Gwynn doubled, tying the game. Jerry Hairston came to bat and the pitcher threw a wild pitch, which got Tony to third. Jerry walked. Adrian came up and singled in T. Gwynn. Kyle Blanks doubled, sending in Jerry and Matt Antonelli (who replaced Adrian). Matt hustled all the way from first to score. Chase singled and stole second. Will Venable struck out, but then Nick Hundley got on base on an error, which also allowed two guys to score.
Then Everth came up again and singled, driving in Nick. Everth got to second on another error. Then Wade LeBlanc got on base by an error. Finally, Tony Gwynn struck out to end the inning. All in all, we got seven runs on five hits and three errors. Whew.
The score stayed that way for the rest of the game. We ended up with ten hits on the night, with no errors. The Giants ended with four errors. HAHAHAHA!!! I thought that was funny.
We got five more stolen bases last night. We’ve stolen 20 bases this spring, and have been caught only seven times. We’re leading the majors in stolen bases, by the way. I’m loving it!
What a great, great 7-1 win. It was clean, quick, and wonderful. Definitely the best game of the year so far. I am soooo excited for the regular season!!!
We’re looking good. We really, really are. I’m not worried a bit about these boys. They’re going to be just fine.
Today we’re playing the Los Angeles Angels of Aneheim again. Jon Garland vs. Jered Weaver. It’s going to be sweet.
Joe Thatcher is going to be pitching for the first time this season. I didn’t realize that the Thatch hadn’t been around yet. Hmm. Thatch is the guy that I’ve always not liked in the bullpen. I mean, he was great at the end of 2007. He was amazing then. But when he totally fell apart in ’08, I was not happy with him at all. He was actually pretty decent in 2009, so I feel like giving him a second chance. GO JOE!!!
GO PADRES!!!!
Unfinished Business 
It’s pretty funny that the Padres seem to win at Spring Training whenever they’re on TV. 2 games on CH4SD, 2 W’s. Oh yeah, and no need to worry about a 4-9 record, it’s just Spring Training.
http://adriangonzalez23.mlblogs.com