Tagged: chase headley
Losing Control
(Photo courtesy/lobshots.com)
In the first few games of this season, pitcher Andrew Cashner has been getting notice because of his pitching speed. Though hitting 100+ is impressive, it’s not when you don’t have any control. Like walking three straight batters in a tie-game situation.The Padres lost 9-8 to the Dodgers tonight in a very bizarre game where the Padres were able to come back from a deficit only to hand the win back.
For the first three innings, the Padres went 1-2-3 except for the first inning, when Cameron Maybin led off the game with a single. Other than that, Aaron Harang put down nine in a row. Just lovely.
Finally, Will Venable broke that with a leadoff home run in the top of the fourth. The Dodgers had a 4-0 lead at the point, so that was huge. We ended up getting three runs in that inning, closing the Dodgers’ lead to one run.
But then the Dodgers got four more runs in the bottom of the fourth. We didn’t score until the top of the seventh, where we got three MORE runs. So run production was not really our problem in this game. We had nine hits, while the Dodgers only had six.
What was the problem was the ninth inning. Going into the inning, we were losing 8-6. Chris Denorfia walked to start the inning, and then there were two swinging strikeouts. Got that, two outs. The Padres do not do well with two outs ever.
Except for today.
Chase Headley hit a two-run game-tying home run WITH TWO OUTS in the top of the ninth inning. Bam. 8-8 all.
So we’re feeling good, right?
Cashner comes in to pitch the bottom of the ninth. We get two quick outs. And then the trouble starts. Andrew walks three batters in a row to load the bases. Joe Thatcher replaces Andrew and throws four straight balls to walk in the winning run. What. On. Earth.
Absolutely pathetic. The bullpen LET US DOWN. That should not have happened. I mean, Joe could have had the decency to at least throw a strike, right? PATHETIC.
Not much is giving me hope for these Padres right now. Sure, it’s insanely early in the season and I’m not giving up on them yet. But this is not fun.
Thankfully, we have the Major League Debut of Joe Wieland to look forward to tomorrow. No pressure, dude. The team is just 2-6 and in desperate need of a win, no biggie.
GO PADRES!
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Crisis Averted: PADRES WIN!
We finally did it! We got our first win of the season!
And not just by some wimpy walks with the bases loaded. No, today we were strong. We brought out our bats for real and sent those Dodgers out of town with a loss on their record. Just one, but it was enough.
Starting pitcher Clayton Richard was phenomenal. He was dealing. He threw seven innings, allowing only two hits and no earned runs (two unearned though) with no walks and three strikeouts. He deserved the win.
On the offensive side, we had 12 hits. 12! We needed that breakout after the miserable three games before it.
In the bottom of the first, we got our first lead of the season by Jesus Guzman’s single. Then Yonder Alonzo hit a sacrifice fly. It was remarkable. Your San Diego Padres had a 2-0 lead.
Things stayed pretty chill until the bottom of the third, when John Baker hit a single that score Guzman. We now had THREE runs to our name.
Then in the bottom of the fourth, Andy Parrino hit a bomb to left-center. It was massive. That gave us a 4-0 lead, and we were pretty happy. Unfortunately, we left the bases loaded in that inning.
In the top of the sixth, Matt Kemp hit a two-run homer. Boooooooo.
The bottom of the eighth was the best though. We led off the inning with three straight singles, and then Chase Headley came up to the plate. He took a swinging strike, and then sent that thing out of the ballpark. Grand slam, 100 percent. He knew it and everyone in the stadium knew it. It was gone.
So that gave us an 8-4 lead. It was truly amazing. That was Chase’s first hit of the season and he couldn’t have picked a better time to do it.
In the top of the ninth, Andre Either did hit a two-run home run, so if we hadn’t gotten that grand slam, we would have been in trouble. But thankfully, we did get it and we got the win.
It’s obviously not ideal, only winning one out of four games. But let me tell you, it’s a huge relief. We needed that win so badly and I’m so thankful that we finally got it.
GO PADRES!
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Hoping for a breakthrough…
Field view from Opening Day.
What are we going to do with this team??
Tonight we lost our third game in a row. Meaning that we’ve opened the season with three losses. This is miserable. We absolutely can’t hit, and our pitching is not strong enough to keep us in the game long enough to score some runs. We’ve only scored eight runs in the whole season, and five of them were tonight.
Oh, that’s good, you might be thinking. Five runs in a game is not bad. BUT what you do not realize is that we only had four hits and three of the runs came in by walk. Nothing to say for our hitting prowess, just the weakness of the opposing pitcher.
Don’t get me wrong, the comeback we had was huge. We were down 5-0 going into the bottom of the fifth, and we were able to get five runs to tie the game in that inning. Chase Headley, Jesus Guzman, and Nick Hundley got the walk-in RBIs. So that was a crazy inning.
The game stayed tied all the way until the 11th inning, when that kid Dee Gordan hit an RBI double to break the tie and put the Dodgers up 6-5. Then the bottom of the 11th was really frustrating. We got the lead runner on by walk, sacrificed him over, and then got two quick outs. Naturally, we’re able to get the potential tying run on base and then decide not to do anything about it.
On the bright side, we had no errors.
The starting pitching so far has not been very good at all. Dustin Moseley went five innings today, allowing five hits and five runs. Then a bazillion guys came in from the bullpen and did very well until the 11th.
So we’re 0-3. Against the Dodgers. In Opening Week. This is not fun.
Hopefully we will be able to at least pull of the win tomorrow. PLEASE.
GO PADRES!
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No Fireworks
Tonight, the Padres presented Star Wars-themed fireworks after the game. But during the game, there were no fireworks. The Padres were more bland than tofu tonight.
We had a whooping total of three hits in the entire game.
But the defense was not bland. Instead, it was a little more spicy than any of us could handle.
OK, the bland vs. spicy comparison doesn’t really work when describing the defense. It was more like, the defense was so terrible that I was ready to jump off the Toyota Terrace.
Cory Luebke started off the game with a three-pitch strikeout, but things didn’t go so peachy for the rest of the game. Not even for the rest of the inning, for that matter. He ended up allowing a two-run double to get the team into a hole early, not that we would have been able to come back from anything.
Chad Billingsley, starting for the Dodgers, was brilliant. He made it all the way to the 9th inning, hit 100 pitches and got taken out of the game to very loud booing from the Padres fans. We did not appreciate what he did to us.
It was the top of the third that was the worst half inning ever. With one out, Mark Ellis doubled, Matt Kemp hit a grounder to third that should have been routine for Chase Headley, but instead he decided to throw it funny and Alonzo had issues with it at first. He went to try to get the out at home and threw that away too. Nice. Then while the next batter was at the plate, Cory threw the ball into center field. I think he was trying to catch the runner on second. Juan Rivera then hit a pop fly to right field, where three guys decided to go for the ball. All three of them missed it, of course.
It was the most miserable inning. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was one thing after another. I thought I was watching a Little League game. Believe me, I remember my little brother’s games where the ball would not stop being throwed in the wrong direction. I mean, over the past few years, our defense has been the one thing that’s been more than okay. If we don’t have our pitching, offense and now defense, what do we have?
We only were given two errors, but we deserved at least six. That’s five errors in the first two games of the season. Ugh.
Luebke left after 4.2 innings with six runs and nine hits tagged onto him. But not all of them were his fault. His defense was not behind him today.
Micah Owings came in in relief and had an impressive outing. He went 3.1 innings and only allowed one hit and one walk. Andrew Cashner also threw a scoreless inning.
It was a really bad 6-0 loss. I was not happy with our boys. At all.
At least the fireworks were cool.
GO PADRES!
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SWEEP!!
Well, what do you know.
Your San Diego Padres have won three games in a row, and they didn’t hold anything back.
We scored 35 runs. Had 40 hits. Hit five home runs, including two grand slams.
This is not the Padres we’re used to, but man, did I enjoy this weekend. It’s really great for us, but we do feel for the Pirates, since we’ve experienced so much of their pain, like the Union-Tribune article was talking about. Today we gave the Pirates their 10th straight loss. Ouch.
One thing I was really excited about today was Mat Latos’ outing. He did really well! He went seven solid innings, only allowing two runs on four hits, and those runs didn’t come until the bottom of the eighth. He also had seven strikeouts and got the win. Way to go, Mat!!
Former Padre Kevin Correia actually started for the Pirates, which I thought was funny. He only went 5.2 innings and got the loss. HA!
The sweep was a great victory, but we had a lot of bad news this week on the injury side. Chris Denorfia was put on the DL with a strained hamstring, which is really sad. Here’s a great video that shows us many reasons why losing Chris is so bad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCCKEsNMomA
Also, Chase Headley is going to be out for a few weeks with fractured left little finger. Not good. Not good…at all.
We go to New York to play the Mets next. Tim Stauffer is starting tomorrow night.
GO PADRES!!!
For Real
Wow, I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had time to blog in a while! Just before the trading deadline, the Padres made a great move to get outfielder Ryan Ludwick. I’m really excited about both of our additions to the club. We’re already so good that anything more just makes us even better. It’s going to be great to have both of these guys on the team.
Already, they’ve contributed. In last night’s game against the Dodgers, both of them had two hits.
But one thing I’m really concerned about is the starting pitching. For most of the season, they’ve been exceptionally solid. But Clayton Richard is really worrying me. Last night he allowed ten hits in 5.1 innings. Plus, he gave up four runs. He seemed to be really struggling right from the get-go. It was not pretty.
Thankfully, our offense was really on top of things. We scored five runs in the top of the fourth, including a three-run homer from Will Venable. Those are the best. Miguel Tejada also hit a two-run single.
In the top of the sixth, Chase Headley hit a three-run homer also. That guy was seriously on fire last night. He went 4-for-5, driving in three runs and scoring three runs. It’s good to see him getting hot.
Yorvit Torrealba also had a great night, getting three hits and driving in a run.
The bullpen was great as well. Ryan Webb allowed three hits, but got out of his inning without allowing any runs. Edward Mujica gave up a run, but that’s okay. Then Ernesto Frieri went yet another scoreless hitless inning. He’s soo good!
So we won 10-5. It was such a great game! Especially against the Dodgers and with the Giants idle, it was great to get that win.
We still have our first-place lead, two games over the Dodgers. It’s close, but I have every confidence in my boys. They’ll make it.
I really think we need to add another starting pitcher, though. I’m really worried about some of these guys. I know they’re probably just going through a rough spot, but I don’t want to take any chances. I can’t think of any guy who could come up from the minors if we needed help, but maybe there is someone I’m not thinking of. It’s extremely unlikely that Chris Young will be able to pitch this season, which really, really stinks. I feel sooooo bad for him!! This has just been horrible. Get well soon, Chris!
MLB.com’s got a great article on the front page about our boys. I’m loving it. These boys are so for real. I’m soo happy to be a Padres fan 🙂 Blue and sand forever!!
I love my boys so much. They’re making their fans proud. I LOVE YOU PADRES!!!
GO FIRST-PLACE PADRES!!!
Hello Tejada and Goodbye Dodgers
Yesterday was a great day for the San Diego Padres. Not only did we win the series against the Dodgers with a walk-off, but we also aquired veteran infielder Miguel Tejada.
I just gotta talk about this trade for a bit here because I can’t believe how good it was. When I first saw that we had traded for him, I thought, great, we probably had to give up something big. Imagine my shock when I saw that all it took to get him was a Double-A pitcher named Wynn Pelzer. I think it’s a good sign when you’ve never even heard of that player. I hadn’t, so I figured that he wasn’t that essential to the Padres’ farm system.
I figured that if the Padres were going to make a move at all, it would be something slightly big but not franchise-shaking in terms of us losing something. I’d say that we got a great deal here. I’m really amazed, actually, about how good this was. I’m also really happy that the Padres were able to get right up there with lots of other big teams who wanted this guy, and we came up on top. If this was two, three years ago, we wouldn’t even try to go for this guy. He would be as impossible to get as a A-Rod for the San Diego Padres. But times are changing.
And I absolutely love what Miguel said yesterday: “Now I go into a situation where I can get a ring. It’s not easy to get a ring. It’s a lot of hard work. Now I’m going to have an opportunity.”
How cool is that!?!?!?!! I am so psyched that we would be looked at like that. Most of the time, it was the players who were leaving us who would say stuff like that. But now, players are saying that about us!! It makes me so happy 🙂
I think this was a great deal made by the Padres. Miguel will help us in the middle infield, especially with Eck out, and he’s still got a great bat. I’m really excited about having him on the team. Welcome to San Diego, Miguel.
The other great part about yesterday was beating LA. I got to watch the entire game for free, which was a huge treat. I loved being able to see my boys! It was a ton of fun to watch it.
Mat Latos started the game. He only went five innings, but he allowed two runs (one earned) while striking out seven.
In the bottom of the first, we got our first run on a Chase Headley single. Latos allowed a home run right away in the next inning, so that lead was short lived.
Then we took the lead again in the fourth. Chase Headley walk, Yorvit Torrealba double. Top fifth, Dodgers tied it again.
So we went on for a super long time without scoring. Our bullpen was great, no surprise there. Joe Thacher, Ryan Webb, Luke Gregerson. Heath Bell took the top of the ninth in a tie game.
In the bottom of the ninth, we got down to business. Scott Hairston singled, Tony Gwynn sac-bunted him over, setting up Oscar Salazar. It took eight pitches, but he finally was able to get the bat on one and sent it through the middle. Scotty scored, and we won!!
It was a great series, and I’m so happy that we won it! It’s always great to get two-out-of-three, but especially against the Dodgers. Our first-place lead is very safe and looking good as ever.
I was really pleased with the crowds we got during this series. Of course, I’m sure we were helped out a lot by Dodger fans, but that’s okay. It’s our home turf. Yesterday we had 42,000!!! Big shoutout to all the Padres fans for getting out there and supporting our boys.
I’m super excited about Padres baseball right now. We’ve got a three game series against the Marlins for the weekend, and then it’s off to Dodger Stadium for four. That’s going to be crazy!
Go first-place Padres.
GO FIRST-PLACE PADRES!!!!
A Loss is a Loss
I do have to say, last night’s game was CRAZY!!! First of all, I had no doubt that my boys would be able to get a few hits and a bunch of runs off of Ubaldo Jimenez. I just didn’t account for the fact that the Rockies would get a few hits and a bunch of runs off of Kevin Correia.
Kevin Correia is a great pitcher. At least he was last year. But I was looking at some of his numbers yesterday and I realized that he isn’t doing as well as I thought he was. Last year he was a complete surprise and could have even been called our ace. But now, I’m started to get worried about him. Once I get over my anger, then I’ll really start to get worried about him.
Here’s where he’s at right now: his record is 5-6 with an ERA of 5.49. In 15 games started, he’s given up 49 earned runs, with 11 home runs. Not good. Not good at all. In fact, I think he’s the worst pitcher on the club, numbers wise. Tsk tsk.
And last night’s game was awful for him!! Before I could blink we were down 4-0. And then 6-0. And then 8-0. It was horrible!! He only went five innings, giving up six runs on seven hits. He walked six and struck out three. He gave up two home runs! I am very upset that he lost the game like that, but more than that, I’m worried! This pitching staff has been practically invincible! We can’t have guys going out there and giving up six runs. I’m sorry. It’s just not acceptable.
So what’s going wrong for Kevin Correia?
I’m not a pitching coach, and I don’t get to study the players on TV like I’d love to, so I can’t tell you what’s wrong. I don’t know if he’s made a change in his mechanics, if he’s going through something that just won’t get off his mind, if it was just the night, the batters, the team that he was facing. I don’t know what it is, but I know that the Padres have an excellent pitching coach(s) that will find out what’s wrong and will fix it.
Okay, now to the good news. The bad news is that we lost 10-6, which is an atrocious amount of runs for our pitching staff to give up. But the good news is that we did get six runs. But the bad news is that we had the tying run at the plate and we didn’t come through.
I’ll talk about the good news a little. First off, I was super not happy because we were no-hit through five innings. Before the game, I refused to believe that the best pitcher in the majors would be able to hold down my Padres. And we did get to him, eventually, but it was super hard waiting through all those innings just dying for one hitter, any hitter, to do his job and get a hit.
Finally, in the bottom of the sixth, T. Gwynn led off the inning with a walk. Eck singled (finally), and an out later, Chase Headley drove in our first run of the game. Scott Hairston then hit a three-run homer to make it a ballgame, 8-4. It was soooo exciting!!
Then in the seventh, Adrian Gonzalez drove in one with two outs. Chase was batting next, and Adrian got to go to second because of a balk. Then Chase singled, which sent Adrian to third, setting up the stage for Scott Hairston again.
Here’s where the turning point of the game was. Scotty hit a line drive right down the left field line. If it was just a tiny bit higher, it would have been a three-run-game-tying homer. Now, this would be a moot point if the Padres had been able to get those two runs in. We only got one run on Scotty’s double, so Chase and Scotty were still there on base with two outs. We were not able to come through.
It was not a good game. I mean, I guess part of it was good because we did come back slightly. But the pitching stunk, the hitting wasn’t enough, and we didn’t get a win. Blech.
But I figured that if we didn’t get last night’s game, it was okay because we could always get tonight’s and tomorrow’s. Our first-place lead is safe. We can spare one game, but only one, per series. Preferably none at all, but you know, you win some and you lose some.
Tonight, let’s win some. We’ve got Wade LeBlanc going out there against Jason Hammel. We can do this!!
GO FIRST-PLACE PADRES!!!
We Survived!
Hooray! Interleague is over!! Low and behold, the San Diego Padres made it through without killing their season. They faltered a little, but I’d say that they more than survived: they thrived against their American League counterparts. They did something that a Padres team had not done in a very long time. They held their own and stood up to the mighty American League.
I know this doesn’t seem like a very big thing to some of you, but for us Padres fans, we know how meaningful this really is. The Padres went 9-6 in Interleague, which is a very good record. That was the best in our division. For example, the Dodgers went 3-9, which is where the Padres probably would have been if this was the team of years past. But obviously, something is different this year. I’m not sure what it is, but it’s there.
This final series against the Tampa Bay Rays of the American League East division, a very good team right now. They’re in series contention for their division. They’re right up there with the Yankees and the Red Sox. You know what my Padres did? They came in and took the first two games of the series, though they dropped the last game. But please. Two out of three against the Rays? I’ll take that any day.
A huge part of the Padres success this year has been their pitching. No doubt about it, we’ve got one of the best staffs around. On Tuesday, (future Jake Peavy) Mat Latos started the game and threw a gem. He went seven innings, allowing three hits, no runs, only walking one, but striking out eight. This guy is soooo amazing!!!
I am just so thrilled at how professional and solid these young pitchers are. Our minor league system really must been doing something right. These guys are professional major league pitchers. I know the last few years have been tough for us Padres fans, but don’t you think that time of waiting was worth getting to see this kind of pitching every day now? I mean, two years ago, all we had to look forward to was Jake Peavy pitching every fifth day. But now, we know that we have a chance to win every single day. Amazing.
Anyways, in that game, Chase Headley singled in our first run and Will Venable got hit by pitch to drive in our second one. Mike Adams had a pretty rough outing, giving up one run, but Heath Bell got a four-out save to win the game.
In the second game, Kevin Correia started and didn’t have that great of a game. He went 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on three hits with five walks. Not the best, but it’s a good thing that the offense made up for it.
Will Venable hit a two-run homer in the fifth. Adrian hit a solo homer in the sixth. In the top of the seventh, Jerry Hairston hit a bro-bi to break the 3-3 tie. Then, in the top of the ninth, Chase Headley hit a solo homer to make the game 5-3. Heath Bell allowed one run while he was trying to get the save, but thankfully he was able to close it out for the series win.
There were two outstanding defensive plays by Adrian Gonzalez and Aaron Cunningham which definitely helped us win the game. I love our defense!
The third game was kind of belch because we lost. Wade LeBlanc didn’t have a good outing. Oscar Salazar hit a two-run homer, but our pitchers gave up three homers. Adrian broke his 11-game hitting streak.
But the good news is that we did extremely well in interleague. We dominated. We are a much better team than years past. I don’t know about you, but I believe that this is a special team. Something great is going on here. I just love the fact that we are in first place and that we’ve been holding it for a very long time. I am so happy that we seem to be heading for a possible championship…but I’m getting ahead of myself. For now, we have to focus on dominating all teams that dare to confront us. We’ve got to keep this winning thing up, and I have complete confidence in my boys that they’ll be able to do that.
Do you guys think we need another bat? I’ve been thinking about this question. On one hand, the guys we have right now have been winning consistently for a long period of time. They’ve been getting by, and at some times, dominating. I love the chemistry and balance of this team right now, and I’m worried that any major change would severely disrupt that. (For example, trading away Adrian Gonzalez.) I feel like we’re doing fine right now in terms of bats, but would we be even better by adding a bat? I’m just not sure. I guess I’m so happy with this team and the way they’re playing right now that I don’t want anything to happen that would change it for the worse.
I guess I shouldn’t be worried. Things will work out. And hey, we’ve got some celebrating to do now. WE SURVIVED INTERLEAGUE!!!!
GO FIRST-PLACE PADRES!!!
We’re BACK!!
Yeah, that’s right, Dodgers. Thought you were safe in that first-place lead did you? Thought maybe you were going to stick up there? No way! Not on my watch!! That’s right, my Padres are back and they are not going to give up until they have complete and utter possesion of first place. So there.
Last night’s game was great! I am so glad that we’re back home. In our last ten games, we are 5-5. In fact, we were on a one-game losing streak going into last night’s game. It was a huge relief to get off of that, as I’m sure you understand.
I think the theme of this game is that the boys never give up. These Padres don’t give up. They just don’t. I was distractedly listening to the game last night, not even knowing what inning it was, and I thought, are the boys able to come back and win this thing? Do they have what it takes to overcome a one-run deficit? Well, I’m here to tell you that they can and they will.
Kevin Correia started this game and pitched very well. I was impressed. He went six innings, allowing eight hits and three runs. He was really good. I’m telling you, our pitching is perfect.
The Padres actually scored first on a single, a triple, a ground out, and a single. That gave us a two-run lead.
Then the Mariners got three runs. That wasn’t good. But at least we got first blood.
In the bottom of the ninth, we got down to business. Will Venable singled, Eck sacrificed him over, and Chase was hit by pitch. Then Adrian came up and doubled in Will. So sweet. Scotty “Walkoff” Hairston was intentionally walked, which set up things for Nick Hundley.
My goodness Nick has been hot. I love that dude. In fact, he was so hot that he drove in our winning run with a sac-fly. We’ve seen a lot of weird walk-offs before, but I’m not sure if I’ve seen one quite like that before. Good job, Nick!!
See? We did it. We came back and won the game and we put ourselves back in first place. Big thanks to the Dodgers for losing last night.
I was also very excited that we won this game because we’re back in Interleague again. And as you all know, I HATE interleague. Mostly because the Padres have always been HORRIBLE in interleague. That thing used to literally kill our season. But thankfully, the boys are going to dominate this year and not totally drown under the almighty American League teams. We are 3-1 in interleague. Amazing.
Lance Zawadzki didn’t play at all last night 😦 Me sad. But he did get a start on Thursday, and uh…lowered his average to .207. Hmm.
We are now back in first place, and if I have anything to say about it, we are there to stay. Ahh. It’s so good to be back.
GO FIRST-PLACE-TIED PADRES!!!!!
Unfinished Business 