Tagged: diamondbacks
Beginning of the End
We just got swept by the Dodgers. Which really stinks, but what stinks even more is that we got swept the series before that too, by the Diamondbacks. Not good at all.
Seven game losing streak. It hasn’t been a good season by a long shot, but a streak like this is annoying anyways. At least we had been getting in a win every few games consistently. But losing so many in a row? That’s rough, man.
And now we enter the month of the NL West. We are literally playing teams from our division every game in September EXCEPT for the last series of the season, which is against the Cubs of all people.
We’re coming down to the end, folks. Some might be relieved. For me, I’ll be glad to see the end of the season and the start of hopefully a better team next year. But I’ll miss my boys a lot. Football is great and all, but nothing compares to Padres baseball. And really, this season hasn’t been too hard on me at all. Sure, we were in the basement all season, but like I said, we were able to win at least one game in every series pretty consistently, and that made things easier.
But we’ve still got some game left. Starting with this Friday, when Kevin Kouzmanoff and the Rockies are coming to town. Yours truly will be in the stands near third base, drooling over that fine third baseman. So excited. I can’t wait to see my boy and take a ridiculous amount of pictures of him. The Rockies haven’t been doing so hot lately either, so maybe my boys will have a chance. GO KOUZ!!
GO PADRES!!!
Unbelievable!
Okay, so I was shocked that we were able to win two in a row. Saturday’s game against the Diamondbacks was amazing! We won 5-0, and it was just a great game. I was thrilled that we finally won our first series of the year. It was about time! I was very happy that we were able to get the series, and I would have been content with that. But my boys weren’t. They wanted to get all three, and guess what? They did!
This is the team who was 3-6 coming into this weekend’s series. They had yet to win a series at all. Things were not clicking for them at all, and then suddenly, they came out and won three games. It’s seriously unbelievable. I’m so amazed at this turnaround!
Sure, it was only one series, but we won all three games in that series. The first game was a huge come-from-behind-walk-off win. The second one was a dominating shutout. And the third…my goodness, that was a game to remember.
Wade LeBlanc was called up on Saturday night to take Chris Young’s start. Speaking of Chris Young, things are not looking good. Sigh.
Wade had an amazing spring and was really impressive. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough room for him on the major league team, but he was sent down to Triple-A with the promise that he would be back up in the majors in no time. We hate to see a guy like CY go down so quickly, and Wade was definitely up here faster than he thought he would be. Still, it’s a good thing that we do have guys like Wade who are great pitchers and can come up anytime we need them.
Wade threw five innings, allowing seven hits, one run, two walks, and struck out seven. Talk about an incredible outing, that’s what Wade gave us yesterday. Man, he was sooo good! I think that was the best outing by any starting pitcher so far this season. He’s got a beautiful ERA of 1.80.
The Diamondbacks got a run in the top of the first and another one in the top of the sixth off of Edward Mujica. But in the bottom of the seventh, my boys found their bats.
Scotty Hairston hit a solo homer to start the inning. BANG! We’ve got our first run on the board.
Two outs later, Everth Cabrera singled and stole second. Jerry Hairston Jr. doubled, sending Everth home to tie the game. Adrian was intentionally walked, which brought up Chase Headley.
Chase hit the ball way out into left-center field. Jerry and Adrian scored, and the throw from the outfield was caught by nobody. Chase kept chugging around the bases, and with nobody covering home and the baseball somewhere around the mound, he scored the fifth run of the inning. I’d call in an inside-the-park home run, since it’s been a super long time since we had one of those, but it was ruled a double and an error. Oh well. Still, it was an amazing hit and play.
In the ninth, Heath Bell came in to try to get his third save of the year. Of course, he had to make things interesting by allowing a run, but he was able to close the 5-3 win and the series sweep.
Complete domination. I love that we were able to be at home and sweep the team that took two out of three in our opening series. We seriously dominated, and it was soo much fun to see!
I’d like to talk a little bit about how the NL West is shaping up so far. It’s actually been very interesting to watch all the teams in it, ’cause it’s been very different than the past few years have been.
The Giants have been on top since the season started. They’re 8-4 right now. In the middle, we have the Rockies, Dodgers, and the Padres all at 6-6. Arizona’s at the bottom with a record of 5-7. What has been really interesting to me is that the Dodgers have been matching the Padres almost exactly.
I don’t know how the NL West is going to play out, but as always, it will be interesting to see how things pan out over the season.
I’m so proud of my boys. It was amazing what they were able to do this weekend, and I really really hope that they keep it going!
We’ll be playing the Giants for three games here at home. This could be a crucial series between the two teams. I’m really excited about my boys, and I hope that they are able to keep dominating.
GO PADRES!!
Should’ve Won
Yesterday’s game was a bummer. I hate it when we’ve got a comfortable lead, great pitching, amazing defense, and then we somehow lose the game because of some stupid relief pitcher. The game felt so much like a regular season game, it was crazy. But so cool. I can’t wait.
Anyways, Clayton Richard started, and he was incredible! The pitching is really coming together. The starting pitching, that is.
Clayton went six innings. SIX!! He only allowed six hits, no runs, two walks, and three strikeouts. He was sooo good!!! That was definitely his best outing of the spring. Wow.
But he got a lot of help from his defense. We turned five, that’s right, five, double plays behind him. Everth Cabrera and David Eckstein made some incredible plays. These guys are so great. Our infield would be dead without them. Seriously. I’m so thankful to have them playing for us.
On the other side, Arizona’s pitching was very good too. In fact, neither team scored until the top of the seventh. The Padres broke through when Yorvit Torrealba drew a bases-loaded walk. I think there were like three walks in a row. HAHA!!
We got two more runs in the top of the eighth. I think Chase hit a two-run double or something. Anyways, it was really cool to have a 4-0 lead when we got another run in the top of the ninth. Looks like we’re going to win it, right? I mean, great pitching performance by Clayton, some great defense, just enough hitting, and it’s the top of the ninth. I was very excited, and I really thought that we were going to win this one. Think again.
This relief pitcher, Greg Burke, had to go out there and give up four runs. In the bottom of the ninth. I was not happy. Then Edward Mujica gave up a run in the bottom of the tenth, and we lost. It was very very sad.
I hate it when the bullpen blows it like that! It’s not cool. Not cool at all. Clayton deserved that win. Argh.
Sigh.
Well, at least we turned five double plays and stole three bases and got six hits and a error. I know it’s just Spring Training, but we should have won that game. No excuses.
We’re playing the Rockies today. K-Cor’s going to start. GO KEVIN!!
GO PADRES!!!
End of the Road
What a nasty series. I thought we were supposed to be better than the Diamondbacks!!! Ugh.
Well, at least the first game was amazing. The story of the game was Kevin Correia, new ace. We signed K-Cor in the offseason, and he’s done incrediblely well this year. Sure, he’s had some rough patches, but he’s definitely been a huge positive this year.
On Friday, he went nine innings, allowing no runs on six hits with one walk and seven strikeouts. How cool is that?? He was amazing!! That was definitely one of his best starts this year. Wow. He really held down the Diamondbacks. Great job, Kevin. Great job.
We got four runs on nine hits, but K-Cor didn’t even need that much. We won 4-0!
Buuuut then things kind of went downhill. In the second game of the series, we were right in it…until Chad Tracy hit a grand slam. It was not good. We got all our momentum sucked out of us as we lost 8-5.
Next game was pretty much the same story. We were right it, even coming from behind, but the Diamondbacks got some late big hits and won the game 7-4.
What on earth is up with the Diamondbacks beating us? It’s all very strange. I mean, we’re a better team than Arizona. And yet they pretty much dominated us in the last two games. Weird.
Instant replay was used for the first time in a Padres game yesterday. It was kind of cool, but the call went against us. Oh well.
Dude, there’s only FIVE games left in the Padres’ season!! I am soooo sad!! I’m going to miss my boys like crazy. BUT I am so thankful that I get to go to one more Padres game tomorrow. It will be my fifth game of the season, which is super cool for me because my favorite number is five (because of Kouz, obviously). Hopefully, it will be my fifth win of the season. That would be epic.
Speaking of my baby, check out this section from the AP:
San Diego third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff, who has missed the last 17 games with thigh and back injuries, went through a full pregame workout Sunday. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he started Tuesday,” manager Bud Black.
AHHHHHHHHHHHH YES!!!!! I think I’m going to cry when he’s announced tomorrow. Oh goodness, I miss him sooooo much!! Yeah, I’m totally going to cry. It’s going to be sooo much fun to see him out there on the field tomorrow.
Something rather sad entered my mind yesterday. It may be a tough offseason again. Kouz might be on the trading block. And believe me, if you thought my reactions to Trevor and Jake’s departures were bad, you can’t imagine what it would be like if Kouz got traded. Oh man. Let’s just pray that the Padres see enough worth in Kouz to stick with him. I need my #5!!!
Padres have an off day today. We’re coming home for the rest of the season. Two against the Dodgers and three against the Giants to finish it. Wow. Here we go.
GO PADRES!!!
Kiddie Day At The Ballpark
With mainstay players like Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Kouzmanoff, David Eckstein, and Will Venable NOT in the starting lineup on Wednesday, it looked like kid’s day at the ballpark. Six out of the nine pitchers used by the Padres were under 25 years old. And the guy who’s the buzz of San Diego today made his major league debut at only 22 years old.
Edward Mujica made only his second major league start. He went 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on six hits with no walks and five strikeouts. He was good, but boy we used a lot of pitchers yesterday!
After Mujica, it went Webb, Poreda, Gallagher, Russell, Thacher, Perdomo, Ramos, and finally, Bell.
In the bottom of the third, Chase Headley grounded out, driving in Everth for our first run.
But the Diamondbacks, who seem to be a lot better than what the numbers say, got two runs in the fifth, and one run in the sixth.
In the bottom of the sixth, Henry Blanco walked and Drew Macias was hit-by-pitch. Luis Durango, in his second at-bat ever, hit a bunt single to load the bases. That was his second bunt single of the game. Nick Hundley singled to drive in a run, and Tony Gwynn sac-flied another one in. The game was then tied at three.
In the top of the seventh, Arizona got two runs to take the lead, 5-3. Things were not looking good for our boys. They went into the bottom of the ninth, down by two runs. Tony Gwynn walked to start off the inning. Two outs later, Adrian came into the game to pinch-hit for his brother, Edgar. And guess what he does? He hits a game-tying two run homer to the left field corner. It was soooo great!!
Heath Bell came into the top of the 10, and what do you know, his new shave actually worked! He got two quick outs before walking a batter. Thankfully, that batter was caught stealing and Heath made it through the inning. That’s gotta feel so good for Heath. After those three nasty outings, it must have been amazing to get through one unscathed.
In the bottom of the 10th, Luis Durango led off the inning. He singled yet again, putting the potential winning run on base, with a ton of speed!
David Eckstein then flew out. Everth Cabrera came up next. While he was batter, Durango stole second. Everth singled to right, the first baseman and the second baseman diving and missing the ball. Durango, with his incredible speed, ran all the home and avoided the catcher’s tag, scoring the winning run.
It was so great!! An amazing effort by my boys to come back and win this game.
And talk about Luis Durango. This guy just got called up on Monday, made his major league debut yesterday. In his first two at-bats he had infield singles. He also had a sac-bunt and a single. He stole a base, and ran around like crazy. The Padres have not had a guy with this kind of speed for a very long time. I mean, if you thought Everth was fast, just wait until you see this guy. Whew! This guy is very, very exciting, and the talk of San Diego today. The Union Tribune raved about him this morning.
What a great game. I was so thankful that we avoided the sweep and were able to see some new talent out there.
We have an off-day today before heading out to Pittsburgh for the weekend. We will play the Pirates for four games. Then they’ll head to Colorado and Arizona before coming home for the end of the season. Oh my, it’s coming up fast!
On a side note, Jacob Edward Peavy is going to be making his first start with the White Sox on Saturday. I’m very sad that he’s not with us anymore, but it will be good for him to be on the mound again. He says he won’t be 100%, but I hope he does extremely well. I MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY JAKE!!!
GO PADRES!! GO JAKE!!!
A Loss is a Loss
I mean, what am I supposed to think? My Padres just lost a series to the only team that worse then them in the NL West. They had THREE errors. That’s not the team I know. Still, it was a one-run game, and we could have tied the game, but that was out of our hands. I don’t know what to think of this team right now.
Kevin Correia threw six innings, allowing four runs, only three earned, on six hits with six strikeouts. And he made two errors.
In the second, Eliezar Alfonso drove in our first run with a single. Speaking of Alfonso, he’s been really good since he’s been up here. I’m not sure how the pitchers are reacting to him as a catcher, but he’s been doing really well with the bat. He’s batting .277, which is very good!
In the bottom of the third, the Padres had three errors to give up a couple runs. Kevin Correia let a bunt get right by him, then threw the ball way over first base. Later, Edgar Gonzalez threw home. The ball was right there to get the runner, but it bounced off the catcher. Ugh.
Arizona got two more runs in the fourth to take the 4-1 lead. It was not good.
Tony Gwynn singled in Luis Rodriguez in the seventh to come that much closer.
In the eighth, Kouz doubled to start the inning. Chase Headley then hit a ball way out to right field, where it bounced off the top of the fence and came back in. It ended up being a double, scoring Kouz, but if it had been an INCH higher, it would have been a game-tying home run. AHHHHHH!!!! As it went, Chase was left stranded at second. Terrible.
And so, the sad story is that we lost the series to the Diamondbacks. We are now 18 games behind, and the Diamondbacks are only 18 1/2. If we lose today, we could very well be taking over that cellar spot, and boy do we deserve it. Man, that’s kind of scary. I didn’t realize we were that close.
So, what should I think about this team? We played well, except for those three errors. We had 11 hits to Arizona’s 6. The bullpen didn’t allow anything. The defense was mostly great. We were right there in the ballgame. We could have tied it right there in the eighth, if only…
But then again, we are 18 games behind. We are on a three-game losing streak. We have been playing badly all year. And at the end of the day, a loss is a loss. Doesn’t really matter if you played amazingly; you failed.
As we come up to the All-Star break, I really don’t know what to think about this team. I don’t think we’re going anything. Things just aren’t clicking, and I don’t think a three-day vacation is going to solve that.
Kouz had three hits last night, a single and two doubles. That was really great for him. Everth Cabrera and Chase Headley had two hits each.
Everth, man. This guy was so amazing once again. He had the two hits, but he also had some spectacular plays at shortstop. This guy is a joy to watch (or at least, listen to). I am sooooo excited about him!! He’s already so amazing, and he’s just going to get better. I can’t wait to watch him play when we go to a game in a couple weeks!! Oh, and he’s kinda cute, too 🙂
Well, the Padres are actually playing in about an hour. The third game of this series is a day game. Chad Gaudin is pitching, which may or may not be a good thing. Two starts ago, he threw a one-hitter. In his last start, he was not as good at all. I’m really hoping that he can throw at least seven solid innings. The starters need to go deeper, and not give up as many runs for goodness sakes!!
By the way, Walter Silva was designated for assignment!! WHOOO HOOO!! Sorry, but Silva had his chances to secure a spot here, but he couldn’t get it done. Craig Stansberry, infielder, is up from Portland.
Chad Gaudin vs. Max Scherzer. You need to get it done, boys!!
GO PADRES!!!!
Not Quite Enough
My Padres played very, very well last night. They hit, they played great defense, but the pitching was just OK. It wasn’t enough.
Walter Silva only went 3.1 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits. I’m sorry, but I think Silva’s had enough second chances. We can’t have the starters only going three innings every day, that kills the bullpen. Sure, he only gave up three runs, but he would have given up more if he had been allowed he stay in later.
Arizona helped us out, that’s for sure. In the second, Chase Headley singled. Justin Upton made an error in the outfield, so Chase went to second. Will Venable then grounded out to sent Chase to third. Eliezar Alfonso drove him in. Luis Rodriguez and Walter Silva singled, and Alfonso scored on a wild pitch.
In the fifth, Everth walked, T-Gwynn singled, and Adrian Gonzalez singled in Everth. Very cool. By now, the score was a 3-3 tie.
It stayed that way until the seventh. Tony Gwynn singled and stole second. Kouz hit a booming double that was that close to getting out, scoring Tony. We took the lead, 4-3.
In the eighth, we added an insurance run. With two outs, Everth Cabrera walked. He stole second and third and two consecutive pitches. The catcher threw to third to try to nab him, but the throw bounced off the third baseman’s glove and down the line. Everth easily scored. Yay!!
But in the bottom of the inning, newly-off-the-DL Luke Gregerson gave up two runs to tie the game. It was not good.
In the top of the ninth, the Padres were unable to get anything. I figured that the game was headed to extra innings, espeically when Cla Meredith got two quick outs in the bottom of the inning. But then he walked Justin Upton, and All-Star hopeful Mark Reynolds hit a single to drive him in. Game over.
We were hitting some balls very, very well. I was really pleased by that. We got 13 hits! But we just couldn’t get a big break. The pitching was shaky. Man, it just always seems like we can never get all the parts working together at the same time. We were hitting well, but the pitching couldn’t get it done.
You know what is probably the worst part of this loss? It’s that the Diamondbacks are the only team in the NL West who are worse than us!! So why we are losing to them is beyond me. We’d better take the next two games, or we should be the ones at the bottom of the division. Come on boys!!
Adrian Gonzalez is going to be in the Home Run Derby!! I am sooo excited for him, he really deserves it. He was leading the majors for quite a while with home runs, until pitchers realized that this guy can actually hit, and then he slowed way down. But that’s going to be really cool for him.
And…I still miss Scotty!! WHAAA!! It’s going to be sooo sad without him. He was such an amazing player. After 2007, whenever we needed a walk-off homer, I was always so excited when he came to the plate because I knew he could do it. He was so amazing for us!! It was a lot of fun to have him here, as a hitter, fielder, and guy off the field. He will be missed a lot. Plus, he looks terrible in that green and yellow uniform. He looked so great in Padre blue!!
I MISS YOU SCOTTY!!!!!
By the way, I got #21 in the Latest Leaders the other day. I’m dedicating it to the Padres’ newest All-Star, Heath Bell.
Heath is going to the All-Star game for the first time in his five years in MLB. He was with the Mets for his first few years, going back and forth on the “Heath Bell Express” from the major league team to the minors. He was finally traded to the Padres in 2007, and had an excellent year with us. He pitched a ton! In 2008, he was set-up man to Trevor Hoffman, and did an excellent job, also throwing a lot.
When Trevor left the team in the offseason of 2008, Heath was given the closer’s job. He has had no problems adjusting to that role, having earned 23 out of 24 saves. His ERA is 1.50.
It’s an amazing story, really. This guy was languishing in the Mets’ minor league system just a few years ago, and now he’s an All-Star. I know he’s going to have a blast.
Well, the Padres are playing the Diamondbacks again tonight.
Our ace Kevin Correia, who was very un-ace-like in his last start, will pitch against Doug Davis. Great pitching matchup there!
May the better team, in this case the Padres, WIN!!
GO FRIARS!!! (and for goodness sakes, don’t wear the sand uniforms!!!)
Padres Split Series!
I guess my Padres didn’t want to travel to Houston in a school bus.
Chris Young started the game, going six innings, allowing three runs on five hits with four walks and six strikeouts. He had a great outing, he was battling hard.
On the other side, Dan Haren was doing a great job as well. He went six innings, giving up eight hits and three runs with two walks on four strikeouts.
In the third, the Diamondbacks struck first. After a single from Chris Snyder, Dan Haren of all people hit a double to help his own cause. He got to third on an error, and touched the plate on a sacrifice fly.
In the fifth, the Padres found a crack in Haren’s armor and were actually able to take advantage of it!
With two outs, Chris Young walked, Brian Giles singled, and Edgar Gonzalez drove in CY for our first run. Scott Hairston came to the plate and check-swinged on a pitch. Except the ball hit the bat and went into right field to drive in Giles. It was pretty bizarre!
In the sixth, the Diamondbacks added a run to take the lead. But in the bottom of the inning, we got that run right back.
With one out, my boy Kouz hit a single. Nick Hundley then doubled, and Kouz ran all the way home. I love this dude, but he’s really slow. It’s almost painfully to watch. He’s not as bad as say, Henry Blanco the Galapagos tortoise, but he’s still slow. So he almost got thrown out at the plate. But he scored safely, so that’s all that matters.
The game stayed tied for a long time. The Padres bullpen was able to hold the game, though. Barely.
Edwin Moreno came into the seventh, and got a few runners on with no outs, including two walks. I’m telling you, this guy is going to be on the bus to Triple-A very soon unless he stops walking people like he does. We just can’t have that, especially when he walks the first batter in a tie game. No no no.
Thankfully, Luke Gregerson came in and cleaned up Moreno’s mess, keeping the game tied. He also pitched a scoreless eighth.
Heath Bell took the ninth, allowing nothing and striking out one. Man, he’s sharp!
In the bottom of the ninth, Scott Hairston singled, but Adrian Gonzalez grounded into a double play.
Onto extra innings for the second time this week!
Cla Meredith pitched the top of the tenth, throwing five pitches to get three outs. He was sharp!
In the bottom of the tenth, it was time to close this thing down. Jody Gerut started it with a strikeout, but then Kouz doubled. Nick Hundley walked, and Chris Burke came to the plate.
Burke had a great at-bat. He fouled off six pitches, keeping the count full for a long time. He made the pitcher throw ten pitches before finally taking ball four to load the bases. That at-bat was crucial to winning the game.
Next, Hyun Young’s boy David Eckstein came to the plate. He only needed to take a strike and a ball before lining a single past the first baseman to score my boy Kouz.
We win!!
It was such a great game! We did leave 13 runners on base, which was very frustrating, but we were able to get some clutch hits and win the game.
I was very pleased with our pitching, especially the bullpen. They didn’t give up a run, which is so rare!
My boy Kouz had THREE hits, two singles and a double. He’s definitley been scuffling, so it’s great that he was able to have a good game like that.
We had 13 hits total, which we haven’t had in a long time. I am so glad that we were hitting!
It was a great win for the Padres and their fans, but apparently the Diamondbacks aren’t too happy with their 12-17 record. Arizona fired manager Bob Melvin today. They’re replacing him with A.J. Hinch. Interesting…
Manny is a jerk. Unfortunately, the Padres are only going to play the Dodgers twice during his suspension.
“It would have been nice if this had happened in spring training,” pitching ace Jake Peavy said. “I wouldn’t have had to face him.”
The Dodgers finally lost last night. They built up a six run lead, but blew it and lost 11-9 against the Natinals. Of all teams. Wow.
Well, I can’t say I’m entirely disappointed that Manny was suspended or that the Dodgers lost. My Padres are now only 7.5 games behind, third place in the NL West!
Well boys, I hope you enjoyed your luxury flight to Houston!
Tonight Chad Gaudin is pitching against Wandy Rodriguez. It will be a very interesting game…
GO PADRES!!
(photo credits: Union-Tribune, flickr.com)
A Blowout? Oh yeah!
- 16-3 Padres
On Friday and Saturday, the Padres got pretty beat up. The pitching gave up 28 runs in those two games, plus four more on Sunday. It was really rough to watch my team get killed, but it was so bad that it was almost funny. Though it was humorous that my team was losing like 13-11 or 15-6, it’s always so much more fun when you’re the team on top. And yesterday, that’s what my Padres were. After a week of losses, they finally pulled off a win by beating up their NL West rivals, the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The pitching was very much improved from the weekend. Cha Seung Baek himself was very improved! He went three innings, allowing only one run on one hit. He walked one and struck out two. I mean, compared to how he’s been doing, this is definitely his best outing of the spring. Even in the very few innings I was able to listen to, just hearing the way the guys described his pitching, I could tell that his stuff was working much better. The guys really noticed it, and there was one pitch that Ted Leitner said was the best fastball that he’s ever seen Cha Seung throw. So, I’m pleased that he’s (hopefully) getting it together.
The rest of the pitching was pretty good. Jae Kuk Ryu had a bases loaded situation, but he induced a grounder to third for an around-the-horn double play to get out of the inning. That was great. Greg Burke, who is going to start a Padres prospect blog around here sometime, pitched a spotless inning, as in, no hits and no runs. Joe Thatcher…yeah, him again. Miraculously, he was able to pitch a scoreless inning. I have no idea how he did it, and though he allowed one hit, he had two strikeouts. He still needs to go to Single-Single-A, though. Justin Hampson, who has been one of the more solid guys this spring, allowed two runs on three hits in the seventh. I think he has a big chance to make the Opening Day roster in the bullpen. Arturo Lopez and Edwin Moreno each had scoreless innings. I am very pleased that the pitching has improved. At least it’s not every other guy giving up four runs. I am very pleased.
On the offensive side, we did fantastic. Probably the best we’ve done all spring. We had 16 hits, and though we left seven runners on base, we scored 16 runs. 16!!! Eliezer Alfonso, a catcher who will be starting the season at Triple-A, hit a three-run homer for us in the top of the second inning off of Jon Garland. Alfonso later hit an RBI double. My boy Koooooz had THREE doubles in four at-bats! Yeah, I think he’s ready to play. One of those doubles drove in a run. I am so proud of him!! Anyway, Brett Dowdy. I hate to admit it, but I have no idea who this guy is. Before this spring, I had never heard of him. I am pretty sure that he’s with Portland, or was last year. I think he was one of the guys brought into big league camp when the guys left for the WBC. So, wherever he came from, he had a good game yesterday. Double down the left field line, clearing the bases and driving in three runs. Not bad. Brian Giles, Will Venable, Drew Macias, Matt Antonelli, and Cedric Hunter each drove in a run. Brett Dowdy drove in four. Kyle Blanks drove in two. Drew Macias got a solo homer in the top of the 9th. I really like how we score runs all through the game. Three in the second, four in the third, four in the fifth, one in the sixth, and then four in the ninth. I think that was great!
I must admit, I have not been following the WBC like I should be. But I did noticed that the Padres’ big boy Adrian Gonzalez drove in six runs for Team Mexico in their win against South Africa yesterday. I’m telling you, Adrian is an incredible hitter. I know you know that, but it’s so true. That guy is incredible. I can’t wait for him to get back to the Padres and use that big bat to win some games for us!
Thank you so much to Sue of Rants, Raves, and Random Thoughts, who did some research and revealed the mystery of the unknown autographs. Our mysterious Scribblers are Matt Antonelli, Drew Macias, and Cedric Hunter. I am impressed. Those are not just your average minor leaguers. These guys are regarded pretty highly by the Padres organization. Very cool.
Today is an off-day for my Padres. It seems so strange to have another off-day, because it seems like we just had one! But tomorrow we are playing Team Korea. That’s going to be really interesting.
Have a great day, everyone, and GO PADRES!!
(photo credit: pe.com)
You Just Gotta Laugh
Wow, what a weekend! It was so big that it’s going to take two entries. Wow.
- Saturday: 15-6 A’s
Oh boy. This game was so bad that it was funny. Josh Geer started and gave up two home runs, two doubles, and three runs in the first. In his second inning of work (yeah, they actually gave him another inning after all that!), he gave up another run. So, what’s that? 5-0 Oakland in the second. But it was only the beginning. Only the beginning.
Justin Hampson was able to get through unscathed. The game was passed to Cla Meredith, who threw a scoreless inning. That’s really rare these days from the Padres’ pitching staff. Very impressive. But then Cesar Ramos gave up six runs in 0.2 innings. That’s really great for the young guy, huh? I can’t believe they left him in for that long. Chris Britton had a scoreless inning, but he gave up three walks. Matt Buschmann gave up four runs. What is that now? 14 runs for Oakland. Scott Patterson gave them their 15th. Mark Worrell closed out the game with a scoreless inning. Did you know that he hasn’t given up a run yet this spring? I really like this guy. I hope he makes the Opening Day roster.
So, in case you hadn’t noticed, our pitching is really, REALLY bad. With Friday and Saturday combined, they gave up 28 runs. That’s nasty. Man, it’s just bad right now. And Saturday was the day that I was hoping that we’d have a good game on the pitching side! I mean, most of the guys who threw on that day are the best of the pitching staff right now. I know, it’s still really early in the spring, and we have like four weeks ’til Opening Day. But I don’t understand how these guys could be so solid a week ago and are now falling apart all over the place.
The offense was bad. We scored six runs, sure, but the other team scored 15. Yeah. David Eckstein had a good game, with a double, RBI single, and sac fly. Brian Giles had an RBI single. Will Venable had two hits and drove in a run. Kouz got a hit and an RBI.
You just gotta laugh when the game gets that bad. I mean, the A’s were just pounding out run after run after run. It’s just a Spring Training game, no reason to get upset, might as well just laugh. We were getting killed. You never like to see you team do so miserably, but that game was just funny.
- Sunday: 4-2 Rockies
OK, so what’s up with the Rockies? Once they get to face the Padres’ terrible pitching, they finally get it going and win some games! Figures. I knew they were going to get going soon.
Let’s see…Chris Young…first inning…three runs to Colorado. CY also pitched the second and gave up another run. This was only his third outing, so I guess he can have a bad day. But I am slightly consoled by the fact that he was the only pitcher who gave up runs yesterday. Nick Schmidt, Mike Ekstrom, and Will Inman had scoreless innings. But I am very pleased that Mat Latos had two scoreless innings. That has got to feel great for the young guy. Before yesterday’s outing, he had allowed four runs, three home runs, and six hits in two innings. I am very happy for him.
Offense? Travis Denker and Matt Antonelli drove in our runs. Chris Burke went 2-for-3. Nick Hundley had a triple. That was pretty much it. It wasn’t that great of a day for the Padres.
Today we are playing the Diamondbacks. Hmm, that’s going to be interesting. Cha Seung Baek is starting. He has not been doing well so far, but hopefully he will find his groove soon. Let’s see if we can get a “W” today!
GO PADRES!!
Unfinished Business 