Tagged: kyle blanks
Rubber Game Today…
Last night’s game was great! After the loss on Tuesday, it was great to get the win against the Dodgers last night.
I really appriciated Clayton Richard’s performance. He went through a rough spot a while back, and it’s good to have him actually throwing well. Last night he went six innings, only allowing one run on four hits with six strikeouts. As usual, the bullpen was just beautiful. Old story there, but really, these guys are just too good.
Ernesto Frieri has been a very pleasant surprise. When he first was called up, I thought he was going to be one of those guys who was up here only because we needed him but actually wasn’t that great of a pitcher. Thankfully, I was wrong. Since he got called up, he’s been in fiave games, allowing only one hit with nine strikeouts. He’s got a perfect ERA of 0.00.
The offensive side was great too. We didn’t start scoring until the sixth, actually. Jerry Hairston Jr. was the man of the night with two hits and three RBIs. We got two runs in the sixth, two in the seventh, and two in the eighth. Chris Denorfia, Adrian Gonzalez, and Nick Hundley each drove in a run.
And….that’s about it. Oh, really bad news about Kyle Blanks. He’s going to have to have Tommy John surgery. We really did have big hopes for him at the beginning of the season, but he didn’t play well and now he’s hurt. Get well soon Blanksie!!
One more game in this series this afternoon, which I’m really excited about. We’ve got the Giants breathing down our necks, so we really need to get this game to win the series and to hold onto our first-place lead. I like our chances with Mr. Mat Latos starting the game. I have a feeling that this is going to be a great game.
GO FIRST-PLACE PADRES!!!
Walk-Off Style!
I have a confession to make.
When the Padres were down by three in the fifth inning, I honestly didn’t think that we were going to win the game.
Oh me of little faith. The Padres proved me wrong, and I am very glad that they did.
Jon Garland started the game, but I am becoming more and more unimpressed with him. He’s really really slow and he seems to give up a lot of runs and walks. Last night, I guess you could say that he did okay. But he did get off the hook because we were able to win the game. He went five innings, allowing four hits and three runs with five walks, including the very first batter of the game and one with the bases loaded. Like, what on earth are you doing, right?
Not impressed with this guy at all. He got a no-decision last night, but he’s got a nifty little ERA of 5.40 and has two losses. Whatever happened to the guy who was going to be an inning-eater for us? I’m not liking Jon Garland. He really needs to get things together ASAP.
So, the Diamondbacks got three runs in the top of the third. I didn’t think my boys would be able to come back from that. You want to know why? I think it was because of Thursday’s game. We got behind early and never came close to the Braves. Hey, it happened on Thursday, so why would things be different a day later?
But I forgot that every day is a new game. Just because things were one way in one game doesn’t mean that they’ll be the same in the next. And I shouldn’t have given up on my boys.
When I got up this morning, I thought, “Wouldn’t it just be so funny if the Padres actually won?” A few minutes later, I looked at the front page of the sports section, and sure enough, we actually won!
I don’t know what inning it was, but Chase Headley made a really bad error at third. Since I’m going to be showering him with praises later, I think I can rip into him a little. Or at least lament the departure of Kouz.
Kouz would have made that play. It was one of those that you just groan at as it slips past the fielder. Thankfully, Kyle Blanks was able to get to it and catch the runner at second. But still. That kind of hit should not be getting past our starting third baseman. Chase has definitely been shaky at third so far. He’s already got four errors. You know how many errors Kouz had last year in the entire season? Three. That’s right. In the ENTIRE season. Sigh. I want my boy back 😦
So, strange as it seems, Chase has got a lot to live up to at San Diego’s third base. He’s in the shadow of an amazing fielder, who was honored by the Hall of Fame itself because of his stunning defense. And, I won’t approve of anything less than the caliber of Kouz at our third base. Chase is not going to get any praise from me about his defense, ’cause he’s got quite the shoes to fill. He’s still got to prove himself there.
Okay, enough ripping into Chase. I’d really like to praise Kyle Blanks now. Do you know what he did? He threw out two runners who were trying to stretch a single into a double. TWO!! That’s just so cool. And now people will be more hesitant to run wildly on our outfield. Great job, Kyle!!
In the bottom of the seventh, Nick Hundley grounded out to drive in our first run (finally). In the bottom of the eighth, Kyle Blanks walked with the bases loaded, which drove in our second run.
Then came the bottom of the ninth. One last chance for us to come back and win the game.
Nick Hundley started it off with a walk, then was sacrificed over to second by Jerry Hairston Jr. An out later, David Eckstein, who had three hits on the night, double Nick in to tie the game. Adrian Gonzalez was intentionally walked. That brought up Chase Headley.
Walk-off three-run homer. So sweet.
Here’s the part where I get to shower Chase with praise. I do have to say, he really redeemed himself at the end there. It was a no-doubt-about-it, and I think everyone was really happy that the game was finished right there and then. I really hope that we don’t have to have too much of this extra inning stuff this year.
Chase has really been on fire with the bat all spring. Even in Spring Training he was doing great. I’m very glad to see that it’s carried over to the regular season. So far he’s batting a cool .381 with 16 hits. He’s definitely looking great at the plate, and I’m so thrilled at how well he’s doing. I still want Kouz though.
Well, how ’bout my boys? They fought back last night after being shut down for most of the game. They were able to pull off a huge win. Our record is now 4-6, but it’s early in the season. We’ve got a long way to go, starting tonight against the Diamondbacks.
Kevin Correia is starting against Kris Benson.
Let’s dominate.
GO PADRES!!!
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(AP photos)
17 For The Padres and Top 10 For Me
Yesterday was a great day for Padres fans and all of San Diego. It was Opening Day, it was raining (sort of), and it was so much fun that I could be laughing my head off right now if I really wanted to. Because my Padres, at Petco Park, that pitcher’s park as it’s so often called, scored 17 runs. 17. Yeah, you read that right.
The start of the season on the road wasn’t that great, and definitely not what I was expecting. But then, once we get home in front of a home crowd of 42,843, things really turned on. I think the boys were a little frustrated about their start and everything really came out yesterday.
To start it off, Colbie Caillat sang the National Anthem and Phillip Rivers threw out the first pitch. I’ve heard a lot of theories that one or both of these people sparked out offensive bombing.
Then, as I talked about in yesterday’s entry, Kevin Correia went out there and threw amazingly solid. If he hadn’t been on his game like he was yesterday, things would not have been as pretty. But as it was, he was incredible. He threw 5.2 innings, only allowing two runs, two hits, four walks, and three strikeouts. Doesn’t look like much, but he was solid.
Take a look at the Braves’ Jair Jurrjens’ numbers: He only lasted 3.1 innings, allowing eight runs!! BWAHAHAHAHA!
Going into the bottom of the fourth, we had already scored a run on a Nick Hundley single in the second. But in that fourth inning, things really clicked for the Padres as they sent the Braves’ pitchers down the drain.
It all started with a Chase Headley double, a Will Venable single (then steal of second), and a Nick Hundley walk. I was very excited because we had bases loaded with NO outs, and we just had to get some runs in that inning. If only I’d known.
After that, T-Gwynn walked to drive in our second run. Up next was Kevin Correia, the starting pitcher, and guess what he did? He hit a two-run single!! I was laughing, it was so funny. I mean, you wouldn’t expect the pitcher to come up and actually help himself out, but that’s what happened!
A few batters later, Adrian hit a ground rule double to bring in yet another run. The Braves had seen enough, so they made a pitching change. Little good that would do.
Kyle Blanks doubled in two guys, and then Chase Headley singled in Kyle. Will Venable hit a two-run homer. Kevin Correia finally ended the inning by striking out. All in all, we scored ten runs and got seven hits in that fourth inning. And it was only the fourth inning!
I could not believe what was happening there. It was just so amazing, and so unlike what I’ve been seeing for the last week!
In the bottom of the fifth, Kyle Blanks hit a three-run homer. It was about this time when I realized that Will Venable had had three hit so far in the game: a single, a triple, and a home run. And then I started getting really excited. Like breathing-hard-overwhelmed-with-excitedness excited. Like it could be actually possible that the Padres would get their first ever cycle.
Well, it didn’t happen. Turns out that both Will and Kyle were one hit away at the end, and neither of them got it. But that’s okay. I know (at least I’m hoping) that we will hit for a cycle someday. Even though it’s already been 40 years and it hasn’t happened. It will.
Even though they didn’t reach that goal, they both had incredible nights at the plate. Kyle Blanks had three hits and drove in five runs. Will had three hits, drove in two runs, and scored four runs. Other standouts in this game are David Eckstein, who had three hits, and Chase Headley and Nick Hundley, who each had two hits.
Overall, it was an incredible game. We were 10-for-17 with runners in scoring positon. And hey, we had 19 hits and 17 runs. IT WAS SUCH A SWEET GAME!!!
Another thing that was super exciting for me was when the Latest Leaders list for MLBlogs came out yesterday. I’m #10 on the list!!!
I’m sooooo excited!!! It was totally unexpected and completely uplifting. I’ve been blogging here for almost two years now, and the closest I’d ever been to the top of the list was #15. I’ve always been okay with wherever I was on the list, but it’s just really cool to know that people are reading my stuff and enjoying it too!
I know that I owe big thanks to a few people whose influence is definitely part of this ranking. Gaslamp Ball has been linking my entries on their blog for a while now, and I know that that’s helped me a lot. Thanks so much guys!! RJ’s Fro has also been linking by entries, and I know that that’s had a lot of influence too. I am so grateful to you guys! Thanks so much!!
Thank you also to websites that I’m not aware of who are linking my blog. It always excites me to discover you guys, and thanks so much!
And a HUGE thank you to all my readers. If it wasn’t for you guys, I wouldn’t even have a purpose for blogging here. Thank you so much for getting me to where I am today. I have a blast doing this, and I hope you love reading and I much as I love putting all this together. THANK YOU!!!!!
The Padres have an off-day in the middle of the series, which is a little odd, but I guess they deserve it after that amazing game yesterday. Man, we scored 17 runs!! So cool.
That’s my boys.
GOOOO PADRES!!!
Spring Training Countdown: 9 Days!!!!
NINE DAYS PEOPLE!!!! Nine days until our boys are finally, finally back in action!!!
So last night I was trying to think of something that I could talk about that had to do with the number nine for this entry. For some reason, the fact that there are nine players on the baseball field and the ninth player is the right fielder got into my head. Yes, I must have been half asleep. But whatever. Today I’m going to talk about the ninth player on the field, the right fielder.
This year’s whole outfield situation is going to be interesting this year. And so is the right field situation. Right now, I would say that Will Venable is our right fielder. Or Kyle Blanks.
The outfield looks like Tony Gwynn, Scott Hairston, Will, and Kyle right now. Argh. I’m so mad that Chase is at third. Anyways, Buddy Black said something interesting last week. He said that the outfield situation is more of a shuffling/sharing situation than platooning. I think he meant that all the outfielders are going an equal amount of playing time.
So it’s going to be very interesting to see how that works out. It’s going to be interesting to see how this whole team works out!
One thing I’m really thankful for about this team this year is that we have a very good idea of what the team is going to look like. We don’t have the bullpen or rotation uncertainties that we had in Spring Training last year. We know what our infield and outfield are going to look like. The bench isn’t completely settled, but we have an idea. The only thing we really have to worry about is what this team is going to do this season.
My expectations for this team are very low. I’m not saying that I expect them to do badly, but that I’m not having any expectations at all. I’m just going to wait and see how things work out. Last year was up and down. I certainly didn’t expect that we would do as well as we did. I’m going to let the boys surprise me. And whatever happens, it’s baseball.
GO PADRES!!! ONLY NINE DAYS!!!!
Random Padres Thoughts…
It’s been a looooong time since I’ve last blogged, I know. But I have a really good excuse. Well, excuses.
First of all, I just wrote a 50,000 word novel for this thing called NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November, and I have been very busy pounding that out. But I got it done 🙂
Secondly, things are super super slow in Padres World. Of course, there’s the trade rumors about Adrian, but I honestly don’t think that the Padres are going to trade him this offseason. I mean, what’s the point? He’s playing for us at a riduculously low price, and is Kyle Blanks really ready to play first full time in the majors? I say we keep Adrian, have Kyle get a little more seasoning in the minors, and trade Adrian next year, if at all.
There were a lot of comments against my last entry about Kouz’s not getting the Gold Glove, and that’s cool with me. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and my opinion is that Kouz should have recieved the Gold Glove.
In some exciting news, the season ticket sales are up a lot more than last year, and I think that’s a really good thing for the organization. It’s good to see that people are getting excited about all the changes in Padres baseball and they’re willing to make a commitment to the rebuilding of this team.
Only a few months until Spring Training…
GO PADRES!!
Yet Another Series Win!!
Let me tell you, this Padres team has been doing AMAZING!! It is soooo exciting. Thing is, they’ve been winning consistently. None of this win-a-series-then-lose-five-games-in-a-row stuff. They’re winning series after series after series. It’s great!!
After the Braves avoided the sweep on Thursday, the Padres headed to Flordia to play the Marlins at Land Shark Stadium (seriously). The Marlins have actually been pretty good this year, and it suprised me to find that they are over .500. But I’m not really worried about our opponents with this Padres team right now.
In the first game of the series, the Padres had a six-run second inning and never looked back. It was great! During that inning, Kyle Blanks hit a two-run homer. As he ran around the bases, he aggravated his foot, which had been keeping him day-to-day. He was pinch-hit for when his turn to bat again in that inning came up (we batted way around the order!). He was put on the DL on Saturday. Blanksie has been incredible for us lately, so I really hope he can recover quickly!!
We ended up winning the game 9-5. David Eckstein and Chase Headley (coming into the game as Kyle’s replacement) each had three hits. Venable, Blanco, and E-Cab each had two hits. Kouz got walked three times. We had 16 hits total.
Kevin Correia got his ninth win. He went six 2/3 innings, allowing 11 hits, but only four runs. It was a great win!!
In the second game of the series, Wade LeBlanc came up from the minors to start. He threw six innings, allowing four runs on four hits. He wasn’t the best, but he did a lot better than he did earlier in the year. It was good to see.
This game was not as easy to get as the night before. The Marlins took a two-run lead in the second. The Padres were able to get a run in the fourth, and two in the sixth, but the Marlins got two in the bottom of that inning to take a 4-3 lead. In the seventh, we got a run to tie. In the eighth, Tony Gwynn had the big blow of the game. He hit a triple to drive in two runs. Tony was sac-flied in by Everth to get a 7-4 lead.
Heath Bell took the ninth and secured his 31st save of the year. And there you have it. The Padres won yet another series!!
In the third game, we lost 6-4. Oh well. We can never seem to be able to finish the sweep, but it’s OK. We’re just winning games, here, that’s all.
So far this month, our record is 14-14. Let’s make it 15-14 tonight, yeah boys??
I’m sure a lot of you watched the Little League World Series last night. I didn’t watch it, but I’ve been following a certain team in the Union-Tribune for the last few weeks. I’ve been following Chula Vista Park View, a San Diego County team. I love how this city has banded around the team. And man, the team is incredible!! They had an amazing run this year, and look what they did. They’re WORLD CHAMPIONS!! That is just sooo cool. San Diego teams have had many, many playoff runs, but usually fizzed out at one point or another. Not this team. They went all the way, and they won big. I am sooooo proud of them. This team definitely deserved it, and they’ve made San Diego proud.
The Padres haven’t been able to win a World Series. The Chargers have not been able to win a Super Bowl. San Diego seemed cursed. But you know what, maybe we needed to start at the bottom up. Little League wins first. Maybe it will be the Padres and Chargers next. San Diego is finally getting a taste of real winning. Maybe the trend will start heading up. Maybe we’ll get our World Series and Super Bowl sooner than later 🙂
Anyways, a huge congrats to the Park View team! They put on quite the show.
The Padres are back home to play three games against the Nationals. Tim Stauffer (oh goodness) is starting against Livan Hernandez. Let’s see how that goes.
GO PADRES!!
Lots Of Happenings “Inside the Park”
What do you do for an encore? That was the question going around Kyle Blanks yesterday, and look what he did. I’d say that that’s an amazing encore.
First things first though. Our newly-signed first round draft pick Donavan Tate took batting practice with the team, and talked with Padres announcers during the game. He’s reporting to Peoria today.
I think he’s really cute, yeah girls? It will be so cool to watch him go up through the minors. He’s only 19, drafted out of high school, so it will probably be a long time until he gets up here. Hopefully his path through the minors will go smoothly with no injuries. This is soo exciting!!
OK, the game now. I was not happy that Cesar Carrillo was going to be pitching last night, but he did a decent job.
Derrek Lee hit a solo homer in the bottom of the first. Kouz drove in Everth Cabrera in the bottom of the inning to tie the game.
In the bottom of the third, Everth Cabrera singled and stole second base (his 18th stolen base). Eck grounded out, then Adrian was intentionally walked. Chase Headley grounded into a force out, which drove in Everth. Chase stole second base, and scored on Kouz’s single.
The Cubs got a run each in the fourth and fifth innings. Adrian Gonzalez hit his 33rd homer of the season to give us a 4-3 lead. Adrian won the NL Player of the Week, by the way. He definitely deserves it.
Cesar Carrillo went six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, walking four and striking out two. He got the win to even his record at 1-1.
In the bottom of the eighth, the score was still 4-3. The Padres’ bullpen (Gregerson and Adams) had miraculously held the one-run lead. Will Venable walked to start the inning. Then Kyle Blanks, what will you do for an encore? He had already struck out three times so far in the game.
After taking two balls, he hit one out to center field. It looked like it could go out, but it bounced off the wall right above the center fielder’s jump. The ball rolled down the warning track, with the right fielder no where in sight. The center fielder went to track it down, and by then, Venable had scored. A throw came in, but Blanks was already lying over the plate with an inside-the-park home run. Kyle is a very big guy, but man, he can run! It was a very exciting part of the game, and it gave us two insurance runs!
In the top of the ninth, Heath Bell had a ridiculously easy inning. He only threw seven pitches!! I don’t think we need to worry about after-effects of the blown save on Sunday. Heath’s got the perfect closer mentality!!
And so, we won yet another series. We improved to 5-0 against the Cubs at PETCO Park this season. We got our 51st win.
Kouz had three hits. E-Cab had two hits, including his seventh triple. Padres fans are getting excited. If not about this year, they are definitely looking forward to next year. I know that I’m excited about next year. It’s going to be great!
I wanted to give a quick shout out to my best friend, who is turning the big 16 today. We’ve been friends basically since we were born, and I love her soooo much!! She’s been an amazing friend to me for all these years. Happy birthday, Dudette!!! 4How, LLAP!!! I’ll make you a virtual cake 🙂
Tonight our young stud Mat Latos is starting. Do I hear “sweep”? OH YEAH!!
Let’s do this boys. I know you can, that’s for sure. NEVER SAY DIE!!!
GO PADRES!!!
Getting Back On That Horse
The Padres were on a four-game losing streak, but they were coming home. They were facing a newly-off-the-DL Ted Lilly, but Kevin Correia was going out against him. This team has been so good lately, and I didn’t think the sweep in St. Louis would deter us. At least, I hoped it wouldn’t.
I love pitching duels (mostly because it means our pitcher is doing well), so you know I really enjoyed last night’s game. Lilly and Correia were both excellent. Lilly went six innings, allowing four hits and striking out four. Correia went six innings, allowing three hits and striking out two, but walked four. In the sixth, Correia had a bases loaded situation, but barely squeezed out of it. Whew. Both pitchers were excellent.
Neither team scored until the top of the eighth. Mike Adams, of all people, allowed a triple and a single to hand the Cubs a 1-0 lead. But with this San Diego team, a one-run deficit is nothing. At least, I hoped it would be. I hate it when we lose 1-0.
Heath Bell pitched in the top of the ninth. He blew his second save of the season on Sunday, so I’m sure he begged Buddy to let him go out there last night to get back on the horse. Heath’s just like that. Thankfully, he threw a scoreless inning.
Now, to the bottom of the ninth. Rally time.
Everth Cabrera started off the inning. “COME ON, E-CAB!!” I screamed. He promptly grounded out. Grrr.
Next, Eck walked. Yay!! Leave it to Eck to get on base for his team.
Adrian flew out. Uh-oh. Two outs. We totally cannot lose 1-0!!
No worries though. Chase Headley came up and doubled in the tying run. I loved watching Eck pound it out around the bases. Wow.
We’re doing all this against the Cubs’ closer, Kevin Gregg, by the way. Kouz gets intentionally walked to get to rookie Kyle Blanks. Wrong move.
Called strike, ball, and then walk-off three-run homer. Oh yeah. You don’t mess with the big guy.
Kouz was so excited. The video is hilarious to watch. He was sooo pumped up!! 🙂
I knew we could do it. This team is just too good to go down 1-0. So, we won 4-1!! It was a great way to start off the series and snap that losing streak.
Great performance by all the guys. I thought it was wonderful that we got the double and walk-off homer with two outs. That’s just sooo cool!! We got it just barely, but we got it.
Yesterday we signed our number one draft pick, Donovan Tate. The guy’s almost 19 years old, and he just got a $6.25 million deal. Wow. He was at the game last night, sitting five rows behind home plate.
Speaking of which, there was a pretty good crowd on hand last night. Sure, it was probably mostly Cub fans, but still. 23,420.
Well, tonight Cesar Carrillo is getting his second chance, and I’m scared. This guy was terrible last time out, and I don’t know if that’s going to change. Hmmm. Well, hopefully he will prove me wrong and throw an excellent game.
By the way, we got our 50th win last night. We still have 42 games to play. We have 70 losses, so there’s still a chance that we could have a 100-loss season. But with this team, I highly doubt we’ll get as close as we did last year.
Let’s see how we do tonight. This team has been playing very well, and it’s exciting. Every day, I have hope for Padres baseball. And that’s a great thing to have.
GO PADRES!!!
(photos: ESPN.com)
Glimpse of the Future
Last night’s game was like deja vu, except forwards. I think we saw a glimpse of the future, an echo of what is to come.
GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE #1
Mat Latos made his fourth start as a Padre this season, and he was amazing. This guy has been called the next Jake Peavy in the Padres’ organization, and he’s one of the most prized pitching prospects we have. I wouldn’t say he’s a Jake Peavy yet, but he’s been very good.
Last night he threw seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits and striking out three. He did struggle early, loading the bases with no outs in the first, but he only allowed one run in that inning and one in the second. He kept the Braves down the rest of the way. It was great!
The Padres are probably going to shut down Mat in a month or so because he threw a ton of innings in the minors this year, and he’s been going seven a lot up here too. Gotta watch out for that arm of the future, you know 🙂
GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE #2
Will Venable has really been heating up in the last week or so. Last night, he had three hits and drove in a run. Plus, he had a great sliding grab in right field.
Will was first called up to the majors in September last year, and he did very well. I think he came up this year when Brian Giles went on the DL. Now that we’ve got our outfield slimmed down, I think these guys are getting the playing time they need. Last night, Chase Headley was in left, Tony Gwynn was in center, and Venable was in right. And it worked!
I’d say that the biggest part of Will’s game is his defense. I watched a game once from the Beach out in the outfield, and I watched him make two spectacular plays to rob the hitters. It was so cool!! He’s good out there.
GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE #3
Kyle Blanks has been so hot in the last week! Last night, he hit his sixth homer of the year to tie the game at two in the second. This guy had been tearing it up in the minors, so we knew he could hit. It took a while for him to get in a groove, but now that’s he’s made it, it’s so much fun to watch this big boy blast those balls out of here.
Blanks started playing the outfield after Spring Training, so he had even less time than Chase did last year to learn the outfield. Kyle has been decent out there. He hasn’t embarrassed himself, at least. But he has been able to play his natural position, first base, to give Adrian a break.
It’s going to be interesting to see how the Padres play Kyle. I think they would like him to be in his natural position eventually, but we’re holding onto Adrian for now. Hopefully they will be able to work that out without getting rid of another fan favorite.
GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE #4
I’ve talked about Everth Cabrera before, but I just love this guy. He’s such an amazing player already, but he’s still learning. He’s still growing. He’s still improving!
This is Everth’s first season above Single-A. He was definitely ready for the Majors. Last night he had a hit in the seventh. He then stole second AND third base. Oscar Salazar drove him in with a single to give us an insurance run. What a player!! I love this guy. He’s going to be sooo great in the future!!
It was a great game. We got a run each in the first, second, and third innings. The bullpen was excellent. Mike Adams was ridiculously sharp. Wow. Did you know that his ERA is 0.86 right now? WOW!!!
Heath Bell was really great too. He went 1-2-3 with two strikeouts. The last out was a great play by Kouz, and we won the game 4-2!!
It’s always good to get the first game of the series, and the Padres played really well to get it. I am sooo proud of them! These young guys have been so amazing. It’s really exciting!
Tonight Tim Stauffer is pitching against Javier Vasquez. I think we can do it! These guys have confidence. I think that’s something that had been missing in the past few months.
GO PADRES!!!
New Ace Saves The Day
On Saturday night, the Padres dropped a miserable game to the Oakland A’s. We had the lead a few times, but Oakland took that game 6-3. Needless to say, I was not happy. My Padres needed a win and a series, but the A’s took that from us.
Our biggest gripe about the Padres in the last week or so has been the starting pitching. It’s been terrible! The starters aren’t going that deep into ballgames, and they are giving up way to many runs.
Yesterday, on Father’s Day, the Padres went out there and got a superb pitching performance from our new ace, Kevin Correia. He was amazing. He had a no-hitter going until the fifth inning with two outs. He was so good!!
He only allowed one run, that coming in the top of the seventh. He threw 6.2 innings total, with one walk allowed and seven strikeouts. He’s our new ace, there’s no doubt about it. He’s pitched the best of any of the guy who have started for us this year. Yeah Kevin!!
Not like he needed it, but Correia’s offense backed him up pretty well. Edgar Gonzalez had an RBI double to drive in Kyle Blanks, who had walked, in th second.
In the fifth, we got our second run on Henry Blanco’s 500th hit, a solo homer. Way to go Henry!!
And in the eighth, we got two more insurance runs.
But we have to go back to Saturday’s game first.
I was sitting there at the computer, watching Gameday on Saturday night. I think we were losing by a few by then, and I was not happy. Kouz was batting, so I called a homer. He struck out, in fact, Oakland struck out the side that inning. But I still called a homer, so I was waiting for it.
Guess what?
Yep, he hit one for me yesterday!
It was just what we needed. Then Heath took the ninth with a three-run lead and went 1-2-3 to get his 19th save in 20 chances. Take that, Trevor!!
Man, it was a great, great game. Tony Gwynn had two hits, David Eckstein had three, Kouz had one. We were good. The pitching took care of it.
We also had some great defense. Kyle Blanks just came up, and he’s been playing the outfield for about three months. THREE MONTHS!!!! And not even every day. But the Padres want this guy up here, and so he’s in the outfield. It’s just amazing to me. Anyways, he made an amazing catch in left field in the first inning, barrelling into the wall. I hope the wall’s OK. This guy is six-foot-six, and he’s 285 pounds!! The “S.S. Blanks,” we like to call him. He’s huge. He got his first walk yesterday and his first run scored. Still has to get that first major league hit, though…
I am so glad we took the last game. It would not have been good if we had been swept. Not good at all.
Well, we’ve got an off-day before facing the Mariners again, this time in Seattle. Oh joy. Maybe we can take two out of three from them like they took two out of three from us!! Or…maybe even three out of three! Point is, these Padres need a series win. They need to get out there, pitch extremely well, and hit like crazy. We’re 14.5 games behind, man, and we need to get it going.
Don’t forget, I’ve got a huge special entry tomorrow. It’s going to be amazing. So make sure to stop by tomorrow!!
GO PADRES!!!
(photo credits: Union-Tribune, espn.com)
Unfinished Business 