Our Padres snapped a six-game losing streak last night with a solid backing for starter Andrew Cashner. They'll go for more of the same tonight as they try to win the series at Dodger Stadium.
Ian Kennedy gets the ball for our Friars in the finale, looking to beat the Dodgers for his first time in nine tries. His last win over the NL West rival came almost exactly two years ago, on September 11, 2012, when he was a member of the Diamondbacks. Since then he's gone 0-4 with a 4.19 ERA in eight starts against them. That includes five outings this year alone - more than he's faced any other team. It hasn't all been bad, though. He was great in his most recent appearance opposite L.A., going seven innings and allowing only one run on four hits on August 30th. The Padres offense couldn't give him the support for the victory, however.
On the hill for the Dodgers will be Dan Haren, who's gone 4-1 in his last six starts following a five-game losing streak. He's been especially effective in his last three, going 2-0 while posting a 0.95 ERA. That includes one against our Padres that saw him go six innings and give up two runs, neither of which were earned. He went 1-1 in his other three starts against San Diego this season. The loss came at home on July 11th when he yielded four runs (all earned) on six hits and five walks, exiting the game after just four innings.
Tune in at 7:10 PT to see if our Padres can get a much-needed series win against the division rivals and go into tomorrow's off day on a high note.
And don't forget to check out today's SB Nation Fantasy Baseball league on FanDuel. It's $2 to join and first prize is $2,000. Use this link to join.
The Dan Haren and Carl Crawford trains just kept rolling on Wednesday night, leaving the Padres in the dust in a 4-0 victory for the Dodgers on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers ended their homestand with six wins in nine games, and completed their season series by winning 12 of 19 against San Diego.
Haren continued his remarkable turnaround with seven scoreless innings, allowing only four hits and a walk while striking out five. After a midseason five-start losing streak that put his rotation status in jeopardy, Haren in his last seven starts is 5-1 with a 1.70 ERA, with 34 strikeouts, seven walks and only three home runs allowed in 42⅓ innings.
Haren on the season is 2-1 with a 2.20 ERA in five starts against the Padres, with 24 strikeouts and six walks in 28⅔ innings.
Crawford was 4-for-4 with three doubles on Wednesday, driving home Matt Kemp in the second inning for the Dodgers' first run, then scoring on a single by Juan Uribe in the seventh for a 3-0 lead. He also doubled home Darwin Barney in the eighth, capping the scoring.
Crawford is hitting .406/.444/.554 with 22 runs scored and 14 RBI in his last 32 games (including 23 starts), with 14 multi-hit games during that span.
The Dodgers' other run was scored in the sixth inning by Justin Turner, who was 2-for-3 for his ninth multi-hit game in his last 13 starts.
With the win Haren improved to 13-10, giving the Dodgers four pitchers with 13 wins for the first time since 1985. Haren joins Clayton Kershaw (18-3), Zack Greinke (14-8) and Hyun-Jin Ryu (14-6), matching the quartet of Orel Hershiser (19-3), Fernando Valenzuela (17-10), Jerry Reuss (14-10) and Bob Welch (14-4) 29 years ago.
Up next
Thursday is an off day, followed by the first of two showdown series with second-place San Francisco. Hyun-Jin Ryu starts the opener at AT&T Park on Friday night, while Madison Bumgarner starts for the Giants.
Wednesday pariculars
Home runs: none
WP - Dan Haren (14-10): 7 IP, 4 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts
Former Padres starter Chris Young has done his best phoenix impression this season, posting a 12-7 record and 3.35 ERA with Seattle after over a year away from the majors. It's also his first season without missing time to injury since his All-Star season of 2007. Around the time I was looking at those numbers on his Baseball Reference page, I noticed another number that was surprising to me. The number was one, and it was in his career stats line in the CG column. Since he seemingly had 82 near-no-hitters, I figured he would have finished a few of them. As is the case with so many other things, I was wrong.
Young's lone complete game came during his Padres days, back in 2008. As you may recall, 2008 was a disappointing season for the Padres as a whole and for Young personally. By the time September 7 rolled around, the team was buried in the cellar with a 54-88 record, and Young was 4-5 with a 4.91 ERA and making just his fifteenth start, having already spent two stretches on the disabled list. Young and a young Padres lineup were tasked with taking on an 82-60 Brewers team in Milwaukee.
Rookie Brewers starter Manny Parra, who entered the game with a 10-6 record and a 4.10 ERA, retired the first three Padres batters with 11 pitches. Unfazed, Young promptly took down the top of the Brewers' order with just nine. San Diego got their first baserunner in the second inning on a single by rookie catcher Nick Hundley, but Milwaukee had no such luck.
After retiring the heart of the Brewers' order in the second, Young had no time to rest. He came to bat second in the top of the third inning and lined a 1-1 pitch to deep right-center for a one-out double. Young held tight at second base as Matt Antonelli reached on an error by shortstop J.J. Hardy, then moved to third as a walk by Chip Ambres loaded the bases. Young came home with the game's first run, followed by Antonelli with the second as the Brewers committed their second error of the inning. Singles by Adrian Gonzalez and Will Venable, who was just one week removed from his major league debut, gave the Padres a 5-0 lead. After flying out for the third out in his second at-bat of the frame, Young headed back to the hill.
Despite all that time on the bases and on the bench watching his teammates give him run support, Young didn't miss a beat. He retired the side in the bottom of the third, striking out his first two batters of the game. The two teams both went down 1-2-3 in the fourth, then rookie left fielder Chase Headley tacked on some insurance in the fifth with his ninth home run of the year. Milwaukee went down in order in the bottom of the frame, and again in a sixth inning which was uneventful for both teams.
Kevin Kouzmanoff ensured the seventh inning wouldn't be uneventful when he drove David Riske's second pitch deep to left for his twenty-first homer of the season. Following hits by Gonzalez and Headley, Nick Hundley lifted a sac fly to left fielder Ryan Braun for the Padres' seventh run. Following a walk to Will Venable, Sean Kazmar drove Headley home with a double, the only extra-base hit of his career. Young then hit a sac fly of his own for his first RBI of the season and San Diego's tenth run of the game.
The bottom of the seventh inning went down like the bottom of every other inning to that point, with the Brewers heading back to the home dugout in order. Milwaukee reliever Mark DiFelice made quick work of the Padres in the top of the eighth, and Young picked up right where he left off. He got Prince Fielder to pop up on the first pitch, and Corey Hart to do the same on the second. Gabe Kapler stepped in, took a ball, and found the second pitch more to his liking. He hit it hard and hit it deep...
Goodbye, perfect game.
Goodbye, no-hitter.
Goodbye, shutout.
But not 'Goodbye, complete game'! Young shook it off and got Bill Hall to line softly back to him for the third out of the inning. Having thrown just 81 pitches through eight complete innings, Young went back out for the ninth for just the second time in 114 starts to date (the first was when Joe Randa, then with Pittsburgh, ended Young's September 22, 2006 no-hit bid with a one-out homer in the top of the ninth). Young retired pinch-hitter Tony Gwynn, Jr. for the first out of the ninth before surrendering a double to another pinch-hitter, Mat Gamel. He left Gamel stranded at second as he recorded his fourth and fifth strikeouts of the game to tie a bow on his first and, so far, only complete game. Young finished his day with two hits, no walks, and a run on 96 pitches, 66 of which were good for strikes.
In the six years since that 10-1 blowout, Young has yet to again take the mound during the ninth inning of a game. In fact, he has lasted longer than seven innings only once, when he allowed just three hits and a run over eight complete innings this May 10 against Kansas City, throwing 60 of his 93 pitches for strikes on his way to his third win of the season.
Do you wear the jersey of an obscure former player? If so, what's the story behind the jersey?
I glanced down from the press box at a minor league game in Omaha last week and saw a man wearing a No. 35 Justin Huber jersey.
Maybe you remember Huber?
He played 854 minor-league games, while also logging a little time at the major-league level with the Royals, Padres and Twins from 2005-09. He went on to play in Japan and last I heard, the 32-year-old was playing in an independent league in 2011 (he would have been 29 then).
Oh how I wish I had talked to the fan who was wearing Huber's shirt to find out where he came down on the debate. I would have loved to hear his story. Every old t-shirt/jersey has one.
Was the Huber fan trying to make a statement about Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer? Was he trying to say the Royals never gave Huber a shot? Or was he just a diehard fan of the Aussie who didn't care one way or the other?
Since I'll never know the answer, let's broaden the picture a little.
Do you wear the jersey of an obscure former player? If so, what's the story behind the jersey?
Last November I took a look at the six players who played only one game with the Padres, and just last week profiled the two pitchers who joined their ranks this season. Less barroom-trivia-worthy but still as intriguing to me are the 10 others who managed play a pair before they left town. I went into this planning to do a quick post about all 10 of them, but when I got done with the first player I was 361 words deep and didn't want to commit to a 3,610-word-long post, so I guess now it's a series that I'll add to at my leisure.
Sam Perlozzo became the charter member of this group of 10 in 1979. He was no stranger to short stays in the majors, having played in 10 games as a September call-up with the Twins in 1977 before spending all of '78 with their AAA affiliate in Toledo. After being released by Minnesota at the onset of the 1979 season, Perlozzo signed on with San Diego and hit well enough for their top farm club to earn his second September roster spot. He made his Padres debut in the eighth inning of a 5-2 loss in Los Angeles, replacing fellow rookie Tim Flannery at second base and pinch hitter Broderick Perkins in the ninth spot of the batting order. He promptly committed his only major league error and then came close to his first National League plate appearance, but never made it past the on-deck circle as Ozzie Smith grounded out to end the game.
He didn't have to wait much longer. Manager Roger Craig penned Perlozzo into the next day's starting lineup, batting second and once again playing second base. Perlozzo popped up to Dodgers third baseman Ron Cey in his first trip to the plate, and drew a walk off of longtime starter Jerry Reuss with the bases empty in the third inning. After grounding into a 6-4 fielder's choice to end the top of the fifth, Perlozzo exacerbated a preexisting groin injury on his way to first base and had to be carried off the field. His time with the Padres ended the way it began the day before: as part of a double-switch involving Flannery.
Perlozzo played in Japan and AAA the following two seasons, but never returned to the major leagues as a player. He did, however, work his way back to the bigs as a coach in various capacities for over two decades, including a two-year run as the manager of the Orioles.
Right now you're thinking "Hey, didn't they already do that quiz?" and for once you're right. But it was so long ago that there's a new set of data. Of course, me mentioning that got you thinking about this year's crop of inductees, which in turn gave you your first answer (unless for some reason you thought Frank Thomas or Tom Glavine got enrolled in the San Diego Retirement Home). Well, good for you, hotshot. Get the other nine or else wipe that self-satisfied smirk off your face.
There's a poll under the quiz. Answer it honestly with your results once you're done. Under that is some other linky stuff, and under that is the comments section. Have at that, but just try to be mindful of others and use the black-bar spoiler-proofer-thingie which the over-overlords were kind enough to cook up. That feature is so cool to me; I like to think it's because I don't take technology or anything else for granted, but it's probably just because I'm elderly and out of touch.
Oh, and before somebody all-caps me about it, this is just guys who played for the Padres at some point. Played. That's your cue to save your time and not bother typing 'Williams'.
The Padres were shutout twicein Colorado in the prior series. Now they've been shutout 8 times of the 178 games they've played at Coors Field, increasing their shutout percentage from 3.4% to 4%. It's the lowest shutout location for the Padres in places they've played more than 70 games.
With the Dodgers keeping the Padres scoreless last night they are being shutout once for every 7.63 games, 13.1% of the time. With that the team is on pace for 21 shutouts on the season. All it would take was for the Padres offense to mail in a couple more games and they could own the franchise record for being shutout.
Looking at the table below, it's still pretty amazing that the 2004 Padres were only shutout 3 times.
We continue our farm system review project today with the San Diego Padres. The next team we will examine will be the Los Angeles Angels. Remember, this is the PRE-SEASON LIST. This is not a new list. These are pre-season grades and rankings. This is a review of 2014, not a preview of 2015.
1) Austin Hedges, C, Grade B+: Hit.225/.268/.321 in 457 PA For Double-A San Antonio, wRC+67.Threw out 38% of runners. Reports on his defense remain strong but his hitting is terrible, completely overmatched by Double-A pitching. Young enough to improve but his grade will have to be lowered until he hits more effectively.
2) Matt Wisler, RHP, Grade B+:2.10 ERA with 35/6 K/BB in 30 innings in Double-A, 5.01 ERA with 101/36 K/BB in 117 innings for Triple-A El Paso, 131 hits. Still throws strikes with ease, had some troubles in PCL environment although reports remain positive.
3) Max Fried, LHP, Grade B+: Threw just 11 innings due to a sore elbow, underwent Tommy John surgery in August.
4) Rymer Liriano, Grade B-: Hit .264/.335/.442 with 14 homers, 17 steals in 415 PA in Double-A, then .452/.521/.661 in 71 PA in Triple-A. Just .203/.273/.266 in 88 PA in the major leagues. Tools are obvious, needs time to figure out major league pitching.
5) Hunter Renfroe, OF, Grade B-: Performed well in California League, .295/.370/.565 in 316 PA. Moved up to Double-A and was much less effective at .232/.307/.353 in 251 PA. Still excites scouts with power but needs more reps against advanced pitching.
6) Jace Peterson, SS, Grade B-: Good season in Triple-A, .306/.406/.464 with 12 steals, wRC+131 in 299 PA.Saw major league action, .113/.161/.113 in 58 PA. Not much left to prove in the minors but needs a clear opportunity.
7) Burch Smith, RHP, Grade B-: Threw just five innings this year due to forearm injury.
8) Keyvius Sampson, RHP, Grade B-: Undone by command troubles in Triple-A, 6.68 ERA with 94/68 K/BB in 92 innings for El Paso, 91 hits. Ineffective as both a starter and reliever. Very disappointing.
9) Jesse Hahn, RHP, Grade B-: Very good showing in the majors, 3.07 ERA, 3.39 FIP in 73 innings after moving to San Diego, 70/32 K/BB. I don’t see any reason for that to change as long as he remains healthy.
10) Franchy Cordero, SS, Grade B-: Ineffective in Low-A (.188/.237/.235 in 94 PA) but stronger in short-season ball, .279/.329/.458, wRC+117 in 259 PA in the Northwest League. Young at age 20, but not that young, will try again in full-season ball next year.
11) Casey Kelly, RHP, Grade B-: Still working his way back from elbow trouble, threw 20 innings.
12) Tommy Medica, 1B-OF, Grade B-: 234 PA in the majors, hitting .226/.278/.401, wRC+93, eight homers. I thought he was capable of much better but I may have lost that bet.
13) Alex Dickerson, OF-1B, Grade B-: Lost most of the season due to heel surgery, but came back in August and hit well for San Antonio, .321/.367/.496 in 147 PA.Older guy at 24 but could get a shot next year.
14) Dustin Peterson, 3B, Grade B-: Hit .233/.274/.361 with 10 homers, wRC+80 in 563 PA in Low-A. Bat much less refined than high school scouting reports said, with serious strike zone issues. Turned 20 yesterday.
15) Zach Eflin, RHP, Grade B-: Pretty good season for High-A Lake Elsinore, 3.80 ERA with 93/31 K/BB in 128 innings, 138 hits. Not outstanding, but solid enough for a 20 year old in the Cal League.
16) Joe Ross, RHP, Grade C+: Borderline B-. Also held his own in the Cal League, age 21, 3.98 ERA with 87/28 K/BB in 102 innings, then moved up to Double-A and posted 19/1 K/BB in 20 innings. Finished year on disabled list with "fatigue."
17) Reymond Fuentes, OF, Grade C+: Hit .324/.386/.453 in 42 games for San Antonio, .261/.337/.376 in 46 games for El Paso, stole 25 bases combined. Still looks like a fourth outfielder to me.
18) Donn Roach, RHP, Grade C+: Opened season in major league pen and had some moments, 4.75 ERA in 30 innings, 17/15 K/BB, 3.53 GO/AO. Went back to Triple-A to work as a starter and posted 5.24 ERA, 44/40 K/BB in 77 innings, 2.22 GO/AO. I think he will fit best in relief at this point. Extreme ground ball tendency makes him rather unique.
19) Leonel Campos, RHP, Grade C+: Older guy at age 27 but a good arm, 5.60 ERA with 95/38 K/BB in 72 innings for San Antonio, has fanned six in three big league innings. Bullpen candidate going forward.
20) Franmil Reyes, OF, Grade C+: Hit .248/.301/.368 with 11 homers, 38 walks, 118 strikeouts in 508 at-bats in Low-A.Just 19, good tools but needs work with the strike zone.
It has been a difficult year for the Padres at the major league level and there have been some glitches on the farm as well, with Max Fried’s elbow, Casey Kelly’s slow recovery from his own Tommy John, Burch Smith’s forearm troubles, and Keyvius Sampson’s loss of command putting a damper on the pitching depth that looked so good pre-season. On the other hand, Jesse Hahn was strong in his major league trial, and the Padres got an unexpectedly fine contribution from Cuban defector Odrisamer Despaigne, who signed a month after I posted the original list.
Odrisamer Despaigne, photo by Andy Hayt, Getty Images
The Padres did add depth to the system over the spring and summer. 2014 first round pick Trea Turner was outstanding in his pro debut, hitting .369/.447/.529 in 46 games in Low-A. He should move rapidly with a shortstop bat like that. Second round pick Michael Gettys hit .310/.353/.437 in rookie ball. The Huston Street trade with the Angels brought in a pair of promising infielders, shortstop Jose Rondon (.315/.363/.404 with 13 steals in High-A) and second baseman Taylor Lindsey (.238/.306/.372 in the PCL. Lindsey’s stock is down somewhat as scouts expected he was capable of better but he has a draft pedigree as a former first-rounder and will get more chances.
23-year-old reliever Tayron Guerrero has improved command of his 100 MPH fastball and ran up a 1.45 ERA with a 56/20 K/BB in 50 innings in A-ball, earning a nod to the Futures Game.
The system needs more impact bats and the rash of pitching injuries shows how quickly mound depth can evaporate. Overall it currently looks like an average system.
Best known for earning the 1968 World Series MVP with the Tigers by pitching three complete games and winning all of them, Mickey Lolich finished his career with two seasons, 1978 and '79 in the Padres' bullpen.
The former 25-game winner and strikeout champ had been out of baseball for a year when he signed with the Padres on Groundhog Day in 1978. He retired from the game after a 1976 season spent with the Mets, and headed back to the Detroit area to open a donut shop. Apparently crullers and bearclaws weren't as exciting as competing. The big left-hander, who had started 489 of his 539 games to date, took to his new relief role like a duck to water. He posted a 1.56 ERA in 34.2 innings spread over 20 appearances his first year in San Diego. His second season in brown and gold didn't go so well; he tripled his ERA and headed back to the donut shop.
I couldn't decide which of Lolich's two Topps cards depicting him with the Padres to use for this post, so I doubled up. The one on the left, his 1979 card, features a sweet warm-up jacket and a clearer shot of his face, but the one on the right, released a year later after he'd pitched his final game, has that great batting practice jersey. Plus, the 1980 Topps design is hard to beat.
Happy birthday, Mr. Lolich! Here's to 74 more great years.
Moving forward with our farm system reviews, we turn to the Los Angeles Angels. Remember, this is the PRE-SEASON LIST. This is not a new list. These are pre-season grades and rankings. This is a review of 2014, not a preview of 2015.
1) Taylor Lindsey, 2B, Grade B: Borderline B-. Traded to San Diego Padres in the Huston Street deal. Hit .238/.306/.372 in 449 at-bats in the Pacific Coast League between Salt Lake and El Paso. This was a disappointing season.
2) Hunter Green, LHP, Grade B-: Borderline C+: Missed entire season with a back injury.
3) C.J. Cron, 1B, Grade C+: 68 games in the majors, hitting .276/.306/.481 with 10 homers, eight walks, 49 strikeouts in 210 at-bats. Combination of good power with low on-base percentage fits with what he did in the minors. I expect gradual improvement.
4) Kaleb Cowart, 3B, Grade C+: Second straight very disappointing season in Double-A, .223/.295/.324 with 43 walks, 99 strikeouts, 26 steals in 435 at-bats for Arkansas.Hasn’t hit well in two years and his stock is steadily declining.
5) Nick Maronde, LHP, Grade C+: Traded to Cleveland Indians in midst of horrible season, 7.24 ERA with 49/38 K/BB in 41 innings in Double-A/Triple-A. Command has collapsed.
6) Mark Sappington, RHP, Grade C+: Another guy with serious command troubles, 5.76 ERA with 80/43 K/BB in 70 innings for High-A Inland Empire, 6.44 ERA with 34/36 K/BB in 43 innings for Arkansas.
7) R.J. Alvarez, RHP, Grade C+: Traded to Padres in Street deal, 1.25 ERA with 61/13 K/BB in 43 innings in the Texas League. Very effective, looks to take hold of a major league bullpen job sooner rather than later.
8) Jose Rondon, SS, Grade C+: Another guy sent to San Diego, Rondon hit .315/.363/.404 with 13 steals in 441 at-bats in the California League between Inland Empire and Lake Elsinore. He lacks power but hits for average and has a good defensive reputation.
9) Alex Yarbrough, 2B, Grade C+: Hit .285/.321/.397 with 33 walks, 124 strikeouts, 38 doubles in 544 at-bats for Arkansas. Hits for average and has good gap power, but will need to sharpen strike zone.
10) Zach Borenstein, OF, Grade C+: Traded to Arizona Diamondbacks. Hit .258/.320/.432 with 14 homers, 43 walks, 125 strikeouts in 461 at-bats split between Arkansas, Salt Lake, Mobile, and Reno. Best skill is left-handed power but doesn’t look like he’ll repeat the Cal League numbers he posted in ’13.
11) Luis Jimenez, 3B, Grade C+: Hit .286/.321/.505 with 21 homers, 24 walks, 75 strikeouts in 469 at-bat for Salt Lake. Getting old at age 26. I still think he has a surprise season in him sometime but I’m stubborn.
12) Mike Morin, RHP, Grade C+: Impressive debut in Angels major league bullpen, 2.39 ERA with 49/17 K/BB in 53 innings. Looks genuine to me.
13) Eric Stamets, SS, Grade C+: Hit .235/.293/.314 with 11 steals, 24 walks, 62 strikeouts in 344 at-bats for Arkansas. Not much hitting, key skills remain defensive.
14) Natanael Delgado, OF, Grade C: Just 18 years old, hit .301/.333/.464 with five walks, 34 strikeouts in 153 at-bats in the Pioneer League. Promising bat but raw, needs lots of time.
15) Reid Scoggins, RHP, Grade C: Didn’t pitch all year. 16) Cam Bedrosian, RHP, Grade C: Saved 16 for Arkansas with 1.11 ERA, 57/10 K/BB in 32 innings, just 10 hits. Command issues resulted in 6.28 ERA, 15/9 K/BB in 14 big league innings. Bullpen candidate going forward.
17) Ryan Chaffee, RHP, Grade C: Very good in Double-A (2.31 ERA, 30/9 K/BB in 23 innings), not so good in Triple-A (6.08 ERA, 45/28 K/BB in 37 innings). Stuff to be a solid reliever if he can sharpen control.
18) Mike Clevinger, RHP, Grade C: Traded to Cleveland Indians. Combined for 4.41 ERA with 100/43 K/BB in 100 innings between Burlington, Inland Empire, and Carolina. Still has some sleeper potential.
19) Matt Long, OF, Grade C: Hit .249/.340/.384 with 10 homers, 25 steals, 60 walks in 116 games split between Arkansas and Salt Lake. Stagnant at age 26 and losing the chance to emerge as a bench sleeper, at least in this system.
20) Matt Shoemaker, RHP, Grade C: Shoemaker doesn’t get much press and is old for a prospect at age 27, but he can eat innings, throws strikes, has survived pitching in Salt Lake, and made a point by throwing five shutout innings in his big league debut last September. Would be in the mix as a fifth starter for many teams, which is not bad for a guy who was an undrafted free agent. He took his sleeper potential and turned it into production with an excellent major league rookie season, going 15-4, 3.16 with a 119/24 K/BB in 128 innings.
Matt Shoemaker photo by Matt Brown, Getty Images
What a strange year for the Angels farm system, in both good ways and bad ways.
On the bad side, several players had disappointing seasons and have seen their stock drop, Kaleb Cowart most notably. Trades have churned the system and the 2015 list is going to look much different than this pre-season list.
On the other hand, the Angels have gotten valuable contributions from rookies C. J. Cron and Matt Morin, plus an outstanding campaign from Matt Shoemaker, a 27-year-old Grade C prospect who was signed as an undrafted free agent back in 2008. He found pitching in the majors to actually be easier than pitching in Salt Lake.
Looking ahead to 2015, new additions to the list will include 2014 first-rounder lefty Sean Newcomb, second round right-hander Joe Gatto, third round right-hander Chris Ellis, and fourth round right-hander Jeremy Rhoades. Holdover prospects Trevor Gott, Kyle McGowin, Drew Rucinski,and Victor Alcantara give a quartet of promising right-handed arms who have seen their stock increase. Lefty Nate Smith from the 2013 draft also had a good season.
The strength of the system looks to be pitching at his point. More impact bats would be helpful.
The Diamondbacks will be hoping home field advantage allows them to end their six-game losing streak. And maybe even get Vidal Nuño his first win for us. But let's not get TOO far ahead of ourselves, shall we?
Combined, the starting pitchers have a record for the whole season of 8-26, so it wouldn't surprise me if neither of them win tonight, and it's decided by the respective bullpens. But Stults still has an outside chance at becoming a 20-game loser, which would be impressive. If the 20-game winner is becoming increasingly rare, especially in the National League - there wasn't a single one last year - the 20-game loser is practically extinct - you have to go all the way back to 1979 to find one, in Phil Niekro, And he didn't even have a losing record, going 21-20. Oh, yeah, with 23 complete games.
No-one in the NL has had more than 18 losses since Bobby Jones for the 2001 Padres, who went 8-19. Right now, Stults and A.J. Burnett are tied - Stults had three less starts than Burnett, so that's more impressive. Of course, equally impressive is Nuño, now closing in on Max Scherzer's franchise record of winless starts at the beginning of a career with the Diamondbacks. This will be #12 for Nuno, and if he doesn't win tonight, will also move him into sole possession of fourth-place for any streak of winless starts by an Arizona pitcher. He'll trail Scherzer, Edgar Gonzalez (14) and Brian Anderson, who went 17 straight between W in 2001-2002.
His 12th attempt at a win with the Diamondbacks proved no more successful than the previous 11 for Vidal Nuno, though at least this time, it was mostly his own fault.
Things started promisingly for Arizona, as A.J. Pollock got us on the board in the first, driving in Ender Inciarte with a single. However, the Padres scored in each of the next four innings, as Nuno's streak of starts allowing two runs or less came to a screeching halt. He lasted five innings, and was charged with six runs on eight hits and walk, with two strikeouts. Eury de la Rosa worked two scoreless innings in relief, and we also got to see Joe Paterson make his first major-league appearance since June 2012, retiring the one hitter he faced. The other n00b, Brett Jackson also debuted, coming in as a pinch-runner for Cody Ross in the 9th.
After falling five behind, the offense did make a game of it, with a four-run fifth inning which pulled the Diamondbacks to within one of the Padres. Nolan Reimold came off the bench with an RBI single, and Pollock then cranked a three-run homer, his seventh of the season. A.J. had three hits, drove in four runs and also picked up an outfield assist, while Jake Lamb and Ender Inciarte each had a pair of knocks for Arizona. However, the team also hit into three double-plays, two of them off the bat of Mark Trumbo, and despite getting the tying run to third in the ninth, lost its seventh consecutive game, now the longest streak of the year.
Hot hitting in the Arizona desert kept the Padres on top after some bites from the Diamondbacks.
Going into the final series against the Arizona Diamondbacks a few Padres have been showing a little shine to their game. One of those Padres is catcher Rene Rivera, who up until now hasn't exactly shown how shiny he can be. But this season has certainly been his shiniest.
And tonight was a shiny one as well, going 1 for 4 with a walk, a home run, and an RBI; Rivera took part in some exceptional hitting from the Friars. Yangervis Solarte, Jedd Gyorko, Yasmani Grandal, Cameron Maybin, and Alexi Amarista all had two hits a piece for a team-combined 11. Rene's 10th HR of this season topped it all off.
Though Padres pitching gave up a collective 10 hits, it was the Padres' 4 for 9 record with runners in scoring position that gave them the offensive edge tonight, just barely pushing past the Dbacks' hitting 3 for 6 with RISP.
Rene Rivera showed this slow, slow, slow 80MPH'r exactly where it needed to go.
What a started in the first inning, a double and RBI-single given up by Eric Stults, was quickly turned on its back as the Padres retaliated with 5 unanswered runs. It wasn't until the fifth inning that the Diamondbacks would retort with 4 runs of their owns, leaving the score settled at 6-5 in the Padres favor. Clutch bunting, solid singles, hard-hit doubles, a popped-off solo HR and even a legged-out triple from Daddy Longlegs highlighted the night.
The only evidence that Maybin ever rounded second base was the smoking-gun helmet he left behind.
Sprinkled on like a glorious bowl of San Diego Padres icecream was some stellar defense from Solarte at third and some amazing stops from the Ninja at short, Eric Stults (despite posting a 4.49 ERA tonight although only giving up 2 runs that were earned) found himself thoroughly backed up by his team both defensively and offensively. That's good news for the pitcher with the least amount of run support in the majors.
The Ninja roped and yanked this one back from heading into left field, almost completing the double play.
A good kickoff to the series against the Dbacks. We'll get to see Tyson Ross followed by Odrisamer Despaigne come in for the sweep. With less than 16 games left in the season and our last against the Snakes, a sweep would put us at least at 8-10 with Arizona for the season.
Things started going the Dbacks' way, but by the time the Padres struck back there was less and less they could have done to leave a meaningful impact. Some late-inning flashy leather snuffed out any chance at a lead change and notched a W for the Friars.
Vidal Nuno received unprecedented levels of run support from the offense tonight. Unfortunately, it was accompanied by unprecedented levels of suck from him, and the Diamondbacks dropped their seventh straight game. [And, if you want an explanation of the recap title...]
Record: 59-88. Pace: 65-97. Chance on 2013/2010: -15/0.
If the Diamondbacks had scored five runs when Nuno was on the mound over his previous 11 starts, he would probably have won six of them, rather than none. But this outburst from our hitters was exquisitely timed to match Nuno's worst start since becoming a Diamondbacks, and so his record instead dropped to 0-6. As noted in the preview, Vidal's streak of 12 consecutive games without a win is now the fourth longest in team history; he's just one behind Max Scherzer's record to start a career in Arizona of 13 straight winless appearances.
And it became so well, too. Or, at least, the Diamondbacks scored first, though as Nuno has already been made painfully aware, scoring first is no guarantee of very much with this team. Ender Inciarte doubled to lead things off, and one out later, A.J. Pollock drove him in from third, flipping the ball into right-field, to land just in front of the Padres' outfielder. However, hopes of any further advance were immediately dashed, Mark Trumbo hitting into a double-play. And the lead was short-lived, as Nuno walked the lead-off hitter for San Diego, who came around to score after a single and ground-out. Worse was to follow, an RBI triple making it 2-1 Padres,
It could have been a worse inning, but for Cliff Pennington alertly gunning a runner down at home. However, the hits kept on coming against Nuno, with San Diego tacking on two more in the third, then another in the fourth and one more their next time up, making the score 6-1 to the Padres by the middle of the fifth. Considering the D-backs hadn't scored more than that in any of their last 29 games, going back five weeks, this one seemed all but over. It lives! Jake Lamb had a lead-off triple in the bottom of the fifth, and with one out, pinch-hitter Nolan Reimold not only failed to strike out, he drove Lamb in with a single.
That made it 6-2, and ended Nuno's nigh, as he was charged with six runs on eight hits and a walk, with two strikeouts. But, wait! There's more! With two outs, Chris Owings reached on an error, and Pollock then clubbed his 7th home-run of the season into the first row of the bleachers in left-field. That three-run shot brought Arizona back to just a single run behind, and set them up with, just maybe, the chance of their biggest comeback victory in 2014. However, if you've noticed the headline on the recap, you'll be aware that didn't quite happen.
Indeed, the Diamondbacks went down in order during the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, before finally managing to pose a threat in the ninth. Cody Ross singled with one out, and Cliff Pennington did the same with two outs, putting runners on the corners. However, pinch-hitter Aaron Hill flew out to left field, stranding the tying run on third and sealing our seventh consecutive defeat. That's the longest losing streak for Arizona in over four years, since July 22-29 in 2010, and this one is still going. So we might have a crack at matching the ten-game streak posted earlier in that miserable 2010 campaign.
Pollock had a very solid evening all round. He had three hits, drove in all but one of the Diamondbacks' runs, and also nailed a Padres hitter, who tried unwisely to stretch a single into a double. There were two hits apiece for Ender Inciarte and Jake Lamb - the latter is beginning to look better at the plate, with a hit in six consecutive starts, upping his season average from .185 to .227 over that time. We also saw the two new arrivals in action. Lefty reliever Joe Paterson make his first appearance in the majors since June 2012, getting the last out of the eighth, and Brett Jackson ran for Ross in the ninth.
[Click to enlarge, at fangraphs.com] Roger Corman: A.J. Pollock, +34.6% Ed Wood: Vidal Nuno, -36.6% Jess Franco: Trumbo, -21.9%; Hill, -19.2%; Montero, -12.7%
We did reach 200 comments, but oddly, it seemed quieter after we pulled to within one, than it was before. A pretty lite attendance, with GuruB leading Rockkstarr12 and myself, with the other present being: Angry_Saguaro, Clefo, Diamondhacks, MrMrrbi, SongBird, hotclaws, preston.salisbury and rd33. There were a grand total of three recs given over the course of the evening, so I don't think I'll be handing out any Comment of the Game for this evening.
The Rockies lost to the Cardinals tonight too, so we're still locked with them in Tankapaloiza 2014. It's back to Chase Field tomorrow, as we try to avoid losing eight in a row, and Chase Anderson faces Tyson Ross.
Videl Nuno struggled against the Padres, as the D'backs lost their seventh straight.
Quotes
"I know he has a lot of ability," Gibson said. "He hasn't been able to put his tools to good use so far, but we've acquired him and hopefully we can help him get on track."
Vidal Nuno, who entered the game without a D-backs win, will have to keep waiting for his first National League victory. Nuno had pitched well with the D-backs since they acquired him in July, but he lasted only five innings Friday, giving up six runs on eight hits
The D-backs continued adding to their expanded roster on Friday, recalling outfielder Brett Jackson and left-handed pitcher Joe Paterson from Triple-A Reno. The callups put the D-backs' current roster at 32 out of a maximum of 40.
The recent offensive struggles of the Diamondbacks are very familiar to outfielder Cody Ross. He's been through this before, although with higher stakes.
Ross is coming off his worst start in a while, though. His franchise-record streak of 14 quality starts came to an end in Colorado on Sept. 7, when he gave up three runs in 5 2/3 innings against the Rockies. It was his first non-quality start since June 16. His opponent on Saturday, Chase Anderson, has a pair of quality outings in his last two starts, going six innings in each of them and giving up a combined three runs, while striking out 14.
The Orioles were dealt another blow on Friday morning, as first baseman Chris Davis was suspended for 25 games by Major League Baseball for testing positive for amphetamines associated with the drug Adderall.
The Diamondbacks' current seven-game losing run is tied for sixth all-time, and is the only one in the top 12 where we averaged less than two runs a game over the streak. We had an eight-game streak in 1998, a ten-game one in 2010, and no less than three longer streaks in 2004, lasting nine, eleven and fourteen games. Kinda shows you just how bad we were in 2004, especially after we lost Richie Sexson. It's probably fortunate we had Paul Goldschmidt around for 86 games more than Sexson, because since we lost Goldie in the first game of August, this team is 11-27 - that works out to a 47-115 game pace over an entire season.
It is, of course, Goldschmidt Bobblehead night at Chase, continuing the theme which has seen every player honored with a Bobblehead for the Diamondbacks this season hurt or traded away: Patrick Corbin, Gerardo Parra and Martin Prado. Even the Zombie Bobblehead apparently had to hit the disabled list after one of his arms fell off in the bullpen. The good news is, this is the last scheduled bobbler of the season, but I imagine a few players will be casting a nervous eye over the 2015 promotional schedule, when it's announced, and keeping fingers crossed their names are NOT on it....
The Padres got back in the win column last night with a 6-5 win in the first game of a three-game series in Arizona. They'll go for the series win tonight with their All-Star on the mound. The Diamondbacks will counter with rookie Chase Anderson.
Ross took the loss his last time out, September 7 at Colorado, to even his record at 13-13. It was the first start of his last 15 in which he failed to both last six innings and surrender three or less runs. He got the runs part down, allowing precisely three, but fell one out short on the innings front. Thus ended his franchise record streak of 14 consecutive Quality Starts. The three earned runs raised Ross's ERA ever so slightly, up to 2.66, which is still good for fifth in the league. His seven strikeouts gave him a total of 191, which also ranks fifth in the NL.
In his previous start, Ross faced these very same Diamondbacks. He lasted six innings, allowing one run on six scattered hits and two walks while sending eight Arizona batters back to the dugout with a scarlet K on their chest. His teammates had his back; the bats got him three runs, and the 'pen shut 'em down the rest of the way. I would be perfectly content watching a Groundhog Day rendition of that game tonight.
Diamondbacks rookie Chase Anderson comes into this game with an 8-6 record an 3.71 ERA in 19 games, all starts. He received no decision in his last start, when he threw 75 pitches over six innings against the Dodgers, allowing two earned runs on four hits, including a homer. It was his third consecutive game allowing a home run; the first game of that mini-streak was on August 24 against San Diego, and Yasmani Grandal was the culprit. The Padres won that game, chasing Chase after five innings. Altogether, they got him for five runs -- four earnies -- on six hits. I would be perfectly content watching a Groundhog Day rendition of that game tonight.
The Padres win this one on paper and pixels, but they play the actual games on grass and dirt, so we'll have to tune in to Fox Sports 1 at 5:10pm. Yes, I said Fox Sports 1, not Fox Sports San Diego. Remember that before you start freaking out on Twitter (I say this only because I did the same thing once when a Padres vs. Reds game wasn't on Fox Sports Ohio even though the guide said it would be).
Arizona scored three in the first, three more in the second, and cruised to their biggest blowout win in over a month.
The Diamondbacks took advantage of some early wildness from Padres' starter Tyson Ross, who allowed three hits and a walk to the first five batters, while also uncorking a wild pitch, with a San Diego error also helping the home team to a three-run first inning. It was more of the same in the second, RBI for Chris Owings and Mark Trumbo coming round another Padres error and bringing us early tacos. Tuffy Gosewisch legged out an infield RBI hit in the fifth, then another wild pitch followed by a two-run single from Jordan Pacheco gave us a three-run seventh, and completed Arizona's scoring.
Chase Anderson was solid enough, taking the five and dive in what could be his last game of the year. In those five innings, he gave up two runs on four hits and three walks, with five strikeouts. He was relieved by Daniel Hudson, making his first home appearance in over two years, to loud applause. He gave up a leadoff triple, before K'ing the next two, but couldn't close things out, allowing an RBI single. Oliver Perez also let the Padres score, but Evan Marshall and Matt Stites posted zeroes. Trumbo had three hits, three RBI and scored twice for the D-backs, with Cody Ross getting two hits, and Ender Inciarte reaching three times, on a hit and two walks.
There will be no beercap, Turambar having taken to the first part of the equation rather too much, presumably in anticipation of an eighth successive loss. He had the chance to beercap a winning game...
Record: 60-88. Pace: 66-96. Change on 2013/2010: -15/+1.
There must be something about Saturday nights at Chase Field. Three of the four times we've reached double-figure runs at home this year, it has been on that day of the week. There was the 18-run massacre of Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers on May 16; the 14-4 clubbing of the Rockies, including a nine-run eighth innings, on August 9, and now this evening's game. The Diamondbacks honored Paul Goldschmidt's bobblehead night by having their offense all hit like him for the evening. Considering we scored fewer over the entire series in Los Angeles and San Francisco combined, this was quite a refreshing little sorbet of a game.
The odd thing is, we only actually had a couple more hits than San Diego, 11-8. But after Arizona put up a three-spot in the first, and another one in the second, this didn't feel like much of a contest, outside of a blip in the middle of Chase Anderson's night. The Win Probability graph further down this recap bears that out: after the sixth run came across home-plate, our WP was at 81.3% with one out in the second inning, and bottomed out at 79.0% thereafter. We also got some help from Padres' starter Tyson Ross, who seemed to have no control of anything. The only out recorded by our first five hitters was Chris Owings unluckily lining out right at the first baseman.
Otherwise, Ender Inciarte doubled, A.J. Pollock walked, and then both men advanced on a double steal. Mark Trumbo then sent a seeing-eye 12-hopper back off the middle, which ricocheted off the legs of the shortstop and into right field, allowing two runs to score. Aaron Hill singled, and both men advanced after a pick-off by the Padres catcher bounced off Hill's back. That proved doubly fortunate for us, as Ross then spiked a slider, and Trumbo trotted home. It was the eighth time we had scored three or more in the first inning this year: it has been our most productive frame overall.
However, this evening it was matched by the second, and we went one better, as five of the first six Diamondbacks' hitters reached base, with Chase Anderson's bunt the only out. Didi Gregorius singled, Inciarte walked, Owings had an RBI single and Pollock reached on an RBI error after the shortstop airmailed a throw to first. Trumbo then hit a chopper on the infield, and Ross made an ill-advised throw home, Owings beating the tag surprisingly easily. Six runs in, and only four outs recorded? The D-backs must have felt sorry for Ross, as they then TOOTBLAN'd into a strike-out, throw-out double-play, though you could argue Aaron Hill checked his swing.
There were some rumblings before the game that this could be Anderson's last outing of the season, as he was 35 innings over his previous career high, even before taking the mound,. But you wouldn't have known it through the early going, as he was solid through the first three innings. He did hit a rough patch in the fourth, allowing a home-run with one out, then walking a couple of batters and giving up an RBI single, to make it 6-2 with two men aboard for San Diego. However, he escaped the jam and then posted a final zero in the fifth to qualify for the W, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks, with five strikeouts.
A very special moment then followed, as Daniel Hudson took the mound at Chase Field for the first time since his return, to a loud ovation [and, I suspect, some attendees going "Who?"]. The Padres didn't appear to have read the script, the lead-off hitter just missing a home-run, settling for a triple. Hudson then rebounded, to strike out the next couple of batters, but couldn't quite complete his Daniel Houdini impression, allowing an RBI single. Still, the radar gun had him touching 96 mph on multiple occasions, and even if he has allowed four earned runs in 2.2 innings, the arm looks healthy and the stuff apparently there. Control and finesse? They'll come back.
Oliver Perez followed, and made Huddy feel better by actually allowing a home-run to the first batter faced. But that was it, as he, Evan Marshall and Matt Stites then faced the minimum the rest of the way. Meanwhile, the D-backs tacked on, with their third three-run inning of the night in the seventh. Singles to Trumbo and Cody Ross, plus a Gregorius single, loaded the bases: another Padres' wild pitch and a two-run single by pinch-hitter Jordan Pacheco emptied them. Combine that with Tuffy Gosewisch's infield RBI single in the fifth inning, and we had our best offensive night since Peraltafest, more than a month ago.
There were some very good performances for Arizona tonight. Trumbo had his first three-hit night since March, driving in three and scoring a pair; Ross got a couple of knocks; and Inciarte reached base three times, on a hit and a pair of walks. He's definitely improving in the plate discipline department: after posting a 12:3 K:BB ratio when he first game up, since August 10, he is at 17:14. I like he and Pollock as a one-two punch at the top of the order; as we saw this evening, they can create some havoc on the basepaths.
[Click to enlarge, at fangraphs.com] Paul Goldschmidt: Mark Trumbo, +26.4% Goldschmidtesque: Ender Inciarte, +12.1% Not Goldschmidt-like at all: Cody Ross, -4.3%
Damn, it was just good to win a game again: I'd have settle for a squeaker, just to end the losing streak. Decent turnout for a Saturday night, considering we'd lost every night for a week! GuruB, Rockkstarr12 and SongBird topped the charts, with the others presnet being: AzDbackfanInDc, AzRattler, Diamondhacks, Jim McLennan, JoeCB1991, Makakilo, Paulnh, Xipooo, asteroid, hotclaws, onedotfive, preston.salisbury, txzona and whateversclever. Several credible contenders for Comment of the Night ended tied on three recs, but the one that stands up best to being taken out of context was 'hacks:
It's back to Chase for the rubber match tomorrow afternoon, with a 1:10 pm first pitch. Trevor Cahill starts for us, and it's [copy... paste] Odrisamer Despaigne for San Diego.
No amount of clawing back would help the Padres tonight as they're blown out a crapillion to four.
An unusually short outing for Tyson Ross created a deficit that the Padres simply couldn't recover from. The All-Star pitcher who is used to posting a sub-3 ERA instead threw for 3 innings, giving up five hits with five earned runs to go along with it. He also walked half as many as he struck out (2/4).
The last time Tyson Ross was that beat up was almost exactly a month ago against the Phillies where he didn't even last half an inning.
Tonight the offense couldn't do much but desperately fight back as the runs continued to pile on after Ross' departure. Two errors from the Padres defense and at least three three-run innings for the Dbacks were in the losing Friars formula for tonight.
Home runs from Yasmani Grandal and Yangervis Solarte with some Alexi Amarista RBI's sprinkled in became the futile attempt at combating the wall of runs posted by the Snakes.
Tomorrow Odrisamer Despaigne will try to avenge our all-star with a series win.
Sign of the Apocalypse
Their Ross looks worse than our Ross
The right bra can change your world in an instant