Opening night for four of the Dbacks affiliates. Let's take a look at the highlights from these games.
Reno, South Bend, Mobile, and Visalia all opened up their season's tonight. There were a lot of highlights including Chase Anderson's great start, Didi and Cody Ross starting, and all the other news and notes from around the Dbacks affiliates.
Snake Stars 3 Stars: Chase Anderson, Mobile 6 IP, 1H, 0 BB, 5K, 0 ER, W (1-0) 2 Stars: David Peralta, Mobile 3 for 5, 2 R, 2 DBL, 2 RBI 1 Star: Nick Evans, Reno 2 for 3, 1 BB, 1 DBL, 2 RBI 0 Stars: Alex Sanabia, Reno 3.1 IP, 11 H, 1 BB, 2K, 6 ER, 11 Hits, 6 ER
Triple A: El Paso 7 @ Reno 5 There was a lot of things to watch for in Reno tonight. This was the first game of the newly named Padres triple A team, the El Paso Chihuahuas, which was originally the Tucson Padres. We also got to see what Didi and Ross did in their first games of the season. The Aces got off to a bad start, as starter Sanabia gave up 6 runs on 11 hits to El Paso. He would only last 3.1 innings. Cody Ross had 2 hits in both his AB's, along with Alfredo Marte. Didi went 0-4, and had a throwing error in his first minor league game in almost a year. The Aces tried to rally back, but could not prevail off closer Kevin QuackenBush
Double A: Mobile 6 @ Mississippi 2. Chase Anderson was the star for Mobile, as he allowed only 1 hit through 6 shutout innings, along with five K's. Jake Lamb started a 3-run rally in the first with his first homer of the season. That was followed by a triple, single, and double for 2 more runs. David Peralta was a part of this rally, and had 3 hits and 2 RBI for Mobile. RJ Hively and Matt Stites each gave up an earned run, but the bullpen ended up getting the job done.
High A: Stockton 4 @ Visalia 1Andrew Barbosa got the opening day start for Visalia. He went 5 innings, and gave up 2 earned runs with 11 strikeouts to keep Visalia in the game. But the offense could not bail him out against the Stockton pitching. The only run for Visalia came on a two-out RBI double from Ryan Court. Keith Hessler and Kyle Winkler both pitched scoreless innings in relief, but the Stockton bullpen was just as dominant, with Nolan Sanburn striking out the side in the ninth.
Low A: South Bend 2 @ Bowling Green 5 The South Bend bats struggled against the Hot Rods, as they could only manage 5 hits off Jacob Faria, Aaron Griffen, and Stone Speer. AAron Blair pitched well in his debut, striking out 10 over 6 innings, with no walks. Unfortunately, Oscar Hernandez crushed a grand slam off him in the 3rd inning, which would be the difference in the game.
Today's links look at Jonny Gomes' place in the line up, Mike Napoli's place in the world, and enough LEGO to recreate (a relatively small) Fenway Park.
Easily the coolest time lapse video showing the construction of a LEGO Fenway Park you'll see this week. (Eric Wilbur; Boston.com)
While they'll still have the highest average ticket prices in the league, the team will look to entice young fans to the ballpark with discount ticket plans and toga parties. Because Larry Lucchino knows what the kids are into. (Kyle Brasseur; ESPNBoston.com)
Pawtucket's Garin Cecchini says he's going to focus on approach instead of box scores. Which is easy to do when you led AAA in OBP last season, one supposes. (Matt Huegel; Sox Prospects)
Mike Napoli hopes to offer David Ortiz better protection this season after Papi's major league-leading 27 intentional walks last season, when the player hitting behind him was ... Mike Napoli. (Glenn Yoder; Boston.com)
Eric Stults will face off against Tom Koehler in the Padres' first road game of the season.
The first road trip of the season is underway tonight as our Padres kick off a series in Miami. After an opening series loss to the Dodgers at home, the Padres will try to wake up the bats against the Marlins. Eric Stults will make the start as the team tries to put an end to their losing streak. In 2013, Stults was one of the few constants on the team and in the rotation, leading the team in starts (33) as well as wins (11). One of those wins came against the Marlins last May. Stults was brilliant in that outing, keeping Miami to just one run in 6 1/3 frames in San Diego. He didn't fare as well in his start at Marlins Park, surrendering six runs (five earned) in 3 2/3 innings. This Spring, Stults went 3-1 in six starts, giving up 11 runs in 21 innings of work.
Tom Koehler, making the first start of his career against San Diego, will take the mound for Miami. Koehler made 29 appearances (23 starts) in 2013, posting a 4.41 ERA while going 5-10. He convincingly earned himself the fifth rotation spot out of Spring Training, putting up arguably the best Spring on the staff. He started four games, but pitched in five altogether, giving up only three earned runs in 18 innings while collecting 12 strikeouts.
Hopefully our offense can fare better against Koehler than they did against the Dodgers starters. They only managed five six runs in three games against the NL West rivals while some key starters went cold. Jedd Gyorko and Yasmani Grandal are still hitless on the season while Yonder Alonso, Chase Headley, and Chris Denorfia are just a combined 5-for-34.
The Padres and Marlins will get things started at 4:10 this afternoon on FSSD as they try to get back in the win column.
I asked the Padres employee assigned to the information table if she had heard that the Diamondbacks' President Derrick Hall was trying to take credit for coming up with the idea when this year the D-Backs started an identical program. She said she had heard and thought it weird since the Padres had reached out and helped the D-Backs start their program.
The only difference is that the D-Backs have a sponsor paying for the jerseys. I'm told that the Padres are the sole sponsor of their program and don't place any advertisements on the jerseys. She said that they are also working with the Mariners to possibly help them start their own similar program. With any luck they won't try to take credit for the idea like Hall did.
The Youth Baseball Initiative, as it's sometimes called, is a great program for both the team, the Little Leaguers and the community. Former Padres President Tom Garfinkel who truly came up with the idea told us in February "It's great for those kids and for the game and I hope 28 other teams jump on board too".
Out with the Old
While the number of jerseys given to the kids has jumped to more than 14,000, the number of jersey styles has decreased. When the Initiative started in 2012 the Little League teams were given a choice of 20 different Padres jerseys. Last year that number was cut to 16 uniforms. This year it was cut again to 12 uniforms. They decided 16 was still high in terms of options. I'm told by the Padres Vice President of Community Relations Sue Botos that they think they've hit the right number with 12 different styles. The LL teams have said that with 12 styles they would have greater flexibility when exchanging and sharing sizes throughout their leagues.
Choosing the jerseys to be cut from the roster couldn't have been an easy decision, or maybe it was, what do I know.
1985 Road (Ranked 16th last year)
Oh, I see how this is going to work, the least popular jerseys from the previous year get axed. I get it, this is a results oriented game. I'm sad to see the brown pinstripes go though. This is a great uniform and one the Bring Back the Brown crowd loves. I get this too, I was in my formative years when the Pads were wearing these. If today's spoiled kids can't appreciate it, then maybe they don't deserve to wear it. I'm sorry that's just how I feel.
1984 Home (Ranked 15th last year)
It was just a matter of time before one of the 1984 jerseys was cut. Each year this jersey is ranked lower and lower among juvenile delinquents that fill youth baseball. Don't they recognize the greatness attached to this jersey? Would Garvey have crushed that home run ball in Game 4 if not for this jersey? That's debatable. Someone should give kids a long sleeve flesh colored undershirt with hairy Garvey forearms with each of these jerseys, then maybe they'd get it.
1998 Road (Ranked 13th last year)
Woah, for some reason the Padres thankfully spared the other 1984 road jersey even though it was ranked 14th last year among the childrens. Instead they sacrificed the 1998 gray jersey and I'm okay with that. I have fond memories of Kevin Brown and Ken Caminiti wearing this jersey but it's still gray, very very gray.
1978 Road (Ranked 12th last year)
1978 Road top loses out because it was 12th last year and deemed not worth saving. It's strange that this one fell out of favor. It was ranked 7th in the first year when there were a more choices. This was their favorite brown uniform then, but they sent a clear message last year that they have moved on. It's a shame because it feels very Padres to me, I like the font and the fact that it's a pull over. I love pullover jerseys.
In with the New
Okay, now for the rankings of this year's 12 uniforms.
12. Spring Training/BP (Ranked 6th last year)
Kids love presents and the present. This is both of those things. They don't dwell in the past because they don't have a past. The idea that they'd rather wear a current batting practice jersey over a historic game jersey speaks volumes, but mostly about their immaturity. Maybe they're maturing though because this uniform dropped 6 places in the rankings.
11. 1998 Home (Ranked 10th last year)
When I see this jersey I think of Will Cunnane and Joey Hamilton. It's very 90's, but in a good way like Dawson Leery's haircut. I actually like the uniform more when the current team wears it as a throwback. The blue is much darker and more brooding. This one dropped a spot in the rankings.
10. 1936 Home (Ranked 9th last year)
This is the uniform Ted Williams wore early in his career. It's hard to tell if this uniform is black or has really dark blue pinstripes, especially since all of the photos of that time are black & white. I think the true corresponding hat didn't have a logo either, but most of the caps given to Little Leaguers don't match the corresponding jersey exactly.
9. 1978 Home (Ranked 11th last year)
This is the 1978 jersey made popular by the All-Star game. This is the only jersey I own. I love it. I don't really have more to say about it, I've just been staring longingly at it for about 2 minutes. I should go put it on. This one is gaining popularity, up two spots in the ranking.
8. 1984 Road (Ranked 14th last year)
As I mentioned above this jersey was given a pardon by the Padres. Even though it was ranked 14th last year and should have been cut, it was saved. The kids approved, it jumped 6 spots in the rankings. The graphic doesn't do this jersey justice, you really have to see it in action to fully appreciate it.
7. 1972 Home (Ranked 5th last year)
I like these 1972 home jerseys, because it puts the gold on display. I get a little irritated when Padres fans want to Bring Back the Brown but not the gold. The Padres have two true colors that they're associated with and we need them both back, together.
6. 1940 Home (Ranked 8th last year)
This jersey was labeled as a 1948 home jersey last year, but appears to be exactly the same. My favorite part about this jersey is the Padres script. It's infinitely better than the current Padres script with the "P" that's supposed to look like a nautical sail. Dick Enberg thinks the Padres should wear red, white and blue and this uniform is "very handsome". If you want to side with Enberg, who can't contain his excitement when the Dodgers make a good play, then be my guest. The kids agree, it moved up two positions.
5. 1975 Road (Ranked 7th last year)
The 1975 Road jersey was white last year instead of gray. It's one of the better gray uniforms because, at least, it has some colors that make it pop. I don't remember these jersey's having orange lettering though. I thought they looked more like this. This one too jumped two spots.
4. Alternate Home (Ranked 4th last year)
The top 4 jerseys are the same as last year. They're all part of the current uniforms. This alternate reminds me of Will Venable and comfy pair of pajamas It makes me irritated and sleepy at the same time. I have to admit though that it was an improvement over the old alternate but it's not really my thing.
3. Road (Ranked 3rd last year)
The top 3 jerseys have held their rankings for all three years. Kids love currents, that why you have to keep a close eye on them when they get near rivers. They'll be mesmerized and swept away by some Class 4 rapids if you don't keep a watchful eye. This one is gray.
2. Home (Ranked 2nd last year)
The home jersey looks very plane Jane to me, but when I think about it, it makes sense that kids like it. Kids refuse to eat anything but white bread, with the crusts cut off. It's like their taste buds haven't fully matured yet and they don't like spicy or exotic foods. "Give me something bland" they say.
1. Camo (Ranked 1st last year)
And for the third year in a row the Padres MARPAT camouflage jersey is the most popular kid in school, like Pacey from Dawson's Creek High School. The Padres were the first team to wear camouflage and the first to get permission from the Marines to wear their distinct desert pattern. The Little Leaguers are proud to support both the Marines and the Padres. The critics, however, continue to bash the Padres for wearing what they consider to be an ugly jersey, but more and more teams are using it, especially on Memorial and Veterans Day.
The Miami Marlins, led by Giancarlo Stanton and an efficient lineup, defeated the San Diego Padres 8-2 on Friday night at Marlins Park. Starter Tom Koehler was solid and Brad Hand pitched three innings in relief.
For Miami Marlins' starter Tom Koehler, run support wasn't something he was familiar with a season ago. Koehler, who after a solid spring training earned the five spot in the rotation, was efficient in his 2014 debut, an 8-2 victory in game one of a three game series against the San Diego Padres.
Rarely last season did the Marlins have leads, let alone early leads. A Jeff Baker one out single in the first inning was followed by a 480 home run off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton which gave Miami an early 2-0 advantage. The long ball was Stanton's second of the young season and was deemed the longest home run in the brief history of Marlins Park.
Koehler had command of all of his pitches early, and despite a two run fifth inning for the Padres, had an efficient night. Koehler lasted six innings, giving up seven hits and a pair of runs while walking and striking out a batter.
Miami's offense consistently made quality contact against Padres starter Jordan Stults. The third lefty the Marlins faced over a span of five days, Stults lasted just four innings after yielding five earned runs to Miami's starting lineup.
Manager Mike Redmond placed shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria in the leadoff spot against the lefty, and he thrived. Hechavarria put together four consecutive hits, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Garrett Jones both had multiple hits on the night.
Casey McGehee built on his success in the Colorado series, driving in a pair of runs.
Brad Hand pitched the final three innings for the Marlins, not allowing a run while walking three and striking out two. Two of those walks came in the ninth inning.
Eric Stults got rocked early and often, and Donn Roach didn't do much better in his place. All twelve Marlins fans who showed up were treated to a mess of runs. Giancarlo Stanton set the tone for the game in the bottom of the first when he gave everyone whiplash with a screamer that came to rest far, far beyond the centerfield fence. It was later determined to be the longest in the short history of their garish park. Stults gave up three more runs in the third, and gave way to Roach with a line of seven hits, a walk, and five earned runs in four innings.
The offense was similarly inept, although Jedd Gyorko picked up his first hit of the season and then another one just for kicks. He and Yonder Alonso drove in the Padres' only two runs of the game in the sixth, one inning after the team loaded the bases with one out and walked away with nothing.
Left handed three-out guy Alex Torres was the only Padres pitcher who avoided contributing to the Marlins' run parade. He allowed a single to Jarrod Saltalamacchia in his inning of work before giving way to Nick Vincent, who put the cherry on the top of Miami's rundae.
Two other affiliates got their first wins of the season with Duke von Schamann nabbing Player of the Day honors. Rancho Cucamonga is winless after two but Josh Beckett and Julio Urias each pitched 4 innings.
Rancho Cucamonga, CA - Minor League Player of the Day– Duke von Schamann (AA) - 7 IP, 2 hits, 0 walks, 2 K's. The Duke (von Schamann) returns to Chattanooga where he finished his 2013 season. The 22-year old 2012 draftee faced only 24 batters in his 7 innings to get the 2-0 victory. The game only took an hour and 59 minutes to complete.
AAA– The Isotopes had a pair of 7 inning games to start their 2014 season in Tacoma as they split the doubleheader with the Rainers (Mariners). Stephen FIfe was the Game 1 starter and even though he gave up 5 runs and 10 hits in 4 innings, he had the second worst pitching line of the game. Steve Smith pitched 1.1 innings and gave up 6 runs and 8 hits. There wasn't much offense for the Isotopes in their 11-1 loss but the Rainers did go 18 for 36 for an impressive .500 average, every Rainer in the lineup had at least 1 hit, five players had 2 hits and two players had 3 hits. Game 2 was a much better game as the Isotopes won 6-3.Yimi Garciapicked up the win, Matt Magill started and pitched a nice 4 innings. Sam Demelgot the save. Miguel Olivio went 2-2 and drove in four runs, Joc Pederson hit his first home run of the season.
AA – The Lookouts were led by Duke von Schamann as they defeated the Generals (Mariners) 2-0. Scott Schebler went 1 for 3 and drove in the 2 runs scored in this game. Following von Schamann were Juan Gonzalezand Jarret Martin, Martin picked up the save.
HiA – The Quakes had their second straight first inning deficit as the Giants of San Jose plated 3 runs (on two home runs) to take a lead they would never lose as the Giants won their second straight 3-2. Wins and losses may have taken a back seat in Rancho Cucamonga as the game featured Dodger pitcher, Josh Beckett, making perhaps his only rehab start and the Cal League debut of wunderkind, Julio Urias.
Beckett said that his stuff felt good, even in his eventful first inning. Of his four walks, he thought one of them should have been a strikeout but nonetheless, Beckett said "you can't walk guys no matter what league you are in."
Beckett added "I felt powerful which is big for me right now," "being able not to worry about symptoms coming back." Beckett was not concerned with velocity (Beckett was a steady 91-92 in his 4+ innings) but his finish on the ball. An example would be Beckett's change up, Beckett said if he has power, his change up goes down and in to right handed batters, down and away from the lefties. That was something Beckett worked on in the game.
Beckett said his thumb is feeling a lot better. Beckett exited the game after fielding a bunt and Beckett said he has been dealing with ankle/calf issue for the last few weeks. Beckett said it hasn't really been bothering him too much. On the play, Beckett said his ankle got stuck in the wrong direction and hopefully it will be okay on Saturday.
Beckett didn't know where or when his next start would be, part of that would be determined if he is all right after his start on Friday but Beckett said if his ankle/calf is okay, he's ready for whatever the Dodgers want him to do next, which could be starting for the Dodgers next week.
Julio Urias came in to pitch in the 6th inning and pitched 4 innings, giving up an infield hit but also walking 4 (including the first two batters he faced) and striking out 5 (including 3 strikeouts in the 9th inning).
Matt Herges is the Quakes pitching coach and he said that Urias will be limited this season, that limit will be set by the Dodgers. Herges said "[Urias] is 17, we've got to be careful, we have to protect this kid because he is pretty special. Tonight was the worst I've seen him pitched and held them scoreless."
Herges added "[Urias] is beyond his years, he's super smart, baseball IQ off the charts."
LoA– The TinCaps (Padres) evened the series 1-1 with their 5-2 win. Loon starter 19-year old Zach Bird did not enjoy his 2014 debut as he gave up 6 hits, 4 runs (3 earned) in four innings of work. A bright note was Victor Arano, whose Midwest League debut went well (2 IP, 1 hit, 3 strikeouts) As well as the Loons hit on Opening Day, only Jesmuel Valentin going 2 for 3 with his second double of the season and a RBI did well.
Coming up– Weather permitting, Zach Lee will make his first Isotope start in Tacoma, Chris Reedwill make his 2014 debut for the Lookouts. Brian Wilson will start his rehab with an inning appearance for the Quakes, Wilson will be followed by Lindsay Caughel. James Campbell will take the mound for the Loons.
Two strong pitchers will battle it out at Marlins Park.
Our Padres are off to a rough start this season, going 1-3 in their first four games. Tonight they'll look to improve on that and even up the series in Miami. Opening Day starter Andrew Cashner will make the start and try to follow up his 2014 debut with another strong performance. Last Sunday Cashner threw six innings of one-run ball en route to the only Padres win of the season so far. He kept the Dodgers to just four hits, issuing two walks and striking out five. Last year he had two great outings against Miami, going 1-0 while allowing two runs and striking out seven.
Our offense managed to get three runs on the board to back Cashner on Opening Day, but in each of the three games since then they've only put together two runs or less, dropping all three while being outscored 16-5. Chase Headley is batting an abysmal 1-for-16 to start his season. Yasmani Grandal and Jedd Gyorko both came into the Marlins series hitless but they each got two hits yesterday, with one of Gyorko's hits driving in a run. Over these first four games, San Diego has combined for eight runs on 24 hits for a team .192 average. They'll need more than that if they're going to have a chance of beating tonight's Miami starter, Jose Fernandez.
As the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, Fernandez' expectations coming into the season were high. He helped lead the team to a 10-1 victory on Opening Day, allowing just one run (on a solo shot) while walking no one and striking out nine batters in six innings of work. One of his 12 wins last year came against the Padres and it was one of his best starts of the season. He dominated, keeping San Diego's offense to just two hits and walk while striking out 10 through eight scoreless frames.
That game is part of the four-game losing streak our Friars have in Miami. They've been outscored 25-5 in that stretch, including last night's 7-2 loss. The Marlins have started their season strong, going 4-1 while hitting .315 and totaling 35 runs over their first five games. It's a small sample size, but their offensive performance as a team so far is a far cry from 2013, when they ranked last in the league in batting (.231) and runs scored (513 total on the season, 3.17 per game).
Ray highlights some starting pitcher options that you should consider streaming on Sunday.
The Streamer Report provides you with daily startng pitcher streaming selections for owners who prefer to stream starting pitchers on a daily basis. This report identifies starting pitchers who are owned in less than 50% of ESPN leagues, and who either has a decent track record vs their opponent, has pitched well of late, or has a decent matchup.
It appears Eovaldi will be my go to streamer this year, as he is owned in just 4.6% of ESPN leagues at the moment. Eovaldi had a solid 2014 debut going six innings vs the Rockies, giving up just one run and striking out six.
Hutchison is owned in just 2.6% of leagues, and gets the Yankees on Sunday afternoon. He had a solid first start, shutting out the Rays on 3 hits in 5.1 innings. He will look to build on that effort on Sunday.
Weekly Streamer Performance
I will be providing a status of how my picks have performed over the course of the season, and below you can find how bad my picks fared this week. I am struggling out of the gate, but the same thing happened last year at this time and things turned around as the season went along.
As I am wont to do from time to time, I decided to peep at Baseball-Reference to see how the other team's players have fared in the past against the Padres starting pitcher du jour. "But small sample size!" "He was a different pitcher then! You can't expect that to mean anything!" Yeah, yeah, I know. These strings of digits might not mean much, but they are things that exist and therefor I'm exercising my right to acknowledge them. Take them with a grain of salt, or the whole shaker for all I care. Your sodium intake isn't any of my business; what do I look like, a doctor?
Wow, those sample sizes are even smaller than I thought they'd be. Oh well, you've got to start somewhere. I'll just be hoping that the first number of each line remains unchanged while the second one grows.
Reigning Rookie of the Year Jose Fernadez shut down the Padres offense tonight.
Tonight's game was billed as a pitchers' duel, with Andrew Cashner, The Man With The Golden Locks taking on Rookie of the Year Jose Fernandez, who stood undefeated at Marlins Park. Their performances were as advertised, with the two aces combining for 14 strikeouts, 5 walks, 8 hits, and 2 runs in 12.2 innings pitched. Unfortunately, those 2 runs were both on Cashner's line. Dale Thayer and Joaquin Benoit were also touched for a few runs, but it's not like it really mattered, because your offense has to show up if you're going to win.
The Padres lineup hit an abysmal 5 for 32 tonight, while going 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position. Their one real shot came in the third inning. With one out, Everth Cabrera singled to center. He was joined on the basepaths by Will Venable and Chase Headley, who drew back to back walks. Seth Smith, already off to a hot start, had the bases loaded with only one out... and he swung at the first pitch to ground into a double play. Rally killed, shot twice in the chest and once in the head for good measure.
So the Padres are off to a 1-4 start, but it's still early, and tomorrow is Sunday Runday! Ian Kennedy has the rock for some Breakfasttown Baseball at 10:10 AM tomorrow. Join us for bottomless mimosas and waffles* as we watch our boys stop the losing streak!
The Miami Marlins shut out the San Diego Padres 5-0, as Jose Fernandez dominated in his second start while Giancarlo Stanton led the Marlins' offense to prolific late-game results.
The Miami Marlins are 4-1 on the season and coming off another successful victory, this time an 8-2 win over the San Diego Padres. Now Miami goes at it again with its best pitcher on the mound, as Jose Fernandez takes the hill against what has appeared to be an overmatched Padres lineup. Meanwhile, the Fish will have to send their so-far streaking offense against Andrew Cashner, the Padres' own hard-throwing right-handed ace.
Pitching Matchup
PROJ ERA
FIP
ERA
MARLINS
Padres
ERA
FIP
PROJ ERA
2.57
2.38
1.50
Fernandez
Cashner
1.50
2.55
3.19
As you can see, neither pitcher is a slouch, especially in the fastball department. Cashner threw an average of 94.6 mph and was hitting an average of 94.1 in his last start, during which he gave up just one run in six innings with five strikeouts against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Of course, Fernandez was even better in his start, striking out nine in six innings and hitting 96 on average on the radar gun yesterday. Either way, we are in for a set of hard-throwing right handers blowing it by subpar lineups!
All the early effectiveness of Adeiny Hechavarria has convinced the Marlins to try him again at the leadoff spot despite the fact that the team knows that he cannot hit and cannot draw walks. Hechavarria is a complete waste at the leadoff spot, and it is only a matter of time until his regression arrives and the Fish move him back down to the bottom of the order. But for now, they are trying to ride his hot streak for as long as it goes.
Marcell Ozuna is also on a hot streak, but for some reason he is batting eighth. Go figure.
Notes
- I'll be joining everyone for tonight's event! Go Fish!
The Miami Marlins attained their fifth win of the 2014 regular season, and it was achieved on the back of the team's two stars, as Jose Fernandez and Giancarlo Stanton delivered in an impressive 5-0 win over the San Diego Padres.
The Miami Marlins currently have a 5-1 record after tonight's 5-0 victory over the San Diego Padres. Last season, the Marlins won only eight games in April. This year, they have almost matched that mark by the end of the first week. The Fish won yet another game and secured the series win over the Padres thanks to the ability of the team's two stars. Both Jose Fernandez and Giancarlo Stanton contributed in large part to delivering this latest victory to the Fish.
Jose Fernandez put up yet another fantastic performance on the mound for the Fish, limited only by the fact that he had reached a slightly strenuous pitch count. Fernandez went longer this time around, almost getting out of the seventh inning before being pulled for A.J. Ramos after his eighth strikeout was dropped at the plate and reached base. Fernandez whiffed eight batters versus just two walks, which is not as impressive as his work on Opening Night but is still highly commendable. Aside from a bases-loaded situation in the third inning, he more or less cruised through the game. Fernandez never allowed more than one baserunner beside that third inning, during which he walked two batters and loaded the bags before a one-pitch, inning-ending double play bailed him out of trouble.
Giancarlo Stanton delivered at the plate as well, picking up two hits in five plate appearances and drove in two runs. He delivered the first run of the night in the pitcher's duel between Fernandez and Andrew Cashner, singling in the third inning and plating Fernandez. Stanton's second hit came later in the night, as he doubled with a line drive shot that drove home Christian Yelich for the third run of the night.
Stanton's additional insurance RBI added a nice touch to a solid evening of offense for the Marlins. The Fish gathered up 10 hits and five walks one the way to their five runs. Yelich, Derek Dietrich, and Casey McGehee each picked up two hits, and Yelich and McGehee both drew an additional walk and reached base three times. Miami's hot streak at the plate continued despite Cashner's excellent six innings.
Miami will look for the sweep tomorrow afternoon with Nathan Eovaldi on the mound.
Jesmuel Valentin has six hits in his first 12 at bats and he hit his first home run of the year as the Loons go 2-1 with their 13-4 win, Brian Wilson made his first rehab appearance as Corey Seager started a 9th inning rally that led the Quakes to their first win.
RANCHO CUCAMONGA-- Saturday night featured Brian Wilson on a minor league rehab assignment with the Quakes, his first of at least three games with Class-A.
Minor League Player of the Day– Jesmuel Valentin (Low A) - 2 for 5, Home run (1), 3 RBI. 19-year old infielder who started the 2013 season with the Loons but didn't really get going until he went to Ogden. This season he has come back to Great Lakes and he has gotten off to a good start.
AAA– Second rain out in three days, the game will made up on June 6th as part of a doubleheader.
AA – The Lookouts were let down by their defense as errors helped the Generals (Mariners) score 3 runs on their way to a 6-1 victory. Chris Reed started for the Lookouts and did well until the 6th where the defense made two errors that led to three unearned runs.
The offense couldn't do much, O'Koyea Dickson had a good game, going 3 for 4 with 2 doubles but otherwise the offense was silent.
HiA – The Quakes and San Jose Giants were scoreless for 8.5 innings but a one out double off the wall by Corey Seager plus an error put Seager on third with one out. Steve Proscia came up and walked. Pratt Maynard was next and hit a sacrifice fly to drive home Seager as the Quakes won their first game of the year 1-0.
Brian Wilson started the game for the Quakes, he just pitched the first inning, retiring the side in order, with a strikeout. Throwing just fastballs, Wilson said "I'm throwing just to get my arm strength."
Wilson added he is on typical spring training protocol which generally means every other day, Wilson mentioned that he thought he would be back at Rancho Cucamonga on Monday and Wednesday. He said he needs about 4 to 5 innings to complete his spring training.
Wilson didn't feel concerned about being at Rancho Cucamonga right now, "April doesn't matter, [Dodgers] have hopes for October with that mind, I have to make sure I am available in October."
Lindsay Caughel, the original starter, came in the second inning and did a great job. Caughel, who pitching coach Matt Herges believes should be on his way to AA at some point soon, pitched 6 innings, scattering 6 hits and striking out 8. Blake Smith had an eventful inning but was saved on a great throw by Robbie Garvey to nail the runner at home.
Owen Jones pitched the 9th to pick up the win.
LoA– The Loons offense came back with a big game and big inning as they defeat the TinCaps (Padres) 13-4. The Loons had a 7 run and a 5 run inning. Jesmuel Valentin had an inside the park home run, going 2 for 5 with 3 RBI, Jacob Scavuzzo, Kyle Farmer, Paul Hoenecke, Justin Chigbogu, and Brandon Trinkwon all had 2 hits, Joey Curletta had 3 doubles and 4 RBI. Alex Santana and Malcolm Holland chipped in singles.
James Campbell started and went 4 innings but Michael Johnson got the win with 3 scoreless innings of work.
Coming up– Zach Lee will try again to make his first Isotope start in Tacoma, Andres Santiago will pitch for the Lookouts. Chad Billingsley will start his rehab with an inning appearance for the Quakes, Billingsley will be followed by Tom Windle. Luis Chirinos will take the mound for the Loons.
It was Ace vs. Ace in Miami on Saturday night as the San Diego Padres' Andrew Cashner traded strikeouts with the Miami Marlins' Cuban sensation Jose Fernandez for the first six innings. But timely hitting by Derek Dietrich, Christian Yelich and Giancarlo Stanton proved to be the difference as the Marlins shut out the Padres 5-0.
Many predicted a grueling pitchers' duel between two of the National League's best starters, Andrew Cashner and Jose Fernandez, and the two big righties did not disappoint. The pair combined for 14 strikeouts and only 8 hits given up through 12 2/3 innings (6 innings for Cashner, 6 2/3 for Fernandez).
Giancarlo Stanton opened the scoring in the third inning with a 2-out single to left field that drove in Fernandez from second base. Derek Dietrich tacked on another run with a 2-out single in the 6th inning that plated the red hot Casey McGehee.
Fernandez's nasty curveball, nicknamed "the Defector" (or "the DefeKtor," to some) was rocking once again Saturday night as fans at Marlins Park have come to to expect. Fernandez actually improved his already microscopic home ERA to 1.14 as he improved his 2014 record to 2-0.
The Fish would add insurance runs in the 7th and 8th innings with a double by Stanton, a pinch hit sacrifice fly by Reed Johnson and a single by Yelich. The Marlins bullpen continued its stellar start to 2014 with 2 1/3 scoreless innings from A.J. Ramos, Mike Dunn and Carlos Marmol.
It's probably a bit early to be watching the standings (insiders will say to wait until at least April 15th), but the Marlins are all alone in first place in the NL East after their 5-1 start, meaning 161-1 is still in play.
After failing to get anything going behind Andrew Cashner last night, our Padres have one last chance to salvage a win this morning at Marlins Park. Ian Kennedy will take the hill in the series finale. He allowed three earned runs in five innings against the Dodgers on Tuesday. After giving up a two-run inning in the 1st to Yasiel Puig, he settled down and kept the Dodgers to one run over the next four innings. But he wasted a lot of pitches along the way - 103 pitches to be exact. Hopefully he can be more efficient today and keep the Marlins off the board.
But a good outing by Kennedy will be for naught if the offense can't get anything going again. As a team, the Padres are batting just .185 while scoring just eight runs over their first five games. They're batting even worse (.108) with runners in scoring position. They're also riding a five-game losing streak in Miami, hitting .172 while being outscored 30-5 during the skid.
Meanwhile, the Marlins are swinging hot bats to begin their season. Their 5-1 start is their best in five years. Through six games, they've hit a collective .313 while totaling 40 runs.
Today they'll send Nathan Eovaldi to the mound to try to get his second straight win of the season and second career win over the Padres. In two prior starts against San Diego, Eovaldi has gone 1-0, allowing just one run over 11 1/3 innings. In his 2014 debut on Tuesday, he gave up two runs in six innings of work, striking out six en route to a 4-3 win over the Rockies.
Tune in for breakfast baseball at 10:10 as our Padres close out the series in Miami.
This day ten years ago, Akinori Otsuka became the first Japanese-born player to see the field as a member of the Padres, beating Dave Roberts by a year and 12 days. Aki wasn't the first player from Japan to have his rights purchased by the Padres, but unlike the late Hideki Irabu, he didn't refuse to sign and subsequently get traded to the Arena League without playing a game.
Otsuka's first appearance came on the road, in San Diego's second game of the season. Bruce Bochy called him from the bullpen to face the top of the Dodgers' order in the eighth inning of what was a 4-4 tie. Aki got off to a good start, getting groundouts from the aforementioned Dave Roberts and Cesar Izturis. Blooming psychopath Milton Bradley got on with a double, and Otsuka intentionally walked Shawn Green to get to Paul LoDuca. It was the right call, as LoDuca struck out to end the inning.
The Padres failed to bring a run across in the top of the ninth, so Otsuka returned to the mound tasked with forcing extra innings. He collected his second strikeout, as Juan Encarnacion went down swinging, but then Adrian Beltre singled to put the winning run on base. Alex Cora dropped a bunt to move Beltre to second, but Sean Burroughs botched the throw, putting runners on the corners with one out. Dodgers manager Jim Tracy summoned future manager Robin Ventura to bat in Eric Gagne's place; Ventura proceeded to hit one of his less-famous walk-off singles and that put it in the books.
That was the last run anyone would score against him for over a month. Otsuka dominated the rest of the season, finishing with a 7-2 record backed by a 1.75 ERA in 73 games.
The Miami Marlins fell to the San Diego Padres 4-2 on Sunday afternoon. Nathan Eovaldi gave up three runs by the Marlins' offense struggled against Ian Kennedy.
In what turned out to be a pitching duel between Eovaldi and Kennedy, the Marlins' lineup struggled to score runs and left men in scoring position (1-5).
Miami was able to get on the board in the fourth after left fielder Christian Yelich opened the inning with a triple to right center field. Yelich was driven in by Giancarlo Stanton, who dumped an inside fastball into left field for an RBI-single.
Eovaldi had command of all of his pitches early, and was hitting 97/98 mph on his fastball consistently. His offspeed pitches, at some points, struggled to find the strike zone.
With one out in the seventh inning, Will Venable and Tommy Medica singled, and after Eovaldi recorded an out, Alexi Amarista hit a three run pinch-hit home run to right field that gave the Padres a quick 3-1 advantage.
In his seven innings, Eovaldi gave up three runs and struck out eight while not walking a batter.
Jarrod Saltalanmacchia scored on a two-out RBI double off the bat of Jeff Baker which made it a one run game, but Yonder Alonso hit a sac fly to left against Dan Jennings in the eighth to make it a 4-2 contest.
Carlos Marmol pitched a scoreless top of the ninth inning, but the Marlins couldn't rally against San Diego closer Huston Street and lost their second game of the season.
Miami has an off day Monday before playing the Nationals and Phillies, respectively.
Proving once again that nothing goes better with baseball than breakfast, the Padres snapped their 4 game losing streak, snatching the brooms out of the hands (fins?) of the Marlins. Ian Kennedy had a tremendous start, holding the Marlins to just a single run on a 3 hits and a walk in his 6 innings of work. Oh, and did I mention the 5 strikeouts? Still, that one run looked a little daunting, given the way the last few games have gone.
But the offense was undaunted. In the top of the seventh, Will Venable and Tommy Medica picked up back to back singles, then moved up on Yasmani Grandal's one-out grounder. With two down, Bud Black sent birthday boy Alexi Amarista to the plate to pinch hit for Kennedy. The Little Ninja quickly fell behind 0-2 to Nathan Eovaldi, but he kept fouling off pitches, like Donatello swatting away Foot Clan soldiers. Finally, on the ninth pitch of the at bat, he found one he liked and sent it down the right field line for his first homer of the season.
The fish got one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning. Alex Torres had no problems retiring the first two batters he faced, but Jarrod Saltalamacchia and pinch hitter Jeff Baker touched him for a single and a double to narrow the gap. Dale Thayer replaced Torres to end the threat.
Chris Denorfia pinch hit for Seth Smith in the top of the eighth. Not satisfied with a leadoff single, he quickly stole second, and then took third thanks to an error on the throw. He came home courtesy of Yonder Alonso's sacrifice fly, giving the bullpen a little extra room to work. Not that they needed it. Joaquin Benoit and Huston Street both retired the side in order to wrap up the fish (in newspaper, obviously).
The Padres head to Cleveland tomorrow for their first interleague game, where Robbie Erlin will take on Corey Kluber and the Indians at 4:10 PM. Kluber's first start of the season was lousy, so hopefully the friars can get a winning streak going.
The Marlins' offense struggled for the first time in a 4-2 loss to the Padres on Sunday afternoon. Nathan Eovaldi gave up three runs in seven innings of work.
For the first time on Sunday afternoon, the Miami Marlins' offense struggled in a 4-2 loss to the San Diego Padres. Ian Kennedy pitched well for the Padres, and Eovaldi gave up a late home run which cost him and the Marlins a win.
Last season, the Miami Marlins' pitching staff learned to pitch with little run support. Eovaldi was given just a run on Sunday, and after Alexi Amarista's pinch-hit three run home run in the seventh inning, the Marlins lost the lead.
Eovaldi's fastball hit 97-98 mph consistently early on, and he seemed to be mixing up his pitches well, recording a handful of outs with his changeup. The pitch Amarista hit out was a slider on the inside part (and it was a ball), and he made contact quickly.
Over his seven innings, Eovaldi struck out eight while giving up just the three runs. On paper, it is a quality start, however the lack of run support cost Miami a win.
Miami's offense goes silent
Nearly every player in the lineup contributed in some way offensively on the opening homestand during which the Marlins went 5-2. Kennedy ensured that wouldn't be the case as the Marlins sought their first sweep of the season.
Aside from an RBI-single off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton that followed a Christian Yelich triple in the fourth, the Marlins had a difficult time scoring against Kennedy. In six innings, Kennedy struck out five Marlins.
Jeff Baker added an RBI-double in the seventh to make it a 3-2 game, but Huston Street retired the Marlins in order in the ninth and prevented a late rally.
Dan Jennings gave up a run in relief of Eovaldi, but Carlos Marmol pitched a scoreless top of the ninth inning.
Derek Dietrich misplayed a ground ball in the second inning, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia threw a ball into center field trying to throw out a runner which eventually led to a Padres run.
The Marlins have Monday off before playing in Washington and Philadelphia, respectively.
