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June 21: Dodgers 4, Padres 2

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Josh Beckett threw seven scoreless innings to lead the Dodgers to a 4-2 win over the Padres at Petco Park in San Diego.

SAN DIEGO -- The Dodgers try to pick up the pieces after Friday night's stunning loss, and will do so with Josh Beckett on the hill against the Padres.

Beckett has not allowed a run in each of his last two road starts, 15 innings in all. He is 3-1 with a 2.27 ERA on the road this season, with only three home runs allowed in 31⅔ innings.

Though the Dodgers lost on Friday they scored five runs, the 18th time they have done so on the road this season. In the National League only the Brewers, with 19, have more such road games. The Dodgers' 4.59 runs per game on the road is second in the NL this season, again to Milwaukee.

Matt Kemp carries an eight-game hitting streak into Saturday's game, the third-longest by a Dodger this year. Kemp has driven in a run in seven of the eight games of his hitting streak, including the last four games, with 10 RBI in all during the streak.

Hanley Ramirez has a seven-game hitting streak of his own and has a hit in each of his last 10 starts, hitting .306/.405/.528 with two home runs and two doubles during that span (including his 0-for-1 in one game as a pinch-hitter).

Justin Turner was 1-for-3 on Friday in his return to the starting lineup after eight days. He has at least one hit in each of his last 12 starts and has reached base in each of his last 16 starts, dating back to May 22.

Adrian Gonzalez, who has doubled in each of his last two games, is 4-for-9 with a double in his career against Tyson Ross, starting for San Diego on Saturday night. Since leaving the Padres Gonzalez is hitting .347/.368/.540 against his old team, though just .273/.290/.439 at Petco Park, including just 2-for-15 (.133) in San Diego in 2014.

Yasiel Puig hasn't homered since May 28, and at 20 full games and 86 plate appearances is suffering through the longest power drought of his career. Puig is 2-for-5 with a home run and a walk against Ross. The home run came in 2013.

Game info

Time: 7:10 p.m. PT

TV: SportsNet LA


06/21 Padres Preview: Game 75 vs. Dodgers

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Our Padres look to follow up a marvelous come-from-behind victory last night with another win tonight to lock up the series at Petco Park. After working themselves into a four-run deficit, they were able to fight back thanks to some powerful hitting by Seth Smith and some timely offense in the late innings, leading to a magical walkoff and the Friars' third straight win.

For the second of the three-game set, San Diego will give the ball to Tyson Ross, who's coming off a rough road outing. He gave up five runs on seven hits through 5 2/3 innings of work while walking a season-high seven batters. One start prior he kept the Phillies scoreless through seven innings, issuing only one walk and striking out seven. But the 6-6 pitcher is still winless in June, which he'll try to change tonight.

Ross lost his first start against the Dodgers this season. In his 2014 debut he surrendered four runs (three earned) on five hits and four walks, but struck out seven batters in his five innings of work. Before this season, he had two career starts against the Dodgers, through which he posted a 1.86 ERA.

L.A. was on the verge of a season-high four-game winning streak when they came to Petco Park on Friday, but San Diego was able to keep them from achieving that. Tonight our Padres go for a fourth consecutive win as well, a feat that hasn't been accomplished since the beginning of May.

But Josh Beckett will try to spoil that and hand San Diego their first loss of the homestand tonight. The righty hasn't faced the Padres in over a year, but has a 5-2 record and 2.41 ERA through eight career appearances against them. Beckett posted a 1.38 ERA over four starts before giving up four runs (three earned) in seven innings against the Diamondbacks last Sunday. He issued no walks and struck out six batters in that outing, however.

See if our Padres can go a perfect 4-for-4 to start this homestand and notch another win for Gwynn. Game time is set for 7:10 PDT tonight.

Josh Beckett masterful as Dodgers top Padres

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SAN DIEGO -- Josh Beckett continued his superb season with seven scoreless innings to lead the Dodgers over the Padres 4-2 on Saturday night at Petco Park.

Beckett allowed only four hits and two walks while matching his season high with eight strikeouts. Beckett has not allowed a run in his last three road starts, totaling 22 innings, and in that span has allowed a total of six hits and six walks, with 21 strikeouts.

His curveball - thrown 30.8% of the time entering Saturday, more often than any point in his career - has been his most effective weapon this season, almost in reverse. Beckett has been using his curve to set up his fastball, not the other way around.

"I threw a 2-0 curveball today, I threw several 1-1 curveballs," Beckett said. "I've been able to locate my curveball. It's not like I'm just throwing them down the middle. I've been able to back-door to lefties, getting them away to righties, getting them out front."

On the season Beckett has 84 strikeouts against 26 walks in 86⅔ innings, and a year after having a rib removed to relieve nerve pressure caused by Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, the right-hander ranks third in the National League with a miniscule 2.28 ERA.

"There was so much uncertainty about the surgery that he had last year, about how a guy is going to bounce back," manager Don Mattingly said. "From the beginning of spring training, he has been basically maintenance free."

In half of Beckett's 14 starts this year he has allowed zero or one run.

The Dodgers cashed in a leadoff single by Drew Butera in the third inning. He was sacrificed by second by Beckett then scored on a single by Dee Gordon, who added to the rally with his legs. Gordon stole second base on a pitch-out, his 39th theft of the season, then advanced to third when catcher Rene Rivera's throw went into center field.

A fly ball from Hanley Ramirez to Will Venable in shallow center field was deep enough to score Gordon, who raced home ahead of the swipe tag attempt by Rivera at the plate, giving the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.

Justin Turner singled in the fifth inning, giving him at least one hit in each of his last 13 starts. He advanced to second on a wild pitch then two outs later scored on a single by Ramirez, who drove in his second run of the night and extended his own hitting streak to eight games.

Another streak saw fit to continue, as Matt Kemp singled in the sixth inning to push his run to nine straight games.

The Dodgers added an insurance run in the eighth inning thanks to two hits and a run-scoring single by Adrian Gonzalez, his third straight game with an RBI to give the Dodgers a 4-0 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth.

Enter left-hander Paul Maholm, whom manager Don Mattingly said he would try to use more to help ease the burden of J.P. Howell, the only other left-hander in the bullpen and who leads the team with 36 appearances. Maholm retired two of the four batters he faced, and his successor Brandon League retired one of the three he faced, allowing the Padres to cut the lead in half.

Staked with a two-run lead one night after he allowed three runs in the ninth inning, closer Kenley Jansen was back out there again in the ninth. This time, after working on his delivery with pitching coach Rick Honeycutt, assistant pitching coach Ken Howell and bullpen coach Chuck Crim before the game, things worked out better for Jansen, who allowed an infield single but nothing else to record his 21st save.

"The closer has to be able to clean the slate. We've seen it over the years guys are going to give up games, there are going to be games where the guy gives up runs, that's just the way it is," Mattingly said. "The key is to bounce back, and that's where Kenley has been pretty good. He seemed to keep his confidence, especially as he has grown up into this role, where he's able to clear the mind and go out on the attack."

Saturday particulars

Home runs: none

WP - Josh Beckett (5-4): 7 IP, 4 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts

LP - Tyson Ross (6-7):  7 IP, 6 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), 1 walk, 5 strikeouts

Sv - Kenley Jansen (21): 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 strikeout

Alex Torres becomes first player to don protective hat on the mound

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Alex Torres tonight became the first Major League Baseball player to sport the new IsoBlox protective pitching hat in a game.

The hat is obviously... different-looking. So naturally, Twitter came alive with the jokes. (Notice I didn't include any Mario/Luigi jokes because those just came off as lazy and I wanted to promote a little more originality here.)

Silly appearance aside, however, it's awesome of Torres to go out and wear the hat on the mound. He had to have known he'd get snide comments and people making fun of how he looks, but obviously advocating protection from injury was more important. As Pedro Moura pointed out:

U-T sportswriter Dennis Lin reported after tonight's game that Torres' motivation to wear the hat wasn't just from secondhand experience with his teammates, but from firsthand experience, and that Torres doesn't seem to be concerned whatsoever about the hat's size:

We Padres fans may also remember back in 2009 when Edgar Gonzalez was struck in the head while batting. He took a fastball to the helmet and had to be carted off the field. It was a scary moment, but thankfully EGon didn't suffer any really serious damage. Soon after that happened, Rawlings announced that they were going to introduce new, safer batting helmets with extra padding and ear flaps on both sides. These helmets were designed to withstand impact the impact from a 100mph fastball. Unlike some players, who refused to wear them because they felt the slightly bigger helmets would make them looks like clowns, Gonzalez did try it out. Unfortunately, he had to stop wearing it after a short while because the one he was given was ill-fitting and therefore not much safer for him than his old helmet. Still, it was great that he put protection over appearance, like Alex Torres did tonight.

It's a step in the right direction towards keeping baseball players safer while they're playing these games for our entertainment. I'm sure there are still tweaks to be made as time goes on, but I hope more players start to follow Torres' lead after tonight.

Dodgers 4, Padres 2: Too Little, Too Late

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If you could see every stat from tonight's game but the runs, you might say it was a pretty evenly matched games. Both the Padres and the Dodgers had 8 hits and 3 walks tonight, and our boys only had one more strikeout than those nogoodniks from LA. But while the Friars had a baserunner in every inning but the second, they just couldn't move them along. The Dodgers, on the other hand, made good use of their limited baserunners, and a pair of key defensive mistakes by the Padres.

Drew Butera singled to lead off the third and moved into scoring position on Josh Beckett's sacrifice bunt. A single from Dee Gordon put the first run of the game on the board. The runs would have stopped there, but Gordon stole second and got a free pass to third courtesy of Rene Rivera's throwing error. A fly ball to center sent Gordon home to put the Dodgers up by 2.

LA had another leadoff single in the fifth, this one from Justin Turner. He went to second when Tyson Ross threw a wild pitch to Butera, and scored when Ramirez hit a single for his second RBI of the night. The final Dodger run came in the eighth off Alex Torres, who issued a pair of walks before Adrian Gonzalez hit a single to center.

It took eight innings, but the Padres did eventually get on the board. Cameron Maybin pinch hit for Torres to start the eighth, and he sent a liner to rattle in the right field corner. For some players, that's a double, but Maybin turned on the speed for a leadoff triple. It looked like it might be for naught when reliever Paul Maholm retired the next two batters, but a walk to Seth Smith had Don Mattingly running to his bullpen. Bringing in Brandon League didn't do much good, as he gave up back to back RBI singles to Tommy Medica and Rene Rivera. Unfortunately, last night's magic eluded the good guys as Kenley Jansen wrapped things up in the ninth.

Eric Stults will try to deliver a series win tomorrow. Celebrate the first Sunday of summer with some day baseball at 1:10 PM.

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Hyun-jin Ryu, Dodgers go for another series win in San Diego

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SAN DIEGO -- The backbone of the current Dodgers hot streak - six wins in their last eight games, nine wins in their last 13 - has been their starting pitching. On the anniversary of the start of their historic hot streak in 2013, the Dodgers send Hyun-jin Ryu to the mound looking for another series win in San Diego.

Beginning play one year ago today, the Dodgers were 30-42 (.417), in last place and 9½ games out in the National League West. They were in San Diego and with a win over the Padres on June 22 the Dodgers began a stretch of 42-8 (and 53-13, too), the best 50-game stretch since the 1942 Cardinals.

One year later the Dodgers find themselves trailing, but by a much more manageable four games and in second place behind San Francisco.

Dodgers starting pitchers have allowed more than three runs three times in the last 16 games, and more than three earned runs just once during that span. During those 16 games, the starters are 10-4 with a 2.48 ERA with 94 strikeouts and 19 walks in 101⅓ innings, averaging 6⅓ per start.

After seeing Josh Beckett cut through the San Diego lineup like a hot knife through butter on Saturday night, running his road scoreless streak to 22 straight innings, the Dodgers send their road master to the mound Sunday in Ryu.

Ryu began the season with scoreless starts in each of his first four road outings and didn't allow a run away from home until his 32nd road inning. Ryu this season has only allowed eight total runs in seven road starts, and 40 of his 44 road innings have been scoreless.

Dating back to 2013, Ryu has allowed nine runs in his last 59 road innings, a 1.37 ERA, with 49 strikeouts and 12 walks.

Four active Padres have hits against Ryu. Chris Denorfia and Will Venable are both 2-for-6 (.333), Tommy Medica is 1-for-2 (.500) with a walk, and Alexi Amarista is 1-for-1.

Old friend Eric Stults starts for San Diego, and has had a rough time against several Dodgers. Yasiel Puig is 5-for-6 (.833) with a double against him, Justin Turner is 4-for-6 (.667) with two doubles and a triple, Scott Van Slyke is 2-for-3 (.667) with a home run.

Matt Kemp is 4-for-9 (.444) with a double against Stults, Hanley Ramirez is 4-for-12 (.333) with two doubles, A.J. Ellis is 2-for-8 (.250) with a home run and two walks. Adrian Gonzalez is 5-for-17 (.294) with two home runs and two doubles, and even Ryu is 1-for-2 (.500) with a double against him.

The Dodgers are 8-0-2 in their last 10 series in San Diego, and haven't lost a series at Petco Park since September 2010.

Game info

Time: 1:10 p.m. PT

TV: SportsNet LA

06/22 Padres Preview: Game 76 vs. Dodgers

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The Dodgers spoiled our hopes of a sweep last night, but the series win is still in play as our Padres close out their five-game homestand this afternoon.

Eric Stults, owner of the worst ERA (5.76) on the Padres staff, gets the call in today's rubber game, and he's long overdue for a good outing rewarded by a win. Not only is Stults trying to avoid becoming the league's second 10-game loser this season, but he's looking for his first win in eight attempts. The ex-Dodger is 0-6 with a 6.56 ERA over his last seven starts and riding a four-game losing streak going into today's matchup. Against his former team, he's just 1-3 with a 4.30 ERA in five career starts.

Stultsy's opponent today, Hyun-jin Ryu, has just two career appearances against San Diego under his belt. Last August he pitched his way to a win, going 6 1/3 innings and allowing just one run on eight hits. On March 30th, the Padres' season opener this year, the southpaw allowed no runs and only three hits through seven innings, but got a no-decision for his effort as the Dodgers went on to lose. Ryu spent almost a month out of action earlier this season with a shoulder injury, but has gone 5-1 with a 3.38 ERA since his return. He's coming off a home win against the Rockies in which he gave up three hours,  including a homer in six innings of work.

The deciding game of the series kicks off at 1:10 PDT.

Juan Uribe to extend minor league rehab assignment

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The Dodgers third baseman will play with the Quakes through at least Tuesday.

SAN DIEGO -- Though a road gray uniform with his name and number hung from a locker in the visiting clubhouse on Sunday morning at Petco Park, Dodgers third baseman did not rejoin the team as previously expected.

Uribe will continue his minor league rehabilitation assignment with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga, wanting to get more minor league at-bats before returning to the Dodgers.

"He wanted a few more at-bats," manager Don Mattingly said on Sunday before the series finale against the Padres. "He got some results hit-wise, but he wasn't comfortable."

Uribe hasn't reported any setback with his right hamstring strain, which has sidelined him since May 20. He was 4-for-11 (.364) with a double in three games so far with the Quakes, including six innings at third base on Friday night and five innings on Saturday.

Uribe has Sunday off, then will be the designated hitter for Rancho Cucamonga on Monday on the road against High Desert, and will play Tuesday as well before getting reevaluated by the medical staff. It is likely that Uribe will be activated for the Dodgers' next homestand, which begins Thursday night against the Cardinals.

In 40 games with the Dodgers this season, Uribe is hitting .303/.331/.454 with 11 doubles and four home runs.

Kansas City planning

With three games in an American League park beginning Monday against the Royals, Mattingly plans to rotate the designated hitter, giving pseudo days off to Hanley Ramirez, Adrian Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig.


June 22: Dodgers 2, Padres 1

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Hyun-jin Ryu pitched six strong innings, the bullpen retired nine of their 10 batters faced, including Kenley Jansen striking out the side on 13 pitches, giving the Dodgers a series win in San Diego for the second time in as many tries this season.

SAN DIEGO -- The backbone of the current Dodgers hot streak - six wins in their last eight games, nine wins in their last 13 - has been their starting pitching. On the anniversary of the start of their historic hot streak in 2013, the Dodgers send Hyun-jin Ryu to the mound looking for another series win in San Diego.

Beginning play one year ago today, the Dodgers were 30-42 (.417), in last place and 9½ games out in the National League West. They were in San Diego and with a win over the Padres on June 22 the Dodgers began a stretch of 42-8 (and 53-13, too), the best 50-game stretch since the 1942 Cardinals.

One year later the Dodgers find themselves trailing, but by a much more manageable four games and in second place behind San Francisco.

Dodgers starting pitchers have allowed more than three runs three times in the last 16 games, and more than three earned runs just once during that span. During those 16 games, the starters are 10-4 with a 2.48 ERA with 94 strikeouts and 19 walks in 101⅓ innings, averaging 6⅓ per start.

After seeing Josh Beckett cut through the San Diego lineup like a hot knife through butter on Saturday night, running his road scoreless streak to 22 straight innings, the Dodgers send their road master to the mound Sunday in Ryu.

Ryu began the season with scoreless starts in each of his first four road outings and didn't allow a run away from home until his 32nd road inning. Ryu this season has only allowed eight total runs in seven road starts, and 40 of his 44 road innings have been scoreless.

Dating back to 2013, Ryu has allowed nine runs in his last 59 road innings, a 1.37 ERA, with 49 strikeouts and 12 walks.

Four active Padres have hits against Ryu. Chris Denorfia and Will Venable are both 2-for-6 (.333), Tommy Medica is 1-for-2 (.500) with a walk, and Alexi Amarista is 1-for-1.

Old friend Eric Stults starts for San Diego, and has had a rough time against several Dodgers. Yasiel Puig is 5-for-6 (.833) with a double against him, Justin Turner is 4-for-6 (.667) with two doubles and a triple, Scott Van Slyke is 2-for-3 (.667) with a home run.

Matt Kemp is 4-for-9 (.444) with a double against Stults, Hanley Ramirez is 4-for-12 (.333) with two doubles, A.J. Ellis is 2-for-8 (.250) with a home run and two walks. Adrian Gonzalez is 5-for-17 (.294) with two home runs and two doubles, and even Ryu is 1-for-2 (.500) with a double against him.

The Dodgers are 8-0-2 in their last 10 series in San Diego, and haven't lost a series at Petco Park since September 2010.

Game info

Time: 1:10 p.m. PT

TV: SportsNet LA

Padres fire GM Josh Byrnes; the search is on for his replacement

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Well, that puts a rest to one big "Will they or won't they?" that has been on everyone's mind for at least the past month of this disappointing season. The Padres have indeed decided to cut ties with general manager Josh Byrnes.

The linked press release is quick to point out that Byrnes was hired by the previous ownership group, and goes on to note the team's record of 184-215 (.461) since he arrived on the scene.

No replacement has been named, and a triumvirate of organizational underlings will fill in for the meantime.

Until the role is filled, the "office of the general manager" will be comprised of Senior Vice President, Baseball Operations Omar Minaya and Assistant General Managers AJ Hinch and Fred Uhlman, Jr. on an interim basis.

The former has experience as a major league general manager and the latter is a long-time assistant; no word on whether they're on the search committee and will try to snatch the reins a la Dwight Schrute.

Padres fire general manager Josh Byrnes

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Omar Minaya, A.J. Hinch and Fred Uhlman, Jr., will serve as the interim general managers.

The San Diego Padres announced the firing of general manager Josh Byrnes on Sunday, as Fox Sports San Diego's Scott Miller reports. Byrnes was hired by the team's previous owner, Jeff Moorad, in 2010 and was named general manager in 2011. The team produced a 184-215 record (.461 winning percentage) under his guidance and did not make a postseason appearance.

Team president and CEO Mike Dee released a public statement on the matter:

"This ownership group is committed to fielding a team that consistently competes for postseason play. Thus far this season, the results on the field have been mixed at best and clearly have not lived up to expectations. After a lengthy evaluation of every facet of our baseball operations, we have decided to make this change today."

Miller reports that the team will begin a search for Byrnes' replacement and hopes to have someone in place later this year. While the search for a replacement is underway, former Mets GM Omar Minaya will be among the executives filling the void. Minaya, San Diego's senior vice president of baseball operations, will join assistant general managers A.J. Hinch and Fred Uhlman Jr. in handling Byrnes' responsibilities. They will play key roles with the trade deadline quickly approaching.

The Padres are currently 32-43, good for fourth place in the NL West.

Dodgers pitchers up to the task to capture series win at Petco

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SAN DIEGO -- A rested Hyun-jin Ryu continued his stellar road work and got some help from his friends in the bullpen in a 2-1 win over the Padres and another series win for the Dodgers in San Diego.

Ryu allowed just one run in his six innings and left with a 2-1 lead. J.P. Howell retired all four batters he faced, Brian Wilson got the final two outs of the eighth inning, and Kenley Jansen struck out the side to record his second save in as many days to preserve the win.

"Today was as good as I've caught him all season long," catcher A.J. Ellis said of his closer. "When the ball is pretty much down the middle of the plate and you're getting swings and misses, you're pretty dominant."

The bullpen retired nine of their 10 batters faced.

"It's awesome, it's a unit," Howell said. "It's a process we have to go through and we all feel secure."

For Jansen, it was his first time pitching on three consecutive days this season, and first since Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, 2013.

"[Jansen] came in feeling good. He played catch and felt great," manager Don Mattingly said. "If we would have had any reservations we wouldn't have sent him out there."

The Dodgers are 9-0-2 in their last 11 series at Petco Park, dating back to 2011, and have won both series in San Diego this season.

Ryu has been simply sublime on the road this season, allowing nine runs in eight starts, a 1.62 ERA, with 41 strikeouts and 12 walks. Of his 50 road innings in 2014, 45 have been scoreless.

"It was typical Hyun-jin, gave us a a big chance to win this game," Ellis said. "He's a big-game pitcher who knows how to pitch to win."

The first nine batters were set down in order by Ryu, but his bid for perfection ended with a line drive by Chris Denorfia that narrowly missed Ryu's head on its way to center field for a single. Ryu got out of that jam and didn't allow a run until the sixth, when Denorfia's lead off double was cashed in by a pair of ground outs.

Thursday's off day gave every member of the starting rotation an extra day of rest this time through the rotation, which has usually equaled success for Ryu. In his career with exactly five days rest, Ryu is now 10-1 with a 1.95 ERA in 12 starts, with 58 strikeouts and 19 walks in 78⅓ innings.

Ryu has walked one or zero batters in nine of his 14 starts. He is 8-1 in those starts with a 2.28 ERA.

"There's nothing more I dislike on the mound than walking somebody," Ryu said, through a translator.

As they did in every game of this weekend series in San Diego, the Dodgers scored first. Hanley Ramirez singled, stole second, then advanced to third base on a wild pitch. A ground ball back to pitcher Eric Stults, a tailor-made double play ball to end the inning, turned into a fielder's choice and a wild throw by shortstop Everth Cabrera, allowing Ramirez to score.

The Dodgers plated another run in the second inning when Scott Van Slyke singled, Ellis walked and Ryu sacrificed them to second and third base. Dee Gordon drove home Van Slyke with an RBI single, but the bid for a two-run single was thwarted by an excellent throw home by right fielder Chris Denorfia to nail Ellis at the plate.

But that was all for the Dodgers against Stults, who lasted seven innings for his longest start of the year.

Notes

Gonzalez has driven in a run in four straight games.

Matt Kemp doubled off the wall in the sixth inning to extend his hitting streak to 10 games.

Ramirez, now second on the team with 10 steals, was 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to nine games.

Howell's four outs marked his third outing of longer than one inning this season. He leads the Dodgers with 37 appearances.

Gordon was tagged out on a ground ball up the first base line in the seventh inning. The Dodgers challenged the call but the ruling was upheld, ending the inning. The Dodgers are 12-7 this season in replay challenges.

Dodgers starting pitchers allowed four runs in 18⅔ innings during the weekend series in San Diego.

Up next

The Dodgers fly to Kansas City, where they will open a three-game interleague series against the Royals. Zack Greinke starts the opener in a park he called home from 2004-2010, while right-hander Jeremy Guthrie starts the series opener for Kansas City.

Sunday particulars

Home runs: none

WP - Hyun-jin Ryu (9-3): 6 IP, 4 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

LP - Eric Stults (2-10): 7 IP, 6 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts

Sv - Kenley Jansen (22): 1 IP, 3 strikeouts

Padres considering hiring back Kevin Towers

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The Padres fired Josh Byrnes this afternoon and with a vacated position available the rumors have started.

Sometimes I get the feeling that Padres President Mike Dee is obsessively pining for those Padres' glory days in the mid to late 90's when he first worked for the organization.  So it doesn't surprise me that he and the Padres would internally discuss hiring back their GM from that era, Kevin Towers, who not one fan on the internet seems to like in his present day form.

Those were good times in 90's, I think we can all agree (at least in the even numbered years), but sometimes you have to let it go and move on.  Someone should check Dee's internet search history to make sure he's not looking to buy a time machine like Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite.

Poll
Would you welcome Kevin Towers back with open arms?

  179 votes |Results

Padres manager Bud Black's job is secure this season

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Padres President and CEO Mike Dee addressed the media following Sunday's 2-1 loss to the discuss the dismissal of Josh Byrnes. After he opened the floor up for questions, the second query he received regarded manager Bud Black's job security. I wasn't taking notes, but lucky for me, the team's official Twitter account was churning out the meaty quotes as the presser rolled along.

While it would be far from unprecedented for a guy to get canned after having such a thing said about him, it makes sense in this case to keep him aboard. If the team is going to get a new manager, shouldn't the new general manager be the one who selects him instead of a three-headed suitful of fill-ins?

With that in mind, I'll take what Dee said with a pinch of coarse sea salt and pretend he said "Buddy's job is safe until our new GM is in place and hires his guy." But that's just me.

Padres moves: Andrew Cashner scratched, Odrisamer Despaigne to make major league debut in his place

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Sheesh. The news about the Padres keeps rolling in so fast that it's hard to keep up with it. Between the dismissal of GM Josh Byrnes and rumors about who will replace him, and Mike Dee's assurance that Bud Black will keep his job, Alex Torres and his hat are all but forgotten. Now, on top of all that, comes a two-fer: Andrew Cashner will be scratched from his regularly scheduled start on Monday, and Odrisamer Despaigne will be promoted to start in his place.

I'm not positive who announced this initially, but I saw it first via Marty Caswell; as long as Rick Reilly didn't tweet it first, I should be fine giving her credit.

Then the MLB Trade Rumors guy chipped in with the second half of what I said in the headline and first paragraph.

Naturally, the speculation started to fly as to why Cashner was scratched; Matt Snyder of CBS Sports reported "that the club is just being conservative with him". That just opens a completely different line of speculation and is starting to make my head spin. I'll be back when we know more definites.


MondoLinks: LA Angels and Texas Rangers recap, MLB hits

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The LA Angels swept the Texas Rangers over the weekend, and they were led by a force of young Halo talent that had been considered the fallout of the most impoverished farm system in all of baseball. Surprise! The kids are alright!

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Remember the days when you couldn't wait for the Rangers to come to town so we could relax and have a three-game win streak and cowboy beat down? Well, they're baaaaaack! In a display that we would have considered to be rather stunning back in April, the STRONG offense led by minorr league phenoms rolled through the Rangers staff - including Yu Darvish - while the STRONG starting rotation, led by Garrett Richards and Matt Shoemaker, chewed the Rangers bats into sawdust. WTF? Well, hallelujah and break out the brooms!

Let's open with Friday. where Richards went 6 fine inning and gave up a single run on 4 hits against 7 strikeouts. Facing ex-Halo Joe Saunders, the Angels ripped off 7 runs in the middle innings. Collin Cowgill and C.J. Cron combined to go 4 for 9 with a Cron home run and the Angels took the opener 7-3...........Richards is, far and away, the team leader in bWAR at 2.4 and only Mike Morin, with about 1/4 the innings pitched, has a better WHIP. He has a Top 10 League ERA and an ESPN feature interview during Sunday Night Baseball, but his injury earlier this season has choked back his innings and the possibility for being among the leaders in that all-important All Star selection criteria: Wins. But he should be there. Oh, and we got a pretty nifty play out of Erick Aybar...........Let's move to Saturday, and Jered Weaver plowed through 8 commanding innings, matching Richards from the night before with 1 run yielded out of 4 hits surrendered, and 5 strikeouts. But the Angels were only up 2-1 entering the ninth inning, having scored on an Efran Navarro infield groundout and, yes, another C.J. Cron home run. Kevin Jepsen took over for Weaver in the 9th inning and immediately surrendered a home run to Shin-Soo Choo and blew the save. But Josh Hamilton singeld in the 10th, took off on a hit-and-run (run-and-hit, technically) and scored all the way from first base on a very timely double into the left field gap by Howie Kendrickfor a 3-2 walk off win..........Which brings us to Sunday, the feature game in MLB and broadcast nationally on ESPN. Matt Shoemaker was sent in to face down Yu Darvish, who came into the game 7-1 against LAA. And there, in front of all of baseball, Shoemaker utterly destroyed what is left of the Rangers offense and went 7.2 innings with 6 strikeouts against 8 scattered hits and only 1 run.  Meanwhile, the Angels, led by ANOTHER home run by C.J. Cron (third in three games!) AND a home run by Kole Calhoun, just ripped Darvish for 5 runs in 6 innings. And the Angels swept the Rangers by taking the final game as well, 5-2.

So, in review, note again the names I ripped off in the broom-fest against the Rangers: Garrett Richards, Collin Cowgill, C.J. Cron, Matt Shoemaker, and I even threw in an Efran Navarro and Mike Morin. Think about that a while, and let your mind wander back to the Great Panic of April 2014. Wow. And these kids could really come in handy, considering that somewhere in the attic space of Oakland-Alameda County Stadium, there is a picture of an assemblage of has-beens and never-were baseball players dressed in green and gold, that is aging into miserable and decrepit buffoons. And we can only hope that one day they are not identified by the rings on their fingers.

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Other Angels News.............Yeah. It's true. Raul Ibanez was released just 10 Plate Appearances short of his next bonus, and he takes his -0.4 WAR with him. Probably a nice guy, and I hope he remains a nice guy in all his future gigs - elsewhere.............The Stanley Cup made a visit to Anaheim, but to the wrong side of Katella.............Buster Olney puts up a piece on Mike Trout that you have to hear for yourself to believe. yeah, Mike Trout at full speed (which happens real fast), sounds like a beast on the basepaths. Sit at field level sometime. It is a phenomenon............Garrett Richards is blowing the doors off of all his pre-season projections. It's almost Shoemaker-esque.............Tyler Skaggs appears about ready to return, with Scioscia insinuating that Skaggs should be back in the rotation next weekend.............Nike has unveiled the Nike Lunar Vapor Trout signature cleats, so Mike's got his own shoe line. I wonder if they come in periwinkle?

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Elsewhere throughout the MLB..............The Rockies had a most excellent adventure in baseball this weekend. Starting on Saturday, they managed the rare feat of allowing three runs to score off of one wild pitch.  They followed that up on Sunday with running home from third after a triple to score, no, not, running back to third, but wait, back to home, no back to third, no run home, fall down, get up. Oh crap..............The umpires trying to cast judgement within the A's and Red Sox game on Saturday recreated the controversial blown call in Game 2 of the 2005 ALCS involving Josh Paul and A. J. Pierzynski, and still can't get it right............The Padresfired their General Manager.............And Alex Torres, Padres reliever possibly worrying about fallout, dons a protective pitcher's cap and becomes the first in baseball to do so.

And, finally, aren't you glad that the sport of baseball does not allow for the coach in charge to install a "prevent defense"?


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Moreno-Carpino Shame Update

Jim Fregosi still not being honored with a memorial patch.

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74 games lost. What with the incredible response around baseball for their personal losses elsewhere, it's no longer possible for these men to save face. They picked a bad year to ignore our own Hall of Famer. At this point in history, their reputation as inconsiderate, negligent and/or ignorant concerning the value of our heritage to us fans, is sealed.

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Indians Monday News & Notes: Sweep aftermath, Santana's move, and a ban on chewing tobacco?

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The Indians enter the most recent "suck" phase in their 2014 campaign

Just an awful weekend for baseball. I'd love to offer some pearls of optimism here, but I can't think of anything good to say about that Tigers series except I'm fortunate to have not watched all three games. Anyway, here are some links about baseball:

Yesterday's game: Tigers 10, Indians 4

There's a lot to be said about yesterday's game, and almost all of it's negative. Here's a collection of recaps full of terrible things:

But perhaps the game - and the weekend overall - can best be summed up by the following image:

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Indians news & notes

Indians quietly moving Allen, Santana | Ohio.com - Cody Allen has snuck his way into the closer role and in a similar fashion, Carlos Santana is finding a permanent home at first base. Neither move has been officially announced, but both are part of  logical progression based on what's happened this season and on Terry Francona trying to put t"the best team out there."

Who's on third? It's Lonnie! | Cleveland.com - Hoynsie expands a bit on the story, from the perspective of full-time third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall. He examines the implications for Chisenhall, Santana, and Nick Swisher, who is now a man without a permanent position.

Murphy looking to bust out of skid at plate | Indians.com - David Murphy was in a nasty 0-25 funk prior to singling in Saturday's futile comeback attempt. Murphy thinks he's back on track, which is good, since he's been one of the Tribe's best hitters this year.

The WAR Room: Aguilar and Ramirez stay hot | Indians Baseball Insider- IBI looks at Columbus Clippers hitters in 2014 so far, and prospects Jesus Aguilar and Jose Ramirez are putting up a good showing.

LGFT Charles Nagy always felt at home in Cleveland | Cleveland.com - Terry Pluto had a chance to sit down with the ace of the Tribe's 90's staff while he was in town for Omar Vizquel's Indians Hall of Fame induction. It's a nice piece, as Nagy waxes nostalgic about that 90's team and the 13 years he spent in Cleveland.

Brantley continues strong showing on All-Star ballot | Indians.com - Michael Brantley has jumped up the ballot to number six among AL outfielders. Dr. Smooth may not be the only Tribe All-Star this year, but he's the only one that's been consistently useful.

Tidbits from around MLB

The 5 moves that should have kept Josh Byrnes in charge of the Padres

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Is two-plus years enough to evaluate a GM who was in charge of a rebuilding/reloading project? No, but these moves sure didn't help Josh Byrnes out.

I have lived my life in fear of the Padres.

It feels good to get that out in the open. Since I started following baseball heavily in the mid-'90s, the Padres have always been on the verge of something. They've had a pennant-winning team, and twice they've had what was arguably the best farm system in baseball. Years ago, my fears were stuffed with Tagg Bozieds and Jake Gautreaus, Sean Burroughs and Xavier Nadi. More recently, they had an incredible mix of hitting and pitching prospects. Everything was pointing up.

They had a GM who was supposed to be one of the smart kids. Josh Byrnes scared me. He apparently scared the Padres, too. With Byrnes fired, the Padres are in search of a new direction for the second time in three years. Jon Heyman writes that Byrnes got a raw deal. I don't disagree.

Here, then, are the five decisions that should have saved Byrnes's job, but backfired.

The Adrian Gonzalez trade

At some point, it was probably clear the Padres weren't going to pay Adrian Gonzalez his market value. This was probably in, oh, 2006 or so. As such, the only thing the Padres could do was make a trade. It might have been the most important decision Jed Hoyer and Byrnes will ever have to make in their careers -- a complete franchise-changer. Byrnes had been with the Padres for three days.

The Padres got a future All-Star first baseman (Anthony Rizzo) and one of the top pitching prospects in baseball (Casey Kelly). Kelly underwent San Diego Padre surgery last year (known as Tommy John surgery in some circles), but Rizzo eventually blossomed. Star first baseman out, star first baseman in. So neat, so perfect.

Except there was a complication. Rizzo didn't blossom with the Padres. A year later, the team acquired another young first baseman, Yonder Alonso, so Byrnes had to choose between them.


Yes, well, 20/20 hindsight and all that. Byrnes traded Rizzo for a live-armed, oft-injured pitcher who can be an ace if he stays healthy (he was just scratched from Tuesday's start), so that deal doesn't look bad yet. Still, there was something about the symmetry of first basemen passing in the night that would have made the Adrian Gonzalez trade look a lot better. Byrnes wasn't the GM who pulled the trigger on the deal, but he sure could have benefitted a lot more from it.

The Cameron Maybin extension

The Padres should have one of those dang-it deals right now, where they have a player under contract for years at below-market rates, and the deal makes players and agents alike say "dang it." Cameron Maybin's solid offensive 2011 season was masked by the fog of Petco Park, and his sterling defense made him close to a five-win player -- that's star territory. Byrnes and the Padres took advantage and signed him to a five-year deal with a team option at lefty-specialist rates. It was a coup.

Then came the injuries.

Instead of looking like the Andrew McCutchen deal, it looked like the Jose Tabata deal. The Padres have a relatively expensive outfielder who hasn't given them anything since 2012. It was a smarter deal than that, and it should have worked out better.

The Mike Adams trade

The Padres had Mike Adams, slider demon, in their bullpen, and he was one of the wonders of his time. There was a three-year stretch when opposing hitters hit .150 off him, with an on-base percentage and slugging percentage both around .215. He essentially turned every hitter he faced into Matt Cain.

It was hard to part with him, certainly, but the Padres' timing was superb. There was a mad scramble for relief at the 2011 deadline, and then-GM Hoyer was able to extract two outstanding pitching prospects, both with profiles that seemed perfect for Petco. Joe Weiland walked four and struck out 96 in 85⅔ innings in the Carolina League before the Padres acquired him; Robby Erlin walked five and struck out 62 in 54⅔ innings in the same league. Command, control, strikeout stuff ... whatever mistakes they would make as young pitchers would be minimized by the huge park. All of that for one reliever.

Then there were injuries. There always are with young pitchers, but not like with the Padres. They've dealt with a maelstrom of elbow and shoulder problems over the last three years, beyond the realm of reasonable expectations. "A lot of young pitchers get hurt" is not the same as "all young pitchers get hurt." This should have bolstered the rotation for years for the Padres, but instead, Byrnes inherited a situation where he was forced to rely on Jason Marquis, Edinson Volquez, and worse when none of the many kids worked out.

Ian Kennedy for free

The Diamondbacks had a pitcher who finished fourth in the Cy Young voting in 2011, but his 2012 was a disappointment, even though his component numbers (strikeouts, walks) were practically identical. Ian Kennedy was young and under contract cheaply for a couple years, and the Padres got him for a lefty specialist and a relief prospect.

Kennedy's ERA+ since then: 86, solidly below average. He's in the Tim Lincecum zone, where the strikeouts are there, but so are the runs. He just keeps throwing harder and harder, but the dingers keep coming, too.

This should have been one of the lead bullet points on Byrnes's resume. "Look at this Cy Young contender we just got for nothing!" Instead, he's been just a guy. The Padres have a lot of just a guys.

The Mat Latos trade

Yonder Alonso was the 7th-overall pick in 2008, and he was the #33 prospect in baseball when the Padres acquired him. Yasmani Grandal was the 12th-overall pick in 2010, and he was the #53 prospect in baseball when the Padres acquired him.

two years later

Yonder Alonso is now Lyle Overbay without the power. Not a young Lyle Overbay -- the actual one from 2014. Yasmani Grandal is now a mediocre defensive catcher who needs performance-enhancing drugs to outhit Jeff Mathis.

No one saw that coming. I remember folks being skeptical about Alonso's ceiling, and you never know what you're going to get with young catchers, but the Padres still got great value for Latos. They traded him at the right time, when his contract made him one of the more valuable pitchers in the game, and they got the added benefit of not having to look at or listen to him anymore.

Now, the Padres have had other problems over the years, some of which Byrnes should wear, and some of which were draped on him. The injury problems have been apocalyptic. The drafting has been generally horrible: Khalil Greene has more career WAR (8) than the Padres' next 28 first-round picks have combined for. That's not entirely fair, considering there are several first-rounders still in the Padres' system with a chance to do great things, but the sentence gives you a pretty good idea of what's gone wrong over the last decade.

Up there, though, are five things that should have gone right. They were smart baseball moves made by a GM who was supposed to be a smart baseball man. A combination of two or three working out as expected, and the Padres are fighting for the top of the NL West instead of the bottom. All of them flopped. And, apparently, the Padres felt like a change was needed.

I'm not so sure about the move, but the results weren't on Byrnes's side. He could have used a little luck, but he got absolutely none. In an alternate universe, the Padres are in the middle of their third straight competitive season.

Hunter Renfroe called to tear up San Antonio

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The Storm outfielder had been dominating for Lake Elsinore the entire 2014 season so far, so it was time to move him to the Missions. Big step, lots of pressure. But not for Hunter.

For the 2014 season the Mississippi native was annihilating the poor chaps in Class-A ball; hitting .295 with a .935 OPS. The 22 year-old left with 82 hits, 16 home runs, and 52 RBI's. Renfroe, who was only called up just the middle of last week, has already hit his first AA homerun in only his second game for the Missions.

At this rate Hunter is going to be moving up the ranks very quickly, and something like a call-up in September isn't too crazy to imagine. He's one of the only players in the Padres organization right now that you'll find the description of a "good hitter" under his name.

His Lake Elsinore counterparts Alberth Martinez and Luis Domoromo are currently hitting .272 and .282, respectively; TinCapper Mallex Smith was called up to fill in Renfroe's shoes.

Padres roster move: Andrew Cashner placed on 15-day DL with shoulder soreness

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Last night when the word came down that Andrew Cashner would not be making his scheduled start tonight, all we were told was that the Padres were "being conservative with him". Well, now it looks like they're either being very conservative with him or that was a load of crap, because the team placed him on the 15-day DL this morning with soreness in his right shoulder. That's the one he uses to throw baseballs, don't you know.

The "conservative" remarks lead me to believe it's not super-serial bad news goin' on in his shoulder - like he'd be on the hill if the team were two games out of first in mid-September but there's no sense in exacerbating whatever twinges he's feeling just for some nothing game in a tumultuous turd of a season. That's just one idiot spitballing, though; your mileage may vary.

Placing Cashner on the DL made room on the 25-man roster for tonight's starter Odrisamer Despaigne; Casey Kelly was shifted from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL to make room for him on the 40-man roster. This is essentially a non-move, since Kelly is still getting his rehab on.

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