In another setback for a former Padres' #1 draft pick, top pitching prospect Max Fried will be become the latest player in the organization to have to undergo Tommy John surgery. Fried already missed three months at the beginning of this season with soreness in his forearm, which probably should have been a red flag for Padres fans.

He returned to the mound at the beginning of July and made three starts for the rookie-level AZL Padres, followed by two starts for the Fort Wayne TinCaps in single-A. After his last start with the TinCaps, on July 21st, he was sidelined again with what they deemed as elbow soreness. But the team announced yesterday that Fried will be getting the UCL reconstruction surgery next week.

#Padres LHP prospect Max Fried to have TJ on 8/20, the team announced today.

— Corey Brock (@FollowThePadres) August 15, 2014

Padres prospect Fried set for Tommy John surgery | padres.com

"Any time a young pitcher anywhere, regardless of what organization he's in, a guy just getting started, especially [high school guy out of the] Draft, that's tough," Padres manager Bud Black said. "The way the surgeons are in today's day and age, and the success rate of Tommy John, we have to hope for the best in the future with Max and hope that he's one of those many pitchers that comes back from Tommy John and resumes his career and pitches to the potential that all our scouts believe he can pitch to."

Fried will likely miss the entirety of the 2015 season. It's definitely another blow to the organization, losing its No. 2 overall prospect. But on the bright side it's better that it happens now than during his World Series run with the 2018 Padres.

Our Padres were on quite a roll, but since going to St. Louis they've hit a speed bump. They still have a chance to split the series, however, if they can bounce back for these final two games at Busch Stadium.

Jesse Hahn gets the start in game 3 of the four-game set, still seeking his first win this month. After winning three straight starts in July, the rookie has gone 0-1 in his two August outings, giving up six runs - all of which resulted from long balls. He hadn't allowed a home run in his eight starts prior to those two games, and overall he's been one of the brightest spots of this 2014 season for the Friars, so hopefully his recent struggles are just minor, temporary kinks that he needs to work out. Hahn was fantastic in his previous appearance against the Cardinals, which was his most recent win. On July 30th, he kept the Redbirds to just one run on four hits while matching his season-long outing of seven innings.

And the Padres offense definitely helped Hahn in that game, collecting 16 hits and 12 runs. They've collected 16 hits as well through the first two game of this road series, but only got five runs to show for it. One positive to take away is that seven out of their sixteen hits have been doubles, and they've also gotten seven free bases via walks. But the team has struck out 15 times in these past two games and, as mentioned, have had trouble getting runners home. They've also lost some of their offense with Yonder Alonso and Everth Cabrera both hitting the disabled list and Yangervis Solarte sitting out two nights in a row with a strained oblique. Solarte was instrumental in their last series against the Cardinals, going 5-for-12 with a home run, 3 RBI, 3 runs scored, and only one strikeout through the three games at home. Hopefully he can recover quickly and rejoin the lineup soon.

But for now the Cards will try to continue taking advantage of the recently weakened Padres lineup as they send Shelby Miller to secure the series win this afternoon. Miller got the win when he faced the Friars on July 31st, giving up two runs on three hits through six frames at Petco Park. He also struck out five in that outing, which was his only win in his last 12 starts. Like Hahn, Miller has struggled with the long ball lately. He's given up five homers over his last four starts, spanning 23 2/3 innings. That includes his July start in San Diego - his two runs allowed coming off solo shots bu Jedd Gyorko and Will Venable. Prior to that four-game stretch, he had kept opponents to five homers over 14 starts. In three career outings (two starts) against San Diego, the righty is 1-1 with a 4.30 ERA.

Tune in at 4:15 PT to see if our Padres can get back in the win column and keep hope alive for a series split in St. Louis.

And don't forget to check out today's SB Nation Fantasy Baseball league on FanDuel. It's $2 to join and first prize is $2,000. There's also an MLB Squeeze (Late Night) league with a first prize of $1,200 if you miss the first one. You can join at this link.

Lightning struck just outside of Busch stadium (right after Gyorko struck inside) to give the Padres a second-half victory on the third game of the four-game series against the Birds of a red persuasion.

Coming off of two straight losses after a hot little four game streak is a little deflating. A heartbreaking loss on Thursday, followed by a dragged-out loss on Friday, today's game took the responsibility of being a very important bounce-back win for our Padres and for our hearts.

For that, Jesse Hahn at first started off well. But despite a quick one-two-three first inning, the pace started to grind a little too early in the following inning. Giving up a single, three RBI-doubles, and hitting a guy on his body with the baseball, Hahn started to shake allowing the Cards an early 4-0 lead.

Since the All-Star break, the Padres have adopted a policy of backing up their stellar pitching staff - good performance or bad (though usually good) - and tonight they were ready to do just that. Once into the top of the third Abraham Almonte and Seth Smith started things off with back-to-back singles. Jedd Gyorko, who has been Mr. Hot Buns since coming off his DL-stint, knocked Almonte in with a single of his own, introducing the Padres 4-1.

Gyorko pops one into right field with runners on the corner. Still only hitting .193 for the season, since August he has been hitting .260.

Rymer Liriano would then draw his first of three walks for the night, loading the bases for a lil' Jake Goebbert. In five pitches, Jake caught a 94MPH fastball low and zipped it down the first baseline, clearing the bags and starting the score over at 4-4. In spite of the effort, though, the Cards unbalanced things the very next chance they got, retaliating with their own RBI-triple and unbalancing things at 5-4.

Goebbert is showing some serious pop in this pull down the line, showing signs of being a good lefty bat off-the-bench, approaching a fairly average OPS.

After three innings of stagnant offense for the Padres, the inning was once again initiated by the back-to-back efforts of Almonte and Smith. With Yasmani Grandal drawing a walk this time, a nice little one-out bases-loaded scenario was presented for the Gyrk, and with that he caught every little bit of another low 94MPH fastball.

It's hard to say what cleared out the stadium more, a granny from Gyorko or the ugly St. Louis weather. This home run only being his 8th of the season, which is way below pace to hit the 23 he did last year, Gyorko has still been bouncing back hard since his return.

Giving the Padres a much-needed 9-5 lead, and with the rain already pouring before Jedd's at-bat, a delay would push the game back for a while. Fortunately for us, the game was continued and the grand slam was legitimized after the inning was finished. The Padres continued the night effectively and efficiently, not budging an inch until the Kevin Quackenbush could enter the game and show how a real bird gets things done.

Gyorko's HR plants him just past Mark Loretta in Padres history.

With his grand slam in the 7th inning, @JGyorko05 now has 31 career home runs, a new Padres franchise record for home runs by a 2nd baseman!

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 17, 2014

And with that granny, Gyorko boosted our win expectancy as hard as one could:

Source: FanGraphs

We now have the opportunity to split the series against the Birdos. Giving the ball to Odrisamer Despaigne, he'll be facing the ever-difficult Adam Wainwright.  His last outing against Miami lasted him 7 innings, only giving up 3 runs and striking out 4. Compared to Odrisamer's 7 in Colorado giving up a typical Coors 5ER, it's going to be a tough one. But the Padres aren't due for any breaks any time soon, and that's the way we're going to have to like it.

While it was rainy in St. Louie, GLB'rs enjoyed warm air and sunny skies. The thread picked up slowly, but once things got kickin' thanks to abara (4 recs) and podpeople (5 recs) we started to win. Hey, Dex even showed up at the worst time possible!

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Tyson Ross had some control problems in his last start on Friday, August 15th, walking four men in six innings in a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. However, his 2014 season has been a success overall: he has a 2.70 ERA in 26 starts, with a 162/60 K/BB in 167 innings, 3.27 FIP, 2.2 fWAR and an 11-11 record for a 57-64 team.

I've had a couple of requests recently for a Prospect Retrospective for Ross, so let's do that right now.

Tyson Ross was a starting pitcher for three seasons at the University of California, 2006 through 2008. His freshman (3.19 ERA in 85 innings, 85/41 K/BB) and sophomore (2.49 ERA, 120/39 K/BB in 116 innings) were quite good and positioned him for an early selection in the 2008 draft. His junior draft season was actually the weakest: he ran up a 4.25 ERA in 78 innings with a 66/33 K/BB, limited to 12 starts by some nagging minor injuries and mechanical troubles. This hurt his draft stock slightly but he still went in the second round, drafted by the Oakland Athletics.

This is the report I wrote on him entering 2009:

At his best, Ross features an excellent slider, along with a 92-95 MPH sinking fastball and an effective changeup. His command is usually good. However, for much of the spring Ross had trouble with his control, and his velocity also fluctuated. Scouts worry that his mechanics stress his arm too much, and that he would be better-served used in relief rather than as a starter. His pro debut in the Midwest League was reasonably successful, and he posted a 2.55 GO/AO ratio, granted the sample size is small. Ross could end up as an inning-eating sinkerball starter, or he could end up as a power reliever, or he could end up getting hurt and turning into nothing. I’d like to get a larger pro sample size before going higher than Grade C+

Ross spent most of 2009 with Stockton in the High-A California League, posting a 4.17 ERA with an 82/33 K/BB in 86 innings. Promoted to Double-A Midland, he generated a 3.96 ERA with a 31/20 K/BB in 50 innings. I saw a couple of his Midland starts in person, which led to the following report:

Ross has one of the best arms in the Oakland system, throwing a hard sinker clocked as high as 95 MPH, though 90-94 is his usual range. He also has a nasty slider, and will occasionally show a good changeup to round out the arsenal. His pitches have a ton of movement, perhaps too much for his own good: his control is often poor, and he sometimes lacks a clear idea where his pitches are going. His mechanics are deceptive, but they also look awkward and rather stressful on his shoulder. Statistically, Ross’ most intriguing number is his 2.08 GO/AO ratio, reflecting the sinking action on his pitches, but his K/IP and K/BB marks are mediocre, reflecting his command problems. I have mixed feelings about Ross. I respect his stuff, and he reminds me of a young Scott Erickson. At the same time, I’m concerned about Ross’ command, and his mechanics make me worry about his arm. If he can improve his location within the strike zone, Ross could take a big step forward in 2010. Grade B-.

Ross split 2010 between Triple-A Sacramento (3.55 ERA, 30/13 K/BB in 25 innings) and the major league roster, used as both a starter and reliever by the Athletics, resulting in a 5.49 ERA in 39 innings with a 32/20 K/BB. He also missed time with a sore elbow, but he still had rookie eligibility so I wrote up one more report for 2011:

Ross unexpectedly made Oakland’s major league roster out of spring training last year and spent much of the year in the bullpen, although not enough to lose prospect eligibility for this book. He made six starts in Triple-A at mid- season with good results, but was shut down early with a sore elbow. Health problems are not unusual for him: he’s also had shoulder trouble in the past, and many observers (including me) think his mechanics stress the arm. At his best, Ross has a power sinker that hits the mid-90s, along with a nasty slider and an average changeup. He is a strong ground ball pitcher and will need a good defense behind him. He could develop into a number three starter if he stays healthy, although it wouldn’t surprise me if the bullpen is his eventual destination. Grade B

As you know, Ross bounced around between the major leagues and Triple-A in 2011 and 2012, never finding his footing in the Show. After a 6.50 ERA and 96 hits given up in 73 innings in 2012, Oakland cut the cord and traded him to the Padres.

It was, says Ross, "the best thing to ever happen to me."

His results have been completely different in San Diego: 3.17 ERA with 119/44 K/BB in 125 innings last year, and the aforementioned strong pitching this season. Why? August Fagerstrom at Fangraphs ran down the reasons last month. There are two main differences between the present and the past: he is using his slider a lot more than he did in Oakland, and he is throwing his two-seam sinker more often than his four-seam fastball. Ross credits pitching coach Darren Balsley for helping him make these changes.

What about the future? The pitching environment in San Diego is certainly friendly which helps. I still think health and durability are the key concerns here; his 167 innings this year are already a career-high so it will be interesting to see if he loses steam as the season progresses or if he has physical problems next spring.

What about the Scott Erickson comp? In some ways this has panned out exactly: Erickson had a career ERA+ of 98. Ross's current career ERA+ is....98!  Through 440 career innings, Ross has a fWAR of 4.8. Through his first 440 innings, Erickson's fWAR was a little over 5.0. On a per-inning basis they have been very close.

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However, the ways they went about getting there were very different: Erickson had big league success immediately: he already had those 440 innings by age 24. He faded in his late 20s before a rebound; at age 27 (where Ross is now), Erickson already had over 1,000 big league innings and 16 fWAR. As noted in his history, Ross struggled at first before taking his step forward at age 26.

Erickson finished with 2361 career innings and a 30.5 fWAR; it remains to be seen if Ross can last nearly that long.

Our Padres got back in the win column last night with a powerful 9-5 win to keep hope alive for a series split at Busch Stadium. And today they'll try to make that split come to fruition in the finale of the four-game set.

Odrisamer Despaigne will take the mound, looking to build on a fantastic effort his last time out. In a victory over the Rockies, Despaigne threw seven shutout frames while collecting a season-high eight strikeouts. It was even more impressive considering he had just come off a three-game stretch in which he went 0-2 with a 7.20 ERA. One of those losses was a 5 2/3-inning appearance against the Cardinals that saw him give up a season-high six runs on nine hits.

While Despaigne looks to do a 180 from his previous start against St. Louis, Adam Wainwright will try to keep doing what he's always done at home against the Padres, which is to dominate. The righty is 5-2 in seven starts all-time against the Friars. All five of those wins have come at Busch Stadium, where he's posted a career 0.84 ERA versus San Diego.

With these two teams coming off a rain-delayed game 3 that kept them at the ballpark well past 11pm local time last night, they'll be working on short rest in the finale. Tune in at 11:15 PT this morning as they complete their season series.

In an extremely rocky start for Despaigne the Friars try to pull together and split the series, falling short at the last second.

For the fourth day in St. Louis and after a lot of hard-played ball, today's game was ramped up by weekend theatrics that almost promised us a long-fought battle. Although it wasn't very long before Despaigne exited the game; for him it must have felt like extra innings. Giving up 6 hits, 5 earned runs and a walk, the struggling righty gave the Padres a big defecit to make up.

With news of the bouncing-back first baseman Yonder Alonso being withdrawn for the season due to his forearm injury, the weight was once again pushed to the young Padres team to make up for the early season woes that have plagued us. Despite the pitching struggles today, there were some top performances on the San Diego side.

ICYMI: Forearm injury to end #Padres 1B Yonder Alonso's season. http://t.co/IWBPGJ2u8j

— U-T Padres (@UTPadres) August 17, 2014

The first and second innings is where things got ugly for San Diego. Giving up five singles, a walk, and a home run in the second, the Cardinals were up very early by a whole lot. Their 5-0 lead held all the way to the 5th, when the Padres started striking back with 2 runs in the 5th and 6th innings. This time in the form of an Alexi Amarista and Yangervis Solarte rally RBI-single. Oh, not to mention yet another Jake Goebbert triple.

Jake Goebbert isn't very original. He seems to only be only hitting triples lately. And that's okay with me.

At this point it's fair to mention once again that the Padres' run differential since June 17th has dropped from an ugly -66 to a thin -10, which has a lot to do with the hot young bats and rekindled old. By the time things got to the 9th inning, we closed a five to nothing gap and were sitting on a score of 7-4. With back-to-back walks from Will Venable and the Ninja, and a following walk drawn by Solarte, a bases-loaded RBI-single from Abraham Almonte pulled us insanely close at 7-6.

Clutch situation + newly brought-up player + hitting with RISP = second-half Padres baseball.

Now with the game within our grasp, and a Seth Smith groundout putting runners on 2nd and 3rd, the evil Seth (Seth Maness) was able to get Yasmani Grandal to pop out and break Padres fans' hearts in the 9th inning once again.

It's a tough pill to swallow after just starting to settle into a hot little winning streak. A blown opportunity on Thursday due to some umpire malfunctions, a deflating loss on Friday, a redeeming win on Saturday, and now a near-victory so close we could taste it - Padres baseball has been giving faith in short bursts. Shaky faith, but faith nonetheless.

Speaking of shaky, our WPA was shaky as hell. Although never honestly close to our favor, our two hard rallies kept things interesting.

Source: FanGraphs

It was a very, very quiet morning in the GLB.

abara summed it up pretty well with what earned him his 1 rec.

Last season Padres 1B Yonder Alonso was hit by a pitch and broke some bones in his hand.  That's the kind of injury you might expect from being hit by a baseball thrown at high speed.

I've found the most frustrating injuries as a patient are the ones that come out of nowhere and with no clear time table for recovery.  That's what Yonder is facing right now.  He's already missed 30 games this season due to tendonitis in his wrist and it seems to have reappeared with the all too familiar Padres' "pop" causing pain in his forearm.  It happened just as he was starting to play well for the first time all season.

San Diego Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso exits with right forearm strain | padres.com: News

"That was a weird one," said Padres manager Bud Black. "He was standing right next to me and had a bat in his right hand. He did something with the bat that triggered some discomfort."

Earlier in the week he had an MRI that concluded that his tendon was torn.

Alonso out for season with forearm injury | padres.com: News

"There's a chance of a potential surgery, he's weighing those options now," manager Bud Black said. "Collectively with the doctors and Yonder, he's working through some decisions."

To make those decisions Yonder will get some more opinions to weigh his options.

Forearm injury to end Alonso's season | UTSanDiego.com

Although Alonso will seek a second opinion before deciding if surgery is the best avenue toward a complete recovery, Padres manager Bud Black said Sunday morning that he is not expecting his starting first baseman to play again this season.

Whether this will be the last time we'll see Alonso in a Padres uniform remains to be seen.

7/10-7/16 - A roundup of the best of the Padres. This week we saw the finale of the Pirates series-victory, a beautiful sweep of the Rockies at home, and a hard-fought four-game series loss in St. Louis.

A lot of offensive action this week. With the Padres scoring 35 runs over the course of 2 1/3 series', there were also plenty of offensive gems in the last 7 days. Not only that, but fresh faces turning up big for big plays and big numbers. Despite ending the week on a sour note, a lot of happiness can be mined for Week 2.

Chris Nelson can't be bothered by your walls.

What's almost as impressive as Nelson's bravery charging into the stands, bumping the barrier, and flipping head over heels, is the play that followed immediately after. Afterwards, Nelson had a little fun climbing out of the stands and receiving his ovation.

Friar: Chris Nelson
Game:vs Colorado

Anything you can do...

On the very next at-bat, another Rockie pops one into the stands. This time on the first base side of things. Immediately after you get to see Tommy Medica egging Nelson on, challenging him as to who did it better.

Friar: Tommy Medica
Game: vs Colorado

Rymer Liriano scores 2pts. with his first MLB HR.

After being pitched hard inside for his first major league appearances for the Padres against Colorado, Liriano finally gets sick of it and turns very hard on an inside fastball. The homerun cleared the third story of the Western Metal Co. building, went straight through the window, and rolled all the way to the Hall of Fame Bar & Grill. Ominous.

Friar: Rymer Liriano
Game:vs Colorado

The Gyorkstore is selling Grand Slams

As the rain started falling and thunder was heard from a distance with the Padres down 5-4, Jedd Gyorko caught as much of the ball as physically possible and gave Cardinals fans even more of a reason other than a rainout to leave the game.

Friar: Jedd Gyorko
Game: @ St. Louis

Jace Peterson doesn't care that you want extra bases.

With a handful of players filling in a big void at third base, Jace Peterson proves that the void isn't large enough to allow a sharply hit ball just at the very edge of his reach to roll into the outfield for extra bases. Even more impressively, Jace managed to gun down the runner.

Friar: Jace Peterson
Game: @ St. Louis

Solid Performances

Jake Goebbert 1.255 OPS, 4 hits, 2 triples, 5 RBI's, 1 walk.

Eric Stults 2.57 ERA, 7IP, WHIP .71, AVG .174

• Jedd Gyorko's grand slam put him at 31 homeruns, passing former Padres 2nd baseman Mark Loretta in franchise history for the most HR's by a second baseman.
• Rymer Liriano and Seth Smith led the club in walks with 5 a piece. Since starting for the club, Rymer has been swinging at less than 30% of pitches outside the zone, and about 35% of pitches thrown total. When swinging at pitches inside the strikezone, Rymer makes contact about 95% of the time.
• Our pitching was facing some tough competition in the Rockies and Cardinals this week. Conceding 28 runs, the only pitcher this week to maintain a below-3 ERA was Eric Stults.

(Not So Good) News

Yonder Alonso out for the season with forearm injury

Max Fried will undergo Tommy John surgery

Terrible Call Ends Streak

A look back at the week of Aug. 11-17, which saw the other two California teams the only teams in the division with winning weeks. The Giants gained a game on the Dodgers, and the Padres haven't had a losing week since before the All-Star break. As luck would have it, San Diego is next on the docket for the Dodgers.

Team recaps

Giants (3-2): San Francisco stayed home for the week, with off days before and after a two-game interleague tilt with the White Sox. They split with Chicago, lost in extra innings on Friday night to the Phillies, but recovered with two weekend wins, including a comeback win on Saturday after they were down 5-1.

Padres (4-3): San Diego swept the Rockies at home to give them 11 wins in 14 games, but then dropped three of four games to Bob Davidson and the Cardinals in St. Louis.

Rockies (3-4): Colorado recovered from getting swept in San Diego to take three of four games at home against the Reds, but it wasn't easy. Saturday's plans were canceled thanks to a water main break outside Coors Field, and both Sunday wins in their day-night doubleheader included a five-run ninth inning in Game 1 and eight runs combined in the seventh and eighth innings to win Game 2.

Todd Helton had his jersey number 17 retired by the Rockies on Sunday.

Dodgers (3-4): Los Angeles won three of four in Atlanta to improve the best road record in baseball, then got swept by the Brewers at Dodger Stadium to drop to .500 at home.

Diamondbacks (2-4): Arizona alternated losses and wins in five consecutive one-run games in Cleveland and Miami, then got blown out 10-3 by the Marlins on Sunday to finish a losing week.

What's in store this week

Diamondbacks: Arizona has a four-game series against the Nationals in Washington, then returns home to host the Padres.

Rockies: Colorado remains home all week, with off days surrounding a two-game interleague series against the Royals, followed by a three-game weekend series against the Marlins.

Dodgers: The nine-game homestand continues Tuesday with games against the Padres and Mets.

Padres: It's all NL West this week for San Diego, with three-game road series in Los Angeles and Phoenix.

Giants: San Francisco is off Monday, then hit the road for three games against the Cubs then a weekend series with the Nationals. The Giants' three games at Wrigley Field this week amazingly include no day games.

Player of the week

Mike Morse was dormant for two months for the Giants - hitting .247/.300/.335 with two home runs, eight RBI and seven runs scored in 46 games from June 14 to Aug. 9 - but rebounded in a big way last week, going 9-for-14 (.643) with two doubles, a home run, a triple, three walks, four runs scored and four RBI in five games.

Honorable mention goes to Corey Dickerson for the Rockies, who won actual National League Player of the Week honors by hitting .393 (11-for-28) with three home runs, four doubles and 11 RBI.

Best individual performance

Padres second baseman Jedd Gyorko was nominated twice for this category, going 4-for-4 with two doubles on Wednesday against the Rockies and going 2-for-3 with a home run, two walks and five RBI on Saturday in St. Louis. The home run on Saturday was the 31st of his career, setting one of the saddest franchise records in baseball.

Team of the week

The Giants gained a game on the Dodgers in the division, and have a 1½-game lead over Pittsburgh and Atlanta for the second wild card spot. San Francisco outscored their opponents 23-16 during the week.

Worst individual performance

Diamondbacks shortstop Didi Gregorius was 0-for-19 with a walk and a sacrifice bunt in five games, and is hitless in his last 21 at-bats.

Honorable mention goes to Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso, who hasn't been good, or healthy, this season, hitting just .240/.285/.397 with seven home runs. But this week he was 2-for-3 with a home run and two walks, and since returning from the disabled list was very productive for San Diego, hitting .421/.477/.737 with seven extra-base hits in 15 games. But his week was still bad for Alonso, who "heard a pop" in his right forearm strain and is now out for the season.

LOS ANGELES -- The suddenly slumping Dodgers try to recover from getting swept in a three-game series for the first time all season when they open a weekday series against the Padres on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. San Diego since the All-Star break is 17-11, owners of the second-best record in the National League during that time.

The Dodgers will use Monday's off day much like they used last Monday's spot start by Kevin Correia, to give everyone in the rotation an extra day of rest in the dog days of summer. But with Hyun-jin Ryu now on the shelf, Correia is back in the mix, starting the opener against San Diego.

Here is a quick look at the starting pitching matchups for three games against the Padres.

Tuesday, 7:10 p.m. PT (SportsNet LA)

Correia makes his sixth start against the Padres since leaving San Diego after 2010. He is 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA facing San Diego since then, including two starts earlier this season while with the Twins, allowing three runs in six innings both times, one win and one no-decision. The Dodgers got to Ian Kennedy for eight runs in 10 innings in his first two starts against them this year, but he fired eight scoreless innings in a no-decision in Los Angeles on July 12.

Wednesday, 7:10 p.m. (SportsNet LA, ESPN)

Roberto Hernandez has allowed just three runs in 12 innings since joining the Dodgers, striking out five in six innings in both of his starts. Old friend Eric Stults is tied with Correia and a few others for the major league lead with 13 losses, but in August the left-hander has been solid, posting a 2-0 record with four runs allowed in three starts.

Thursday, 7:10 p.m. (SportsNet LA)

Zack Greinke since the All-Star break has walked five in a game twice in six starts and is 1-3, but he also has 39 strikeouts in 38⅔ innings and a 2.79 ERA during that span. Tyson Ross has 11 straight quality starts, dating back to June 21, with a 1.97 ERA, 72 strikeouts and 20 walks in 73 innings during that span.

I noticed that today is Woody Williams' birthday, so I was wracking my brain for something interesting to say about him when I recalled that he had arguably the best day at the plate by a Padres pitcher. I fired up the ol' Baseball Reference Play Index to see if I was completely off-base, and I'm happy to report that my memory is at least somewhat intact.

Williams did indeed have quite a day with the bat back on July 20, 2000. His pitching left something to be desired, as the Padres lost 7-3 to the Giants, but that's beside the point. He went 3-for-3 with a home run and a double, which put him in rarefied air.

• Williams is one of seven Padres pitchers with two extra-base hits in a game (Jake Peavy and Adam Eaton both did it twice). Of the four to hit a double and a home run in the same game, Williams is the only to record a third hit.
  
• His three hits in the game put him in the company of just ten other guys. Williams is the franchise leader with three such games; Chan Ho Park is the only other Padres pitcher to do it even twice. Woody's other two three-hit games happened in September of that same season, and then six years later in his second stint with the team.
• His two runs and two RBI put him in the company of, yet again, just ten other guys. Only five of them had a homer in their game, and of them, only Williams recorded three hits.
• The one other game that keeps popping up is Jake Peavy's effort on July 26, 2006. Peavy went 2-3 with a double, home run, two runs scored, and four batted in. Those four RBI were two more than Williams had in his big game, but Williams was a perfect 3-3 while Peavy was retired once. I guess it's a matter of personal preference which you value more, but I'll take the one with the extra hit and the perfect line. It's not like Jake Peavy had anything to do with two more guys happening to get on base before him.

So, there you have it. Woody Williams had the best day at the plate by any pitcher in Padres history. Unless you're super-into the idea of RsBI, in which case your mileage may vary.

ERA vs. FIP vs. xFIP

With the St. Louis Cardinals leading the San Diego Padres 7-4 in Sunday's series finale, manager Mike Matheny called on closer Trevor Rosenthal in the top of the ninth. "Closers are closers," the manager told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold a week before when interviewed for an article on the manager's high level of usage of the young righty. "And they go out and close the game, and if something comes up they push through and still do it." So it was unsurprising that Matheny called on Rosenthal with the Cards leading by three runs in the ninth.

In his must-read article, Goold notes that Rosenthal is on pace to set the Cardinals team record for saves in a season. And it was Rosenthal's save total that Matheny used to justify the way he has deployed the flamethrower. Closers close, and Rosenthal's save total speaks to his success at doing what it is closer's exist to do. But a focus on Rosenthal's results—specifically, his save total—belies a process that has left Cardinaldom uneasy of late when the righty is called from the bullpen to close out a close game.

Rosenthal put that nerve-fraying process on display against the Padres at Busch on Sunday. He walked Will Venable on five pitches to lead off the inning. Four straight balls resulted in a free pass for Alexi Amarista. After a four-pitch K of Rymer Liriano for the inning's first out, Rosenthal issued a walk to Yangervia Solarte—who gave no indication that he was even considering the act of swining—on five pitches. Matheny had seen enough. The manager pulled his closer after 18 pitches and just six strikes with the go-ahead run coming to the plate.

The outing was a microcosm, warped to hyperbole, of Rosenthal's season to date. Inefficiency manifested by walks, which leads to baserunners that make outings far more interesting than need be.

Trevor Rosenthal Career Stats

Rosenthal has a 3.61 ERA this season that he has paired with a 2.76 FIP. So better days should be ahead, right? Not necessarily.

Fielding Independent Pitching or FIP is calculated by using factors that are completely within the pitcher's control: strikeouts, walks, hit batsmen and home runs allowed. It's calculated as follows:

FIP = (( 13 x HR ) + ( 3 x ( BB + HBP )) - ( 2 x K )) / IP + Constant

Rosenthal has an elite strikeout rate. He always has and, with his repertoire, probably always will so long as his velocity sits in the mid-90s. Last season, Rosenthal struck out batters at an otherworldly rate. This year, the righty's K rate has fallen a bit, but it's still excellent. Strikeouts form the bedrock of his success.

The most troubling aspect of Rosenthal's season has been his control. Rosenthal's walk rate has more than doubled form 2013 to 2014. Nonetheless, his elite strikeout rate helps make up for some of these walks, especially when paired with allowing barely any homers. And home run rate is the third leg on the wobbly Rosenthal FIP stool: a minuscule 2.1% HR/FB rate that is less than half his career rate. That's why his xFIP, which substitutes the league-average homer-allowed rate for an individual pitcher's, is so much closer to his ERA than his FIP.

On Monday night, Matheny once again called upon Rosenthal for the ninth inning in a save situation. After a strikeout, Rosenthal walked Billy Hamilton, who then stole second base and advanced to third on A.J. Pierzynski's throw into the outfield. Jay Bruce drove in Hamilton and the Cardinals' lead was gone—the save blown. Once again, a baserunner who reached via a Rosenthal-issued free pass came back to bite him. And the murmurs grow louder about whether it's time for a change at the closer position in St. Louis.

Carl Crawford had three hits, three runs scored and three RBI to help the Dodgers snap a three-game losing streak with a win over the Padres on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.

LOS ANGELES -- The suddenly slumping Dodgers try to recover from getting swept in a three-game series for the first time all season when they open a weekday series against the Padres on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. San Diego since the All-Star break is 17-11, owners of the second-best record in the National League during that time.

The Dodgers will use Monday's off day much like they used last Monday's spot start by Kevin Correia, to give everyone in the rotation an extra day of rest in the dog days of summer. But with Hyun-jin Ryu now on the shelf, Correia is back in the mix, starting the opener against San Diego.

Here is a quick look at the starting pitching matchups for three games against the Padres.

Tuesday, 7:10 p.m. PT (SportsNet LA)

Correia makes his sixth start against the Padres since leaving San Diego after 2010. He is 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA facing San Diego since then, including two starts earlier this season while with the Twins, allowing three runs in six innings both times, one win and one no-decision. The Dodgers got to Ian Kennedy for eight runs in 10 innings in his first two starts against them this year, but he fired eight scoreless innings in a no-decision in Los Angeles on July 12.

Wednesday, 7:10 p.m. (SportsNet LA, ESPN)

Roberto Hernandez has allowed just three runs in 12 innings since joining the Dodgers, striking out five in six innings in both of his starts. Old friend Eric Stults is tied with Correia and a few others for the major league lead with 13 losses, but in August the left-hander has been solid, posting a 2-0 record with four runs allowed in three starts.

Thursday, 7:10 p.m. (SportsNet LA)

Zack Greinke since the All-Star break has walked five in a game twice in six starts and is 1-3, but he also has 39 strikeouts in 38⅔ innings and a 2.79 ERA during that span. Tyson Ross has 11 straight quality starts, dating back to June 21, with a 1.97 ERA, 72 strikeouts and 20 walks in 73 innings during that span.

LOS ANGELES -- If the baseball season were a golf course, the Dodgers would be in the deep rough as they welcome the Padres to town for a three-game series at Dodger Stadium.

The club has lost three straight games for the third time this season, and though they have yet to lose four straight games now seems like a time an extended skid could be coming.

Winning the division — owning a 3½-game lead in the National League West entering Tuesday — is still the goal, having the best record in the NL is still within reach — currently 1½ games behind Washington — but for the most part the Dodgers are just trying to get by at this point, to save par if you will.

Hanley Ramirez and Juan Uribe are currently on the disabled list, and while Miguel Rojas (defensively) and Justin Turner have filled in admirably to date, the bench is weakened with their climb up the depth chart. The offense is averaging just 3.44 runs per game in its last 34 games, including 15 games of two or fewer runs during that time.

In the Dodgers' last 18 home games they have scored 50 runs, only 2.77 runs per game. But even with the lack of scoring the club is 9-9 at Dodger Stadium during that span, thanks to great pitching.

But even that gets tested now, with Hyun-jin Ryu and Josh Beckett on the disabled list. Newcomers a Kevin Correia and Roberto Hernandez have each gotten off to great starts after their August acquisitions, with three six-inning starts allowing a total of four runs with 15 strikeouts and five walks. But to count on that going forward based on their full-season performances could be unwise.

Among the 164 pitchers to have made 10 starts in 2014, here is the current back end of the Dodgers' rotation:

• Dan Haren: 127th in ERA (4.59), 144th in ERA+ (77), 132nd in FIP (4.50)
  
• Hernandez: 77th in ERA (3.72), 83rd in ERA+ (99), 127th in FIP (4.42)
  
• Correia: 137th in ERA (4.79), 128th in ERA+ (83), 113th in FIP (4.25)

Correia gets the call on Tuesday night against San Diego, starting against one of his former teams. It is his second start against the Padres this month, having allowed three runs in six innings against San Diego on Aug. 6.

The general formula for the Dodgers is to get six innings out of their starers, something Correia has done 10 times in his last 12 starts, including exactly six innings nine times, with a 3.52 ERA during that span.

The Dodgers are 7-3 in 10 games against the Padres this season, with little to no offense in their matchups. The Dodgers have outscored San Diego 27-22 this season, with more than six combined runs scored only twice, both Dodgers losses.

But continuing this tortured, forced golf analogy, a baseball season is split into 18 nine-game segments, and the Dodgers are through 14 of them. The next nine-game segment begins Tuesday night, and the team that tees off will likely end up winning.

Enter Correia, who at 2-for-2 is one of five players in Dodgers history to bat 1.000 with at least two career plate appearances.

Game info

Time: 7:10 p.m. PT

TV: SportsNet LA

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers on Tuesday afternoon recalled infielder Erisbel Arruebarrena from Triple-A Albuquerque and optioned infielder Carlos Triunfel back to the Isotopes before the opener of their three-game series against the Padres at Dodger Stadium.

Arruebarrena was on the seven-day disabled list in Triple-A with right shoulder inflammation, retroactive to Aug. 10, and played the last three days on a rehab assignment in the Arizona rookie league, going 4-for-11 (.364) with two home runs and two doubles.

Arruebarrena starts at shortstop in his first game back, and manager Don Mattingly hinted that could be the case more often at least until Hanley Ramirez gets back, over Miguel Rojas, who has started eight of the last 11 games at the position.

"We like both guys. Miggy has shown he probably plays more second, short, and third. He definitely gives you a different package," Mattingly said. "Arruebarrena has been really good at shortstop, and we feel like that's his best spot, and he has a chance to be good offensively."

In his earlier stint with the Dodgers, Arruebarrena was 5-for-16 (.313) with a double and a walk, and played eight games at shortstop, including four starts. With the Isotopes, Arruebarena hit .333/.400/.452 in 26 games.

Triunfel continues his shuttle back and forth between Los Angeles and Albuquerque. In his fifth stint with the club, which lasted all of two games, Triunfel was 0-for-1. On the season with the Dodgers he is 2-for-15 with a home run and a walk.

With Albuquerque, Triunfel hit .219/.251/.317 in 79 games.

San Diego roster move

The Padres purchased the contract of southpaw Frank Garces from Double-A San Antonio, and optioned pitcher Jesse Hahn to San Antonio. To make room on the 40-man roster for Garces, infielder Brooks Conrad was designated for assignment.

Broadcast note

Wednesday night's game against the Padres will be broadcast on SportsNet LA, but will also be available on ESPN, with Jon Sciambi, Rick Sutcliffe and Pedro Gomez on the call. The ESPN broadcast is a full national telecast, meaning it will not be blacked out in each team's local market.

The Friars make a move to give one young pitcher a rest and another a chance to impress. On the flip side, a Gaslamp Ball friend had to get some bad news.

It was hard to watch Jesse Hahn's last start and not worry about his workload. After having Tommy John surgery in 2010, Hahn began pitching in the Rays organization in 2012. He pitched 52 innings that year and 69 the following. This year between his time with San Antonio and the major league club he has pitched a combine 110 innings. That nearly doubles the amount he threw in the past two years combined. While he may not be likely to blow out his reconstructed elbow, that extra workload leads to fatigue and potentially other injuries. Not to mention the ineffectiveness displayed in his aforementioned last start.

So, the Padres did something sensible today and took away the temptation to use him to help the major league club any further. They optioned him to AA. Unfortunately the demotion is needed because the team cannot just have a roster spot used up by a pitcher getting some much needed rest. So down he goes and in his place will be first time call up Frank Garces.

LHP Frank Garces is a 24 year old Dominican pitcher with whom new GM A.J. Preller should be familiar. He was originally in the Rangers organization and pitched with their Dominican league team in 2009 at 19 years old. He was released and the Padres signed him as a minor league free agent. It was not until 2011 that he resurfaced with the Padres Dominican league team. He pitched well and earned a promotion to Fort Wayne for the following season where he was Midwest League All Star. 2013 brought a promotion to Lake Elsinore where he struggled, but nevertheless he was promoted in 2014 to San Antonio and converted into a reliever. He thrived there to the tune of a 2.07 ERA and 10.8 K/9 over 61 IP. He will join the Padres bullpen with an opportunity to continue to impress.

The final piece in this trio of moves is the DFA of Brooks Conrad. In order for Garces to get his shot, someone had to be taken off the 40 man roster. That someone is unfortunately friend of Gaslamp Ball Brooks Conrad. With all the recent acquisitions of players that can play the same positions as Brooksy (Chris Nelson, Yangervis Solarte and Taylor Lindsey) the team was already moving in a different direction.

The Dodgers scored eight runs in a game for the first time since July 29.

LOS ANGELES -- Carl Crawford homered and had three hits, leading a much-needed offensive revival by the Dodgers in an 8-6 win over the Padres in the opener of a three-game series on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.

Crawford was 3-for-3 with a walk, scoring three and driving in three. His two-run home run off Alex Torres in the seventh inning widened the Dodgers' lead to 8-4, and was his first home run since May 23, after a span of 132 plate appearances.

Crawford has 16 hits in his last 31 at-bats.

Things started ugly for Kevin Correia, who fell behind 3-0 just four hitters into the game, when a one-out double by Abraham Almonte and walk to Dodger killer Seth Smith were followed by Jedd Gyorko, who hit one to the black tarp over the seats in center field, adding to his much-ballyhooed franchise record.

But though like Sunday they were down big early, the Dodgers offense didn't do away quietly on Tuesday night.

Crawford singled with one out in the second inning, then scored on an RBI double for Justin Turner. That was followed by an RBI single by Erisbel Arruebarrena in his first at-bat since rejoining the club from Triple-A, pulling the Dodgers to within a run.

The same crew was involved in a three-run fifth inning, one started with a double by Matt Kemp, one of his two doubles in the game. After Crawford walked, Turner hit his second double of the game, but it was the most bizarre play of the night. The ball sailed over Almonte's head in center field, but Kemp tagged up at second thinking the ball might be caught. Crawford was on Kemp's tail as both headed for third base with Turner running to second. Kemp had no choice but to try to score and would have been out by a mile had first baseman Jake Goebbert not cut the relay throw off and hold it.

The Dodgers added another run in the fifth, the last inning for Padres starter Ian Kennedy.

The Dodgers offense scored eight runs for the first time since July 29. Crawford said a pregame team meeting coupled with Monday's day off helped the offense find its groove.

"We lost three straight games, just trying to get back on track," Crawford said. "That day off was good for us. It felt good to get that rest in and come out strong today."

Crawford's home run in the seventh was his first off a left-handed pitcher since April 10, 2013, when he took Wednesday starter Eric Stults deep.

Correia recovered from that early 3-0 deficit to keep the Padres in check until the fifth, when three straight San Diego hits produced another run. Correia won his second game as a Dodger and tied his season high with six strikeouts, set previously on May 20 also against the Padres.

Correia was pulled after five innings, but said in his second start with a new team he didn't lobby hard to remain in the game, especially knowing the bullpen was fresh after a day off Monday.

"I haven't pitched in the National League for a couple of years," Correia quipped. "I want to get my feet wet before I start yelling at coaches to go back out there."

Kenley Jansen walked Will Venable to open the ninth inning, his first walk since July 29. Jansen had struck out 13 of his 29 batters faced in between walks. Venable scored and Jansen gave up two more hits, but Almonte was thrown out after rounding third base for the final out of the game.

The final play was reviewed, but after replay the call was upheld to preserve the win.

Jansen recorded his 35th save of the season, the most by a Dodgers pitcher since Jonathan Broxton saved 36 games in 2009.

Tuesday particulars

Home runs: Carl Crawford (5); Jedd Gyorko (9)

WP - Kevin Correia (7-13): 5 IP, 8 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts

LP - Ian Kennedy (9-11): 5 IP, 7 hits, 6 runs (5 earned), 2 walks, 5 strikeouts

Sv - Kenley Jansen (35): 1 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 walk

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers starting rotation had been a strength of the club all season, but with the depth chart currently stretched thin as is, there could be even more carnage looming. Zack Greinke has elbow soreness and likely won't start for the Dodgers in the series finale against the Padres on Thursday.

Manager Don Mattingly wouldn't confirm after Tuesday's game that Greinke would start the series finale.

"Nothing that we would talk about right now," Mattingly said. "It's a possibility."

Asked if Carlos Frias would make a spot start if Greinke is unavailable, Mattingly remained evasive.

"We'll let you know more tomorrow," Mattingly said.

Greinke skipped a bullpen session between starts this week, something he has done multiple times this season. But Mattingly did say that Greinke threw on the off day Monday.

The right-hander is 12-8 with a 2.75 ERA in 25 starts this season, with 170 strikeouts and 35 walks in 157⅓ innings, in the second year of a six-year, $147 million contract.

The Dodgers have lost Greinke's last three starts, the first two of which he allowed a total of nine runs. He pitched scoreless ball in his last start on Friday but also walked five and was removed after 99 pitches and just five innings. After that game Greinke said he felt stronger than he did in recent starts, but hinted at something bothering him over his previous outings.

"I'm starting to feel stronger now. Hopefully, I start pitching better in the coming starts. The last month and a half has been a tough stretch, facing a lot of good teams and good offenses," Greinke said Friday. "I'm not getting the wins pitching, but am trying to keep it together and not get too out of whack."

Mattingly downplayed Greinke's situation before Tuesday's game, but confirmed he was dealing with elbow soreness.

"There is always something with guys. Obviously he said he felt better. He was having some soreness," Mattingly said. "You'd have to say something is going on medically, but nothing that's on my radar. He's not on my daily emails."

Up next

Before Thursday's series finale there is a middle game on Wednesday night, started by Roberto Hernandez for the Dodgers and Eric Stults for the Padres.

A few flashy offensive pops by our Friars were smothered to death by El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula Dodgers.

F
or the fifth straight game in a row, the San Diego Padres have allowed more than 3 runs scored. All but one have resulted in a loss. Tonight, despite an early three-run jack straight from the inventory of the Jedd Gyorkstore, the Doyers offense continued to burst past ours and made what would have been a nice little opening victory for us into a real crudbucket.

Lots of moves, lots of news. Former Ranger Don Welke to VP of scouting. Cashner projected to return this week. Jesse Hahn was sent down, most likely to return later with more room on the roster. In his place, Dominican lefty Frank Garces from our Chihuahuas was brought up. Tonight he fulfilled his role as a reliever perfectly, ending the night of unfortunate Padres pitching by striking out one and popping out two.

Ian Kennedy, who was been on a very impressive streak of starts against Colorado, Chicago, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh, took the mound today. Working through a quiet first inning, the Dodgers managed to break through to him, milking him for 6 runs, 5 earned (one on a good bunt read from Goebbert but a terrible throw to tie up Solarte and allow the runner to score). Six would end up being enough, but was a little relentless after our bullpen was bullied a bit as well.

17 pitches and a perfect 8th for Garces. Hooking his slider hard to nail Erisbel Arruebarrena as his first MLB strikeout, a stinky Dodger.

The five earned runs tonight by Ian Kennedy are the most that he has allowed in a start since June 10 (also five) on the road in PHL.

— Corey Brock (@FollowThePadres) August 20, 2014

Offensively from the Padres we got to see yet another Gyorko smash. This time to deep left center, hitting it over the head of Yasiel Puig, who literally has a highlight video of him fielding a routine ball between his legs. Posting the game at 3-0 at the top of the first, Jedd continues to pile on his franchise record homeruns for a Padres second baseman.

Yasiel Puig and a Dodger fan in the stands have something in common for a split second: nothing they can do for obnoxious amounts of attention is going to stop that ball from sailing out.

Following up later in the game we got to see yet another Seth Smith RBI-single, who is sitting in second place in RBI's at 40 right behind Gyorko. With Seth putting things at 4-5, Yasmani Grandal got himself an RBI-double, hitting Rymer Liriano in after he reached second on a single and a conceded steal, posting the score to 5-8 in the favor of the Doyers.

Yaz pinch hits and slaps a 96MPH sinking full-count pitch into left.

Not to let up on any of the 9th-inning magic that has been consistantly produced coming from the series in St. Louis, the Padres got to work on a rally. With Venable working a walk and being given second base off Kenley Jensen, the San Diego Padres went into no-more-messing-around mode as Abraham Almonte laid down a vicious bunt, getting Vill home from a fumbled throw to keep things at a close 6-8. But after popping out hero Seth Smith, a less-controversial challenge was created off of a quick cut-off by Adrian Gonzales to catch Almonte rounding third.

I'm convinced Almonte was able to reach third base with his freakishly-large thumb that the umpires failed to acknowledge. The inning should still be going, and the Padres should have won.

I still don't think he looked very out. At the most a tie. But none of the video angles were convincing, and another hyped up 9th-inning is cut shortly and painfully to deal the Padres another loss.

Given the awesome nature of Jedd Gyorko's blast, our WPA was heavy in our favor. Until the Doyer hits started stringing together, which is when Padres plays made started having less and less impact. Almonte had a great four-hit night, but did little to swing the game in our favor.

Source: FanGraphs

A slow night tonight. Nobody really likes having to look at the Dodgers. Even if that means abstaining from seeing your Padres. Regardless, recs were had by jodes and comments were made by hashtagtroll. I'm not going to tell you the amounts because you shouldn't always get what you want.

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers continue their scramble mode, looking for more offense in the middle game of their series against the Padres on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.

Tuesday night's 8-6 Dodgers win was the highest-scoring game between the two teams this season, with Los Angeles and San Diego combining for only 49 runs between them in their first 10 matchups this year.

Kevin Correia came to the Dodgers tied for the major league lead with 13 losses but has won both of his starts with his new club. On Wednesday night, one of the pitchers he was tied with gets the start for San Diego. But Eric Stults, like Correia, is still stuck on 13 losses.

Stults has a 1.37 ERA over his last three starts, with 10 strikeouts and five walks in 19⅔ innings.

Roberto Hernandez gets the call for the Dodgers, making his third start as a Dodger. Hernandez had 13 strikeouts in his final six starts combined for Philadelphia, but has 10 strikeouts in 12 innings in two starts as a Dodger.

Hernandez has lasted six innings in both starts as a Dodger, and in eight of his last 10 starts overall, lasting 5⅔  innings in his other two outings during that span.

The Dodgers are 8-3 against the Padres this season, including 4-1 at Dodger Stadium. The two teams are at the start of a stretch that see them play nine times in a 20-game stretch.

Game info

Time: 7:10 p.m. PT

TV: SportsNet LA, ESPN (no blackout)