Wrapping up the final week of August and taking a look back on this month of Padres baseball. With fresh faces and lovable team veterans; check up on who improved and what stayed the same.
The Friars were winning for the month of August. They went 16-11; winning 5 of the series, splitting one, and getting our first two sweeps of the season. Collectively we scored 102 runs and only allowed 93, keeping us in the middle of the pack in run support for our phenomenal pitching staff.
Week 4 was sorely missed due to a very busy Labor Day. If you want to catch up on Spangy's debut, peep Darklighter and Wonko's game recaps. There were plenty of new faces this month, some fantastic debuts, and a few great veteran performances.
Here's a look at the top three voted highlights of the past month:
Most Exemplary Display of Ninja Prowess
Just look at that scoreboard. Tie game, bottom of the ninth, two on two out. The Little Ninja had to cover a mile of ground. Nobody's going to usurp Amarista in the ninja category.
Friar: Alexi Amarista
Game: @ Minnesota
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
Ross' no-hitter spoilage
There's a lot to savor about this moment in the game. Tyson's stellar pitching performance to match Kershaw's, his 9th hit of the season, but mainly the upset look on Clayton's face afterwards amplified by the loud groans throughout Dodger Stadium. Mmmsweet.
Game: @ Dodgers
Friar: Tyson Ross
Team Numbers
Pitching
3.21 ERA (third lowest allowed in NL)
87 Earned runs (third lowest allowed in NL)
7 Saves in 10 Opportunities
221 Hits (third lowest allowed in NL)
93 Runs (lowest allowed in NL)
18 Home runs (second lowest allowed in NL)
215 Strikeouts (7.93 K/9, 20.9 K%)
88 Walks (3.25 BB/9, 8.6 BB%)
1.27 WHIP, .242 AVG
Hitting
102 Runs scored
224 Hits, .678 OPS
206 Strikeouts (19.8 K%)
106 Walks (most in the NL) (10.2 BB%)
16 Home runs (last in the NL)
15 Stolen bases
Pitching remains top tier, and hitting stays low. Although we balanced out our run support and are now running in the middle of the NL-pack, we've become very familiar with the unbalanced performances between the two.
Monthly Record
vs BravesW 10-1, W 3-2, W 4-3
@ Twins L 1-3, W 5-4
@ Pirates L 1-2, W 2-1, W 8-2
vs RockiesW 4-1, W 4-1, W 5-3
@ Cardinals L 3-4, L 2-4, W 9-5, L 6-7
@ Dodgers L 6-8, W 4-1, L 1-2
@ Dbacks L 1-5, L 2-5, W 7-4
vs Brewers L 1-10, W 4-1, W 3-2
vs Dodgers W 3-2, W 2-1, L 1-7
Top Monthly Performers
Hitting
Alexi Amarista 88 PA, 6 RBI, 3 SB, .276 AVG, .339 BABIP, 0.4 WAR
Yangervis Solarte 115 PA, 1HR, 7 RBI, 8.7 K%, 0.3 WAR
Seth Smith 95 PA, 1 HR, 9 RBI, .358 OBP, 109 wRC+, 0.2 WAR
Pitching
Ian Kennedy 34.2 IP, 6 GS, 10.13 K/9, .52 HR/9, 0.5 WAR
Tyson Ross 32.1 IP, 5 GS, 3.34 BB/9, 80.7 LOB%, 52.9 GB%, 2.78 ERA, 0.3 WAR
Eric Stults 35.2 IP, .252 BABIP, 83.7 LOB%, 2.52 ERA
- Yasmani Grandal hit for the most raw power/extra bases this month, but was sitting just below average. It did show up in the form of his two home runs (432ft. and 419ft.) and three doubles. He also led Padres hitters in swinging for contact. Overall he made contact 83% of the time he swung, and 92% when swinging inside the strikezone.
- Jedd Gyorko was an RBI machine, and with 20 hits turned at least 15 of them into runs scored. He also struck out the most (23) with the second most plate appearances (103), which resulted in him getting on base the least.
- Seth Smith saw his pitches. His walking percentage was up at almost 16%, and tied Yangervis Solarte with 15 walks.
- Ian Kennedy was the strikeout king, with 39 K's in 6 starts, and Tyson Ross remained the groundball champ with more than half (52.9%) of the balls hit going straight into the dirt.
- Nick Vincent and Joaquin Benoit saw no runs in their relief efforts, and Vincent left 100% of the runners he either inherited or created on base. Kevin Quackenbush allowed a few runs, but still notched his first major league save.
Some Monthly News (In Case Ya Missed It)
A.J. Preller hired as the Padres new GM according to Ken Rosenthal
Don Welke to join A.J. Preller with Padres
Bud Black manages his 600th win
Padres name Petco Park plaza after Bud Selig
Trevor Hoffman Inducted Into Padres Hall of Fame
So what was your favorite moment of Padres baseball for August? Favorite player, favorite play, most exciting development for the team in general? A lot has happened this month. Heck, we're a nationally recognized blog now for crying out loud (skip to 1:08):