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There are as many ways for a baseball team to fail as there is for a baseball team to win. Obviously. With the Padres, at least they are consistent when they fail, like on Wednesday when the Boston Red Sox took the Friars down 2-1 with a walk-off home run.
The game itself was great if you are partial to an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel. The Padres scored right away in the top of the first inning when Kyle Blanks singled home Carlos Quentin and San Diego jumped on top 1-0.
Boston evened things up in the fourth inning when Mike Carp singled and Jarrod Saltalamacchia doubled Carp home, and the score remained tied 1-1 for a good long while. Starter Edinson Volquez was quite brilliant and went six innings, giving way to relief pitching that ultimately failed (again).
It took the Red Sox until the bottom of the ninth inning, until pinch-hitter Jonny Gomes took Padres reliever Luke Gregerson deep on a 2-2 hanging slider over the big green monster in left field. This has been a theme for both clubs this season, the Red Sox walking off and the Padres giving them up.
For the Padres, it was their fifth straight loss. San Diego now finds themselves in fourth place in the division and 3 1/2 games in back of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the division lead.
Offensively, only the bat of Carlos Quentin remains hot. Quentin went 3 for 4 and boosted his batting average to .276 on the year after a slow start.
The current situation for the Padres should be obvious by now. Whether due to a depleted starting lineup or bats simply not connecting, reliance on relief pitching to hold close leads or ties isn’t a tangible asset at this point.
Padres fans and sports media that covers the team can continue to insist that the club needs starting pitching in order to attempt to compete in the National League West, but if the Padres want to maintain a ball club that plays consistently above .500 then they either need some more offense or some relief pitching, or perhaps both. And they had better get it soon, because some of the teams in their division already have what they need or are in the process of getting it.
Notes:
Kyle Blanks (heel) will sit for at least a game while Will Venable (hamstring) gets a start on Thursday. Neither are candidates for an already-crowded disabled list. In spite of going 0 for 4 Wednesday at Ft. Wayne with four strikeouts, Everth Cabrera (hamstring) will be with the club at Washington on Friday, and starting according to Corey Brock of MLB.com. Brock also believes that a relief pitcher will be sent down in the corresponding roster move since the Padres are already carrying 13 pitchers at the moment.
Thursday, the Padres will try and take the last game of the three-game set in Boston. Eric Stults (6-6, 3.51) will take the hill for the Friars while the Red Sox offer up Allen Webster (0-2, 9.50). Game time is at 10:40 PM PDST, on radio 1090 AM and televised by Fox Sports San Diego.
There are as many ways for a baseball team to fail as there is for a baseball team to win. Obviously. With the Padres, at least they are consistent when they fail, like on Wednesday when the Boston Red Sox took the Friars down 2-1 with a walk-off home run.
The game itself was great if you are partial to an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel. The Padres scored right away in the top of the first inning when Kyle Blanks singled home Carlos Quentin and San Diego jumped on top 1-0.
Boston evened things up in the fourth inning when Mike Carp singled and Jarrod Saltalamacchia doubled Carp home, and the score remained tied 1-1 for a good long while. Starter Edinson Volquez was quite brilliant and went six innings, giving way to relief pitching that ultimately failed (again).
It took the Red Sox until the bottom of the ninth inning, until pinch-hitter Jonny Gomes took Padres reliever Luke Gregerson deep on a 2-2 hanging slider over the big green monster in left field. This has been a theme for both clubs this season, the Red Sox walking off and the Padres giving them up.
For the Padres, it was their fifth straight loss. San Diego now finds themselves in fourth place in the division and 3 1/2 games in back of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the division lead.
Offensively, only the bat of Carlos Quentin remains hot. Quentin went 3 for 4 and boosted his batting average to .276 on the year after a slow start.
The current situation for the Padres should be obvious by now. Whether due to a depleted starting lineup or bats simply not connecting, reliance on relief pitching to hold close leads or ties isn’t a tangible asset at this point.
Padres fans and sports media that covers the team can continue to insist that the club needs starting pitching in order to attempt to compete in the National League West, but if the Padres want to maintain a ball club that plays consistently above .500 then they either need some more offense or some relief pitching, or perhaps both. And they had better get it soon, because some of the teams in their division already have what they need or are in the process of getting it.
Notes:
Kyle Blanks (heel) will sit for at least a game while Will Venable (hamstring) gets a start on Thursday. Neither are candidates for an already-crowded disabled list. In spite of going 0 for 4 Wednesday at Ft. Wayne with four strikeouts, Everth Cabrera (hamstring) will be with the club at Washington on Friday, and starting according to Corey Brock of MLB.com. Brock also believes that a relief pitcher will be sent down in the corresponding roster move since the Padres are already carrying 13 pitchers at the moment.
Thursday, the Padres will try and take the last game of the three-game set in Boston. Eric Stults (6-6, 3.51) will take the hill for the Friars while the Red Sox offer up Allen Webster (0-2, 9.50). Game time is at 10:40 PM PDST, on radio 1090 AM and televised by Fox Sports San Diego.