Gaslamp Ball - All Posts

Yasmani Grandal goes 2-4 in Tucson Padres win

2013-05-19T05:49:41Z

The Tucson Padres beat the Iowa Cubs 4-2 Saturday night, led by a strong pitching performance by San Diegan Sean O'Sullivan and two-hit nights by catcher Yasmani Grandal and shortstop Gregorio Petit. Grandal and Petit also drove in one run apiece, as did right fielder Dan Robertson and newcomer Mike Wilson.

In his first game of his 10-day "rehab" stint before his return from his 50-game suspension, Grandal went 2-4, scoring one run and driving in another. He singled in his first at bat, driving in Wilson for the second run of the first inning, and came around to score the third. Grandal singled again in the top of the eighth inning but Rene Rivera promptly grounded into a double play.

Moved to first base due to the presence of Grandal, Rivera went 0-4 to lower his PCL-leading batting average to .398. He is .001 ahead of Scott Van Slyke, whose number isn't changing any time soon as he has been recalled by Los Angeles.

Left fielder Mike Wilson went 1-5 in his first game with the organization. Wilson, who briefly saw time in the majors in 2011, drove in Tucson's first run with a double. The twelve-year minor league veteran was signed by the Padres after hitting .325 with three homers and 18 RBI in 23 games with Somerset of the independent Atlantic League. Released by the Mets on the final day of spring training this year, Wilson spent 11 years in the Mariners organization before signing with New York in January. Particularly astute fans might recall the only multi-hit game of his eight game major league career; it came against the Padres nearly two years ago, on May 21, 2011.

Tucson starting pitcher Sean O'Sullivan allowed six hits and a pair of earned runs in seven innings, lowering his ERA to 3.96 and picking up his third win. Colt Hynes earned his fifth hold by retiring all five batters he faced. He has yet to allow an earned run in 9.2 innings spread over 11 games at AAA; he only allowed one in 12.1 innings with AA San Antonio. Brad Boxberger got his fourth save, striking out the only batter he faced.

The win moved Tucson's record to 23-19, one game behind division leader Sacramento. They face Iowa again at 11:05 Sunday morning before embarking on a four game set starting Monday against Omaha, somewhere in middle America.

05/18 Padres Preview: Game 42 vs. Washington

2013-05-18T19:00:06Z

The Padres will try their luck again tonight as they take on the Nationals in the third of a four-game set. Southpaw Eric Stults will try to rebound from a disappointing loss in Florida. He gave up three runs through 5 1/3 innings of work while issuing a season-high five walks. He had given up three runs through 13 innings on his two starts prior to that, however. Tonight will be his first career outing against Washington, who have taken the first two games of this series. He'll try to get the Padres out of a rut that has seen them lose five of their last seven games with starting pitching posting a 6.83 ERA over their last six.

It'll take some more of that fight we saw by the Padres lineup in last night's game to overcome Jordan Zimmermann, who has been nails this season and is going for a league-leading eighth win tonight. He's won each of his last four starts, keeping his ERA to a miniscule 0.85 in that span while collecting 24 strikeouts and walking just four batters. In his most recent start, he limited the Dodgers to two runs in 7 2/3 innings at Dodger Stadium. In three career starts and 19 total innings against the Padres, Zimmermann is 1-1 with a 1.42 ERA. Two of those starts took place at Petco Park, where he's yielded just one run on eight hits while striking out 16 through 13 innings of work.

Next Game

Washington Nationals
@ San Diego Padres

Saturday, May 18, 2013, 5:40 PM PDT
Petco Park

Jordan Zimmermann vs Eric Stults

Sunny. Winds blowing from left to right field at 5-10 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 65.

Complete Coverage >

Bob Scanlan recaps Padres loss to Nationals

2013-05-18T18:56:16Z

Burch Shows Improvement, But Huston is Streets Behind in Padres' Extra-Inning Loss

2013-05-18T18:54:47Z

It was a hard fought game last night, but the Padres were unable to follow through in the end, dropping the second game against the Nationals and failing to tie up the series. After a thrilling 9th inning rally by San Diego against Rafael Soriano sent the game into extras, Huston Street gave up a two-out game-winning home run to pinch hitter Chad Tracy in the 10th inning. It was the sixth homer Street has allowed this season and third in his last three appearances.

There were some silver linings in last night's loss. The Padres got on the board in the 1st inning thanks to an RBI single by Kyle Blanks coupled with a wild throw by Bryce Harper that put the ball in the stands and allowed a second run to score.

Burch Smith looked better on the mound than he did in his debut. Though he gave up five runs on the night, his outing showed a lot of promise. He collected eight strikeouts through 5 1/3 innings of work, including fanning five of the first eleven batters he faced. He began to falter in the 4th, giving up back-to-back singles to Harper and Ryan Zimmerman to start the inning, followed by a home run to Adam LaRoche to put the Nats up 3-2. But Smith seemed to regain his composure and got through the rest of the inning, and the next, unscathed. However, he started losing gas in the 6th and Washington made him pay for it with consecutive home runs by Zimmerman and LaRoche (his second of the night).

With the Nats up 5-2 in the 6th, Jedd Gyorko hit a 420-ft home run to right center to put the Padres within two runs. Three innings later, they would put on a small ball clinic to tie the game and force extra innings. Zimmerman continued his defensive struggles, allowing Chris Denorfia to reach base on a throwing error with one out. Later, with Chase Headley at the plate and two retired in the inning, Denorfia advanced to second on defensive indifference, which the Nats would regret later as Headley hit a two-out single to bring a run home. Blanks was up next, and he wasted no time in driving in the tying run, hitting a line drive RBI single on the first pitch he saw.

It was all for naught, though, as Street served up the homer to Tracy in the 10th and the Padres were unable to answer back, despite back-to-back singles by John Baker and Alexi Amarista in the bottom of the inning. But San Diego once again showed a never-say-die attitude that has kept them close, if not on top, in so many games lately. Tonight they'll face Jordan Zimmermann in the third of a four-game series.

Final - 5.17.2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Washington Nationals	0	0	0	3	0	2	0	0	0	1	6	7	3
San Diego Padres	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	5	11	0
WP: Rafael Soriano (1 - 1) SV: Drew Storen (1) LP: Huston Street (0 - 3)

Complete Coverage >

Nationals 6, Padres 5: '80s Night More '87 Than '84

2013-05-18T18:18:14Z

The Padres made '80s night a great event. The brown Knockaround sunglasses were gorgeous. There were fantastic between inning bits recasting The Karate Kid, Top Gun, and Ghostbusters with current players. Kurt Bevacqua threw out the first pitch. The '80s tribute band in the Park at the Park before the game... was an '80s tribute band. And after the thrilling 9th inning rally, we were ready for the Padres to sweep the leg in the 10th. Huston Street decided that he hated '80s underdog movies and gave up a 2 out solo shot to Chad Tracy instead.

On a more positive note, Burch Smith made a big improvement on his disastrous first start. He was bit hard by the long ball, but he went 5.1 innings, giving up 6 hits and a walk while striking out 8. 64 of his 84 pitches were thrown for strikes.

1st Inning

The game got off to a good start when Kyle Blanks hit a 2 out single to score Everth Cabrera. It got better when Jesus Guzman scored on a throwing error by Bryce Harper.

2-0 Padres

4th Inning

The first of three blasts Smith gave up was a 3 run shot by Adam LaRoche.

3-2 Nationals

6th Inning

Things got ugly when Smith gave up back to back homers to Ryan Zimmerman and LaRoche. He was promptly pulled and replaced with GLB favorite Tim Stauffer, who made some @#$!ing pitches. He threw 1.2 hitless innings, walking one and ringing up two. Jedd Gyorko showed the Padres still had some fight in them with solo shot to center field.

5-3 Nationals

9th Inning

With one out, Chris Denorfia reached first on a throwing error by Zimmerman. With two outs, he moved to second on defensive indifference. Chase Headley, Yonder Alonso, and Kyle Blanks hit three singles in a row to tie the game. Time for bonus baseball.

5-5

10th Inning

Street served up his sixth home run in 17.1 innings. For reference, he gave up 2 homers last season in 39 innings. His worst season was 2011, where he gave up 10 in 58.1 innings while playing on the moon. His career home run rate is just 0.9 per 9 innings. He's at 3.1 per 9 this season.

Final: 6-5 Nationals

Eric Stults fights to avoid a series loss against Jordan Zimmermann tonight at 5:40 PM.

18 - 23

Games Back: 5.5

Streak: Lost 2

Games Left: 123

Final - 5.17.2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Washington Nationals	0	0	0	3	0	2	0	0	0	1	6	7	3
San Diego Padres	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	5	11	0
WP: Rafael Soriano (1 - 1) SV: Drew Storen (1) LP: Huston Street (0 - 3)

Complete Coverage >

After 40 games, Padres picture becoming slightly clearer

2013-05-17T21:35:25Z

Twenty games ago the Padres were in dire straits. They were off to their worst start in franchise history at 5-15, tied with the 1987 and 1971 teams. It took the 1987 team 40 games to get their 10th win. The 1971 team had 12 at this point. This 2013 Padres team has 18, which quite the improvement.

18 - 22

Games Back: 5.5

Streak: Lost 1

Games Left: 122

The Padres have gone 13-7 over their last 20 games. If they would have started that way, they'd have been tied for their 4th best start ever with the 1996 club. Oh, what could have been.

Of the teams that started with 18 wins, they finished with between 84 and 70 wins on the season. So there's that.

First 40 Games by Winning %

Year	Wins in first 40 games	Winning % in first 40	Season Wins	Season Games	Season Winning %
1987	10	25	65	162	40.12
1994	10	25	47	117	40.17
1971	12	30	61	161	37.89
2003	13	32.5	64	162	39.51
2012	14	35	76	162	46.91
1988	14	35	83	161	51.55
1974	15	37.5	60	162	37.04
1973	15	37.5	60	162	37.04
2008	15	37.5	63	162	38.89
1997	15	37.5	76	162	46.91
1969	16	40	52	162	32.1
1981	16	40	41	110	37.27
1972	16	40	58	153	37.91
1979	16	40	68	161	42.24
1977	16	40	69	162	42.59
2000	16	40	76	162	46.91
1993	17	42.5	61	162	37.65
1970	17	42.5	63	162	38.89
2011	17	42.5	71	162	43.83
1999	17	42.5	74	162	45.68
1983	17	42.5	81	163	49.69
2009	18	45	75	162	46.3
1995	18	45	70	144	48.61
1978	18	45	84	162	51.85
1990	19	47.5	75	162	46.3
1989	19	47.5	89	162	54.94
1975	20	50	71	162	43.83
1976	20	50	73	162	45.06
2001	20	50	79	162	48.77
1991	20	50	84	162	51.85
2002	21	52.5	66	162	40.74
1980	21	52.5	73	163	44.79
2007	21	52.5	89	163	54.6
1984	21	52.5	92	162	56.79
1986	22	55	74	162	45.68
1982	22	55	81	162	50
1992	22	55	82	162	50.62
2006	22	55	88	162	54.32
2004	23	57.5	87	162	53.7
2005	24	60	82	162	50.62
2010	24	60	90	162	55.56
1985	25	62.5	83	162	51.23
1996	25	62.5	91	162	56.17
1998	26	65	98	162	60.49

05/17 Padres Preview: Game 41 vs. Nationals

2013-05-17T18:34:23Z

Burch Smith has another chance to make a good impression at the big league level tonight. He'll try to follow up last Saturday's disastrous ML debut with a solid outing against the Nationals tonight while leading the Padres to a win to even up the series. Smith showed us a glimpse of why he was given a chance to pitch in the Padres rotation when he threw a perfect 1st inning, including two strikeouts, against the Rays. But that was the extent of his success. He was pulled in the 2nd inning when he gave up six runs on five hits and a couple of walks - all before even recording an out.

Smith will have to find away to quiet the bats of Adam LaRoche and Bryce Harper. LaRoche, with his lifetime .322 average at Petco Park, continued his success last night as he homered for his second time in as many games and extended his hitting streak to 13 games. During that streak, he's hit .386 while collecting seven RBI. Bryce Harper's three career hits against Padres pitching were all home runs, including last night's solo shot in his first game since his (literal) run-in with the Dodger's scoreboard Monday night. Harper currently leads the Nationals in batting average (.298), home runs (11), RBI (22), and walks (20).

Gio Gonzalez hopes LaRoche, Harper, and the rest of his teammates will be able to give him a little more support than his last start. He was perfect through six innings, but gave up a couple of hits in the seventh before giving the ball over to the bullpen. Unfortunately, they couldn't hold the Nats' 1-0 lead as the Cubs rallied for two runs and the win over the final two innings. Luckily for Gonzalez, Washington pitching has dominated at Petco Park, posting a collective 1.02 ERA over a seven-game stretch in San Diego, during which the Nats have gone 6-1. That includes Gonzalez' only career outing against the Padres last April, a two-hit, six-strikeout performance that lasted six innings.

Hopefully San Diego can get back in the win column after suffering just their second loss in 11 home games last night. Carlos Quentin is a career 5-for-11 with a home run and four walks against Gonzalez. He is listed as probable for tonight's game after missing the series opener to celebrate the birth of his son, Clark. Chase Headley looks to continue his hot hitting at home. He's batting .370 over his last 13 games in San Diego and he's collected two hits in each of his last four at home.

Next Game

Washington Nationals
@ San Diego Padres

Friday, May 17, 2013, 7:10 PM PDT
Petco Park

Complete Coverage >

1984 Padres Quiz: How many can you name?

2013-05-17T16:40:52Z

Tonight the Padres will be giving a nod to their first National League championship team by busting out the 1984 jerseys. I wasn't around to see them because I was too busy learning how to walk in some run-down trailer thousands of miles away but since then have familiarized myself with the roster because I'm a huge nerd. Well, technically I'm a tiny nerd but you know what I'm saying.

A mere 31 players saw duty for the 1984 team. Trader Jack got everything in order before the season began and never had the need to mess with a winning formula. His only in-season trade was to send minor league outfielder and former San Diego State Aztec Al Newman to Montreal for a relief pitcher whose name I'm not going to tell you.

So, how many can you name? I've put together a quiz and, as always, the rules are simple. You get seven minutes to think of as many as you can and you only need to type last names. To make things a little easier, each player's uniform number and position are provided. Once your time is up, head back here and report your tally in the poll and leave a nice, spoiler-free comment. Or at very least use the black box feature for what it was made for.

Okay, enough jibber-jabber out of me. It's go time!

Name the 31 members of the 1984 Padres:

Poll

Gaslamp Ball - All Posts

Yasmani Grandal goes 2-4 in Tucson Padres win

05/18 Padres Preview: Game 42 vs. Washington

Next Game

Bob Scanlan recaps Padres loss to Nationals

Burch Shows Improvement, But Huston is Streets Behind in Padres' Extra-Inning Loss

Nationals 6, Padres 5: '80s Night More '87 Than '84

1st Inning

2-0 Padres

4th Inning

3-2 Nationals

6th Inning

5-3 Nationals

9th Inning

5-5

10th Inning

Final: 6-5 Nationals

After 40 games, Padres picture becoming slightly clearer

First 40 Games by Winning %

05/17 Padres Preview: Game 41 vs. Nationals

Next Game

1984 Padres Quiz: How many can you name?

How many did you get?