Game Thread: 7/18 Padres vs. Marlins

Yesterday's 3-7 loss marked the first ever series loss to the Mets at Petco Park. Mat Latos seemed to be moving through the Mets lineup quite well until he gave up a three-run homer to Dick Enberg's dream man, David Wright. Those were the only runs he gave up in the game, however, and he retired his last eight batters in order. Other than that inning, he looked pretty sharp, as he has in recent games. It was our lack of offense and our bullpen that took away any hope of coming back from the 3-run deficit. We didn't get a run in until the 7th inning when Aaron Cunningham doubled to bring home Orlando Hudson. We then loaded the bases, but failed to score as Jason Bartlett struck out swinging. Our bullpen gave up four runs in the 7th and 8th. Then in the bottom of the 9th, our Padres tried to rally. They scored two runs on RBI doubles by Nick Hundley and Alberto Gonzalez, but that was all we could muster.

Today we hope to bounce back in the first of a four-game series against the Marlins. Javier Vasquez will take the mound for Florida and try to get a victory after losing a tough-luck game in his last start. He allowed just three runs on five hits and struck out ten, but his offense couldn't give him any run support.

Padres starter Tim Stauffer is coming off probably his worst start of the season. He gave up nine runs on five home runs in three innings to the Reds in Cincinnati. One start before that, he gave up three home runs to the Mets in New York. However, he had not allowed a home run in the four starts prior to the one in New York and had only given up two runs in his previous eight starts. Hopefully coming back home to pitcher-friendly Petco Park will help him overcome his recent struggles with the long ball and he can lead our Padres to a victory in this series opener.

GO FRIARS!! KEEP THE FAITH!!